Heart Disease in Ghandi-Land

Despite a vegetarian diet eaten by more than one-billion
Indians, heart disease rates are soaring in India. Why is that?

One Indian doctor seems to have the answer. This article
appeared in this week's (March 29, 2005) Deepikaglobal
website which bills itself as "the latest news for global
Indians." The entire article:

http://www.deepikaglobal.com/latestnews.asp?ncode=26730

Excerpts:

"The popular notion that milk was a complete food
and good for health has been disputed by an eminent
cardiologist here."

"Cattle milk, considered by most Indians as an indespensible
component of a health promoting diet, was a major cause of
heart attack, claims Dr J P S Sahani working with the prestigious
Ganga Ram hospital here."

Dr. Sahanio said:

"Milk is high in cholestrol, animal protein and lactose, which
was the reason that prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in the
country was high despite the fact that a majority of the population
was vegetarian."

"Dr Sahani recommended that cattle milk should be substituted
with soya products which were rich in vegetable proteins and
have less fat, no cholestrol and are rich in calcium and minerals.
Besides, vegetables, nuts and fruits were also rich in minerals,
he added."

"Nuts, he said, were best and comlete food as they contain vegetable
protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, iron calcium, fibre
and no cholestrol."

MILK AND HEART DISEASE

Heart disease is America's number one killer. Dairy products
represent America's number one food group.

Charles Attwood, M.D., once described to me the pint of
blood he had drawn from a patient. In the hour before
parting with his pint, the young man had eaten lunch at a
fast food restaurant, enjoying hamburgers, fries, and a
milkshake.

The blood was "murky and opaque," according to Dr. Attwood.
I will always remember that phrase and Attwood's further
descriptive imagery. After 15 minutes, a one-half inch layer
of fat had risen to the top of the plastic package
containing that blood.

In 1980, the British journal Lancet (ii: 205-207) reported:

"More patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction had
elevated levels of antibodies against milk proteins than was
found in a comparable group of patients without coronary
heart disease."

In 1994, the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (48:305-
325) found:

"Milk consumption correlates positively with cholesterol
levels in blood as well as coronary mortality. In
comparisons between 17 countries, there is a good
correlation between national cholesterol levels and
mortality from ischaemic heart disease."

There is controversy regarding the "fat-connection" and
heart disease. Is it fat, or is it dairy, which also
contains fat? In 1977, the British Journal of Preventive &
Social Medicine noted:

"Greenland Eskimos, who have a very low incidence of
ischemic heart disease, have a high-fat, high-protein diet,
but a very low intake of milk."

The May, 2000 issue of Medical Hypothesis provided an
important clue as to how dairy compromises the heart:

"Excessive milk consumption may adversely affect the
circulation on account of the high calcium content of milk
and because lactose promotes the intestinal absorption of
calcium. Excessive calcium intake may cause calcification
and rigidification of the large elastic arteries, which
could be an important factor in causing myocardial
ischaemia."

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Variety is the Spice of Life

I have been a vegan for eight years, but a few weeks
ago gave in to the temptation of a freshly-made bowl
of Manhattan-style clam chowder at Gosman's restaurant
in Montauk, New York, and I am glad I did. After all,
I reasoned, the Notmilkman can eat clam chowder, so
long as it's not New England-style.

The soup was delicious. As an animal rights activist, I
had to come to terms with eating once-living creatures,
but clams have no eyes, face, or feelings. That's where
I now draw the line. I can say with complete honesty that
I felt not even a twinge of guilt or remorse.

Is it ok to occasionally eat seafood? Why not? The clams
came from unpolluted waters in Long Island, New York, and
if one does not make a habit of eating living things, what
really is the big deal to do so once or twice each year?

A few days after that, I ate in a local Italian restaurant,
Adiamos, in Haworth, NJ. I ordered pasta with red clam sauce.
The chef had added two shrimps to the dish, so I ate what was
offered. It was mostly clams anyway and I felt no guilt by
eating those two small shrimp, which I had not intentionally
requested in the first place. They were a bit salty for my
taste, and I won't be ordering shrimp again. Note to animal
rights activists: Ever see a shrimp's face before they cut
off its head and freeze it into a five-pound block? These are
very primitve and quite ugly creatures, and nobody can
intelligently argue that these insects of the sea are sentient
beings.

I am writing this column because last night, in celebration of
my mom's 87th birthday, our family ate in a nearby Spanish
restaurant, El Cid in Paramus, New Jersey. A few of my dinner
companions dined on lobster, but I resisted the temptation to
do so because they closely resemble shrimp. Instead, I ordered
the paella special, which I was told would contain mostly rice
and clams. When they brought the dish to the table, the steam
escaped and I salivated like a Pavlovian dog. (Much to his credit,
my dad continued his vegan diet, refusing to eat any animal.)

Clams were sticking out throughout the paella dish, as promised,
but I also spotted a chicken wing and some small sausages that
the waiter called "chorizos." I rationalized that a chicken could
live without the use of its wings, so I tasted and loved what I
ate. Same with the chorizos, which I later learned were smoked
Spanish sausages made from pigs. I did not feel good about eating
the pig, but they were delicious too. I will probably never again
eat pigs unless I return to this same restaurant and order the
paella special.

In any event, it's all an April Fool's joke. Most of you know that,
of course, but some of you were probably so upset with me that the
entire column was not read and you did not get to read this part,
just like in years past.

Whoever is still with me, take heart. Have a happy and healthy and
sane April Fool's Day tomorrow. I am still a strict vegan, and will
continue to be.

Five Previous Notmilk April Fool's Jokes:

2000+2001+2002 http://notmilk.com/aprilfools.html
2003 http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/1249
2004 http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/1588

For those of you to whom I've been able to say "gotcha"
through six April Fool's jokes, I apologize. I'll probably
be getting under your skin next year too...

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Frying Livers Inside of Live Pigs

"Other sins only speak; murder shrieks out:
The element of water moistens the earth,
But blood flies upwards, and bedews the heavens."
--John Webster (1623)

I performed a Medline search for the 21st century Dr.
John Webster from the University of Wisconsin and learned
that this Nazi-like scientist conceived of a 2002 study
in which he cooked the livers of live animals from the
inside out by using sophisticated electrical currents.
The abstract of his pathetic study sounds sooooo scientific:

http://tinyurl.com/538of

You might enjoy having a dialogue with this great man of
science. Please be respectful. His contact information:

John Webster
2148 Engineering Centers Building
1550 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706 Tel: 608/263-1574
Fax: 608/265-9239
E-mail: webster@...

So, what is next on Dr. John Webster-Mengele's plate?
He's graduated to more sophisticated forms of torture.

He'll soon be testing Taser stun guns on live pigs.

Since 1970, 70 humans have been killed after being
stunned by law enforcement officers applying 50,000
"compassionate" volts of electricity to their bodies.

Webster's idiotic theory is that these people died because
they were under the influence of one drug or another, so
what will our scientist do?

He will first place a group of pigs under the influence of
anesthetics, thereby negating the premise of his own poorly
designed study. He will then dose the pigs with cocaine and
stun them with high voltage electrical shocks. What a guy.

The University of Wisconsin study is funded by a $500,000 United
States Department of Justice grant. Department of Justice? This
sounds like the Department of Injustice to me. And who is the man
of compassion who heads the Department of Justice? None other than
Senor Alberto Gonzales, the hombre whose legal counsel led to the
offensively disgusting abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The
same racist muchacho who determined that the Geneva Convention
should not be applied to Arab prisoners who practice Islam by
reading the Koran.

Just what is the University of Wisconsin thinking by tolerating
such horrendous studies? Dr. Eric Sandgren heads the committee
which oversees animal research. That's like having Adolf Eichmann
peer review Adolf Hitler's work. Sandgren's comment:

"I think this is an outstanding example of one of those
questions that can only be answered using animals."

You might also share your thoughts with Dr. Webster-Mengele's
approving associate:

Eric Sandgren
Associate Professor of Experimental Pathology
Phone: 608-263-8870
E-mail: sandgren@...

What can be done with researchers like Webster? Warning.
Bureaucrats like Ashcroft and Rumsfeld are searching for
a few good men. Rumor has it that they will draft Webster
and send him to Guantanamo.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Today is Marathon Tuesday, Because:

Ever hear that expression, "Operators are standing by?"

Well, today, just one operator is standing by, and his name
is Howard Lyman. That's right! You can call Howard direct
and say these magic words to him:

"Howard, I want to order me one of those "Mad Cowboy" DVD's."

Why is today Marathon Tuesday? Because, on this day,
Howard's goal is to sell 1,000 copies of his extraordinary
documentary. Howard will be personally thanking each purchaser.
Call Howard Lyman, the Mad Cowboy:

(703) 461-3393
Fax: (703) 461-9783   E-Mail: hlyman@...

Read the review of Howard's new "Mad Cowboy" feature film:

<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/1969>

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Mad Cowboy's New Documentary

See: <http://www.MadCowboy.com >

I am a big fan of documentaries.
I am also a big fan of Howard Lyman, also known as
The Mad Cowboy.

All documentaries begin with a premise. Hundreds of hours
of film are then shot, and once that is accomplished
(somebody yells, "Alright, enough, already!) the producers
and directors retire into a cave containing sophisticated
post production) machines. These cinematic artists, some
very good and some downright awful, then proceed to mold raw
materials, clay, and brick, and mortar, and film, into their
own finished works of art.

There is nothing worse than having high expectations for
an important themed documentary which falls flat during
the first two minutes of screening. I had such an
experience recently when watching a documentary about
the artificial sweetener, Nutrasweet. That low-budget,
poorly written, poorly edited attempt at film-making,
much like aspartame, left a bitter taste in my mouth.

During the past five years, I've attended dozens of major
animal rights and vegetarian conferences and seen the same
poorly made documentaries making the rounds, and have been
disappointed that such films were not a little bit better
made so that they could have appeared in mainstream
movie houses. Somehow, most documentaries have loose
or broken links in their chains so that the finished product
lacks commercial appeal to movie house owners. Such producers
and directors then blame mainstream America for not
exhibiting their film in neighborhood theatres, losing sight of
the fact that their documentary was either poorly made,
poorly written, or had appeal for just the choir, and not the
entire congregation.

Which brings me to The Mad Cowboy.

