I switched my cat from dry food to canned Innova 2 years ago, and all his urinary tract issues have disappeared. He is so much healthier now. Here are some good articles about cat nutrition and another about feline diabetes.

Here's the graph.

I recommend you get Paula Begoun's books from the library before you buy a single product. They are fantastic. She's all about evidence based skin care- what works, what doesn't, what's worth the money. She points out that even the excellent product lines have good and bad products, so she recommends you look at each product individually. Also, what you need depends on your skin type, so take recommendations from strangers with a grain of salt. ;) The Beauty Bible Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me

I wouldn't worry about it too much. The article that this information comes from is based on a very flawed study. The original study isn't available online, but a synopsis is here. I'll comment on a few of the most important points, related to the comments I have bolded below. 1. They compared death rates of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's (diseases that have no cure and very little effective treatments) to HIV, CVA, and leukemia- all disease that have had dramatic improvements in outcome over the last few decades. They did NOT compare the incidence rate (number of NEW cases) and if they had their results would have been quite different. 2. There has been a major change in how Alzheimer's is diagnosed in the last 35 years. Really, that should be a tip off. Does anyone believe that prior to 1975, there were no deaths due to Alzheimer's? Of course there were, but they called it senile dementia! If you included those cases, the numbers haven't gone up all that much. They changed the NAME of the condition. The condition was always there. 3. They correctly state that the death rate has increased. That's true, but it's because people are living longer, and surviving other conditions that previously would have killed them. So the *prevalence* (number of cases at one point in time) is higher, but the *incidence* (number of new cases in a given period of time, usually per year), has only increased a little bit. There's a visual below for Parkinson's ( I couldn't find a good graph for Alzheimer's but it's similar). Sorry, I can't figure out how to shrink it. The two top lines are prevalence. As people get older, cases accumulate, and the number rises. The bottom lines are incidence, or the number of new cases diagnosed each year. From one year to the next, it doesn't vary all that much. 4. All they've done is shown that death rates from these diseases have gone up coincidentally as the use of nitrates have increased. I would like to suggest some alternate theories. There is a correlation between the increase in death rates from Alzheimer's and the increase in the number of homeschoolers. Or the number of Target stores. Or military funding. You have to have more than a temporal correlation. Otherwise it's nothing more than speculation. I'm not saying nitrates don't cause illness. They have been convincingly associated with cancer, and should probably be avoided.

I never thought about it until I read this thread. I am SO dense. :001_huh:

:iagree: I have to admit that my first thought was not "sexually aroused, lubricated and ready for intercourse", although I am admittedly dense. Now it makes me wonder what males are thinking when they see these yoga pants: I've never seen the "Juicy" pants, but I see girls wearing "Pink" pants all the time (with a shirt, not a bra). What's your opinion, slutty or not? Is "Pink" more than just a brand name?

I am bothered by the idea that women are responsible for men's thoughts, but don't you think it would have been even worse if you had been dressed like a Hooters waitress?

First, Mergath, you know I ♥ you, and I'm sorry to have hurt your feelings. I should have said that I would keep my (emotional) distance from someone with untreated, unrecognized, or unacknowledged BPD. As long as someone has some insight into it, there would be no problem for me. There is an abundance of mental illness, substance abuse, personality, and mood disorders in my family and among my friends. I have several of my own diagnoses :blushing: so my hesitancy is coming from experience rather than any kind of stigma or prejudice. I was abused as a child too, and one of the ways I cope as an adult is to avoid drama and dysfunction as much as possible. Unfortunately, the borderlines in my life were NOT interested in considering that they were the ones with the problem, and the disruption and destruction they caused make me very wary. I realize that that is because of my own shortcomings, and I'm sorry for that. (BTW, I could only access the internet by phone for the last 4 days, and I can't type more than a few words on the thing without my head exploding. Not trying to resurrect an old thread.)

Yes, with one exception. If I knew someone had Borderline Personality Disorder, I would keep my distance.

Also, my nickel allergies are much worse when I'm stressed.

Shingles is very unlikely to show up in multiple places like that, and it would be painful. I don't think you need to worry about shingles too much. :)

Where exactly on your belly? Nickel allergies cause itchy bumpy rashes, and I can think of things with nickel that could come into contact with all those places-except under your chin. The metal on my sunglasses often causes me to react on my temples and nose. When I used to wear a watch, my wrist would break out. The button on certain jeans causes me to react right around my belly button. I also have reactions to jewelry (neck, chest, ears) and sometimes straps on shoes. Can you think of metals that have been in contact with those places?

:grouphug: :iagree:

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:iagree:

:seeya: I'm here. Socially liberal. Pro-evidence where it's possible. I'm not an idealogue when it comes to public policy. I want to know what works to make this world a better place for all of us. Does legalizing marijuana hurt more people or help them, for example.

Wearer of many hats.

I'm sorry. :grouphug: A periodontist is a dental specialist, not an MD.

One example and this is my last post on the subject. I have things to do today.:)

I don't have a number. Do you? Does it matter? People are suggesting "letting nature take its course". That's exactly what is happening, and over 1000 kids a day are dying from a vaccine preventable disease. I find that abhorrent.

I disagree with the bolded statement. Can you provide a source? In the long run, of course the goal is to improve nutrition and the standard of living, and have clean water accessible to all. But we are many, many years away from that happening, and it's not because no one's thought of it. We can do something right now that will save over 1000 lives a day, and we should be doing it.

1. That vaccine "truth" article is misleading. No one is recommending stopping breastfeeding for vaccines. The abstract does mention evaluating it as a possibility. That means studying it to see whether it would be effective without causing harm. 2. This is a study among people in developing countries. From medscape That's over 1000 kids per day. Oops. Looks like breastfeeding isn't working out so well to prevent rotavirus. I am not going to get into a debate over this. BTDT and it sucks my life away. Just wanted to give a little perspective. :auto:

Sounds like a ganglion cyst. I'd have it checked if it doesn't get better soon.

Dr. Bauer, not Mrs. Bauer. Sheesh. :tongue_smilie: