Tag Archives: Food

Eating after Lapband Surgery

Posted by admin on March 16, 2012 None comments

Have you ever thought of having a bariatric or weight loss surgery? Have you ever heard of stories that after having a lapband procedure you would forever be destined to eat nothing but cottage cheese and soup? Have you ever wondered what people actually eat after having the procedure? Do you want to know what the true restrictions are for somebody who just had a lapband surgery?

The simple fact is that even after having the lapband device put into place, it is still possible for you to consume many different types of foods that you like. Not all people are the same, and this goes especially true for individuals with the lapband. Try talking to ten people with the device and ask them what foods they find hard to eat now after having the surgery and you for sure would be amazed to find ten very different answers.

Then again, below is a short list of the common food items which a lot of lapband patients report of having problems eating;

- Rice
- Bread
- Pasta
- Chops and steaks
- Raw and fibrous vegetables and fruits

If you have just had the lapband procedure and are thinking of consuming the above mentioned food items, it is highly suggested that you try consuming them slowly, in small servings, as well as, always make it certain that you chew on them properly. There is also a very easy solution that you can follow with regards to the food items in which you find difficult to consume and that is for you to just avoid them. You need to understand that a particular food which your tummy may tolerate on Friday may not be so on Monday. Some days you may feel that the lapband device is tighter, while on some occasions, you may feel that it is a bit loose. A lot of people report that their lapband feels rather tight during mornings and hence alter their dietary planning accordingly. Other people say that their lapband feels tighter while they are under very stressful situations.

The main thing to bear in mind is that everybody is different and hence, each and everyone need to take note of their personal requirements and then plan their meals accordingly. If you opt for a lapband surgery, please understand that there maybe some food items that you will need to give up on since they can be rather uncomfortable to consume. What these foods are maybe common or unique only to you.

Cat Food – The Best, The Healthiest, The Most Nutritious

Posted by admin on July 1, 2011 None comments

We humans have a capacity of extremes. There are those of us who are honest to the letter and there are those of us who are equally dishonest. Stress often plays an important part of being dishonest, especially for a struggling businessman desperately trying to provide for his family.

Then there are those who are just plain greedy and don’t care how they arrive at their fortune as long as they do.

Luckily, in most countries, there is now a system in place that ensures a basic (some might say very basic) standard that all manufacturers or suppliers of human food must meet.

Sadly this is either not the case for animal feed, or the standards are so low as to be useless.

So despite all the pretty advertising, all the logically convincing and reassuring words from your vet, chances are, if you’re feeding your cat a processed cat food, you’re directly contributing to her ill health.

The big brand names in cat food contribute financially to veterinary colleges, which explains why vets surgery reception areas are now piled high with these brands. But does it spell quality?

To find out we need to look at what’s in processed cat food. Most fresh meat goes for human consumption as more money can be made there. So pet food tends to get the dregs. Dregs can include meat meal or meat by-products (chicken feet, feathers, hair, skin, intestinal waste (poo to you and me), general slaughterhouse wastes), meat not considered safe (spoiled or toxic) or desirable for human consumption, fat, diseased carcasses (which may be far from fresh), including euthanised animals.

To bulk this out, low cost carbohydrates are used, which can include sugar, propylene glycol, leftover fast food, mouldy and rancid grain deemed unsuitable for human consumption, corn syrup, non-nutritive fillers such as sawdust or newspaper and so forth.

So the cat food starts out as low quality, too low in digestible protein essential to a cats well being, too high in fat, too high in carbohydrates and possibly poisonous – 100 Bald and Golden Eagles in North America have died recently from eating a euthanised animal.

Then the ‘food’ is cooked, usually at very high temperatures. Cooking destroys many nutrients which are essential for good health. Cats evolved by killing and eating their food instantly, showing that freshness is essential for a cats overall good health.

To address this, the cat food manufacturers add synthetic nutrients. Synthetic nutrients are isolated and not easily digested by anyone let alone your cat. So a label reassuringly boasting of a ‘nutritionally complete’ or ‘scientific’ diet are purposefully vague as neither are true. Unqualified claims are legally acceptable in most countries with their poor or non-existent pet food regulations.

As this resultant cat food doesn’t look very appealing, colour is added (Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2), obviously for your benefit as I doubt your cat cares much about the colour of cat food.

Now, most processed food is in a dry or semi dry form. This means that you have to preserve the food to keep it. If you purchase any meat product that keeps longer than a couple of days in the fridge, you know it has preservative in.

Some common preservatives include disodium guanylate, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (a very controversial synthetic vitamin K.), mixed-tocopherols (synthetic form of Vitamin E) and others considered unfit for human consumption.

All processed food is ‘dead’ food, with no life. Dead food is that which has been cooked, particularly at high temperature and for long periods.

So you might think that buying cat food direct from a pet food supplier or butcher might be the answer. A quality butcher I buy from once told me that most pet mince sold at butchers is all the excess fat they can’t use, mixed with beetroot juice. On further inspection of the pet mince in discussion, I didn’t doubt him.

I read recently of someone buying from a pet shop. As she walked up to the shop from the car park, she noticed a pickup truck loaded down with large boxes marked poultry. On closer inspection she saw they contained pre-packaged chicken pieces. Fresh chicken sitting in boxes, in the hot summer sun, not on ice, not in a refrigerated truck, but in the back of an open pick up truck waiting to be carried into the store for sale to consumers.

What is the Best Dog Food?

Posted by admin on June 30, 2011 None comments

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind. Without question, the best dog food is one which is based on a wild dog’s diet. Dogs have evolved on this. It’s raw meat. There are no cookers in nature.

People are reluctant to believe this for a variety of reasons. So lets look at some of them, and dispel your fears.