I received a package in the mail this week containing a
preview version of the (three-years in the making) documentary
intended to tell Howard Lyman's story. With trepedation, I took
the disk and inserted it into my DVD player. During the moment
or so that it took to turn on the TV and load the disk, I had
these thoughts:

A few years ago, Howard Lyman appeared as a guest on "Oprah."
The subject that day was meat. Howard discussed E. coli and
salmonella and mad cow disease. Oprah remarked,

"I've eaten my last hamburger."

As American housewives (who comprise the greatest part of Oprah's
audience) heard that message, so too did traders in the cattle
futures market. Word quickly spread. America will no longer eat
beef! Speculators began to sell contracts and cattle futures
plummeted. Fortunes were lost in a few minutes of trading.
By the end of the day, many millions of dollars were lost by
panicking options traders either buying or selling their calls
and puts.

A few of the losers got more than angry. They got even. A suit
was filed against Howard Lyman and Oprah. In America, freedom of
speech is merely an illusion. It is now illegal to criticize an
agricultural product in thirteen states.

This was one case that Oprah could not afford to lose. This was
much more than just hamburgers. This was about an industry
attempt to muzzle the press. Would the media even be tempted
to ever tell the truth if Oprah Winfrey lost to the cattlemen?

I've read the book version of "Mad Cowboy," and books do not
get much better than this one. Howard's account of how rich the
soil used to be on his farm, with earthworms in rich loam, is
written with great emotion. One college education and hundreds
of chemicals later, Howard managed to turn the soil on his own
farm into an asbestos-like artificial fiber.

"Mad Cowboy" picks up where Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" left
off. The book is brilliantly written and filled with details of
the toxins in our foods. Read the book and you'll soon be buying
organic fruits and vegetables. The alternatives are simply
not worth it. Howard is often asked about the difference in price
between organically grow vegetables and those treated with
chemical fertilizers and pesticides. His response?

"Can you afford the cost of cancer?"

So, I inserted that DVD into my player and sat back on my
living room couch to watch Howard Lyman's documentary,
wondering, "Would the movie live up to the book?"

I could have written a one-word review of "Mad Cowboy,"
the movie. This could have been a very short column:

PERFECTION.

Now for the longer version: SUPERIOR PRODUCTION VALUES,
BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, MAGNIFICENTLY EDITED!

I laughed with Howard as he charmed members of Congress,
meat producers, and government bureaucrats. I felt saddened
as tears swelled in Howard's eyes as he stood at the graves
with families whose children had died from Mad Cow Disease.
From research laboratory to slaughterhouse, to farm
sanctuary to activists to lecture halls, this documentary
is the Mad Cowboy story. American hero. American legend.

Your purchase of a copy of "Mad Cowboy" will do more than
enhance your own DVD library. Your ownership of the Mad Cowboy
documentary will change more than one life, as you spend an
evening with family or friends who need to see this powerful
message-film.

Your purchase of "Mad Cowboy" will help to continue Howard
Lyman's one-man mission to make this a better world for
all people and animals. The hundreds of thousands of miles
that Howard Lyman travels each year will be partially
subsidized by proceeds of this documentary's sale. Do it
for yourself, and do it for Howard, the man who has given
so much of himself without ever having asked for your thanks.

Mad Cowboy, the extraordinary new documentary, is $20 + $2.50
shipping and handling. Support Howard Lyman's important work
by ordering one or more copies today. Go to:

<http://www.madcowboy.com >

You can order the DVD online via Credit Card and PayPal
OR:
Order DIRECTLY from Howard Lyman: Phone: (703) 461-3393
Fax: (703) 461-9783 E-Mail: hlyman@...

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Is Monsanto Guilty of Massive Tax Fraud?

Even if this one goes to the Supreme Court, even Clarence
Thomas (Monsanto's ex-attorney) ain't gonna help 'em.
Neither will ex-business assoicates such as Ashcroft
and Rumsdeld. Nobody commits tax fraud and gets away
with it in America when there is a passionate whistle
blower.

Tweet, tweet, TWEET!

I first became aware of milk's problems a short time before
Monsanto received FDA approval for their genetically
engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH).

I am very proud of the fact that my Freedom of Information
Act requests, Citizen Petitions, and constant letters and
phone calls of complaint to the Food and Drug Administration
resulted in a temporary closing of Monsanto's European factory
last year.

I caught Monsanto with their GMO pants down and blew the
whistle on their shoddy manufacturing procedures. Monsanto
very well may have genetically engineered new forms of bacteria,
which now pose a threat to all of humankind.

Their factory was closed, their supply of genetically engineered
bovine growth hormone was temporarily compromised, but they are
now in full production again, stockpiling product for the next
emergency.

So, what is the result of having friends in high places?
To the benefit of Monsanto, and the detriment of American
taxpayers, Monsanto was granted a deferred tax benefit of
$106 million in 2004 as a result of financial losses
directly related to my actions.

This financial gift (sneaky government maneuvering) was awarded
to Monsanto under the guise of a little know and phony program
called the American Jobs Act of 2004 (ACJA) on October 30, 2004.

Funny thing about the American Jobs Act of 2004. This 650-page
Bill will reward American companies with $137 billion in tax
writeoffs over a ten year period, but here is the really
astounding part. Companies are eligible only if they do not
employ people overseas. In other words, do you see a bit of irony
here? Monsanto was hurt because their European factory could not'
supply product. Their losses cover the European operation, which
is counter to the purpose of this law. Somebody is screwing with
the American taxpayer.

In 2003, Monsanto wrote off a loss of $83 million. Last year,
that lost mushroomed to $230 million. The $106 million subsidy
is a gift from the George Bush government to those who have a
history of poisoning the world's children with innovations
such as rbGH, Agent Orange, dioxins, NutraPoison, herbicides,
pesticides, and other such wonderful gifts to humankind.

I've reported Monsanto's illegal write off to the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS). My prediction: Corporate heads will
soon roll.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Soy Estrogen Acts Like Carbon Monoxide

If you were sad and desperate, and decided to end your
own life by turning on your car's engine in a closed
garage with no ventilation, the vehicle's exhaust fumes
containing carbon monoxide would overwhelm your body
and might succeed in ending your life.

Hemoglobin is a protein contained within human blood.
As blood passes through one's lungs, it picks up oxygen
from the air we breathe. Molecules of oxygen attach to
hemoglobin molecules, which circulate through the body,
nourishing organs and tissues with an essential gaseous
life-sustaining element.

Your car's engine produces carbon monoxide, which competes
with oxygen for a place on the hemoglobin molecule. Carbon
monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas, displaces oxygen
from the blood so that hemoglobin receptors receive the
carbon monoxide, rather than the oxygen. In that sense,
carbon monoxide more readily attaches to hemoglobin, and
should be called an oxygen inhibitor, or oxygen interruptor.
So, what carbon monoxide does is mimic the action of oxygen
by attaching to the hemoglobin molecule. Instead of
oxygen-sustaining life, the body receives a toxin that
initially creates slight headaches followed by painful
frontal headaches often followed by nausea, dizziness,
convulsions, coma, and death.

Soy phytochemicals work much the same way in the human body.
Soybeans do not contain estrogen, although many poorly-informed
physicians confuse this concept. Soy actually contains
phytoestrogens. "Phyto" means "plant." Plant estrogens
cannot create the same behavioral or physiological effects
as estrogen, but they can fool the body into believing that
cells are dosed with estrogen-like hormones.

Real estrogen is a feminizing steroid hormone which defines a
woman's essence. Real estrogen is also a growth proliferator
that can become a pre or post-menopausal's woman's worst nightmare.
Estrogen, when internally secreted and combined with protein
growth hormones (hGH, IGF-I), often synergizes to create uterine,
ovarian, or breast cancers.

Soy phytoestrogens do not induce the same cellular proliferation
as do human steroid hormones, but they do share a similar name.
That is where the soy controversy confusion occurs. Much like the
binding of carbon monoxide to the hemoglobin molecule, soy
phytoestrogens bind to beta-like estrogen receptors in human cells
and interrupt the natural mechanisms of estrogen. In this sense,
soy actually prevents the dangerous growth effects normally
associated with true estrogen. Therefore, soy inhibits the
mechanisms of estrogen. Soy becomes a beneficial endocrine
disruptor.

It's not a good thing to have carbon monoxide take the place of
oxygen on a hemoglobin molecule. The adverse is true in the case
of phytoestrogens. When these non-steroid-like substances bind to
the cell's receptors and take the place of real steroid hormones,
they eliminate nature's perfect hazard for women. In that sense,
phytoestogens from soy prevent breast, uterine, and ovarian
cancers from initiating and proliferating.

Hooray for soy estrogens, which are entirely different from the
real thing. In this sense, soy consumption is a blessing, not a
hazard.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
_________________________
Monday March 28
_________________________

Trickle Down Economics

"I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends."

The Beatles--1967

I first became of milk's problems a short time before
Monsanto received FDA approval for their genetically
engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH).

History will one day record the George Bush government
as the United States of Monsantoland. With men like
Ashcroft and Rumsfeld having such intimate ties and
receiving past financial bonuses from Monsanto, it
is no wonder that this biotech company continues to
be the recipient of government subsidies and favors.

I am very proud of the fact that my Freedom of Information
Act requests, Citizen Petitions, and constant letters and
phone calls of complaint to the Food and Drug Administration
resulted in a temporary closing of Monsanto's European factory
last year.

I caught Monsanto with their GMO pants down and blew the
whistle on their shoddy manufacturing procedures. Monsanto
very well may have genetically engineered new forms of bacteria,
which now pose a threat to all of humankind.

Their factory was closed, their supply of genetically engineered
bovine growth hormone was temporarily compromised, but they are
now in full production again, stockpiling product for the next
emergency.

So, what is the result of having friends in high places?
To the benefit of Monsanto, and the detriment of American
taxpayers, Monsanto was granted a deferred tax benefit of
$106 million in 2004 as a result of financial losses
directly related to my actions.

This financial gift (sneaky government maneuvering) was awarded
to Monsanto under the guise of a little know and phony program
called the American Jobs Act of 2004 (ACJA) on October 30, 2004.

Funny thing about the American Jobs Act of 2004. This 650-page
Bill will reward American companies with $137 billion in tax
writeoffs over a ten year period, but here is the really
astounding part. Companies are eligible only if they do not
employ people overseas. In other words, do you see a bit of irony
here? Monsanto was hurt because their European factory could not'
supply product. Their losses cover the European operation, which
is counter to the purpose of this law. Somebody is screwing with
the American taxpayer.

