Curry vs. obesity and diabetes (in mice, anyway)

On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:42:36 -0400, Màck©® <IAM@OneWithTheGoddess.org>
wrote:

>On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:14:25 +0100, Trinkwasser
><spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:46:13 -0400, Màck©® <IAM@OneWithTheGoddess.org>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:49:59 +1200, Quentin Grady
>>><quentin@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>But you make a good point, in the cartoons mice always eat cheese, but
>>>>>in Real Life™ it's the cats that go crazy for the cheese while the
>>>>>mice eat their Healthy Whole Grains, and flour.
>>>>
>>>>Too true. Realised the bit about the mice. Hadn't given any thought
>>>>to the cat situation. Guess I've had dogs for so long. They go wild
>>>>over gnawing bones for marrow.
>>>>
>>>>Best wishes,
>>>
>>>
>>>I have 2 cats, one will parmesan, freshly grated or the fake canned
>>>stuff. the other will eat sharp cheddar and processed slices of
>>>yellow cheese aka American cheese.
>>>
>>>Remember those "The Power Cheese" commercials? I need to send in a
>>>video of the cats for that one.
>>
>>Do they sit up and beg? One of mine did.
>
>
>yes, one will even dance on his hind legs while reaching for it. But
>don't tease too long or they will both "pull" themselves towards the
>cheese by first grasping your thigh in their claws.

Not to be tried unless wearing jeans, or bulletproof kevlar trousers
(BTDT)

We no longer have cats, and the previous owner's cats no longer come
around since one died, and it's taken a while for the bird population
to rebuild (also the sparrowhawk has been absent for a while)

I now have a tame blackbird (a kind of matt black thrush with a yellow
beak which someone once described as "looking like a mad puritan with
a banana in his mouth"), I feed him mealworms and whenever he sees me
through a window he will fly into view and watch me until I go out to
feed him (he currently has adolescents to feed).

Yesterday he flew from the shed roof onto a trellis as I went from the
sunroom into the kitchen, then when I bent down to use the cooker he
flew up onto the windowsill and tapped on the window.

Later after I'd fed him he followed me into the house.

I imagine him saying to the others

"Yes those humans must be intelligent, they are surprisingly easy to
tame and almost seem to understand what I'm saying"

On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:11:55 +0100, Trinkwasser
<spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:

>On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:18:52 GMT, quester@infionline.net (Harold
>Groot) wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:13:45 +0100, Trinkwasser
>><spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:24:12 +1200, Quentin Grady
>>><quentin@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>>>
>>>>On Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:33:03 +0100, Trinkwasser
>>>><spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On 22 Jun 2008 10:41:11 GMT, Nick Cramer <n_cramerSPAM@pacbell.net>
>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>gaguu wrote:
>>>>>>> http://www.boingboing.net/2008/06/21...esity-and.html
>>>>>>> Findings presented to ENDO 2008, the Endocrine Society's annual
>>>>>>> meeting in San Francisco this week, show that a spice found in curries
>>>>>>> has remarkable properties when administered to obese and diabetic
>>>>>>> mice:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Did they say which curries and which spice?
>>>>>
>>>>>Doesn't make any difference, EVERYTHING cures those bloody mice . . .
>>>>
>>>>Well fat levels that would suit humans cures them ... shortening
>>>>their life expectancy dramatically.
>>>>
>>>>Apparently mice can tolerate much less fat than humans. Their
>>>>preferred food appears to be grain, though they relish pumpkin seeds
>>>>when its cold as I witnessed many times when they raided our Winter
>>>>store of hard shelled pumpkins gnawing their way into them to get the
>>>>seeds.
>>>
>>>OK, I was mostly taking the piss, considering the number of papers
>>>posted here over the years where diabetic mice are cured.
>>>
>>>But you make a good point, in the cartoons mice always eat cheese, but
>>>in Real Life™ it's the cats that go crazy for the cheese while the
>>>mice eat their Healthy Whole Grains, and flour.
>>
>>Actually, rodents such as mice are omnivores and will happily gobble
>>away at cheese, meat, fruits, ice cream, live insects, and non-grain
>>vegetables.
>
>Yes you're right, I was remembering one which broke into my larder and
>had distinct carb preferences, not just eating them but pissing and
>crapping all over them as well.
>
>I had another one which would come out at night and eat the burned on
>crap off my cooker. Then it would sunbathe in the red light under my
>(electric) heater.


You say that almost with a sense of admiration for its ingenuity.

>>But pumpkin seeds ARE a particular favorite, even ahead of watermelon
>>seeds (which they also like quite a bit).
>>
>I had a braindump, since mice are so easily "cured" of diabetes
>perhaps the same was meant to happen to us but the genes broke. After
>all being tiny they have a high metabolic rate so there would be an
>evolutionary advantage to being able to pile on weight extra rapidly
>in times of plenty, and revert to normal metabolism in normal times,
>and drop to a low metabolic rate while feeding off their fat deposits.
>Much like those migratory birds doubling their body weight by eating
>high carb insects.

I like the way you're thinking. It stimulates the imagination of
readers. Thanks, Different animals have different abilities.

Some humans ARE designed to store fat safely. Some tribes of bush
women in parts of Africa where there were desert conditions had large
buttocks for this purpose.

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

On 25 Jun 2008 09:22:34 GMT, Nick Cramer <n_cramerSPAM@pacbell.net>
wrote:

>Quentin Grady <quentin@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>> On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:13:45 +0100, Trinkwasser
>> [ . . . ]
>> Too true. Realised the bit about the mice. Hadn't given any thought
>> to the cat situation. Guess I've had dogs for so long. They go wild
>> over gnawing bones for marrow.
>
>So true. I've had dogs since I was seven. Never had a cat. My 15 year old
>bitch, Lilly, has a pork rib she's been gnawing for months. I guess it was
>cooked to her liking. ;-)
>
>Quentin, please email me a picture of your Labrador, telling me her name,
>age and some anecdotal information, if you don't mind. Thanks, mate.

