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DOCTOR YOURSELF Newsletter (Vol 3, No 6) February 5, 2003

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" Hey, I won't say I'm a bad cook, but all the flies chipped in to fix the

screen door. " (Rodney Dangerfield)

 

The DOCTOR YOURSELF NEWSLETTER (Vol 3, No 6) February 5, 2003

 

" Free of charge, free of advertising, and free of the A.M.A. "

 

Written by Andrew Saul, PhD. of http://www.doctoryourself.com , a free

online library of over 350 natural healing articles with nearly 4,000

scientific references.

 

**SPECIAL HOME COOKING, GOOD HEALTH ISSUE**

 

When I was a kid, eating was a necessary evil. My mother, a former history

teacher, lacked passion for cooking. Her casual disregard of any advances

ever made in culinary science is approaching the legendary. Years ago, my

daughter wrote:

 

" Gray Jell-O. In my house, the story has often been told of the gray Jell-O.

When the flavors cherry and lime were mixed, a wonderful flavor resulted.

But it was a horrible sight. Of course my Grandma Saul didn't mean for that

Jell-O to be gray, but with only one box of each color, the double batch of

Jell-O did not come out just right. "

 

(I would like to point out that hoof-derived desserts were a part of my

childhood, but not that of my kids. Once you've tried " gray " you really stay

away.)

 

Mom also mixed partly-open boxes of breakfast cereal " to save space. " I was

raised on " Cheerios " , Cornflakes, Wheaties, Puffed Rice, Shredded Wheat and

Grape Nuts. . . all in the same bowl.

 

" Well done, " at least in my experience, is the ultimate oxymoron. Mom could

have burned ice cream if it were possible. She overcooked everything,

blaming it on my Dad with the ever-ready apology: " Your father likes it this

way. "

 

After years and years of eating overdone, dry, tooth-stressing meals, I

finally asked Pop why he liked everything overcooked.

 

He said, " That's the way your mother makes it. "

 

O'Henry would have been pleased.

 

 

But in fairness, Mom also gave each of us a multivitamin every day. The

moment Dad walked into the house after work, he had a glass of orange juice

stuck into his hand and an Eastman Kodak vitamin pill plunked in his mouth

before he could say, " What's for dinner? " And since " What's for dinner? " was

such a fruitless question anyway, everything being uniformly charred to a

tasteless slab, the pill no doubt did him much good.

 

 

Mom saved fresh vegetable cooking water and made soup from it. She also

drank the water the canned spinach was packed in. I now know that such

behaviors result in increased consumption of vitamins and minerals. Back

then, I simply thought she was a little nuts.

 

 

Obviously, it is hereditary.

 

A CRASH COURSE IN VEGETARIAN COOKING

 

It is therefore only because I get asked for cooking advice so often that I

dare to share my favorite kitchen hints. Remember, you are getting these

suggestions from a guy who, as a college graduate, still thought " allspice "

was a mixture of all the spices together in one convenient jar.

 

1. If there is one secret of vegetarian cooking, it is salt. Grains and

legumes (peas, beans and lentils) really need it for good taste. Now don't

go off worrying that you are getting too much sodium, and spare me the

gratuitous lectures. Homemade foods almost always have less salt than

store-bought processed foods, and certainly are less salty than restaurant

or fast foods. Use just enough salt to get a good taste, or no one will want

to eat your good food, including you.

 

If you overdo it: Too much salt can be removed by cooking a halved raw

potato into your mistake and then removing the potato before serving. Adding

more water, or more of all the other ingredients will effectively reduce the

salt concentration, too.

 

2. Taste your cooking as you go. If you like it, others probably will.

Learning from mistakes is less costly if you own a nice, hungry, tolerant

doggie. Such animals are readily available from your local pound or humane

society. Believe me, anything you were previously thinking of tossing out is

far better than the stuff that goes into most commercial pet foods.

 

3. Consult easy vegetarian cookbooks. I especially like Deaf Smith Country

Cookbook (M. W. Ford et al, Collier Books, 1973) and Laurel's Kitchen (L.