In 2003, Monsanto wrote off a loss of $83 million. Last year,
that lost mushroomed to $230 million. The $106 million subsidy
is a gift from the George Bush government to those who have a
history of poisoning the world's children with innovations
such as rbGH, Agent Orange, dioxins, NutraPoison, herbicides,
pesticides, and other such wonderful gifts to humankind.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Holy Saturday

This is a very special three-day weekend for Christians.
Today (March 26, 2005) is Holy Saturday. Yesterday was
Good Friday. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. On this traditional
weekend of prayer, observation, and introspection, I often
give thought to one of the many mysteries and miracles
of the Bible which continues to perplex me. I welcome your
assistance the following riddle of biblical proportions
which baffles me.

How did the Caananites develop a technology to put milk into
a bottle and keep it from poisoning thirsty consumers? Three
thousand years ago, there were no outlets in which to plug
General Electric refrigerators. Was milk ultra-pasteurized?
Did the Israelites put drawings of missing prophets on the
sides of their milk bottles?

MILK AND THE BIBLE (KING JAMES VERSION)

JUDGES 4:19

"And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water
to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk,
and gave him drink, and covered him.

RIDDLE:

How did a Bedouin open a bottle of non-pasteurized milk in
the desert heat three thousand years ago?

ANSWER:

Verrrry carefully!

JUDGES 4:21

"Then (she) took a nail of the tent, and took a hammer in
her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into
his temple...for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died."

If the nail didn't kill him, the milk may have done the job.
What powerful stench awaited biblical milk drinkers? Did the
children of Israel purchase sicks-packs?

In the third edition of his dairy textbook, Modern Dairy
Products, Lincoln Lampert writes:

"A drop of sour milk may contain more than 50 million
bacteria...a new generation may be formed every 20 minutes."

Moses was given a list of instructions to follow upon
entering the land of milk and honey. These dietary and
health laws preceded modern technologies, and yet
anticipated many of the problems caused by contaminated milk
products. Although swarms of bacteria could not be seen, as
microscopes were not yet available to the early descendants
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God tells Moses in Leviticus
11:41-43 that:

"Every swarming creature that swarms upon the earth is a
loathsome thing."

Moses is instructed:

"Do not make your souls loathsome with any swarming creature
that swarms, and you must not make yourselves unclean by
them and actually get unclean by them."

So...where did those bottles of milk come from, where were
they stored, and who had the courage to drink something that
must have stunk to high heaven?

In any event, should part of your Easter celebration include
a Sunday meal with friends and loved ones, make it a dairy-free
event. Enjoy your blessed milk and cheese-free weekend. Remember
that if God created all living things, then God must bless in
his own way all living creatures. His love must incude blessings
for the tiniest of salmonella, listeria, and E. coli. Try not
to tempt fate by inviting these creatures to your dinner table.
God give man free will to say: NotMilk!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Meaningful Medal; Meaningless Gesture

Serving Dead Animals With Compassion

The Albert Schweitzer Medal is a tribute awarded to
deserving animal rights activists by the Animal Welfare
Institute in Washington, D.C. Recipients are also given
a $1,000 honorarium. This should be a yearly honor like
Pulitzers or Nobels, but the extremely discerning panel
of judges has awarded their prize on only four occasions
during the past decade.

The medal is named after Albert Schweitzer, who devoted
the majority of his life to helping the poor and
impoverished, working as a medical missionary in Africa.
Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953,
and a famous letter written to his daughter a few weeks
befOre his death at age 80 offered his final revelation
regarding the sanctity of life. In that letter, Dr.
Schweitzer rationalized that all living crEatures were
spiritually connected to one another, and made a vow to
live his remaining time on earth as a vegetarian.

One year, Jane Goodall was the recipient.
I've written about Dr. Goodall:

<http://www.notmilk.com/goodall.html >

This past year, the Albert Schweitzer Medal was Awarded to:

Gail Eisnitz

I've also written about Gail. See:

<http://notmilk.com/deb/081599.html >

Gail Eisnitz is my friend and I love her for the sacrifices
made which compromised her own health so that the world
could learn about what really goes on in slaughterhouses.

Gail's book, "SLAUGHTERHOUSE," is one of the major reasons
that I gave up eating meat.

At the 2004 ceremony in which Gail was given her Schweitzer
medal, the presenter of that award was the President of Whole
Foods Supermarkets, John MacKay. The good news is that John is
a vegan. He is also a staunch supporter of animal welfare laws.

The bad news is that his Whole Foods Markets sell cuts of meat
that once represented arms, legs, and other body parts of
living sentient creatures. These are the same animals that Gail
Eisnitz risked her own life to film as an undercover operative
in many of America's slaughterhouses.

Whole Foods sells organic meats. Does an organically raised
cow die in any less painful manner than a factory farm cow?
It makes no difference at all to the butcher holding a knife.

The executioner's carotid-artery slicing stroke brings brutal
pain to creatures who often wake up after being stunned,
choking to death on their own blood. The pork sold at Whole
Foods Markets comes from pigs who are often conscious as
they are dipped into boiling hot water to removes their bristles.
Eisnitz once bristled at that thought, and I own some of
those painful-to-watch undercover films taken by Gail.

The dilemma faced by John MacKay is that he does not eat
meat. By that action, he is a man of great compassion.
However, his markets sell meat, but not just the traditional
meats sold in most supermarkets. His is a specialty store,
so that you can dine on rare and exotic animals too.

I visited the Edgewater, New Jersey store and found Phil,
the butcher, to be quite helpful. He offered various cuts of
unidentifiable animals to me, and proudly related that the
ostrich meat was freshly killed.

There were venison streaks, but the rabbit meat was not being
sold that day. Phil spoke proudly of his veal. With all of the
compassionate slaughter campaigns and hundreds of New York
area restaurants taking Farm Sanctuary's pledge to no longer
sell veal, one wonders if and when John MacKay will join the
bandwagon. Perhaps he will become next year's Schweitzer
medallist by doing so.

I could never imagine Gail Eisnitz returning the favor by
presenting a Schweitzer medal to this so-called hero who earns
his daily bread by selling dead animals for human consumption.

If the Animal Welfare Institute, which awards the Albert
Schweitzer Medal, had pigs and geese and sheep and cows
on its Board of Directors, do you imagine that John MacKay
would receive a medal or emcee the medal ceremony?
Just what was the Animal Welfare Institute thinking when
they selected this man of contradiction to honor Gail?

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

West Wing, Ice Cream, & Parkinson's Disease

PREDICTION: Last night's episode (March 23, 2005) of
"West Wing" will earn Alan Alda an Emmy Award. Life
in the White House is magnificently portrayed each
Wednesday night during prime time. Last evening President
Jed Bartlett, portrayed by Martin Sheen, shared a scene
with Alda that will forever remain a NotMilk moment.

There they were, late in the show, two political
adversaries finding common ground in the White House
kitchen, pigging out by dipping teaspoons into four
5-gallon tubs of various ice creams. Sheen to Alda:
"Here, try the pistachio." Two actors portrayed the
most powerful men in America sharing a snack that
represented a dangerously unhealthful irony.

In the story line, President Bartlett's second term is
coming to an end, as the symptoms of our TV president's
Parkinson Disease accelerate...which brings us to the
March, 2005 issue of the Journal Neurology.
(2005 Mar 22;64(6):1047-51)

CONSIDER: Twelve pounds of milk are required to produce
one pound of ice cream.

JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY STUDY TITLE: Consumption of milk and
calcium in midlife and the future risk of Parkinson disease.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between milk and
calcium intake in midlife and the risk of Parkinson disease.

METHODS: From 1965 to 1968, 7,504 men (ages 45 to 68) were
studied for 30 years (1995-1998) in the Honolulu Heart Program.

RESULTS: During the follow-up phase of the study, 128 subjects
developed Parkinson's Disease. Incidences of Parkinson's
Disease were compared to milk intake. Researchers found no
relationship between calcium intake and Parkinson's Disease
(from milk or non-milk sources). However, researchers did find
a 2.3-fold increase of Parkinson's Disease in the high-milk
intake group when compared to the group of men who consumed
no milk.

SCIENTISTS CONCLUDE: "Findings suggest that milk intake is
associated with an increased risk of Parkinson disease."

ADDITIONAL SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT: Research suggests that cow's
milk lactoferrins are responsible for the onset of
Parkinson's Disease:

"These data suggest that lactoferrin receptors on vulnerable
neurons may increase intraneuronal iron levels and contribute
to the degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neurons in
Parkinson disease."

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
October, 1995, 10;92(21):9603-7.

"These results suggest that lactotransferrin may
participate actively in the mechanism of neuronal
degeneration in Parkinson's disease."

Acta Neuropathology, 1996;91(6):566-72.

"According to these findings, disruption in the expression
of these proteins in the brain is probably one of the
important causes of the altered brain iron metabolism in
age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including
Parkinson's Disease..."

Brain Research Review, 1998 Aug;27(3):257-67.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The Zit Letter

Mark Francis flyinhornets@... wrote:

"I wanted to write to thank you for your information on
milk and zits. Milk has been my favorite drink since I
was a little kid. When I hit twenty, for some reason my
face started breaking out. I'm now 33 and JUST found your
page three days ago. I've been searching for the cause of
acne for 13 years! It's been a LONG, PAINFUL AND EMBARASSING
journey. I'm sure you've heard all the stories, but the
things I've done or NOT done because of my acne...well,
it's been a rough 13 years.

"While I just discovered your website, along with:

http://milksucks.com

"I can say in the past three days, my skin is clearing up like
a puddle of water in an Arizona desert. I am 80% sure that this
is the problem. I will be 100% sure in about three weeks when for
the first time, my face is 95-100% clear. I say this because
of the results I am seeing in only three days. I have 15-20
spots that are slowly but surely clearing."

Like many thousands of persons with acne, Mark has discovered
the Notmilk therapy. It's not the gels and creams that you
put on your face that clears up acne. It's what you don't put
into your mouth that makes the difference.

Acne occurs when steroids (androgens) stimulate the sebaceous
glands within the skin's hair follicles. These glands then
secrete an oily substance called sebum. When sebum, bacteria
and dead skin cells build up on your skin, the pores become
blocked, creating a zit.

"...80 percent of cows that are giving milk are pregnant and
are throwing off hormones continuously. Progesterone breaks
down into androgens, which have been implicated as a factor
in the development of acne..."

Frank Oski, M.D. (Director, Department of Pediatrics,
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
___________________________

"Acne usually begins at puberty, when an increase in androgens
causes an increase in the size and activity of pilosebaceous
glands....if a food is suspected, it should be omitted for
several weeks and then eaten in substantial quantities to
determine if acne worsens."

