![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Todo Sobre Mi Madre
Sometimes I'm too clever for my own good. Here are some very silly jokes I thought up last night. Verily, my brain is a strange place. First, I'm not much of one for Hallmark Holidays, but many fathers give their wives roses on Mothers' Day. But the attentive spouse should never send twelve dozen noses. That's just a gross.
Don't worry, it gets worse. Question: Why did the retired Englishman take up falconry?
Once again, I'm not entirely sure what to write about today, despite the subject matter and the obvious choice. Indeed, I feel a little guilty to be writing here at all, as I haven't written my requisite 1500 words yet today. I did wake up to hear a mourning dove cooing, though, so I guess it must be summer now, despite all the snow. The daffodils are about four inches tall, and look like they might open tomorrow or Tuesday. I predict a hot summer with lots of ticks. I hope I'm wrong.
So, my Mom has eaten Cheerios for breakfast every day of her life. When she was a child, her family got fresh milk every morning from a dairy run by a cousin. My grandmother would carefully pour the milk into a large ceramic bowl and separate the milk from the cream. Then the family would pour the cream over their Cheerios. The image still kind of amazes me, just to think of how far our country has come in the last century, and even the last fifty years. Cheerios, like most commercial breakfast cereals, are fortified, which is to say, they have artificially added vitamins and minerals. I bring this up because fortified Cheerios provide 45% of a healthy adults FDA recommended daily allowance of iron per one cup serving. (And of course most people, including Mom eat much more than one serving) Now iron is essential to the production of hemoglobin, which in turn is essential for the oxygen-carrying ability of our red blood cells. (This is because we are vertebrates. If we were (super-intelligent, giant) spiders or squids or something, our breakfast cererals would be fortified with copper, and probably be blue...) (Look up Hemocyanin)
Of course iron is also a heavy metal which can be toxic in excess quantities in the body. There is a lot of iron to be had in the food we eat (even unfortified), and we lose a little bit through certain body secretions. Now, most of the iron in our bodies is, naturally, in our blood, so women of childbearing age (that is to say women who regularly menstruate and indeed, all female mammals that produce offspring) lose more iron than men, post-menopausal women, and children, and therefore need to consume a little more to maintain their health. (I would love to mention female chimps who hunt bushbabies with sharpened sticks right now, but I think that would be too much of an unproductive tangent, though it is very interesting)
Excess iron is stored within the cells, but particularly within the liver. (Polar bear liver is said to be so rich in iron and high in fat that only a small piece will kill a human. It comes from all the seaweed they eat.) ; ) Naturally, this means that excess iron (haemochromatosis--though surely that's hemochromatosis in America?) can cause severe, and possibly fatal, liver problems, as well as related problems with the blood and joints, etc. If detected before irreperable liver damage occurs, the condition can be treated by reducing the amount of iron in the diet and, of course, blood-letting. Ah! Medieval medicine makes a come-back!
It's a little sobering to think that perhaps the only reason my Mom has not felt the effects of her hemochromatosis before is that she has always regularly donated blood. (To think it's actually healthy!) Of course, she wouldn't have this problem if Big Brother hadn't decided that Americans were dangerously in need of mineral fortification. One of the many things I find unfathomable about human nature is why people are inclined to believe that something that we never needed before is suddenly vital, just because an authority figure says so. Presumably this trend has been going on for at least 50,000 years. I mean, life on earth has been survived for billions of years. (LUCA lived some 3.5 billion years ago) Why do we think we can suddenly improve it, just because it's "the glorious future"?
Fortification of foods began in the U.S. around 1938, and the addition of some vitamins did prevent a number of malnutrition-related diseases among the poor especially. I'm not saying it was a bad thing at the time, but the continued practice of "nutrification" and the increased numbers of foods that are fortified is actually counter-productive now that the U.S. has become rich (The U.S.A. was a third world country before World War Two, remember) and quality food is easy to come by. Initially, when I was thinking about this topic, I thought it seemed somehow related to eugenics and Superman and the view of the future in the fifties and early sixties as epitomized by Disney World, but I think now it is only marginally related, though that does segue nicely to my next point. (Did you see that? Good, eh?) ; D
So, yesterday I saw the movie Meet The Robinsons. I will just say here that I watch children's movies. Not exclusively, certainly, but regularly. This is because:
1. Sometimes I just get tired of all the violence in mainstream movies (although many children's movies are disturbingly violent as well)
2. I write books for children (and intend to have some published some day too), so I have to keep up with what they're watching and thinking about.
3. I just like them. They are reassuring. The best ones, like the best fairy tales, are dark, yet end happily, are simple in structure, but not in subject matter, and provide answers for difficult questions in ways that are often fun, insightful, and won't give you nightmares.
Now, I have rather distrusted Disney movies since I was a youngster and saw The Lion King in the theater. My older sister, who was in her "vast conspiracy" phase, convinced me that the film was a subversive attempt to indoctrinate children into a hateful and destructive cult by dressing up villainous humans as cute fuzzy animals to the backdrop of catchy pop songs. I had actually enjoyed the movie (and three of the songs, and many of the images, have still stuck, even all these years later, after only a single viewing) and remember getting teary eyed at the end and at that part near the end that went with the song (with the worst title ever) called "Can You Feel The Love Tonight." After hearing my sister's argument against the film (and she has always made very convincing arguments), I felt manipulated and foolish. I have since been wary of any film that seeks to manipulate my emotions just because, and not letting the emotions grow organically from the story, if that makes sense. I still basically hate all romantic comedies, and most action movies for this reason.
