The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Dear Dietitian, I read your last column on calcium where you recommended that we get the mineral in our diet rather than pills. Is it better to get calcium from plant foods or dairy products? Wondering Dear Wondering, Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, accounting for 39% total body minerals. Most of us know that calcium is needed for strong bones and teeth, but did you know it is also needed for blood clotting? Calcium initiates the release of blood-clotting...
Emotional weariness and physical weakness are the only things that keep me from foolishness any more. Like I've written, I have the propensity to invent unrealistic and immature acts, then cry to friends and family for help when things fall apart – like the Brazil trip that almost killed me. The BBC said the other day that Brazil and the U.S. have reached an agreement to eliminate the need for a visa from American tourists. This means that passports don't have to be sent to th...
Celebrations can be great fun. I know that most of us today are celebrating the founding of our country. July 4, 1776 is one of the greatest days in man’s history in my opinion. The best one was the day Jesus came out of the tomb and guaranteed victory for all who believe in Him! The second-best day of celebration for me was the day in the spring of 1971 that I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. I must say it took several decades for me to truly appreciate what that means a...
One of the hottest debates I have witnessed in this part of the country during my lifetime has been on the “re-introduction” of wolves. Please note that I place the term “re-introduction” in quotes, because the wolves that were introduced into Yellowstone National Park in the 1990’s are of the Canadian Timberwolf variety - a subspecies larger and more aggressive than the grey wolves that originally roamed the forests and plains of Montana. According to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website, “the gray wolf was extirpa...
U.S. Highway 191 climbs a steep grade out of the Missouri River bottoms north of the bridge at the James Kipp Recreation Area. As it gains the upper extent of the river breaks, a far-reaching, high plains landscape sprawls toward Canada 125 miles to the north. The Little Rockies rise directly ahead, and a rough, rolling prairie flows off to the east. From here, you will experience the vastness of the prairie, seeing firsthand why Montana received the nickname of "Big Sky...
The summer before my eighth grade (1960), my mother, who still had hopes for me, got the idea that I would do well to attend my last year of grade school in Deer Lodge, where I would be going to high school. I was all for it. Living with our grandmother and entering into the Deer Lodge elementary school society was exciting - and a year earlier than expected. Maybe I had a future, after all. The school population was accepting, of course, and I was quickly absorbed into its ra...
Dear Dietitian, I am sixty years old, and I've always been health conscious. I eat right and exercise three times a week. Recently, I've read that too much calcium may increase your risk of heart attack. Is this true? Also, how much is too much? Mary Dear Mary, How many times did you hear, "Drink your milk" when you were a child? Milk is a good source of calcium, which is needed for healthy bones. Our bodies will build bone until about age 18, then we must consume adequate...
As kids, we were always anxious to help our fathers (it was always the fathers those days) in their work. We were participating in the adult life, plus we learned new and fun things. The work was enjoyable until we were old enough to be paid; that's when it became misery. One task that became an annual project for us as children was helping to roll the old barbed wire left by the homesteaders' when they abandoned their claims during the drought years of the late 1920s. Old...
Well, according to some “experts” the dynasty of the Golden State Warriors is over. They were dethroned by the Toronto Raptors in six games. I must confess I am not an NBA fan by any means, but I was sure hoping that the Warriors would get whupped! It is not that I “hate” them but I do get sick and tired of hearing how great they are, when in fact five years from now no one will remember what they did, or who played for them during their fabulous run of five straight NBA fin...
Dear Dietitian, My daughter is on a health kick and complains that I use too many processed, convenience foods. She insists these foods are unhealthy and claims that studies prove it. Do you agree with her? Signed, Overworked Mom Dear Mom, One day while working in the hospital, I whipped out a frozen dinner and popped it in the microwave. A co-worker snarled and said, "Ew, that's bad for you! It's processed food!" Aside from the annoyance, which I'm quite sure was intended,...
In the early 1980's I attended a lecture by Dr. Timothy Leary, the professor and LSD advocate. He said that the world has gone through a number of "ages:" the Iron Age, to the Industrial, and then to the Atomic Age. Leary said that we were already in the "Information Storage and Transfer Age." And some years ago I was visiting with a friend, when we came to the conclusion that the transistor will make the deepest and most radical changes in world culture than have ever been...
Dear Readers, A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece on nutrition myths. There were some myths specific to cancer, one of which read: Myth: An-all vegetable diet helps cure cancer. There was a patient in the hospital that revealed she had followed an all-veggie diet for cancer and exclaimed, “I lost 30 pounds, and it was all muscle!” A vegetables-only diet will leave you malnourished and dissatisfied, and on no uncertain terms, will not improve a cancer diagnosis. This drew cri...
