If Youre Eating High Protein Be Informed about Mad Cow

Finding Mad Cow in Oregon puts a new wrinkle in the high protein diet, doesn't it? What's a person to do that wants to eat more meat, not less?

Are you Eating Less Meat Due to Mad Cow Disease?

Not the people I've spoken with. Most are saying, "Yipee, beef's on sale!" The food industry has done a great job of convincing us they are providing a safe food supply and we've been lulled into a false sense of security. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In July 1988, a ban was introduced in the UK which prohibited the use of the remains of sheep in cattle feed. BSE is thought to have spread to cattle from feed including meat and bone meal made from sheep suffering from a similar brain disease, called scrapie.

Ban Not Properly Enforced

Unfortunately the ban was not enforced properly for many years and remained a paper exercise (exactly as it has been in the US ever since).

Francis Anthony, a Herefordshire veterinary surgeon, and the British Veterinary Association's spokesman on BSE said, "If the ban had been enforced properly from the start, I have no hesitation in saying categorically that we should be seeing only a few cases today. But that contaminated feed was being given to animals until at least 1995, and possibly a year later."

The false sense of security for us in the US came from it being widely reported that the practice had been banned. They failed to make it clear that this was a "voluntary ban." Even I falsly believed they had long ago ended this practice until the recent news reports that it is still being done. Despite there being a clear connection between feeding rendered animals to animals causing Mad Cow disease, the meat and dairy industry continues the practice to this day. Why? Corporate greed, plain and simple. It is a cheap source of "protein" and makes cows and other animals fatten faster. A fatter animals weighs more, and they are sold by weight.

I have no doubt that people in the US aren't getting excited about the threat or beginning to avoid beef simply because no people have been reported with the disease. After all, this was a sick cow, not a human. Hence, people do not consider it a direct threat. Amazingly they don't consider those with CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) a varient of Mad Cow as being related when clearly it is.

The Costs of Clean Meat Supply

The meat and dairy industry will now begin a campaign to make the higher cost of clean meat seem a ridiculous indulgence rather than a possibly life saving measure. It does cost more to have a clean food supply. I and my family are worth it, are you and yours?

For excellent reference materials read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, The Crazy Makers by Carol Simontacchi, and Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher who Won't Eat Meat by Howard F. Lyman. Be informed then make the choice for you and your family.

Food politics aside, I'm interested in my and my families health and well being, and I'm not interested in supporting an industry that doesn't care about the quality of their products or whether those products are potentially dangerous or even deadly.

What You Can Do to Avoid Dangerous Meat

• Buy all your meat from the local butcher. He gets the animals from local farmers, and can tell you which Farms, if you ask.
• Buy all your meat from local stores that certify it is grain fed. Visit sites such as EatWild.com
• Cut back on your consumption of all meat in general, substituting beans for instance for protein.
• Eat a "special occasion" steak at the best restaurants such as Ruth Chris' Steak House. Now that's a steak!

More Info on Mad Cow and it's Variant CJD

MadCow.org: Everything you ever wanted to know about Mad Cow.

Human BSE Foundation: An organization for those with CJD (the human variant of Mad Cow)

Mad Cow Facts

You don't have to be a fanatic, just be informed and then make the best choices you can for yourself and your family.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, and author of Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss. Visit OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com to learn how she lost 80 pounds over 20 years ago and kept it off, and how you can do the same.

Dont Be a Worry Wort!

Everyone worries. As bothersome as it is, worry isn't all bad, and can actually work for you. Worry can give you a jolt of energy, spark your creative thinking, and help you to meet deadlines. The trick is to keep worry under control and these tips will help you do that.

1. Identify the source. Though it can take days, weeks, or even months, identifying the source of your worry is time well spent. You may feel anxious all the time, for example, constantly looking over your shoulder, and thinking something awful is about to happen. Once you'e identified these feelings as anticipatory grief you can do something about them.

2. See the big picture. Or as author Richard Carlson, PhD puts it, "Don't sweat the small stuff . . . and it's all small stuff." Carlson says we let ourselves get "worked up over things that, upon closer examination, aren't really that big a deal." Getting a flat tire on the way to work is nothing compared to chronic disease, famine, or terrorirm. Sometimes it's hard to see the big picture, so you may have to consciously de-clutter your mind to bring it into focus.

3. Catch the laughs. According to a University of Maryland Medical Center study, humor is good medicine. Michael Miller, MD, Director for the Center for Prventive Cardiology at the Center, says regular exercise and healthy eating can reduce the risk of heart disease, adding, "Perhaps regular, hearty laughter should be added to the list." Miller thinks we should incorporate laughter into our daily lives by reading funny stuff, watching funny videos, and not taking ourselves so seriously.

