Dear Larry, You are absolutely right. Trans fat laden margerine has and will continue to kill people prematurely by the millions. Let me point out that I am not one of your American nutritionists, in fact I don't even want to talk to these people with miserable bachelor academic credentials, following guidelines set forth by their "American Dietetic Association" which is basically preaching the wisdom of big (processed) food corporations. I am a nutritional chemist and had to study for my degree for 8 years at the University of Berlin. Unlike American nutritionists I know how margerine is made and if anybody knew what they were eating they would puke. A roach is more intelligent about eating healthy. Put a blob of margerine on your windowsill and it will still be there in 2 years untouched by any insect. So if margarine was so bad for you where are your lawyers, why has nobody appologized including your American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, The Harvard Institute etc., all advocating to eat margerine instead of butter? As a member of the Weston Price Foundation my fat hero is Dr. Mary Enig. She was the first to fight the vegetable oil/margerine industry for promoting rancid fats. You would be well advised to read what this foundation stands for, click on the link below. Fortunately Europeans have always been suspicious of junk food science spread in America. Every single modern trend is a killer: Low fat - absolut rubbish and responsible for the high degree of diabetes in your country. Fat slows the absorption of sugar into your blood. Low Sodium - Again killing millions of people prematurely and responsible for millions of people suffering from astma and high blood pressure. Sodium in balance with Potassium is the most important mineral to stabilize your blood pressure. Drink milk for Calcium - what a joke, milk will deplete your body of vital Magnesium and CAUSE osteoporosis. US milk is full of puss, eat French cheese where puss count is regulated. Pop multivitamins and rest easy when eating junk food - people on multivitamins are 10% more likely to die early vs. people who don't take multi-vitamins. Eat soy - good luck, you need it. etc. etc. By the way beer is healthy but make sure it's additive free. I lecture at community events, my theme is "Challenging politically correct nutrition". You get the picture. Here is a link that might be useful: Weston Price Foundation