MERCK Manual, Merck & Company, 2000
___________________________

"Acne is an end-organ hyper-response to androgens...These
data show that sebaceous glands are stimulated by androgens
to varying degrees and support the theory of an end-organ
response in acne."

British Journal of Dermatology, 1998 Jul, 139:1
___________________________

"Hormones found in cow's milk include: Estradiol, Estriol,
Progesterone, Testosterone, 17-Ketosteroids, Corticosterone,
Vitamin D, insulin-like growth factor, growth hormone,
prolactin, oxytocin..."

Journal of Endocrine Reviews, 14(6) 1992
___________________________

"We studied the effects of growth hormone (GH) and
insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), alone and with androgen,
on sebaceous epithelial cell growth...IGF-I was the most
potent stimulus of DNA synthesis. These data are consistent
with the concept that increases in GH and IGF production
contribute in complementary ways to the increase in sebum
production during puberty."

Endocrinology, 1999 Sep, 140:9, 4089-94
___________________________

"...serum IGF-I levels increased significantly in the milk
drinking group, an increase of about 10% above baseline-but
was unchanged in the control group."

Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 99,
no. 10. October 1999

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Celiac Disease and Dairy Products

The March, 2005 issue of the journal Digestion (2005
Mar. 16;71(2):106-110) notes a powerful correlation
between Celiac Disease and lactose intolerance.

The Celiac Disease Foundation's (CDF) official position is that
the cause of celiac disease is "unknown." CDF's definition of
celiac disease:

http://www.celiac.org

"A lifelong digestive disorder, found in individuals who are
genetically susceptible, that results in damage to the small
intestine by interfering with the absorption of nutrients.
Celiac Disease (CD) is unique in that a specific food component,
gluten, has been identified as the culprit. Gluten is the common
name for the offending proteins in specific cereal grains that
are harmful to persons with CD. These proteins are found in
all forms of wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, kamut,
einkorn, and faro), and related grains, rye, barley, and tritcale.
Damage to the mucosal surface of the small intestine is caused by
an immunologically toxic reaction to the ingestion of gluten."

I have met dozens of people whose loved ones have been diagnosed
with Celiac Disease. I have communicated with hundreds of others
by email. In every case, those who are diagnosed with Celiac Disease
have also identified milk and dairy products as a culprit.

In any event, the March issue of the journal Digestion
notes the strong relationship between Celiac Disease and
intolerance to milk.

A group of scientists at the Catholic University, Department
of Internal Medicine, Rome, Italy (Ojettim et. al.), have
observed a high prevalence of Celiac Disease patients who
had previously been diagnosed as lactose intolerant, leading
them to conclude:

"Celiac Disease is much more common than previously suspected."

People diagnosed with Celiac Disease are aware of milk's
harmful affects. One day, the medical community and Celiac
Disease Foundation might also take notice.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Raw Milk Warning

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued
a Consumer Advisory regarding the consumption of raw
milk and cheeses made from raw milk. According to FDA,
consumers eating raw dairy products are at risk of getting:

"Listeriosis, brucellosis, salmonellosis, and tuberculosis."

<http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2005/NEW01165.html >

FDA's advisory concludes:

"FDA further advises that there is some risk of infection from
a number of pathogenic bacteria for anyone who eats raw milk
soft cheese from any source."

On March 16, 2005, the New York Times reported:

"One infant has died and dozens of New Yorkers have
contracted tuberculosis from 2001 through 2004 by eating
cheese made from raw milk that was contaminated with
bacteria, city and federal officials said yesterday."

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Glutamic Idiots

I received the following letter from one of my readers:

"Dear Notmilkman,

I think soy is naturally high in L-Glutamine or Glutamic
acid. I think it can tend to glue up the brain and make
the thoughts sticky. I know soy can damage the thyroid
and eventually the pituitary. People with bad thyroids
can get foggy thinking and certain pains in muscles.
When the pitutary swells too much from the above it can
press too much on the eyeball and possibly the brain.

(Name and Email Address withheld)"
______________________________________________________
In his book, 'Prescription for Nutritional Healing,"
Dr. James Balch says this about glutamic acid, one
of 28 amino acids:

"L-Glutamic Acid (or glutamate) increases firing of
neurons in the nervous system. It metabolizes sugars and
fats, and detoxifies ammonia when used with L-glutamine.
This amino acid also helps correct personality disorders.
Besides glucose, glutamic acid is the only compound used
for brain fuel. The brain converts glutamic acid to a
compound that regulates brain cell activity."

Some misinformants claim that soy is dangerous because
it contains glutamic acid.

The doctor putting out the greatest amount of disinformation
on that subject is Russell Blaylock, author of "Excitotoxins."
Dr. Blaylock is right on about his criticism of Aspartame,
the artificial sweetener. Aspartame (Nutrapoison) has
three components: Phenylalanine, Methanol, and Aspartic
Acid. Blaylock (and other poorly informed physicians like
him, including Mercola) believe that aspartic acid is poison.
What ignorance.

Both Mercola and Blaylock are meat-eating dairy-consuming
ignoramuses. That is their choice, of course, but their
obligation, having taken the Hippocratic oath, is
to disseminate truth, not lies. To eat chicken and not
tofu because of the glutamic acid "threat" is to
consume nearly six times the amount of glutamic acid.
To Dr. Blaylock: Knock, knock. Wake up and climb upon
the bandwagon of truth.

Having done research to determine the level of glutamic acid
in various portions of food, let me share the facts with you.

One portion (100 grams) of human breast milk contains
0.17 grams of glutamic acid. Just for the record, a 100-gram
portion of soymilk contains almost four times the amount of
glutamic acid as does breast milk, 0.64 grams.

Both Blaylock and Mercola label soymilk as being dangerous
because of that relatively high amount of glutamic acid. Take
note that a 100-gram portion of tofu (Mori-nu silken soft)
contains 0.80 grams of glutamic acid.

Both Blaylock and Mercola are cheeseheads, and continue
to eat large amounts of fish and chicken. If their claim
that soymilk is bad because it contains four times the
amount of glutamic acid as does human breast milk,
conclude what you will about their advice after reading
the amounts of glutamic acid in hundred-gram portions
of animal products:

human milk = 0.17 grams
soy milk = 0.64 grams (3.8 times that of human milk)
soft tofu = 0.80 grams (4.7 times human milk)
broiled salmon = 3.23 grams (19 times)
broiled steak = 3.35 grams (19.7 times)
broiled chicken (white meat) = 4.63 grams (27.2 times)
cheddar cheese = 6.09 grams = (35.8 times)

One might assume that the brains of men like Dr.
Blaylock and Dr. Mercola not have been compromised
by internal secretions of aspartic acid. Instead, it
is clear that these two poorly informed physicians
have neurons and synapses ovedosed by copious amounts
of assanine acid.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

An Orange A Day Keeps The Osteopath Away

Human breast milk is undoubtedly nature's perfect food
for an infant. A 100-gram portion of human breast milk
contains 33 milligrams of calcium. Please keep the number
"33" in mind while reading this column.

The same 100-gram portion of Florida oranges contains
43 milligrams of calcium, thirty percent more bone
building calcium than human breast milk! Everybody
should enjoy a daily orange.

Enjoy a handful of dried apricots (67 mg of calcium)
or a snack of raisins (62 mg) or become a pistachio
nut (161 mg) addict like I am.

In my kitchen, parsley (203 mg) is used more than just
to garnish dinners. Parsley is minced into salads,
cole slaw, soups, and stocks. Speaking of cole slaw...
raw cabbage (49 mg) contains more calcium than human
breast milk too. I add shredded carrots (37 mg) to my
cole slaw recipe.

Tonight, I'll be cooking a pasta/bean soup with chopped
escarole (81 mg). The white beans contain 135 mg of calcium
per 100 gram portion, more than four times the amount of
calcium contained in a portion of human breast milk.

My favorite of all soups is cream of watercress, made with
freshly made unsweetened soy milk. The watercress contains
151 milligrams of calcium. Soymilk contains more "absorbable"
calcium than even cow's milk. See:

<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/1691 >

My favorite calcium-rich food is hummus, made with
chickpeas (150 mg) and tahini, or ground sesame seeds
(1160 mg).

Don't be fooled by dairy industry marketing. Milk
producers pretend to own the monopoly on calcium.
It is clear that they do not.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Milk, Baseball, and Politics

In a few days it will be spring. That is the time in which
little boys and grown men's thoughts turn to baseball.

Weightlifters and Olympic athletes have been taking
powerful protein milk growth hormones, armed with the
knowledge that they cannot be detected. The most powerful
growth hormone in a cow's body is identical to the
most powerful growth hormone in the human body. Growth
hormones work, and today's baseball players are as tall
and taller than yesteryears NBA basketball players.

Some ballplayers have taken steroid hormones, although only
two have admitted as such. One wrote a book, while the other
testified after having been given immunity by a federal
prosecutor. He now plays for the New York Yankees while
recovering from a pituitary tumor.

The great sportswriter Grantland Rice once wrote:

"It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game."

I remember my eleven-year-old Little League days. I once
tagged a runner out at the plate in a decisive play, but
dropped the ball. My error was not witnessed by the ump,
and I picked up the ball in time for an out call. The
sliding runner saw the play, and argued with the umpire,
who would not reverse his decision. It took about three
moments of guilt for me to admit to the ump that I dropped
the ball. When the ump signaled safe, my manager ran from
the dugout screaming. After I admitted the truth, everybody
was mad at me...my teammates, the opposite team (who dissed
me for a long time), even many of the parents.

Would I do the same thing today? Damned right.

I have uncovered enormous evidence that dairy products are
unhealthy for humans. There exists no member of the dairy
industry who wishes to debate these issues. No dairy scientist,
farmer, dairy professor, dairy processor, or dairy marketing
person will ever accept my challenge to debate the NotMilk
issues on national television. Do we trust their
marketing decisions, or carefully analyze the evidence?

Milk naturally contains powerful steroid and protein hormones.
The change in our society is something that should not be
ignored. As children eat triple the amount of concentrated
dairy (cheese and ice cream) in 2005 as they did in 1970, we
witness earlier sexual maturity in young girls, an obesity
epidemic in greater than 50% of all children, and soaring
asthma and diabetes rates in school kids.

The dairy position is clear. Their $500 million advertising
budget is about $500 million greater than mine. That's how
they will share their philosophy with Americans. Truth?
That's just their version.