4. Start a solutions list. Keep your list on a computer or on a notepad. Every time you think of a solution jot it down. Maintain your list for a week and put it away for a few days. Then take it out, pick the best solution, and start working on it. The solution may not produce dramatic results, but you've taken a proactive step and are moving forward with life.

5. Take care of yourself. Poor eating hbits and lack of sleep can make worry worse. So eat a balanced diet and try to get eight hours of sleep a night. If you haven't had a physical exam in a while this may be the time to get one. And even though you're worried, make time for your friends and social activities.

6. Get moving. Mayo Clinic psychologist Kristen Vickers-Douglas, PhD, in an article on www.MayoClinic.com, says there's "substantial evidence that exercise can enhance mood." You don't have to run a marathon or lift weights to boost your spirits, a daily walk will do it. Others find spritual comfort in meditation.

7. Appreciate nauture. Life is more beautiful when you take the time to appreciate birds and flowers and trees. Recognizing this fact, five Wisconsin towns got together and crafted the "Leaf Your Worries Behind" tourism campign, a "relaxing autumn getaway in the Northwoods." No matter where you live, take the time to appreciate nature.

8. Watch fewer newscasts. In the era of 24-hour television newscasts the same stories are aired again and again. Often these newscasts contain horrific images, images that are stored in your mind. For peace of mind you may wish to watch one newscast and skip the rest.

9. Get help if you need it. According to "Treatment of Specific Anxiety-Based problems," a chapter posted on the Psychological Self-Help Website, chronic worriers fret for several hours a day. What a waste! If you're a chronic worrier you may want to take a stress management course or talk with a trained counselor.

10. Credit yourself. You've taken steps to keep worry under control and that's a huge accomplishment. Applaud yourslf, cheer, or dance around the kitchen. Instead of being a worry wort you're making worry work for you. Good job!

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her latest book, Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief, written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http;//http://www.amazon.com

Copyright 2005 by Harriet Hodgson. To learn more about her work go to http://www.harriethodgson.com.

How to Improve Your Search Engine Positioning and Increase Traffic Today

Every website has times when traffic is higher than others. However, in the downtimes you need to figure out why your traffic is lower and what you can you about it. The following suggestions have been proven to increase website traffic and will be effective in getting you more customers. However, before implementing these tips into your website promotion plan make sure you have a clear understanding of how to perform them effectively because if you are not aware of how to do something right, it could possibly backfire and work against you.

Tip #1 Keyword Phrases

Keyword phrases and rich content are a major concern when it comes to bringing in more traffic and getting a higher ranking with the search engines. The reason for this is that when people search they search for particular terms, or keywords. If you have these on your web page then you will be returned as a result. To make this work for you, make sure that you know the important keywords for your website and optimize each page around those certain keyword phrases. Don't overdo it however, or fill up pages with keywords because this will work against you. If you plan on using keyword phrases as part of your site promotion plan do some research and educate yourself on the right way to carry this strategy out.

Tip # 2 Focus on Content, Not Images

Content, again, is a major concern because that is exactly what the search engines and Internet surfers are looking for. Don't fill up all of your web pages with photos and graphics, no matter how great, because it will not help you in the rankings. Make sure you have some really great copy and accent that with photos and graphics where necessary. You will immediately see the difference.

Tip #3 Submit to Search Engines

Make sure you have submitted your website URL to all of the large and popular search engines. Then, double-check to make sure you are listed with them. Also, know the rules when it comes to submitting to search engines and follow them. Above all, do not try to trick search engines because this will more than likely work against you and could even get your website blacklisted.

Tip #4 Links

The more links that are on the web pointing to your website, the higher you are going to rank. Because of this fact, link building should be something you work on every day. The more websites you can get to trade links with yours means the higher search engine rankings you will receive. Consider websites that sell related products, but not products that are in direct competition.

When you put these suggestions to work for you it will not take long for you to revive and increase your website traffic. However, you must remember that once you have completed your website, your work is not over. You must constantly work to keep your website up in the rankings and if you do this on a daily or weekly basis you should never have problems with your traffic.

Michael Turner shows you exactly how to increase web site traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it today at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

Property Investment - What Future For the Biggest Bubble of All Time?

The Economist magazine published a special report in this months issue entitled "House Prices ? After The Fall". Some might call it pessimistic, alarmist, nonsense or worse but only the foolish would choose to ignore the research that comes out of a think-tank with the kind of resources that this highly respected publication has. Though as a caveat I might add that I am living in Ireland, the country that a recent Economist study declared the best place in the world to live and I could find several dozen reasons to dispute this ? but that's another story!

What the Economist tells us is nothing that we don't already know. An obsessive interest in property by investors, prompted by low interest rates and a loss of faith in equities, has fuelled a massive 'bubble' in the property market, the largest house price boom ever witnessed. Perhaps what we didn't know is this bubble exceeds by 20%, the global stock market bubble of the 1990's and we all know what happened there! It burst, as all bubbles do when under excess pressure.

