Got Goat?

“Most Americans are surprised to find out that  more people drink goat milk world-wide than any other kind of milk.
The most common misconception about goat milk is that it has a peculiar “goaty” odor or taste. Fresh properly handled goat milk has a delicious flavor and many people cannot distinguish between cow and goat milk. It is considered sweeter, lighter. It is essential to keep it cold - at or under 40 degrees.” (more info at www.redwoodhill.com)

Goat milk’s fat and protein content are easier to digest than cow milk (if you are not a cow). A study of 2000 people who suffered from food allergies found that 43.7% were allergic to cow milk while only 2.5% were allergic to goat milk. (publication by Kathleen G. Gorney)

People with ulcers or other digestive problems have found relief and benefit from drinking goat’s milk. For a milk drinker with skin problems, goat milk is touted as a fix.
This makes sense, if you realize that skin problems often suggest digestive problems.

Goats convert all of the carotene they consume into vitamin A. It is higher in vitamin A and in calcium than cow milk.

For young children and babies who are not breast-feeding, goat milk has been recommended as a better choice than cow milk products or formula milks, having plenty of some key nutrients, such as chloride, biotin, and methionine. It has even been said that cow milk and formula milks, because of the deficiency of these nutrients and because of their triglyceride structure, can set up future sugar dependence, because too much energy is derived from glucose.

So my dear readers, if you suffer from but cannot give up your milk, give goat milk a try.  Let me know how it goes!

Beyond the Neti

Breakfast at Stefanie’s reader Adam asked: Do you have any remedies for sinus-y itchy throat & cough stuff?
I have a neti pot, he said.

I said, well, this is what I find works great. It might not be for everyone!

I like to use the nasal spray bottles — I think it works better than the neti for healing sinus trouble, cough, irritated throat. The salt water has a chance to rinse over the whole sinuses.
normally the neti pot just rinses over one area and doesn’t get deep in there.

For simplicity I get a nasal spray product in a bottle that can be opened and emptied. Like from, say, Walgreens - they have a “salt solution” or “saline solution” which has a bunch of chemical stuff in it. I pour it out and add a salt solution using good quality salt. A dropper bottle will work, too, but you have to use 3 droppers full on each side. I think “Real Salt” from Whole Foods might be okay and not so expensive. Or salt sold for use with the Neti pot, or what you will. Don’t ever use “regular” commercial processed salt.

The solution should be very salty to the taste, but not, like, over the top salty. (start with no more than 1/4 tsp salt to 1/3c water) Pour it into your nasal spray bottle. Using warm water is best, but not absolutely necessary.
Here is what I do: I take my bottle with salt mix and lay down on my back. I tilt my head back.
Then I squeeze some solution into my sinuses, breathe through my mouth, and tilt my head to one side, then the other side. I then sit up and blow my nose (have my hanky handy).

If you have too much salt it will be very uncomfortable and may cause a little bleeding of the tissues. Just dilute a little and try again about an hour later if this happens.

If it hurts it’s too strong.  
If it isn’t salty enough, it won’t have any noticeable result. 
If it is merely uncomfortable and salty you got it just right.

If congestion is really bad, do a few rinses — you will proably notice improvement after a couple of hours. I noticed that when there was a lot of congestion, the salt water kind of sat and mixed and started to loosen it up, and in about an hour I had salty nose blowing going on. What a relief!
Do this a couple or a few times depending on how bad your condition is.
The salt water that drips into your throat will relieve some of that throat pain
It should relieve the cough too.

Last night my mother called me and mentioned she was just not quite getting well from the flu. She had a cough that wouldn’t go away. I mentioned the salt water rinses. Now, you should know that my mother is a scientist and she doesn’t put up with rumours about this or that remedy. She wants the hard science. She couldn’t believe that this would help her cough, because she was unaware of any congestion or post nasal drip. Rinsing the sinuses shouldn’t help as far as she could see. However I have noticed when I am recovering from allergies and illnesses that sinus congestion dries up, but causes a lot of irritation. Sometimes even a very sore throat, laryngitis, or a lingering cough.

I was rooming with a dancer named Sam for work on a show in New York. Cold and flu season. Sam had a bad cold, and the cough was not only bad, but was keeping her awake. She didn’t really want me to try to pour salt water in her nose (I didn’t have a bottle handy, so I was figuring out how to use a paper cup). But she did get some relief for her cough by gargling with warm salt water (I did have salt with me). A few days later she recounted our salt water story to her mother. Her mother, in a rich Long Island accent had said, “Well, that girl knows what she is talking about! You should listen to her!”