Robertson et al, Bantam, 1978). Health food stores tend to have a good

selection of cookbooks, and often have free recipes for the asking.

 

4. If you are not sure whether to put in an ingredient or not: when in

doubt, leave it out. I've made bread with just whole wheat flour, water and

salt. Period. It yields a flatbread or Johnnycake, but it tastes great. I

never add shortening or oil to my raised breads, and you really do not miss

it.

 

5. Over the years, you will save a fortune cooking vegetarian. (Just make

sure you don't make your fortune cooking vegetarians, which is against the

law in most states.) My family of four spent only about one-third as much on

food as any of my neighbors do. Maybe you didn't get that raise, and we know

that taxes never go down. Here we have a way to make money getting healthy.

In my 18 year marriage, my son conservatively estimated that simple eating

saved us nearly $40,000. In 1980, that's what my house cost. Think about it.

Many a cheapskate food purchasing hint will be found at

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/eatwellcheap.html

 

6. Start small, but when you get experienced try to cook in quantity. A big

pot of soup can feed you all week. Keep it in smaller, meal-sized containers

in your refrigerator. Open one of those instead of a can of something. Do

not put bugs into your borscht. Yes, I've done that, too:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/aphids.html

 

7. Be sure to cook dry beans, peas and lentils very thoroughly. They taste

dreadful if you don't. After checking to remove any little stowaway stones,

soak your legumes (but not split peas) tonight to reduce cooking time

tomorrow. Change the soaking water once or twice, and rinse well before

cooking to remove dirt or soap residues. More bean hints will be found in my

article at

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/dysplasia.html .

 

8. If you are not used to baking with whole grain flour, work it in

gradually. Start with 2/3 white (unbleached) flour and 1/3 whole grain. Then

try half and half. Over time, you can increase the fraction of whole wheat

so subtly that no one will hardly notice.

 

 

9. Baking with 100% whole wheat (or any other whole grain) generally

requires more leavening and more cooking time. Pull up a chair by the oven

and check from time to time.

 

10. Baking with honey requires less liquid, because honey is one. Honey

tastes sweeter than sugar, so 2/3 to one-half as much honey is enough.

 

11. To stimulate your cooking muse, I submit that you should keep LESS food

in the house. The more convenience-crutches we have, the less we work at

self-reliance. Stock up on grains and legumes. Being dry, they keep a long

time in glass jars or plastic bags. With salt, oil, some herbs and spices,

and of course fruits and vegetables, you are 90% set. Butter and yogurt are

part of our menu, but need not be for everyone. Tofu (bean curd), tempeh,

sprouts or seed for sprouting, honey, molasses and fruit juice fill out our

cheap diet. We are most creative in the kitchen when the pickings are slim.

For some sample super-easy meal plans:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/12_Veggie_Dinners.html

 

Some of my favorite slim-pickin's recipies are posted at

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/recipes.html

 

12. The above statement is more subversive than it looks. Food stamps and

other well-meant programs encourage spending. That may be good for the

economy, but it is not good for the body. Saul's First Law of Nutrition:

" The best foods in the supermarket are the cheapest; the worst foods cost

the most. " Take along a copy of a book like the Supermarket Handbook (N. and

D. Goldbeck, Signet,1976) to help you shop. Remember: to avoid expensive

impulse buying, always eat beforehand.

 

13. Still, do not fret if you succumb to a " Big Mac " Attack or wolf down the

occasional box of chocolates. To me, it is not a matter of life or death if

you have turkey at the holidays (though it is to the turkey). What matters

is not what you did on any one day but on the other 364. In total, are you

doing it right? Check your debts; check your medicine cabinet; check the

bathroom scales: if they are all going down, you are doing fine.

 

14. Your spouse or children may not necessarily go for all of this. The rest

of the world should be so lucky as to even have a choice. You know, the

reason the Chinese eat a low-fat, low-protein diet with lots of grains,

legumes and vegetables is not because they are seeking health. It is because

they can't afford to eat any other way. Their lower rates of heart disease,

cancer and osteoporosis are a by-product of frugality.