Truth can only be reached when all participants honestly and
openly use all available tools and resources to analyze an
issue. An election is simple. Win or lose, the actual votes
must stand on their own.

Machines can only do a somewhat competent job, but examining
each ballot is absolute. With a baseball play, if enough cameras
capture a play from enough angles, an absolute decision can
determine an outcome. With dairy products, real science from
peer-reviewed scientific journals have determined that cow's
milk should not be consumed by humans.

Truth? That's justice, and the American way!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Happy Fat-Irish St. Patty's Day

St. Patrick's Day falls on Thursday, March 17th, but
that did not stop my local supermarket (Shoprite,
Emerson, NJ) from its yearly 7 cents per pound cabbage
promotion which began on Sunday, March 6th.

Over the years, I've noticed that the price of gefilte
fish increases a few days before the Jewish Passover, but
corned beef and cabbage prices always seem to hit rock
bottom before St. Patty's Day. Can somebody figure this
one out for me?

In any event, why do I wish you a happy "fat" St. Patrick's
Day? This one is all about Ireland, cheese crackers, and
obesity.

It seems that somebody's taken notice that Europe loves
cheese crackers. The Irish seem to crave them even more
than other nationalities, devouring two times as many
bags per capita than the rest of Europe. The English also
savor their cheese chips, and it is no coincidence that
these two nations lead the rest of Europe in escalating
obesity rates.

New data provided by a market research company called Key
Note suggest that both Ireland and England experience high
obesity rates due to the consumption of cheezy chips. See:

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-1512913,00.html >

Tiny URL: <http://tinyurl.com/5c35z >

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Transfer Factor, Colostrum, and Lactoferrin

Most snake oils do little more than allow scam artists
to become wealthy at the expense of your health. However,
one poison making the rounds on the Internet is enough to
want to make me stand up and applaud FDA's efforts to
control alternative health therapies and supplements.

Lactoferrins and immunoglobulins are passed on to
mammalian infants from their mother's breast milk.
It is appropriate during an infant's enormous growth
stage to receive these substances, but those same
chemical messengers shoud not reach the unthinking
brain of an adult.

Remarkably, some adults are conned into ingesting
lactoferrins from other species. In this world of Mad
Cow Disease and other bovine diseases, the marketing
behind Colostrum, Transfer Factors, and Lactoferrins
allows normally rational people to subordinate and
transfer innate reason to idiocy. More Re: Colostrum:

http://notmilk.com/deb/053099.html

Thanks to Ian Goddard iamgoddard@...
for the following references:
___________________________________________________

Brain Res 1994: "The iron-binding protein
lactotransferrin is present in pathologic lesions in a
variety of neurodegenerative disorders [...] An
excessive accumulation of lactotransferrin, as well as
transported iron and aluminum, may lead to a cytotoxic
effect resulting in the formation of intracellular
lesions and neuronal death."

http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=7953673

Acta Neuropathol 1996: "These results suggest that
lactotransferrin may participate actively in the
mechanism of neuronal degeneration in Parkinson's
disease."

http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=8781654

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995: "These data suggest
that lactoferrin receptors on vulnerable neurons may
increase intraneuronal iron levels and contribute to
the degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neurons in
Parkinson disease."

http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=7568181

Brain Res Brain Res Rev 1998: "New findings on the
role of LfR (lactotransferrin receptor) [...] in brain
iron transport, obtained during the past 3 years, are
important advances in the fields of physiology and
pathophysiology of brain iron metabolism. According to
these findings, disruption in the expression of these
proteins in the brain is probably one of the important
causes of the altered brain iron metabolism in
age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including
Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's
disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis."

http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=9729418

Brain Research 1994: "The iron-binding protein
lactotransferrin is present in pathologic lesions in a
variety of neurodegenerative disorders [...] An
excessive accumulation of lactotransferrin, as well as
transported iron and aluminum, may lead to a cytotoxic
effect resulting in the formation of intracellular
lesions and neuronal death."

http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=7953673

Biochemistry 2003: "Lactoferrin has previously been
identified in amyloid deposits in the cornea, seminal
vesicles, and brain. We report in this paper a highly
amyloidogenic region of lactoferrin (sequence of
NAGDVAFV) [...] forms amyloid fibrils at pH 7.4 when
incubated at 37 degrees C. [...] We suggest that such
a process could be generally important in the
formation of amyloid fibrils in vivo since the
identification of both full-length protein and protein
fragments is common in ex vivo amyloid deposits."

http://calorierestriction.org/pmid/?n=12525164

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Vitamin D-3 Can Cause Death by Overdose

Vitamin D-3 is used to kill rats!
Why is it added to milk
for our children to drink?

The title of a brochure produced by the Ministry
of Environment in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,
is: "Safe and Sensible Pest Control"

The brochure represents a series of "safe and sensible"
pest control measures, according to the Canadian Health
Minister.

Many methods of mice and rat control are discussed. I prefer
the most foolproof of methods: Don't let them eat your food.
Store all foods in refrigerators or tamper-proof containers.
With no food supply, mice and rats go elsewhere to dine.

According to Canadian health officials, Vitamin D-3 is
the most effective and ecologically sound method of
dealing with rat and mouse infestation.

According to the brochure, products containing Vitamin D-3
(calciferol) kill by vitamin overdose after 3-4 days. The
Vitamin D-3 actually mobilizes excessive amounts of calcium
from an animal's bones.

And you thought that Vitamin D-3 helped to absorb calcium.
Another dairy industry myth!

Don't try this at home. When the animal dies within your walls,
its putrefying body will add the most unpleasant bouquet to your
environment. The offensive smell may last for months.

How soon we forget! Children are taught in first grade that
Vitamin D is the "sunshine vitamin." Vitamin D is a steroid
hormone and is synthesized in one's body after skin is exposed
to sunlight. Once the body has made enough, it will produce
no more. Too much Vitamin D can be toxic and
result in bone loss.

In 1963, the Journal Pediatrics revealed:

"Consuming as little as 45 micrograms of Vitamin D-3 in young
children has resulted in signs of overdose." (one gallon of milk
contains 1600 IU, or 40 micrograms)." (Pediatrics, 1963; 31)

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine
revealed that of 42 milk samples, only 12% were within the
expected range of Vitamin D content. Testing of 10 samples
of infant formula revealed seven with more that twice the
Vitamin D content reported on the label, one of which had
more than four times the label amount. Vitamin D is toxic
in overdose for rats and mice.
(New England Journal of Medicine, 1992, 326)

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Booze Counters Milk Cancers

I nearly fell over when I first saw this study
in the February, 2005 issue of the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005 Feb;81,2:503-7):
____________________________________________________
Effects of Alcohol on IGF-I in Post-Menopausal Women
____________________________________________________

It has been well established that IGF-I has been identified
as a key factor in the growth of every breast cancer and
that women who drink milk have elevated levels of IGF-I. See:

http://www.notmilk.com/b.html

The authors of this study write:

"Increased circulating insulin-like growth factor I
(IGF-I) concentrations, frequently adjusted for IGF
binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), have been associated with
increased risk of several types of cancer, including colon,
prostate, and breast."

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
(Lavigne, et. al.), divided 53 post-menopausal women into three
groups and gave them various amounts of alcohol to drink.

Their incredible written conclusion:

"To our knowledge, this is the first published controlled
diet study to find that in postmenopausal women, when
weight is kept constant, alcohol consumption reduces the
amount of serum IGF-I potentially available for receptor
binding."

My suggestion is to skip the milk and continue to reduce
levels of IGF-I. Your body will thank you, but if you crave
that dairy taste, limit your consumption to one after-dinner
Sombrero (Kahlua & non-dairy Creamer) or White Russian (Kahlua,
vodka, non-dairy creamer). Rich's non-dairy creamer (found in
the dairy section of most supermarkets) is a fine substitute.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The Spirit of Dynamic Harmlessness

It's been ten years since Jay Dinshah wrote:

"Man cannot pretend to he higher in ethics,
spirituality, advancement, or civilization than
other creatures, and at the same time live by
lower standards than the vulture or hyena."

Five years ago, Jay Dinshah worked through the
night in his study, and was found dead in the morning
by his wife, Freya. That tragedy and loss symbolized
what it is to be vegan, although few thought so at the
time. When death comes to most Americans, it is usually
preceded by many years of illness. Heart disease. Cancer.
Diabetes. That was not the case with Jay. His death
arrived suddenly and without warning. Unlike most who die,
his resources were not depleted and re-distributed to the
health care system. His loved ones did not sit over a
hospital bed traumatized by months or years of suffering.
Jay died because it was his time. We should all be as lucky
to end our own lives in this manner.

The last time I spoke with Jay was in December of 1999. I
was one of two hundred who attended a vegetarian conference
in Gainesville, Florida. There were speakers and workshops,
and a bookstore was maintained by Jay and his wife who
use those sales to run their organization, The American Vegan
Society.

I purchased $300 worth of books because they were wonderful
books, and I wanted them to be a part of my library. I felt
good about buying those books from the Dinshahs because,
in doing so, I was helping in a very small way to support
their mission: to help share the vegan lifestyle through
their own example, by motivating and teaching and loving
others.

When a loved one dies, those who pay respect do so by sending
flowers or making generous donations to a church or foundation.
Rather than making a donation, please do something very
different. Call the American Vegan Society (856-694-2887)
and order a book. Order ten books. Order one hundred books.
Buy books for yourself. Buy books for a friend. Buy books for
libraries. Buy children's books. Buy cookbooks. That would be
a tribute to Jay, and I can imagine his pleasure by your action.

Author Joanne Stepaniak wrote:

"In 1960, the American Vegan Society was born in the United
States, founded by Jay Dinshah. It wholly embraced, and
continues to embrace, the principles of its British predecessor,
advocating a strictly plant-based diet and lifestyle free of
animal products. In addition, the American Vegan Society
promotes the philosophy of Ahimsa, a Sanskrit word interpreted as
"dynamic harmlessness," along with advocating service to humanity,
nature and creation. In other words, in order to practice veganism,
it is not sufficient to simply avoid specific foods and products;
it is necessary to actively participate in beneficial selfless
action as well."

Jay Dinshah wrote:

"The Pillars of Ahimsa indisputably represent the clearest, surest
path out of the jungle, and toward the attainment of that highly
desirable goal."

Help support Freya's and Jay's organization. Your tribute and
blessing would be to plant the seeds of knowledge contained
within the thousands of books in the American Vegan Society's
catalogue. Be true to Jay's spirit and support his mission. In
death, you can renew Jay's life.