So what are the predictions for the future and what implications might they have for those considering an investment in property now? Using information gathered from lending institutions, estate agents and national statistics, the Economist has compiled a set of global house prices indices covering 20 countries from 2002 to date. The figures indicate that house prices are seriously over valued in many countries including Spain, Ireland and France, fuelled mainly by speculative demand. America, though heating up a little later is following the same path. Using the current slow down in Australia as an example, and Japan and Germany's negative house price growth, predictions are that with even a flattening off of the market rather than a total collapse, recession is inevitable since people will be far less inclined or unable to release capital on their homes for spending in the economy. So even a 'soft-landing' will cause significant economic pain! In addition, massively inflated prices that are disproportionate to income spells bad news, especially for landlords. In Ireland, for example, rental yields have fallen to below 3%, well below current mortgage rates.

Significantly, all the countries in the Economist's house price index are well developed established economies. The report gives no mention to the emerging economies in Central and Eastern Europe. If, as indicated the housing market in Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands is starting to cool, this will have an immediate impact on the property market in these economies as investors chase better returns. Already ?1 billion of Ireland's anticipated ?6 billion of real estate investment funds are expected to flow to countries outside the EU-15.

It seems the only option now left for the canny property investor is to play the cat and mouse game, chasing newer markets that are experiencing similar conditions for growth and expansion that led the older 'burnt out' markets to their success. But with this comes the element of risk. Economies are delicate, unpredictable systems that don't always fulfil the expectations of players within them.

For those who prefer to shy away from the risks of property investment, preferring to sit it out while the bubble follows its course, there is another option. Chateaux Lafite 2003 will yield creative investors a 13% tax-free rise over 11 months and if the market crashes, you can always drink it!

Tracey Meagher is a property advisor and freelance journalist. She maintains and edits the Property Newsdesk and also gives email consultation to those considering buying property abraod.

You Can Help Reduce the Number of Unwanted Cats - Spaying and Neutering of Cats

Every year, hundreds of thousands of cats and kittens are destroyed because they are unwanted. Animal shelters that take in these animals and try to find them homes are overcrowded. With so many animals in need, they cannot support all animals indefinitely. The solution is not to open more shelters, but for cat owners to become more responsible about spaying and neutering their pets.

A female cat can have two litters of kittens each year. The average survival rate is about 2.8 kittens per litter. If her offspring are not spayed or neutered, the result is 12 cats the first year, 66 cats in the second year, and at the end of ten years, the total would be 80,399,780 cats.

"Spay" is the term used for the surgical removal of a female animal's uterus and ovaries. When a male's testicles are removed, it is called "neutering." Both procedures leave the animals unable to reproduce. Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, spaying and neutering of pets has other benefits for cats and their owners.

Benefits of neutering a male cat

* Neutered cats are less likely to spray strong urine

* Neutered cats will lose the urge to fight

* Neutered cats will be less likely to try to escape

* Neutered cats will not suffer the abscesses from fighting

* Neutered cats will be less likely to contract diseases such as FeLV and FIV

* Neutered cats will not be subject to testicular cancer

* Neutered cats will not likely develop "stud tail," caused by overactive glands in the tail

* Neutered cats have a decreased risk of mammary cancer

Spaying a female cat prevents mating behaviors such as fighting and yowling/hyperactivity in females. Spayed cats don't roam the neighborhood as much, protecting them from the dangers of vehicles and aggressive dogs. Their tendency to stay closer to home also provides protection against deadly diseases such as FeLV and FIV. Finally, "fixed" pets tend to be more loving, because they are not subject to the erratic effects of hormones.

One of the biggest benefits of spaying/neutering is that it dramatically reduces the cat's risk of developing cancers of the reproductive system. A female cat spayed before her first cycle, or heat, has a greatly reduced chance of mammary cancer. Less than a decade ago, conventional wisdom dictated that pets should be neutered at between 5-7 months of age. Recent studies have found that it is not only possible to spay/neuter cats at a younger age, it actually is better for them. Today, cats undergo spay/neuter procedures at about 7 weeks of age. They recover much more quickly than if it was done later, and ensures that a female does not become pregnant with her first heat.

In the past spaying was limited for a number of reasons

* It was better to let a female cat give birth to one litter of kittens before spaying.

* That female cats in particular, might later develop incontinence as a result.

* That certain behavioral problems might result.

However, these theories have since been disproven.