Hope you enjoyed the (non-fortified) food for thought!
-Susie
bouncyDon't worry, it gets worse. Question: Why did the retired Englishman take up falconry?
( Punchline )
Once again, I'm not entirely sure what to write about today, despite the subject matter and the obvious choice. Indeed, I feel a little guilty to be writing here at all, as I haven't written my requisite 1500 words yet today. I did wake up to hear a mourning dove cooing, though, so I guess it must be summer now, despite all the snow. The daffodils are about four inches tall, and look like they might open tomorrow or Tuesday. I predict a hot summer with lots of ticks. I hope I'm wrong.
So, my Mom has eaten Cheerios for breakfast every day of her life. When she was a child, her family got fresh milk every morning from a dairy run by a cousin. My grandmother would carefully pour the milk into a large ceramic bowl and separate the milk from the cream. Then the family would pour the cream over their Cheerios. The image still kind of amazes me, just to think of how far our country has come in the last century, and even the last fifty years. Cheerios, like most commercial breakfast cereals, are fortified, which is to say, they have artificially added vitamins and minerals. I bring this up because fortified Cheerios provide 45% of a healthy adults FDA recommended daily allowance of iron per one cup serving. (And of course most people, including Mom eat much more than one serving) Now iron is essential to the production of hemoglobin, which in turn is essential for the oxygen-carrying ability of our red blood cells. (This is because we are vertebrates. If we were (super-intelligent, giant) spiders or squids or something, our breakfast cererals would be fortified with copper, and probably be blue...) (Look up Hemocyanin)
Of course iron is also a heavy metal which can be toxic in excess quantities in the body. There is a lot of iron to be had in the food we eat (even unfortified), and we lose a little bit through certain body secretions. Now, most of the iron in our bodies is, naturally, in our blood, so women of childbearing age (that is to say women who regularly menstruate and indeed, all female mammals that produce offspring) lose more iron than men, post-menopausal women, and children, and therefore need to consume a little more to maintain their health. (I would love to mention female chimps who hunt bushbabies with sharpened sticks right now, but I think that would be too much of an unproductive tangent, though it is very interesting)
Excess iron is stored within the cells, but particularly within the liver. (Polar bear liver is said to be so rich in iron and high in fat that only a small piece will kill a human. It comes from all the seaweed they eat.) ; ) Naturally, this means that excess iron (haemochromatosis--though surely that's hemochromatosis in America?) can cause severe, and possibly fatal, liver problems, as well as related problems with the blood and joints, etc. If detected before irreperable liver damage occurs, the condition can be treated by reducing the amount of iron in the diet and, of course, blood-letting. Ah! Medieval medicine makes a come-back!
It's a little sobering to think that perhaps the only reason my Mom has not felt the effects of her hemochromatosis before is that she has always regularly donated blood. (To think it's actually healthy!) Of course, she wouldn't have this problem if Big Brother hadn't decided that Americans were dangerously in need of mineral fortification. One of the many things I find unfathomable about human nature is why people are inclined to believe that something that we never needed before is suddenly vital, just because an authority figure says so. Presumably this trend has been going on for at least 50,000 years. I mean, life on earth has been survived for billions of years. (LUCA lived some 3.5 billion years ago) Why do we think we can suddenly improve it, just because it's "the glorious future"?
Fortification of foods began in the U.S. around 1938, and the addition of some vitamins did prevent a number of malnutrition-related diseases among the poor especially. I'm not saying it was a bad thing at the time, but the continued practice of "nutrification" and the increased numbers of foods that are fortified is actually counter-productive now that the U.S. has become rich (The U.S.A. was a third world country before World War Two, remember) and quality food is easy to come by. Initially, when I was thinking about this topic, I thought it seemed somehow related to eugenics and Superman and the view of the future in the fifties and early sixties as epitomized by Disney World, but I think now it is only marginally related, though that does segue nicely to my next point. (Did you see that? Good, eh?) ; D
So, yesterday I saw the movie Meet The Robinsons. I will just say here that I watch children's movies. Not exclusively, certainly, but regularly. This is because:
1. Sometimes I just get tired of all the violence in mainstream movies (although many children's movies are disturbingly violent as well)
2. I write books for children (and intend to have some published some day too), so I have to keep up with what they're watching and thinking about.
3. I just like them. They are reassuring. The best ones, like the best fairy tales, are dark, yet end happily, are simple in structure, but not in subject matter, and provide answers for difficult questions in ways that are often fun, insightful, and won't give you nightmares.
Now, I have rather distrusted Disney movies since I was a youngster and saw The Lion King in the theater. My older sister, who was in her "vast conspiracy" phase, convinced me that the film was a subversive attempt to indoctrinate children into a hateful and destructive cult by dressing up villainous humans as cute fuzzy animals to the backdrop of catchy pop songs. I had actually enjoyed the movie (and three of the songs, and many of the images, have still stuck, even all these years later, after only a single viewing) and remember getting teary eyed at the end and at that part near the end that went with the song (with the worst title ever) called "Can You Feel The Love Tonight." After hearing my sister's argument against the film (and she has always made very convincing arguments), I felt manipulated and foolish. I have since been wary of any film that seeks to manipulate my emotions just because, and not letting the emotions grow organically from the story, if that makes sense. I still basically hate all romantic comedies, and most action movies for this reason.
( Spoilers )
Hope you enjoyed the (non-fortified) food for thought!
-Susie