Call 856-694-2887 and you will speak to Freya.
Pay your respects by respecting the vegan mission.
With knowledge, there is truth, and with truth, Ahimsa.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Two Most Amazing Coincidences

Today we explore two of the most amazing coincidences in
American history. These coincidences occurred one hundred
years apart. I have yet to decide which coincidence
ranks as number one. Each coincidence defies all odds.
______________________
Coincidence Number One
______________________

In July of 1861, an enormous Confederate army marched
onto a Virginia farmer's land. That farmer was Wilmer
McClain. Union forces attempted to stop the forward
progress of the rebel army. These actions resulted
in the first major battle of the Civil War, known
as Bull Run.

Imagine the look on this poor guy's face thirteen
months later in August of 1862 when the first episode
repeated itself. I flash back to what must have been
the same look of the unfortunate patient who gets to act
as the subject of an experiment in Gene Wilder's neurology
class in the movie "Young Frankenstein." The look on that
poor guy's pained face represented one of the greatest
classic comedy scenes in cinematic history.

Thirteen months later, history repeated itself in the same
place, resulting in the second battle of Bull Run. That
rarest of events was an oddity, but this story gets even
better. Completely disgusted with the bloodshed and
destruction of his farm, Mr. McClain loaded two large
wagons with what remained of his possessions, and moved
two hundred miles away. Now for the fun part.

Ever see the film "Dave?" Remember the look on Charles
Grodin's face when Sigourney Weaver walks into Kevin
Klein's office near the end of the movie? I can picture
that same awed expression on our protagonist farmer...

...Three years later, the Union Army was about to win the
Civil War. General Ulysses S. Grant met face to face
with the leader of the Confederate army, Robert E. Lee.
They talked for many hours and negotiated and then
signed an agreement that ended the war. At that moment
of signing, the two great generals sat in the living room
of our gentleman farmer, Wilmer McClain. The town that he
moved to after his farm was destroyed in Bull Run II was
called Appomattox Court House.
______________________
Coincidence Number Two
______________________

One hundred years after the signing of that truce which
ended the Civil War, a protein hormone was identified
and named insulin-like growth factor, or IGF-I.

There are approximately 4,700 different mammals in the animal
kingdom, and millions of different proteins and hormones in
nature. Life has such remarkable diversity, that there are no
hormones exactly alike which are shared by two different species
of mammal. Many paleontologists argue that man is descended from
ape-like ancestors. Possibly Leakey's Australopithecus, or Peking
man, or Zinzanthropic man. Humans bear close resemblance to
primates. Organs are quite similar, as is the skeletal-muscular
system. As close as we might seem, there are no identical hormones
shared between any two species of primate.

HOWEVER, there is one exception to this rule in the animal kingdom.
The most powerful growth hormone in the human body, discovered
circa 1961, is IGF-I. That is also the most powerful growth
hormone to be found in a cow's body. Protein hormones are made
up of amino acids. Human IGF-I and bovine IGF-I each contain
70 amino acids in the identical sequence. The number representing
the odds of that occurring is greater than the total number
of subatomic particles in the universe. In other words, possible,
but highly improbable, yet, it happened. Now, that is a coincidence
of extreme magnitude.

Last part of this coincidence. IGF-I has been identified as
a key factor in the growth of every human cancer. Drink milk, and
one doubles the amount of (free and unbound) IGF-I in the human
body. Last part of this amazing coincidence: The nations with the
highest rates of breast cancer include Denmark, Norway, Holland,
and Sweden. These nations also have the highest per-capita
consumption rates of milk and cheese. Now, that is a coincidence!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Blood Donation Ban Due to Mad Cow Disease

This past week (March 8, 2005), a Scottish newspaper
described a Japanese ban on donated blood from any person
who visited England or France for one or more days between
1980 and 1996. Japanese health officials fear that humans
can contract Cruetzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD) from blood.
CJD is the human equivalent of Mad Cow Disease.

The ban on just blood is illogical, after considering the
fact that one dairy cow will filter 10,000 liters of her
own blood through her udder each day and recapture dead
white blood cells and other blood components to produce
her daily output of milk. If blood containing potential
Mad Cow fibrils is to be banned, so too should milk from
cows be banned.

On August 23, 1997, the London Times reported:

"A 24-year-old vegetarian has been diagnosed with
Cruetzfeld-Jacob disease. Scientists fear that milk
and cheese may be the source of infection."

The original article:

<http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4224949 >

***********************************************
Blood Donations Banned Amid Mad Cow Disease Fears

Anyone who visited Britain or France for a day or more between 1980
and 1996 will be banned from donating blood in Japan, an official
said today.

The move comes amid Japanese government attempts to tighten
restrictions on blood supplies because of worries over the human
form of mad cow disease.

The rule would bar hundreds of thousands of people from donating
blood and may severely diminish blood supplies, media reports
warned.

The decision was made after a Japanese man who died in December was
confirmed to be the country's first person to be infected with the
brain-wasting illness.

A Health Ministry panel concluded that he was likely infected during
a 24-day stay in Britain in 1990. The man also stayed for three days
in France.

Britain and France were particularly hard-hit by mad cow disease,
known formally as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, after the
illness was detected in 1986.

The new rules tighten regulations already restricting blood
donations. Previously, people who had stayed a month in Britain or
six months in France any time after 1980 were barred from giving
blood.

There is no blood test to screen for the disease, nor is there a
known cure or immunisation. The illness has an incubation period of
10 years or more. A positive diagnosis often does not occur until
the patient dies and a post-mortem performed.

Health ministry official Daisaku Sato said the government was still
studying how to implement the new regulations, but that they were
unlikely to affect past blood donations.

***********************************************
Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Attacking (NotMilk) Messengers

It did not take long for the dairy industry to attack
the lead article in this month's journal, PEDIATRICS
(Pediatrics. 2005 Mar;115(3):736-43).

Amy Lanou, M.D., Susan Berkow, Ph.D., and Neal Barnard,
M.D., have researched and published a landmark paper
that has undergone a rigorous peer-review process by
one of America's most respected scientific journals.

Their article concludes that neither dairy products
nor calcium supplementation plays any role in building
strong bones.

This news was so bad for dairy producers that their
strategy was to attack the authors personally. Although
dairy producers refer to this scientific study as an
"opinion piece," a Medline review of the abstract
of that article confirms that the authors identified
and analyzed 58 studies in order to come to their
(independently scrutinized and confirmed by third
parties) scientifically-based conclusions.

Here is the official dairy response as published in
Dairy Herd, a pro dairy website:

<http://www.dairyherd.com >

(you must register to access this and other articles,
but their column reproduced here in its entirety):

**************************************************

Report attacks milk's role in building strong bones
By Dairy Herd news source (Wednesday, March 09, 2005)

According to an article in the February issue of Pediatrics,
milk may not be the best calcium source to help kids build
strong bones. That message flies in the face of countless
studies completed over the years that link dairy consumption
with building strong bones.

But, unless you know the lead researcher is a member of the
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine â€" an animal
rights group with just 5 percent of the membership being
actual physicians â€" you may be inclined to believe the message.

A statement by the National Dairy Council and the International
Dairy Foods Association, calls the article an "opinion piece"
and that the authors "chose to ignore decades of comprehensive
research endorsing dairy’s role in bone health."

Consensus in the scientific and medical community is strong
regarding the value of dairy foods in a healthy diet. In fact,
for information on the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP)
current calcium policy statement, go to:

<http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;104/
5/1152 >

The U.S. Surgeon General, National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development (NICHD), Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
are just a few of the organizations that confirm that milk and
milk products are a good way for kids and teens to get the
bone-building calcium they need.

When it comes to nutrition, people should listen to health and
nutrition experts, not animal rights activists.

The NDC and IDFA encourage consumers to learn more about sound
science on calcium and bone health at these websites:

1. NICHD's extensive, publicly funded education program called
"Milk Matters" explains why milk is so essential in the
development of kids and teens. <http://www.nichd.nih.gov/milk/ >

2. In 2004, the U.S. Surgeon General called for all Americans
to take action to improve and maintain healthy bones. He urged
people of all ages to meet daily requirements for calcium and
Vitamin D with three glasses of lowfat milk each day to reach
this goal. <http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/bonehealth/ >

3. The CDC's longstanding National Bone Health Campaign(TM),
"Powerful Girls, Powerful Bones," encourages teen girls to get
the calcium they need for healthy bones.
<http://www.cdc.gov/powerfulbones/index_content.html >

**************************************************

The PEDIATRICS article, as reported on Medline:

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Calcium, dairy products, and bone health in children
and young adults: a reevaluation of the evidence.

Lanou AJ, Berkow SE, Barnard ND.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 5100 Wisconsin
Ave NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20016, USA. alanou@...

OBJECTIVE: Numerous nutrition policy statements recommend
the consumption of 800 to 1500 mg of calcium largely from
dairy products for osteoporosis prevention; however, the
findings of epidemiologic and prospective studies have
raised questions about the efficacy of the use of dairy
products for the promotion of bone health. The objective of
this study was to review existing literature on the effects
of dairy products and total dietary calcium on bone integrity
in children and young adults to assess whether evidence
supports (1) current recommended calcium intake levels and
(2) the suggestion that dairy products are better for
promoting bone integrity than other calcium-containing food
sources or supplements.

METHODS: A Medline (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD)
search was conducted for studies published on the relationship
between milk, dairy products, or calcium intake and bone
mineralization or fracture risk in children and young adults
(1-25 years). This search yielded 58 studies: 22 cross-sectional
studies; 13 retrospective studies; 10 longitudinal prospective
studies; and 13 randomized, controlled trials. RESULTS: Eleven
of the studies did not control for weight, pubertal status, and
exercise and were excluded. Ten studies were randomized, controlled
trials of supplemental calcium, 9 of which showed modest positive
benefits on bone mineralization in children and adolescents. Of
the remaining 37 studies of dairy or unsupplemented dietary calcium
intake, 27 studies found no relationship between dairy or dietary
calcium intake and measures of bone health. In the remaining 9
reports, the effects on bone health are small and 3 were confounded
by vitamin D intake from milk fortified with vitamin D. Therefore,
in clinical, longitudinal, retrospective, and cross-sectional
studies, neither increased consumption of dairy products,
specifically, nor total dietary calcium consumption has shown even
a modestly consistent benefit for child or young adult bone health.

CONCLUSION: Scant evidence supports nutrition guidelines focused
specifically on increasing milk or other dairy product intake for
promoting child and adolescent bone mineralization.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

FREE SoyToy Contest: Write to NY Times: letters@...