In the past, animal shelters and humane societies sent unaltered cats/kittens to their new home because they wanted them to start their new life as soon as possible. Usually, owners signed documents promising to have the animal neutered. Some facilities took it upon themselves to follow up with phone calls to make sure the owners were living up to their commitment. The overwhelming number of animals coming and going in a shelter today makes this unfeasible. Instead of allowing their charges to add to the overpopulation problem, most animal welfare/adoption groups routinely spay and neuter animals before they are made available for adoption. A number of municipalities have passed laws so that no animal can leave a shelter unless it has been spayed/neutered.

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People Are Crazy... and Everyone Is A Racer

?And everyone is a racer. If you doubt that, you've obviously never driven in New York City during rush hour. Look closely at the driver of that Japanese luxury car. He's just as miffed as you the racer is at having to drive fifty-five miles per hour when the speedometer on the car clearly reads one hundred and fifty. Why can't we drive it at that speed if the car can come close to it. Man, just look at him fiddling with the knobs pretending to be tuning the radio into a station. We racers know what he is really doing is setting the frequency of his imaginary laser beam roadblock remover system. You know the ones; they make little bomb sounds as we pretend we are obliterating our foes on the drive home.

If you really want to annoy him, honk your horn, tailgate him for a few seconds then cut in front of him. When he reaches his boiling point, slam on your brakes and drive slower than you were both going previously. then apply your brakes and drive slower than you were driving before you cut him off. His typical response will be one of anger, an anger borne of the pent-up frustrations of living in a high tech world and being legislated into a low-tech existence. Our driver will invariably stab the gas pedal and swerve out of the lane in an attempt to pass you back. You, in turn, speed up, knowing that his intent is to block pass you at the first opportunity, then brake check you just so you get the message.

And so this high-speed game of "chicken" unfolds on any highway others will graciously move over to let the two road-warriors carry on with the spectacle. I've participated in a more than a few such duels myself though lately I choose to be a bystander to other people's road rage. This emotionally charged ego-tripping could be very dangerous to anyone near the scene.

Society says we should be punished for breaking their law of a maximum velocity of fifty-five miles per hour (in New York at least). Most racers will try to get away with as much as we can, just like on the track and usually have the skills to pull it off. The typical driver lacks all of the needed skills and courage to indulge themselves and so after one or more two hundred dollar speeding tickets, the potential racer's lust for life is usually squashed flatter than Spongebob in the Arizona desert. They usually go home more frustrated, angrier, and two bills poorer. I'm glad I race motorcycles; I'm glad I have a family of people who know and think and feel exactly as I do... we are fortunate to be real racers.

Drivers aren't the only ones who are acting crazy either. Anyone who has walked or driven in Manhattan can attest to the fact that the craziest of all humans is not "Checkered Cabbus-Weavus"; that honor belongs to "Pedestrius Al-sue-yerbutt", the dreaded New York City pedestrian.

No other form of life on the planet is capable of staring into the eyes of the errant tractor-trailer driver and then stepping nonchalantly into the path of his serpentine behemoth. If you've never seen eighteen thousand pounds of truck with all the wheels locked up you don't know what you're missing. The puff of blue smoke in the distance alerts one to the presence of "Pedestrius Al-su-yerbutt."

While the truck driver shakes uncontrollably, trying to bring his heartbeat back below the three hundred mark, "Pedestrius Al-su-yerbutt" flashes an ear to ear grin. And why shouldn't they, they've just looked fear and death in the face and walked away unscathed. Others can only look on in amazement; children will point in their direction with wonder and awe. They are momentarily idolized as they relish fifteen seconds worth of their fifteen minutes of fame. They will be on the tongues of everyone who saw their gutsy moves,

"Holy cripes, did you see that?"

I'm glad I race motorcycles; I'm glad I have a family of people who know and think and feel exactly as I do... we are fortunate to be real racers and have our outlet.

Before we forget that this is a moto-cross story, let me get to the heart of the matter. The point is simply how much we as off road riders and racers have to be grateful for. Unlike the road-rager and "Pedestrius Al-sue-yerbutt," we don't have to drive our cars at one hundred and twenty miles per hour, nor do we have to tempt fate by stepping in front of speeding trucks just to feel that surge of adrenaline. Thank God we are real racers... I do. We aren't as unlucky as the folks who live out the two examples of non-racers.

We are the normal; we can take out our frustrations on machines that were designed to be the healers of our pressures and frustrations. We have moto-cross and the woods to keep us sane. How lucky we are indeed. I'm glad I race motorcycles; I'm glad I have a family of people who know and think and feel exactly as I do... I am fortunate to be among real racers. So when next you are privy to witness any of the afore mentioned dramas, you'll know? people are crazy, and everyone is a racer.

Michael James

*7 years covering professional motocross racing for Cycle News, mxlarge.com, motocross.com, and mxwired.com *amateur motocross racer *screenwriter - seeking representation- *8 year columnist for several motocross papers and magazines

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