Throughout my life, the only recurring nightmare I ever had was that of me, huddled in a corner, surrounded by an angry crowd screaming accusations. I still remember it - all too well. It eventually happened, but without the crowd. The accuser owned a convenience store on the highway at Big Sky, and work was slow that month, so one morning we were visiting and he asked me if I wanted to work a few hours a week. I accepted his offer on a whim and went to work the next evening....
This week’s column is going to be a bit different. I must admit it is hard to focus as I have so many frustrating thoughts running through my brain. Over the past decade or so we often hear about a “war on women”. Well I just read something that actually supports that. From 1970 to 2017 the number of missing baby girls in the world from sex-selective abortion is estimated to be 23.1 million. That is a horrifying and mind-numbing number. It is hard for me to comprehend that...
Dear Dietitian, My son is in the fourth grade and is beginning to form unhealthy eating habits. He eats junk food while sitting in front of the computer. He is getting chubby, and I worry that he will get in these patterns for life. Can you help? Signed, Worried Mom Dear Mom, You are wise to start acting now. Behavior patterns are easier to modify when they are "nipped in the bud." According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the obesity rate...
When I entered the Peace Corps they gave me five months of Portuguese lessons in the state of São Paulo before they sent me to Mato Grosso, a state on the borders of Bolivia and Paraguay. I was to work with the Brazilian extension service, giving technical orientation and assistance to ranchers and farmers. Part of the job involved formulating loan proposals, then providing oversight as to how the borrowed money was invested in the property. Another one of my...
One area in my life that I feel God has made some good changes in me concerns anger. I can remember too many times in life when my “temper” got the best of me. It was not this impersonal “temper”, but it was a willful and intentional lack of self-control that tripped me up. I did not get my way, so I vented. It may have been not getting more ice cream; it could be when the team I was on did not win; maybe someone took a toy, told a lie about me, or betrayed a confide...
When the Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis in September 1806, fur trappers already were on their way to the new country. In North Dakota, after meeting a group of trappers heading upriver, the Corps' John Colter left the expedition and returned to the country he fondly recalled. In 1808, Colter and John Potts were trapping at the three forks when they encountered Blackfeet hunters and warriors. Potts was killed, and Colter was given a chance to escape. The Blackfeet too...
Laura Broussard, the Family Nurse practitioner at Parker Medical Center, submitted her resignation to PureView Health center early last week. Pureview Director Jill Steeley said Broussard will end her tenure with PureView July 12. Her last day of practice at Parker Medical is expected to be around July 1, but Broussard has not been finalized that yet. Broussard is returning to Oklahoma, where she worked previously and where members of her family live. “I have enjoyed immensely...
When I was in Barra do Bugres this last time, I put a lot of effort into finding old friends from my Peace Corps years. Many had passed on, of course, and two, who were extremely wealthy in the 1970s, had died in poverty due to poor life and business choices. During this last visit, almost every morning I passed a gas station a half-block from where I was living. I always saw an older gentleman sitting just outside the little convenience store. One morning he called my name...
Dear Readers, When I told friends and family that I would be writing about the microbiome this week, there were some raised eyebrows. My friend Ken said, "Of course, the microbiome. What is that?" The microbiome, sometimes referred to as microbiota, is the collection of microorganisms (think tiny bugs) living in certain areas of the human body. It is made up of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. While most of the microbiota reside in the intestines, they are also found...
Montana's rivers are running high, wide and muddy right now and things typically won't improve much for maybe two months. That all depends on rainfall and snowmelt. A cool, wet spring will prolong runoff into mid-June; a hot, dry period will clear up rivers and streams faster but not bode well for fisheries later in the summer. So, what's an angler to do to catch fish? Better yet, what's a fish to do to find food? We might give up dry flies and switch to worms. Fish will...
A labyrinth of channels, willow bottoms, islands and a general mix of wetlands interact to piece together the headwaters of the Missouri River. The point where the three forks – the Jefferson, Gallatin and Madison rivers – join as one, the great Missouri River begins an odyssey, heading out as having had the starring role in the creation of a state. As a route of western expansion, the Missouri River had few equals. Missouri Headwaters State Park, at the three forks, doc...
Dear Dietitian, I was recently diagnosed with Crohn's disease, and I'm having a hard time figuring out what foods I should avoid. Can you help? Signed, Kathleen Dear Kathleen, I know this is a tough condition to deal with, having seen more cases in my last few years of clinical practice than ever before. For readers who are not familiar, Crohn's disease is one of two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the other being ulcerative colitis. As the term ulcerative implies,...
Over the years I have had many opportunities to develop and exhibit self-control. I would love to say that I have always passed the test and been a model of patience, calmness and control. However, the report would show something quite different. I cannot count the times I have lost my temper, or out of just plain meanness spewed anger all-over people when things did not go the way I wanted them to go. I sure wish I could roll back the clock and redo a few things but alas I...