 

START EARLY

 

There is a lot to say for starting very little children on the

healthy-eating path before they learn that most dreaded of dining-table

words: " No! "

 

For parents of infants: http://www.doctoryourself.com/veggie_baby.html

 

For parents of toddlers: http://www.doctoryourself.com/Toddler_Health.html

 

NEVER TOO LATE

 

If your kids are already old enough to be at the everybody-is-a-critic

stage, you might try a few of these ideas:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/kidraise.html

 

EXPERT NUTRITIONAL ADVICE FOR PARENTS

 

" Dr. Hoffer's ABC of Natural Nutrition for Children " is, in my opinion, must

reading for all parents. A summary of the book is posted at

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_ABC.html

 

" The Children's Doctor, " Lendon H. Smith, MD, is another excellent resource.

About his work:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/smith1.html

 

A listing of all his books:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_lsmith.html

 

VITAMIN THERAPY HELPS LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN

 

An important but generally overlooked scientific study is summarized at

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/learning.html

 

FEINGOLD DIET:

 

Allergist Benjamin Feingold, M.D., was one of the first physicians to speak

out against food additives. His special interests were the effect of food

chemicals on children's behavior and the role of nutrition in treating

learning disabilities. The chemical food processing industry, and its

pseudo-scientific spokespersons, still are trying to negate all Feingold's

research. It will never happen, though, for Feingold Associations of

informed parents (and forward-thinking doctors) are to be found worldwide.

 

Dr. Feingold's books:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/biblio_feingold.html

 

KIDS THAT ARE " ALWAYS SICK "

 

A case story for you to read is at

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/immune.html

 

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

 

ANY PROBLEM WITH YOUR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION?

 

If you are regularly receiving my Newsletter without incident, you can

ignore the following paragraph:

 

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dynewsletter- to re yourself. You will

be sent a confirmation, which when you reply to it, will probably satisfy

your server or internet service provider (ISP) that you do indeed really

want the Newsletter.

 

The problem with my putting this notice in my Newsletter is that you have to

be receiving the Newsletter to get my information about what to do if you

are NOT receiving my Newsletter. It reminds me of my college psychology

instructor who, speaking over a microphone to over 400 freshmen, would say,

" If you cannot hear me, put your hand up. "

 

Even if you do not get it hot off the keyboard by email, remember that you

can read every issue of the Doctor Yourself Newsletter on the web at

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/backissues.html

 

NEVER, NO NEVER

 

I never, and I mean NEVER send out advertisements, games, notices, or

promotions. If you receive any such material purporting to come from

" drsaul " or " doctoryourself.com, " please recognize it as the forgery it is

and delete it without opening it. Viruses and spammers have no decency, and

will illegally take return addresses that you trust. Remember that I never

send attachments, either. My policy is to never open attachments except when

I have made an " appointment " with the sender to do so, by a separate email.

 

Excellent antivirus software is free for the asking. You can download fully

functional (not a trial edition) antivirus software ( " AVG Free Edition " )

totally without charge from

 

http://www.grisoft.com . Updates from Grisoft are also free of charge.

 

Taking care of your computer is much like taking care of your body: an ounce

of prevention is worth a ton of cure.

 

HOW TO GET LITTLE KIDS TO TAKE THEIR VITAMINS WITH A MINIMUM OF FUSS

 

Here are some hints to help parents get easy compliance and safe results

with kids and supplements.

 

* Vitamin supplements are much safer than medicines, so it is not necessary

to be that exact in figuring how much to give. With our kids, we found it

convenient to think, " What fraction of an adult do we have here? " We figured

an adult dose for an adult weight. If an adult was 180 pounds and one

tablet, then a 90 pound adolescent was half a tablet and a 45 pound child

was one quarter tablet. One eighth tablet for a 23 pound toddler and one

sixteenth tablet for a baby of 12 pounds. You can safely round up and give

more than this. Pound for pound, a youngster's need for vitamins is

proportionally greater than that of an adult.