The SoyToy retails for $159, and I hope to
give away twenty or more machines this week!

FREE SOYTOY CONTEST (free shipping in Continental USA only)
Write to NY Science Times: scitimes@...
...and to the Editor: letters@...

In an Internet file, you cannot see the multi-colored
drawing of a little girl standing next to an enormous
brown and white cow while holding onto a milk pail. The
reader's attention is brought to the editorial within the
Health and Fitness section of yesterday's Science Times
section (Tuesday, March 8, 2005, page F-5) by a highlighted
blue box, larger than the article's typeset, in which appears
one word of sarcasm: "REALLY?"

Before reading the words, the reader has been led into the
author's opinion, much like when a bull with a nosering is
pulled by an attached chain to his own slaughter. The
conclusion of the article, in bold type "BOTTOM LINE" is:

"Bovine growth hormones are not connected
to the early onset of puberty in girls."

Do I agree with this misleading premise? Absolutely.
It is not the bovine growth hormone (bGH) which earns
responsiblity for early sexual maturity. The finger of
blame must be pointed at bovine steroid hormones, not
protein hormones. Proteins are easily broken down in
the human body. Steroids survive long enough to provide
enormous physical and behavioral effects.

The NY Times column:

<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/health/08real.html >

The article:
**********************************************************
The Claim: Hormones in Milk Cause Early Puberty
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

Published: March 8, 2005

HE FACTS - In 1997, when a large study found that girls were starting
puberty sooner than usual, many Americans began to cast a suspicious
eye on
milk. Could artificial growth hormones that had been widely used on
cows
since 1993 be speeding development in children?

Sales of organic dairy products took off rapidly, but newer studies
have
found no link. Instead, if girls are maturing sooner, a notion some
scientists still dispute, it may have more to do with obesity than
milk.

The early puberty theory came from a study suggesting that many girls
were
developing breasts and pubic hair between 9 and 10, roughly a year
early.

A substance given to cows to increase milk production, called
recombinant
bovine growth hormone, became a prime suspect. But Dr. Paul
Kaplowitz, the
author of "Early Puberty in Girls," said that the hormone, if it did
make
its way into milk, would have no effect. It must be injected, not
digested,
he said.

A study published in 2001, led by Dr. Kaplowitz, showed that girls
who
developed sooner tended to have higher body-mass indexes. It also
said that
the findings of the early puberty study coincided with a rise in
nationwide
rates of obesity.

THE BOTTOM LINE - Bovine growth hormones are not connected to the
early
onset of puberty in girls.
**********************************************************

The article blames early sexual maturity on obesity.
What nonsense.

Photographs do not lie, and neither do one's eyes.

Ask any of your 50-year-old friends or relatives to
produce a fifth or sixth grade class photograph taken
in the 1960s. All or most of the young girls will be
flat chested. Drive by any school yard these days, and
you'll find that early sexual maturity is the rule,
not the exception, even with the skinniest young women.

In 2005, cows are much different than they were forty years
ago. A cow of the 60s produced one-quart of milk per day.
Today's bovine beasts produce 25 quarts of milk, on average.
Cows have been cross bred so that they are now hormone monsters.
Most cows are milked before they give birth, and their milk
contains powerful steroid hormones instructing their own
mammary tissue to grow. Those hormones include estrogen,
progesterone, prolactin, melatonin, and oxytocin. What is a
little girl to do? Grow the human equivalent of big udders
on her chest, that's what. Furthermore, human consumption of
dairy has been altered. In 1970, the average American consumed
just ten pounds of cheese each year. Ten pounds of milk are
required to produce one pound of hard cheese. Today, in 2005,
the average little girl consumes 31 pounds of concentrated
steroid-hormone-rich cheese. That is why we are witness to
early sexual maturity, not obesity.

In 1978, the Journal of Preventive Medicine published a study
(authored by Kagawa), which demonstrated milk's powerful change
on an entire nation, the Japanese. Just 25 years after the
introduction of cows to Japan, the age of sexual maturity in
girls decreased from 16.2 years down to 12.2 years. That's
real science, not inaccurate New York Times innuendo.

My "Early Sexual Maturity" column, published in the
San Francisco Chronicle:

http://notmilk.com/sfchron.html

Even the dairy industry takes credit for milk's hormonal
changes in the Japanese children. In their 1963 racist
rant, Hoard's Dairyman (the national dairy farmer
magazine) called Japanese children "sprouting Nippers."

Hoard's editors wrote in their 10/26/63 editorial:

"The average height of 15-year-old boys in
Japan has jumped 3 1/2 inches since World
War II....clothing and school equipment
manufacturers are faced with the problem of
revising size standards to keep pace with
the sprouting Nippers."

So, now you have enough material to write your own
letter to the New York Times in response to yesterday's
article.

Be creative. Keep it short (under 180 words). Be respectful.
Sign your name and include your phone number for verification.

If your letter is published, you will be rewarded with a free
SoyToy (retail value, $159). If twenty letters are published,
I will award twenty SoyToys. It will be my pleasure to do so.

Will I send my own letter? No way, for two reasons. First, the
NY Times knows me and will not print my letters. That is my
reward for criticizing many of their employees as whores to
the dairy industry. Second: I already own a SoyToy. ;>)

Do your best cutting and pasting together my columns, or
write one of your own. Please send me a copy, too. Good luck!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Astonishing New DIABETES/MILK Evidence

Two weeks ago, this column reported the results of a recent
Milk-Diabetes study published in the February, 2005 issue
of the American Journal of Epidemiology. See:

<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/1930 >

Today's information adds additional bone-chilling news to
ice cream manufacturers. It's the whipped cream atop their
hot fudge sundae with a Notmilk cherry on top.

The March, 2005 issue of the European Journal of Clinical
Nutrition (2005 Mar;59(3):393-8) contains evidence to settle
the milk/diabetes debate once and for all.

Hoppe, et. al (Department of Human Nutrition and Centre for
Advanced Food Studies, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural
University, Frederiksberg, Denmark) determined that high
intake of dairy products (but not meat) increased insulin
resistance in 8-year-old boys.

THE STUDY OBJECTIVE

To determine whether high protein intake from meat or dairy
increased insulin resistance in healthy, prepubertal children.

THE STUDY DESIGN

Eight-year-old boys were divided into three groups. Group
number one was the control group and consumed neither milk
nor meat for seven days. Group number two was fed 53 grams
of meat protein each day for 7 days. Group number three was
given 53 grams of milk protein each day for 7 days. Blood
levels of insulin, glucose, and amino acids were measured
daily. Insulin resistances were then calculated for each
child.

THE STUDY RESULTS:

In the milk-group, insulin resistance doubled when compared
to the control group. In the control and meat-group, there
were no increases in insulin resistance.

CONCLUSION:

The study results indicated that a short term high meat
intake did not affect insulin resistance in young males,
while a short term high milk and dairy intake increased
insulin resistance dramatically.

The key phrase is "Insulin Resistance." What is that?

There is a very handy URL which I often use to
define a medical word or phrase:

<http://www.www.antigenics.com/glossary/words.phtml >

Tiny URL: <http://tinyurl.com/4ks6h >

Insulin Resistance

"n. State in which the body does not respond to the
action of insulin hormone although enough insulin is
produced. This occurs often in people with type 2
diabetes."

After recognizing that dairy products increase rates
of insulin resistance in 8-year-old boys, I am quite
amazed that the authors of ths study wrote:

"Our results indicate that a short-term high milk, but
not meat, intake increased insulin secretion and resistance.
The long-term consequences of this are unknown."

Faced with overwhelming evidence, it seems clear that these
Danish researchers wimped out. At the very least, it would
have been appropriate for them to issue an urgent warning in
their conclusion section.

Scientists have a need to publish, much like craps players
"and real men" have a need to make a pass and play the field.
Much like heroin users and cigarette smokers need constant
doses of the drugs which addict their own bodies. In this
case, the researchers published their study while ignoring
its obvious implication.

There was even enough evidence for the scientists to have
ventured an educated guess regarding long-term consequences
when short term results were so powerfully negative. Unknown
long-term consequences? Real-life long term consequences
would lead to the end of grant money for scientists who
dare to tell the truth (and bite those hands which feed
them). Selling out to dairy interests seems to be their
survival mechanism.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Big Hairy Cheese Dip

She's 18 now, but when my daughter Sarah was ten,
she made up this really awful joke:

Question: What kind of cheese does not belong to you?
Answer: Nacho Cheese.

I could not have made up today's story. Occasionally, cheese
incidents get so bizarre that I cannot resist sharing...

It seems that the nacho cheese did not belong to a Tennesse
man either, who was arrested last year after stealing a jar
of nacho and other assorted items from a convenience store.

Our highly inebriated nincompoop stole the cheese, opened
the jar, took off all of his clothes, and became a human
cheese dip by applying the nacho cheese all over his body
and through his hair. That's when police found and arrested
him. The full story:

<http://www.ftimes.com/main.asp?
SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=25770&T
M=37431.84>

Tiny URL: <http://tinyurl.com/65hpm>

This past week (March 1, 2005), the man was given probation
by a lenient judge who may very well have said,

"Unless you pay for that jar, it's not-your-cheese!"

Next October 31st, look for a replay. Rumor has it that
this convicted felon will be stealing a few pounds of
German cheese from a specialty cheese shop and getting naked
again. We look forward to his Halloween costume, naked Muenster.

Why would a man with even half his marbles be compelled
to steal a bottle of nacho cheese? He was drunk, but that's
just part of the answer. Milk naturally contains powerful
hormones, and one is quite addictive. Dairy products contain
an opiate called casomorphin which is similar in chemical
structure to morphine. Feel compassion for cheese addicts,
for they often know not what they do. Of course, this guy
got naked and spread the nacho cheese all over his body.
Dairy also contains many steroid hormones, and in combination
might have put him way over the edge. After consuming an
abundance of cow estrogen and cow progesterone, it just was
not this fellow's time of the month, and he lost it. Could
this have been the first case of uncontrollable male PMS
induced by surges of bovine hormones? The jury is still out.
;>)

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

When Will Jesus Brings the Pork Chops?

I read two new books this past week. The first was the
hilarious "When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops." The
cover depicts author George Carlin sitting with knife and
fork at the Last Supper, awaiting his not-so-compassionate
dinner request. The absurdity of that thought would certainly
not be lost on even the most ravenous of Christian meat eaters.
To imagine Lord and host Jesus supplying pork chops for his
dinner guests is quite the sacriligious thought, but few
comics (perhaps Lenny Bruce) have made "sacriligious"
the central theme of their books and routines as well
as George Carlin.

