Reading one of my favorite blogs of all time www.TheRotund.com today Marianne posted about a link that was shared with her and her horror at what this link informed her of. The link: http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=4730&blogid=140

Her fabulously written post (and seriously, y’all should just be reading this): http://www.therotund.com/?p=861

How to explain this simply? Well, this Pediatric Urologist basically surgically removes part of little girls’ clits that are larger than average. This is an elective surgery that is performed with the parents permission. The girls are very young (5 or 6 years old) and thus have not fully developed, so who knows if their clits will eventually be larger than average or not. What’s more shocking is this doctor’s follow-up procedures and testing. I’d rather not get into it, but please go to one or both links for a better and fuller description. I’m far too disgusted at the moment to reiterate it here. Ugh! Vile sack of human filth I think that this “doctor” is. I cannot imagine in what situation a parent would think that this is the right thing to do. I feel for these little girls and hope that someone will stop this guy sooner rather than later!

And the directory for Cornell University with the Dr’s info as well as the Dean’s: http://www.med.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/phf

Yeah, sounds weird to me, too. But it gets weirder!
You see, “Karen” started out at 129 lbs and 5’4″. Um, that’s pretty slim on it’s own.
But see, the headline mentions “Healthy” and so I read on…(link to full article at the end of this post)

She had gained a total of 21 lbs. during a difficult and tragic period in her life. You see, she had never been more than 107 lbs. her entire adult life. Realizing that this wasn’t such a dramatic thing, she notes having “a very small frame.”

Look, I’m not calling shenanigans on this lady, I respect the fact that she didn’t feel healthy and decided to make a change in her life to get back to what she was used to. We all go through things in life that leave us feeling the need to change. I get that completely and have been there a few times myself. What I am calling bullshit on is this article.  I just don’t see how this lady losing 21 lbs is such news! I’ve known plenty of people who have lost 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 pounds. No one wrote an article about them!

And what about 3-5 years later on when most people have not only gained back what they lost, but more?! I don’t know that this would happen to “Karen” but for most of the human population, this is what happens, 98% of the time! I like that she mentions not worrying about a “number on a scale” and not focusing on a specific amount to lose. Rather she chose to simply become more active and get back to eating and cooking the things she loved. That is great! I personally think that more people should cook at home if they are able, because doing so absolutely gives you a better perspective on what you’re putting into your body.

Look, I don’t know why an article was written about this lady. I’m happy for her and wish her the best. I just don’t see how this is “news” or any sort of revelation what so ever. But, wev.

http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/06/14/karen-started-taking-care-of-herself-and-now-shes-a-size-2/?icid=main|main|dl5|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thatsfit.com%2F2010%2F06%2F14%2Fkaren-started-taking-care-of-herself-and-now-shes-a-size-2%2F

http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/06/16/obese-woman-lack-sex-partners-more-likely-to-get-pregnant-accidentally/?icid=main|main|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2F2010%2F06%2F16%2Fobese-woman-lack-sex-partners-more-likely-to-get-pregnant-accidentally%2F

Headline:

News Obese Woman Lack Sex Partners; More Likely to Get Pregnant Accidentally

While I appreciate the article’s use of the word fat more than obese, the rest of this article is pure rubbish! The fact that they say things like this, “Maybe women are more tolerant of tubby husbands than men are of tubby wives” says a lot to me. It’s all bullshit! I am a fat woman, not sure what my BMI# is, let’s say it’s 5,000; and I can assure you that I have never been in want of a sex partner in my life! I’m not entirely sure what the point of the study was. I mean, they site many factors like: researchers found that obese women were less likely to ask for birth control services, and thus, four times more likely to accidentally get pregnant. Pregnant fat women and their babies also faced a higher risk of complications and death than normal-weight women.

WTF?! Look, I cannot speak for the citizen of France, but in the US, well, I don’t have statistics, just my own life experiences. Still, my friends and I have never been shy about getting our birth control! And regardless of this I am appalled about the accidental pregnancy thing. I have worked very hard to be a responsible person and have stuck to my guns about not having kids until I’m ready (mentally &  financially). I suppose condoms aren’t a good enough birth control method or are simply ignored in this study? Why only address this issue for obese women? Ugh! It’s maddening!

While I agree that doctors need to get over their own issues (the article says embarrassment, as if?!) and ask the more difficult questions of their patients, what really needs to happen is for doctors to get over their own prejudices about fat people and treat them equally! Because some doctors see someone of my size and honestly ASSUME that I am not having sex. HA! That is a load of laughs! Trust me  guys, I am and I’m loving it!

“This is not a heart attack or a stroke…but it’s an important quality of life factor and a public health problem,” since when is sex equal in it’s “public health problem” label as a friggin’ heart attack?! Should I alert the FDA/CDC anytime I have a sexual drought? I had no idea they cared!