Firstly, you may be worried about the presence os parasites and worms in raw meat. It’s been drummed into you that meat needs to be cooked to kill them off.

I can assure you, that dogs digestion is robust. They have no trouble with worms and parasites in raw meat. They have evolved to deal with this. What they haven’t evolved to deal with is cooked food, high fat content, preservatives, pathogens in cooked food, poor quality filler and the low grade food which passes for dog food.

Secondly, you may be concerned about bones perforating an internal organ.

Dogs evolved by crunching up on raw bones. They have absolutely no problem with raw bones, as long as they are raw and they gnaw them. If you have more than one dog and they gobble the bone down to ensure the other doesn’t get it, they may suffer some discomfort while the bone passes through their digestive system, but it won’t do more than cause them discomfort. So ensure your dog gnaws the bone in peace.

The other problem is with cooked bones. These can perforate your dog’s internal organs. Cooked bones are a definite no-no when working out the ingredients for the best dog food.

Thirdly, you may think feeding your dog a raw food diet is expensive. After all, the connotation ‘best dog food’ looks expensive.

It depends on what you take into consideration. If you are feeding your dog the cheapest brand of dog food from the supermarket, and don’t have any ailments treated, then you may be right. If you do, I doubt you’re reading this. So lets suppose you feed your dog a medium priced commercial dog food and do use the services of a veterinarian or other health professional, for ailments your dog may suffer.

Raw dog food is nutrient dense. Commercial dog food is nutrient poor. So you need to feed much more commercial dog food to come anywhere near (and it never comes close) to providing the decent diet that raw meat does. Which means you need much less volume of raw food compared with commercial dog food.

Then, if you include the fees you spend on health care, there’s no comparison. Commercial pet food keeps veterinarians wealthy. They hardly see the healthy dogs fed on raw meat, nature’s best dog food.

Fourthly, you may think that the purchase and preparation of the best dog food there is, is too much like hard work. You think it may be too big a hassle.

I’ve taken the hassle out of it, by telling you how to do it without making the mistakes I did.

Fifthly, you may think you dog doesn’t like raw food.

Have you ever tried? With decent food, I mean? I can assure you, there is no dog alive who doesn’t recognise the raw food as the best dog food. If you’re overfeeding your dog, he may refuse it initially. And if you leave food out all day, that’s likely. Keep in mind too, many commercial dog food manufacturers add appetite stimulants to the food. This may cause a short term problem, while he adapts.

Lastly, you may be concerned that you don’t know enough to be able to get the nutritional needs of your dog correct. After all, that’s what’s pushed by veterinarians and commercial dog food manufacturers – you don’t know enough. Just because the packet tells you this brand is ‘recommended by top vets’ or that brand is ‘scientific’, doesn’t mean they are selling the best dog food. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I can tell you from experience, it’s not as difficult as they make out. You do need to know some important facts, but once you’ve opened your mind to allowing your own inner wisdom to emerge, and by following certain natural laws, you’ll have no problem working it out.

If everyone started feeding their dog raw meat, many, many veterinarians would go out of business.

What are you waiting for?

Cat Food Recipes – Quick, Easy, Nutritious

Posted by admin on June 28, 2011 None comments

For years, I thought that the best cat food was bought from the supermarket, in tins, packets and boxes. After all, the labels said things like “scientifically proven” and “recommended by vets” and “low ash”, things that seemed to indicate to me the manufacturers knew what they were talking about.

I don’t doubt, that you do or perhaps did, feel the same.

It’s easier to assume the best if you have high demands on your time. And who hasn’t these days?

It was only when I started looking at a more holistic way of treatment, that I began to run into the idea that perhaps commercial pet food wasn’t the best way.

After all, the makers of such food are normal people trying to make their business pay. It’s tempting to cut corners. And the more corners you cut, the easier it becomes.

Now, you’re probably as concerned as I am about the lack of quality in commercial pet food. From the low grade meat, to the meat-by-products, to the high fat, to the synthetic nutrients, to the chemical preservatives. Even the cans aren’t safe, with BPA in the lining leaking into the food.

Really, the only way to ensure your family or your pet is getting proper nutrition is to make it yourself, from scratch.

And, of course, just as you and your family want variety, so too does your cat.

So you’re looking for some inspiring cat food recipes?

Ones that are quick to deliver after a hard day’s work?

Ones that are nutritious and balanced to ensure your cat’s ongoing good health?

Ones that don’t cost an arm and a leg?

Well, you’ve come to the right place!

When I adopted the idea of homemade cat food, I struggled with providing my cats with food they would eat and which was healthy. It took a lot of trial and error, but I got there in the end.

Now I know what the most nutritious cat food is, I know what cats like and I can vary the meals so they get something different every day of the week.

I thought others might like to learn from my experiences, rather than make their own mistakes. Why reinvent the wheel? This other has gone before and ironed out the wrinkles for you!

Cat food recipes must contain the essential meat that cats need, but just by varying one ingredient, you can create a difference that will stimulate your cats appetite.

And it’s just so easy!

OK, I admit, it’s not quite as easy as opening a can or box. But then, I’m guessing you’re looking beyond that, for quality and health enhancing nutrition.

Good quality homemade cat food recipes are fun to make, easy to do and ensures your cat’s optimum health.

The emphasis is on good quality.

I’ve read many different cat food recipes which really aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. It’s obvious that the writer hasn’t done any research into the dietary requirements of cats.

My cat food recipes are based on what I have researched, but also what holistic veterinarians are saying, as a body. They’re saying what really works, what diseases, often serious, melt away with a proper diet, made from good quality homemade cat food recipes.

Enjoy!