 

* You can not expect a small child to swallow a tablet or a chunk of a

tablet. You can CRUSH the tablet (or tablet fraction) and give the resulting

powder in juice or mixed in a bit of food. Hot food is not an appropriate

choice for heat-sensitive vitamins. Applesauce or other pureed fruit works

well. Pineapple or other sweet juice is fine, too. Pick a food or drink that

hides a vitamin taste nicely. Remember, you get to swallow these things

whole. Vitamins are not put into tablets for nothing! I still remember the

time my father first gave me a vitamin pill when I was a kid. I innocently

asked him if it was chewable or not and his answer was, " Try it. " I did.

Crunch. Yuk. That's why these hints are provided.

 

* Giving " doctored " portions early in the meal helps ensure they get down.

Use as small an amount of juice or fruit as possible, rather than " taint " an

entire portion. The moment the dose is swallowed, IMMEDIATELY follow it with

a favorite " chaser. " Some sweet juice or fruit will take away any aftertaste

from the supplement. We would go so far as to have two cups of juice on the

table in front of the child. One contained one-eighth cup or less of juice

with the powder mixed in. The other cup was comfortably full of juice only.

The moment the odd-tasting juice disappeared, we had the yummy juice right

at the kid's lips. Speed is important here. Hit the taste buds with a nice

flavor before they even get a chance to figure out the first one. We've

gotten our kids to drink raw zucchini juice this way, so believe me, it

works.

 

* With babies, all the above preparations may still result in the desired

mixture ending up on the floor, on the highchair or on you. Try it again.

Just like learning to walk. As it becomes routine, the child will accept it.

Start early and acceptance will come early. Good habits thus formed will

bring dividends for years.

 

* Liquid vitamin preparations are fine, with a drawback. They do not keep

particularly well after opening, and lose potency quickly even in the

refrigerator. Incidentally, vitamin tablets or capsules should NOT be kept

in a refrigerator. I know it says " Store in a cool, dry place, " but a

'fridge is a cold, wet place. Moisture generally reduces supplement potency.

Keep the bottles out of the sun, out of the car and off the stove and they

will be cool enough.

 

* Chewable supplements are tasty and convenient. Once a child is old enough

to handle chewable tablets s/he will usually take to them without complaint.

Beware of artificial colors, artificial flavors and especially artificial

sweeteners. These potentially harmful chemicals are money savers for the

manufacturer and do no good for your child. Try a health food store, and

read labels always.

 

* Chewable vitamin C is handy for restaurants and traveling. Try to get the

non-acidic ASCORBATE form of vitamin C in your chewables. This is easier on

tooth enamel than the common ascorbic acid form of vitamin C. Ascorbic acid

chewables can still be used. We always gave our kids a rinse of water or

juice after chewing ANY tablet. Non-acidic " C " is more important for

regular, repeated chewable vitamin C use, such as when a child is ill and

taking a lot. I would like to add that soft drinks are far worse on tooth

enamel than ascorbic acid. Cola's and other soda contains phosphoric acid.

This is the same ingredient that dentists use to etch away tooth enamel

before sealants are applied. Phosphoric acid (and sugar!) should be removed

FIRST from a child's diet.

 

* Here is one way to tell if a child is old enough to swallow a vitamin

tablet: offer a small cash reward if the kid can do it. Since chewable

tablets tend to be more expensive than regular tablets containing the same

amounts of nutrients, you will still be money ahead if this works. Start

first with a small capsule. Tell the child that it is OK if they can't

swallow this like a BIG boy or girl can. Pride and spending money seemed to

be an irresistible combination for our kids.

 

* There are adults who cannot swallow a tablet. Many of these people, I've

found, were forced as children to take a pill before they wanted to. Since

honey is better bait than vinegar, you can try offering a teaspoon of honey

after your child has gotten the supplement down.

 

* If all this seems like coercion, that's because it is. And why not?

Supplements do no good in the bottle.