“It seems like a no-brainer,” he said. “If you lose weight, you will feel more attractive and that could improve your sex life.” Too bad there isn’t a permanent or successful weight loss program in existence that won’t shorten my life span or far far worse. UGH! Seriously? Doctors & scientists are saying this shit, guys! It’s ridiculous! Yet somehow this stuff is in the “news” every damned day. I feel plenty attractive NOW! When I was smaller no one told me I should be a model. Now at 300+lbs? Yes, someone said this to me yesterday! I have never felt better in my life! I have energy, I get shit done and I live a fantastic, while humble in it’s luxuries, life!

Just once I’d really love for some truth to get into the “news!”

Two Great Documentaries with one Severely Important Message:

Where does our food come from?

The first, “King Corn” centers around two guys who rent an acre of land in Iowa to grow corn and to follow where it goes once if leaves their little acre. They soon find out that there is a lot more to being a corn farmer than they realized. Specifically, government subsidies. In the end they lost money on their crop, but with the government subsidy were able to break even (or close to it).

I was personally surprised to find out that most of the corn grown in the USA is not immediately edible and in fact tastes terrible! It goes from fresh off the farm to what seems to be an endless journey into food processing. What I took from this movie is that corn is everything in this country. It’s in everything we eat, everything we buy and use and it controls so much of the economy and marketplace that it will make you step back and think about your own choices as a consumer. The other startling thing I learned from the film was about cows and feed lots. Holy crap! Look, I’m no naive ninny, but weren’t we always told that corn fed cows were healthier or something? Well, it’s all lies!  They talk to farmers and experts and it turns out cows were never meant to eat corn. They were meant to only eat grass. DUH! So what you get are very ill cows that grow so fast (to get to market/slaughter faster) on such a poor diet that they can’t even walk by the time they are “ready” to be sold for slaughter. *barfs* Luckily in this doc, you’re spared the more gruesome images that this brings to mind.

“Food Inc.” follows these same lines about food overall and where it comes from. But it also gives a lot more facts and statistics that will leave you in a state of shock and awe! If you’re not rethinking your own diet let alone our entire country’s then you may need to check your pulse!  This doc seems to focus a lot more on the animals in our giant food industry and how they are treated and the industry’s demands on farmers. What we see in the grocery store with names and images referencing old family farms are once again, ALL LIES!!!

It also points out the incredible power each and every one of us holds when it comes to our buying choices. Every meal, every dollar and every change are ruled by us, the consumer! It became clear to me when reps from Walmart explained the reasoning behind Walmart going Organic, the customer wants it! WOW! A giant company listening to it’s customers? Yep! They have no choice after all. If you know what you want and they don’t have it you’ll simply go elsewhere and they get it!

I highly recommend both of these films (and the order in which I present them to you) to everyone in the world! I feel that we as a nation have been kept in the dark about where our food comes from and what is and isn’t “healthy.” We turn a blind eye to things like the biggest slaughter house in the world and their labor practices. Our government subsidizes these companies to gain control over a global market. Even if this is no surprise to you, I ask that you still give these a shot. Especially, “Food Inc.”  because it really does give facts that I hadn’t seen or heard before. When it comes to obesity, diabetes and everything in between and surrounding what we eat, I think that it is our responsibility to learn as much as we can and make more conscious decisions in our daily lives.

You can watch both Streaming on Netflix’s “watch instantly” section. And please, spread the word!!!

I watched this documentary with my husband the other night and it rocked my world!

Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World

From Netflix: Filmmaker Cori Brackett’s riveting documentary probes the link between various health problems and the artificial sweetener aspartame. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Brackett set out to expose the toxicity of aspartame, prevalent in many foods despite warnings by the National Institutes of Health. Interviews with doctors, a former Food and Drug Administration investigator and other experts reveal controversial information about the sweetener.

If you already subscribe to Netflix you can watch this instantly on your computer or if you have one of those streaming boxes like “Roku”…or you can just add it to your que as per usual. It’s worth watching!

While I will admit it takes a few minutes to get used to the style of this documentary, it is the information discussed and shared that is just so valuable it will leave you angry-sad-speechless. It took me a few days to even talk about it and really let it all sink in.

I cannot tell you the amount of people affected by the effects of aspartame, but I can tell you that so many people I know imbibe in blissful ignorance (some even know and still ingest this poison)! It makes me so upset that we are fed nothing but lies and we all suffer for it! The health effects are alarming to say the least. And all in the name of “zero calories”! Stop the madness, stop the cycle and stop ingesting this poison!

PLEASE JUST WATCH IT AND YOU’LL UNDERSTAND WHY I AM

SO ALARMED AND PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS!!!