Let us imagine for a moment. After Jesus left this earth and
forever joined the angels and holy spirits in the heaven
described in Revelations, would he have considered slitting the
throats of swine and cutting their bodies into quarters with a
chainsaw, and then eating pork chops? God laid out the perfect
dietary plan in Genesis 1:29. Would Jesus reside in an Eden
eating pork chops, or would his diet consist of seeds and
fruits containing seeds, and grains and beans?

If the answer is not readily apparent to you, then might I
suggest you obtain a copy of my second reading choice of
this past week. "Good News For All Creation, subtitled,
Vegetarianism as Christian Stewardship." Two authors, Stephen
Kaufman and Nathan Braun treat the readers to an intellectual
discourse on why true Christians (and non-Christians) should
forever strive to conduct their lives as written in Isaiah 11:9--

"They shall not hurt or destroy."

The premise of this book is introduced on page one:

"Christianity challenges us to explore all our important
choices and question whether they are in accord with God's will."

In the introduction to their book, the authors write:

"Our diet is much more than simply a dietary preference...
...we see our diet as an integral part of our Christian
Witness, manifesting core values such as love, compassion,
and peace."

The authors conclude that the Bible often does not provide
clear and precise guidance on a number of important issues.
Meat eating is one, and reflects continuous interpretations
of text written over the millennia. As an example, they cite
Genesis 9, Tutus 2, and 1 Peter, which were historically
used to support human slavery. We are continually reminded
that God's will for the perfect human diet is spelled out
in Genesis 1:29.

Kaufman and Braun include enormous scientific evidence
within their treatise to support their Christian perspective
on vegetarianism. Good news for creation equates with good
news for human health, not to mention great news for animals.
A plant-based diet is the healthiest for your heart, and
the authors cite the brilliant and convincing work of men
such as cardiologists William Castelli, M.D. and Caldwell
Esselstyn, M.D., and nutritionist T. Colin Campbell, PhD.
George Carlin also treats the subject of heart disease with
wit. From page 127 of Carlin's (Jesus/Pork Chops) book:

"Soups are hearty, breakfast is hearty. Folks, next time
you see the word HEARTY, take a good look at the rest of the
label. Hmmm! 'Six hundred grams of saturated fat. 'You know,
hearty. As in heart attack."

The authors do not tiptoe around controversy, and boldly take
on the painful task of attacking rationalizing meat-eating
Christians. On page 38, they write:

"Indeed, Proverbs 21:2 observes 'Every way of a man is right
in his own eyes...'It appears that many Christians utilize
dubious, self serving interpretations of the Bible to justify
their actions."

Bravo to Stephen Kaufman and Nathan Braun, both founding
members of the Christian Vegetarian Society. They wrote it.
I endorse it. One must take responsibility for the horrible
custom in which animals are brutalized from their moment of
birth to painful confinement to barbaric throat-slashing
slaughter.

I particularly enjoyed the author's intellectual approach
to their vegetarian convictions which appears on page 58:

"...For us, vegetarianism also seems an important personal
step toward living according to God's will, which we believe
involves respecting and caring for our own bodies, the
environment, hungry people, and animals. We see our
vegetarianism as a gift that helps us feel peaceful and
closer to all creation."

A concluding thought sums up their own philosophy in this
brilliantly written, easy-to-read philosophical and
religious text:

"Vegetarian advocacy is a form of Christian stewardship
and discipleship, because vegetarianism honors God by
showing respect for God's environment, animals, and humans."

The answer to this column's opening question is this:

God will not be bringing pork chops to feed humans.
Neither to his first breakfast, nor to his Last Supper.

To order this book from Amazon.com:

http://tinyurl.com/44muf

or call Lantern Books (toll-free) at: 800-856-8664

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Crohn's Disease Treatment Update 2005
_______________________________________________________
(*$*NOTE*$* I have included proprietary stock information
at the conclusion of this column. If you elect to benefit
from this knowledge, proceed with caution and consult your
stock broker or attorney for possible violations of
insider trading statutes.)
_______________________________________________________

There is an Orlando, Florida physician who recognizes
that milk and dairy products are capable of transferring
a bovine disease (Johne's) to humans. Dr. Ira Shafran
has spent the greater part of his career developing
non-traditional protocols for Crohn's treatment.

I spoke with Dr. Shafran during this past week, and
learned of an exciting new treatment that has successfully
resulted in 72 percent of his Crohn's patients having
their illness completely disappear after just 15 weeks.

Like many men of science, Dr. Shafran's work has been
violently rejected by many, opposed by most, and accepted
by the very few. An Ohio physician and friend had a similar
experience when the greater part of the medical community and
American Red Cross campaigned against his once-controversial
Heimlich Maneuver. Today, Dr. Henry Heimlich is credited with
having saved the lives of many thousands of choking victims.

It is Dr. Shafran's belief that most of his Crohn's patients
contracted their illness after consuming milk or dairy products.
Shafran rejects the USDA notion that pasteurization destroys
that bacterium responsible for Crohn's. In fact, we discussed
the latest evidence which indicates how easily these bacteria
(mycobacterium paratuberculosis) can be incubated in labs
directly from pasteurized milk sold in supermarkets.

Dr. Ira Shafran's recently presented paper at the annual
meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology will
one day re-write what is taught in medical schools. Sadly,
new and exciting medical knowledge is often slow to work
its way through the healthcare system. Shafran now treats
his Crohn's patients for 16 weeks with an oral antibiotic
called xifaximin (also known as rifaximinin). Past
treatments have included different antibiotics administered
intravenously.

In Dr. Shafran's most recent study and soon-to-be published
journal article, twenty-one of twenty-nine patients were in
complete remission after only 15 weeks of his 16-week study.

I asked Dr. Shafran what is being done for the other
eight patients. They continue to be treated with low
doses of anti-inflammatory drugs in combination with
pro-biotics. Dr. Shafran's website:

http://www.shafran.net

Dr. Shafran practices in Orlando, Florida. His office
number is 407-629-8121,

On March 4, 2005, FORBES Magazine added Crohn's advice
to their Internet site:

<http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/03/03/hscout
524251.html >

Tiny URL: <http://tinyurl.com/6uph5 >

The Forbes article is one generation behind regarding
successful treatment of Crohn's. One day, this and other
magazines will pay tribute to Dr. Shafran's brilliant
disease-eradicating work.

******************************************
FORBES Magazine Online - March 4, 2005

Health Tip: Fighting Crohns Disease
by Nancyann Rella

If you suffer from Crohn's disease, dealing with stressful
situations may go a long way toward relieving symptoms.
Here are suggestions from the Marquette General Health System:

Regular physical exercise will help ease stress and
aid in normal bowel function.

Check for any food intolerances, such as milk or milk
products. Eliminate any food from your diet that causes
problems or doesn't agree with you.

Avoid caffeinated substances, such as coffee, tea, chocolate
and soda. Try to eat smaller, more frequent meals to allow for
better absorption of nutrients and to help reduce bowel
elimination problems.

Drink plenty of water to aid colon function.

Gradually add fiber to your diet, but should an attack occur,
reduce your roughage intake until symptoms are relieved.

Ask your doctor for additional dietary recommendations that may
be appropriate.
******************************************

I do not often suggest investments, and tend to shy away
from anything having to do with promoting pharmaceuticals,
but this is a special case. I hope that I will not be
accused by anybody for what I am about to tell you. Some
people might interpret my action to be insider trading,
but I am not an "insider," just an investigator. I do not
plan to profit by this information.

Salix Pharmaceuticals owns the patent to the drug that Ira
Shafran has successfully used to cure Crohn's disease. The
drug was approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
in May of 2004 to cure "Traveler's Diarrhea." Salix has not
yet appled to the FDA for permission to treat Crohn's patients,
but they have registered an investigative clinical trial
with the FDA. I have spoke twice with Mike Freeman at Salix
(919/862-1000) and he has no reservations about my reporting
about Luminex (Rifaximin).

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. is currently trading in the $16
range on NSDQ. There are about 36 million shares outstanding.
Based upon Dr. Shafran's exciting preliminary success, the
potential value of the entire company will be exponentially
multiplied if and when Salix receives approval to treat Crohn's
patients with the new miracle drug.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Does a Calf Cry?

Consider the two-way love affair between you and your
dog, cat, or parakeet. Does the bird sing when you enter
the room? Will the cat brush up against your leg, purring
with her pleasure in pleasing you? Does your dog whimper
when sad, or jump with joy, his tail unable to contain the
excitement in seeing you come home after being away
from your presence for just twenty minutes?

Do animals feel? Do pigs smell blood and hear death squeals
from those who are slaughtered before them? Do calves cry
when separated from their mothers? Do animals feel pain?
Read the poem below and imagine the non-human's perspective.
________________________________________________________

The House Dog's Grave
Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962)

I've changed my ways a little; I cannot now
Run with you in the evenings along the shore,
Except in a kind of dream; and you,
If you dream a moment,
You see me there.

So leave awhile the paw-marks on the front door
Where I used to scratch to go out or in,
And you'd soon open; leave on the kitchen floor
The marks of my drinking-pan.

I cannot lie by your fire as I used to do
On the warm stone,
Nor at the foot of your bed; no,
All the nights through
I lie alone.

But your kind thought has laid me less than six feet
Outside your window where firelight so often plays,
And where you sit to read,
And I fear often grieving for me.
Every night your lamplight lies on my place.

You, man and woman, live so long, it is hard
To think of you ever dying.
A little dog would get tired, living so long.
I hope that when you are lying
Under the ground like me your lives will appear
As good and joyful as mine.
No, dears, that's too much hope:
You are not so well cared for as I have been.
And never have known the passionate undivided
Fidelities that I knew.
Your minds are perhaps too active, too many-sided...
But to me you were true.

You were never masters, but friends. I was your friend.
I loved you well, and was loved. Deep love endures
To the end and far past the end. If this is my end,
I am not lonely. I am not afraid. I am still yours.
________________________________________________________

If you are the master of your home and your emotions,
read this poem as tribute to your pet. Instead of hugging
a tree, hug a vegetarian. These strange people have the
wisdom to recognize that animals have emotions similar
to ours. They choose not to eat creatures who feel pain.

Today's column is for Kimber and Spike. You were the best
of friends in life, and will forever be joined in spirit.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com