 

 

* When in public places, keep supplements low-key. Likewise, when visiting

relatives, there is no need to make a show or an issue over children's

vitamins. You can give your child their vitamins before you leave home or

when you get back. Chewable supplements that look and taste like candy are

convenient in more ways than one. Health food stores and pharmacies have a

variety of popular vitamin products that do not even resemble " pills. "

 

* Technically, most schools require a letter from a doctor giving permission

for a child to take supplements at school. If you can get such a letter from

your M.D., it is handy to have. Try to avoid letting the school health

people make a big production over it. Your child should not be pulled out of

class or out of an activity to take a vitamin. There is no reason for any

kid to be singled out at school just because supplements have always been a

part of their good diet. Most principals are sensitive to children's

feelings, and will respond well to your friendly parent note or phone call.

 

* We found that we could include one or two vitamin C chewables in our kid's

lunches and nobody ever objected. It's true that the chewables DID look a

lot like candy. A lot healthier, though.

 

COLUMNIST FOR JOURNAL OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE

 

I am honored to have been invited to be a regular columnist for the Journal

of Orthomolecular Medicine. My column, " Taking the Cure, " will commence with

the next issue of the Journal, (Vol 17, No 4). For subscription information:

 

http://orthomed.org/jom/jom.htm .

 

DID YOU KNOW:

 

CHILDREN UNDER SIX INVOLUNTARILY SWALLOW AS MUCH AS **ONE THIRD** OF THEIR

TOOTHPASTE.

 

If your kids brush every day, that's 365 not-so-small doses of a

carcinogenic artificial sweetener, saccharin, every year. Any dentist will

tell you that saccharin chemically does nothing to prevent tooth decay. So

it should be taken out.

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/fakesweet.html

 

Children also swallow excess amounts of fluoride when they brush. Fluoride

has been linked to bone cancer.

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/fluoride_cancer.html

 

More negative information on fluoride:

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/fluoridation.html

 

FLUORIDE LINKS:

 

http://www.rvi.net/~fluoride/index.htm

http://www.inter-view.net/~sherrell/site_index.htm

http://www.garynull.com/issues/Fluoride/FluorideActionFile.htm

http://www.sonic.net/~kryptox/fluoride.htm

http://www.fluoride-journal.com/

http://www.fluoridation.com/

 

WANT TO BE HEARD? Call the toothpaste manufacturers and tell them to take

saccharin and fluoride out of their products, or you will not buy them. At

the very least, they should put large print warnings and child-proof caps on

their products.

 

Start with the two biggest sellers: Colgate: 1-800-468-6502 and Crest:

1-800-492-7378 Additional phone numbers for other brands are welcomed.

Please email me with your submissions.

 

DID YOU KNOW that The National Parent-Teachers Association withdrew its

support for fluoridation on April 17, 1991?

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

 

EPILEPSY AND VITAMIN E

 

Children using antiepileptic medication have reduced plasma levels of

vitamin E, a sign of vitamin E deficiency. So doctors at the University of

Toronto gave epileptic children 400 I.U. of vitamin E per day for several

months, along with their medication. This combined treatment reduced the

frequency of seizures in most of the children by over 60 percent. Half of

them " had a 90 to 100 percent reduction in seizures. " (Epilepsia, Vol 30, No

1, 1989).

 

THIS MONTH'S REASON TO UNSUBSCRIBE:

 

T'was in a diner that they met:

 

Romeo and Juliet;

 

Alas, her purse she did forget

 

So Romey owed what Julie et.

 

Privacy Statement:

 

We do not sell, and we do not share, our mailing list or your email address

with anyone. We never send out advertisements of any kind. You may notice

that there is no advertising at http://doctoryourself.com and no advertising

in this newsletter. We have no financial connection with the supplement

industry. We do not sell vitamins or other health products, except for Dr.

Saul's books, which help fund these free public services.

 

Persons interested in his book PAPERBACK CLINIC: A Simplified Manual of

Natural Therapeutics, may obtain it directly from the author at 8 Van Buren

Street, Holley, NY 14470, USA for $34.00 postpaid in the USA; US $39.00 to

Canada, and US $50.00 airmail to all other countries. Your copy will be

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posted at

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prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or

physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program

necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one

should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from

a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision.

 

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service marks of Andrew W. Saul. All rights reserved.

 

Copyright c 2003 and prior years Andrew W. Saul drsaul

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