Hi Allison: Please keep us posted on Monday .. thanks for the info. of requested tests on Stop the Thyroid Madness site. In the old days, doctors went overboard in unnecessary tests & surgeries, but nowadays insurance put a restriction on that. Over a decade ago my sister wore her hair in an "onion" bun (capped with a metallic hair fastener), they took X-ray and the doc. thought it was a HUGE GOITER, or HUGE THROAT CANCER. They did CT scan & MRI & unnecessary tests just to find out that it's a bundle of hair & metallic cap. I wrote to my insurance asking for further thyroid antibody-test & neck-checking for my 12-year old daughter, and my insurance wrote back " You can submit a pre-authorization request for review. This normally includes a letter of medical necessity with medical records to substantiate the service. This review generally takes 15-20 business days and all responses are made in writing. " From StrawChicago: I will wait for the kelp snack to boost her metabolism, and if she becomes depressed again during the summer, then I will take her for further thyroid-test. When I read through the Earthclinic.com/People's pharmacy website, one person reported solving her hypothyroid just by consuming a few Brazil nuts a day (high in selenium, necessary for normal thyroid function). Another person solved her hypothyroid with Stress-Tabs (Vit. C 120 mg, Thiamin 10mg, Riboflavin 10mg, Niacin 50 mg, Vit. B6 5 mg, Folate 400 mcg, Vit. B12 100mcg, Panthothenic Acid 40 mg, Proprietary Amino Acid Blend 100 mg (Arginine, Glutamine, Taurine), Sensoril extract.). The NON-MEDICATED approach is more effective & less side-effects because it comprises of a vast array of nutrients to boost thyroid health. Plus one can adjust the dose by oneself (less Brazil nut, or less seaweed snack) ... without going through the doctor. There are side effects for Levothyroxine: Insomnia, flushing, muscle pain, fatique, mood swings. There's a long list of side-effects of Synthroid, see the link below: https://synthroidhaters.wordpress.com/synthroid-side-effects/ When I googled, "The problem with Synthroid", there are tons of info. of horrible effects either through buying less-effective generic drugs, or it doesn't work, or the dose is too high, etc. Here's one example: " Saw dr after labs and ultrasound dx cysts on thryoid and hypo put me on generic synthroid.25. On meds for approx 6 weeks became very hoarse to the point of not being able to speak, not sleeping for more than 3 hrs, terrible bloating and gas, increased racing heart and "shaking like tremors". ... Subsequently I felt so bad I stopped the med without her knowlege. Hoarseness, sleeping, hand symptoms and chest fulness, bloating have improved to what they were before starting meds." http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Thyroid-Disorders/problem-with-synthroid/show/1587399 From Stop the thyroid madness site: "Did you know that a healthy thyroid makes five hormones?? They are T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. T4, also called thyroxine, is simply a storage hormone meant to convert to T3, the active hormone. But a healthy thyroid doesn’t make you totally depend on conversion alone, and also gives you “direct” T3 plus the other hormones above ... Being on a T4-only med means you are missing out on four other hormones directly, and thus, you are being forced to live for conversion alone!" Many people complained that Armour Thyroid (dried pig thyroids) are no longer available, and the chemical Synthroid has tons of side-effects, which they can't handle. See an excerpt from below link: "I had been on Armour thyroid for several years and it worked really well. Unfortunately, my last prescription was put on hold by the manufacturer and I have not been able to get it filled. That was in July 2009. My dr. had to put me on Synthroid instead and I feel terrible now. I have insomnia and anxiety yet my blood tests look fine. I'm not sure what to do now. I've called the pharmacy several times in the last 4 months and Armour is still not available to the public. " http://www.endocrineweb.com/community/hypothyroidism/1288-armour-thyroid-vs-Synthroid "About a year ago I was prescribed Synthroid and almost immediately had a pretty severe reaction to it. Throat swelled, ankles and hands swelled, heart raced ... felt like crap. My doctor switched me to an all natural herbal product called "Innate Thyroid Response." It worked pretty well until just recently. So I'm going back for a tune-up. :o) Doctors and pharmacists are provided ve-e-ery generous "perks" by pharmaceutical reps for pushing what my doctor calls, "designer drugs." The more expensive the drug, the "more effective" it is often touted to be, when often that could not be further from the truth. I would question the motives of a doctor who "insists" that one drug is preferable to another ... especially a tried and true oldie like Armour." Tinyhandz said... 2 years 52 weeks ago "I was on Synthroid for a while and I really did not like the way it made me feel. I was shaky, nervous, couldnt sleep, and I became very anxious over the months that I was taking it." http://www.endocrineweb.com/community/hypothyroidism/1288-armour-thyroid-vs-synthroid

Thanks for the link, morz. My mother, who died suddenly at 70, took daily calcium supplements, as she had severe osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. I guess I'll never know whether the calcium supplements played any part in her death of a stroke at a relatively young age. She was the youngest of 10 siblings, all who died of heart attacks or strokes between the ages of 50 and 76, except one brother. I have no idea if any of them were ever on calcium supplements. I know my Doctor is just trying to ensure I won't get osteoporosis/arthritis like my mother. But my mother never needed a cane and had never broken a single bone, despite her low bone density, when she died of a massive stroke. It's hard to decide if there is a strong enough risk of accelerating heart disease by taking the calcium supplements, or if I should just take my Vitamin D and continue my high calcium diet but ditch the calcium pills..

Shirley, I read your post just now while eating oat bran. LOL Usually I cook it in a bowl in the microwave, sometimes adding raisins before cooking. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of cinnamon. Occasionally I stir in some applesauce after cooking. Tonight I was eating it uncooked, mixed with wheat germ and some raisins and walnuts, and sweetened slightly with one drop of stevia. Cooked or uncooked, I eat it with soymilk. Actually, oat bran is very much on my mind right now because I have to launder a shirt and shorts that are covered with it. I fell down my porch steps this evening while holding a bowl of cooked oat bran and soymilk, and it got all over me--hair, arms, clothes. What a mess. I don't know how it happened. My DS was right there, and he doesn't know how it happened either. I'm just glad I didn't reinjure my bad knee. Anyway, I didn't get to eat any of it, so that's why I was eating it uncooked a little later.