Hi Nick. Email me. There is a picture of the original blind dog,
(the one who insisted on still leading) on my website.

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:13:21 +0100, Trinkwasser
<spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:

>>Too true. Realised the bit about the mice. Hadn't given any thought
>>to the cat situation. Guess I've had dogs for so long. They go wild
>>over gnawing bones for marrow.
>
>The All Time Favourite Food of a golden labrador is the item at the
>bottom of a full garbage can. Trust me on this one.

Since the lab went blind I've been a bit soft hearted and bought them
cannon bones more frequently. They soon acquired a stock pile of half
gnawed bones hidden amongst the trees. Yesterday while cleaning up for
visitors I tossed eleven of them in the rubbish bin.

Fortunately our wheelie bins are too tall for them to get into like
that golden Labrador.

Best wishes
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

Quentin Grady wrote in message

>Since the lab went blind I've been a bit soft hearted and bought them
>cannon bones more frequently. They soon acquired a stock pile of half
>gnawed bones hidden amongst the trees. Yesterday while cleaning up
for
>visitors I tossed eleven of them in the rubbish bin.
>
>Fortunately our wheelie bins are too tall for them to get into like
>that golden Labrador.


What are cannon bones?

Cheri

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:11:30 +1200, Quentin Grady
<quentin@paradise.net.nz> wrote:

>On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:11:55 +0100, Trinkwasser
><spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>>I had another one which would come out at night and eat the burned on
>>crap off my cooker. Then it would sunbathe in the red light under my
>>(electric) heater.
>
>
>You say that almost with a sense of admiration for its ingenuity.

I was less impressed when it died in a cupboard. The stink was
appalling.

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:18:37 +0100, Trinkwasser
<spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:

>On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:11:30 +1200, Quentin Grady
><quentin@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:11:55 +0100, Trinkwasser
>><spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>I had another one which would come out at night and eat the burned on
>>>crap off my cooker. Then it would sunbathe in the red light under my
>>>(electric) heater.
>>
>>
>>You say that almost with a sense of admiration for its ingenuity.
>
>I was less impressed when it died in a cupboard. The stink was
>appalling.

G'day G'day Trink,

That I can imagine. Sort of like the time I managed to drop a packet
of green tripe, lamb and garlic frozen mince for the dogs in the car.
Naturally I found it after it had melted for reasons you can guess.

None of us have any idea why your ingenious little friend died
stinking out the house so the following is not a comment on that.

However your post reminds me that people often imagine when they use
rat bait poisons that the little uninvited guests will obligingly go
outside to die. Often they don't crawling into the least accessible
places.

This is one advantage of rat traps.

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

On Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:12:19 -0700, "Cheri" <gserviceatinreachdotcom>
wrote:

>
>Quentin Grady wrote in message
>
>>Since the lab went blind I've been a bit soft hearted and bought them
>>cannon bones more frequently. They soon acquired a stock pile of half
>>gnawed bones hidden amongst the trees. Yesterday while cleaning up
>for
>>visitors I tossed eleven of them in the rubbish bin.
>>
>>Fortunately our wheelie bins are too tall for them to get into like
>>that golden Labrador.
>
>
>What are cannon bones?

Good question Cheri,

Cannon bones are a local name for large beef leg bones. They are two
maybe three feet long in some cases. They have hardly any meat on
them. That has gone into making mince for the dogs or humans as the
case may be depending on the source of cannon bones,.

They're too large to get your thumb and forefinger around with one
hand. I can do it with both hands. Dogs love them because with
vigorous gnawing they eventually get to the marrow and suck that out.
Marrow is supposed to be a good source of omega-3. Well that's what
the pet shop bloke reckons. Maybe he is right. Apart from Golden
Labradors whom I'm reliably told prefer whatever is at the bottom of a
rubbish tin, dogs really get off on marrow.

I'm also told the vigorous gnawing releases endorphins and dogs get
high on the chewing, Well they would wouldn't they. <grin> They like
doing it and there is a reward at the end for their efforts.

IMHO marrow is one of those things missing from many modern diets.
It provides arginine, an amino acid that has anti-inflammatory
properties and is a precursor for NO which keeps the heart healthy.
Taken in large enough quantities it just might improve one's sex life.
Few people make chicken soup the way it was meant to be made with
boiled up chicken carcases. We've been giving it a go in the slow
cooker since the carcases are cheap from the local butchers and make
good stock. I'm considering grouper bones for making fish stock.
Taking a time warp back to more wholesome food staples doesn't happen
over night. (Sorry about the mixed metaphors.)

Sorry about the long answer. I get carried away.

They are big beef bones for dogs.


>Cheri

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

Thanks for the explanation Quentin, I had never heard them called
that.

Cheri


Quentin Grady wrote in message ...

>
> Cannon bones are a local name for large beef leg bones. They are
two
>maybe three feet long in some cases. They have hardly any meat on
>them. That has gone into making mince for the dogs or humans as the
>case may be depending on the source of cannon bones,.
>
>They're too large to get your thumb and forefinger around with one
>hand. I can do it with both hands. Dogs love them because with
>vigorous gnawing they eventually get to the marrow and suck that out.
>Marrow is supposed to be a good source of omega-3. Well that's what
>the pet shop bloke reckons. Maybe he is right. Apart from Golden
>Labradors whom I'm reliably told prefer whatever is at the bottom of
a
>rubbish tin, dogs really get off on marrow.
>
>I'm also told the vigorous gnawing releases endorphins and dogs get
>high on the chewing, Well they would wouldn't they. <grin> They
like
>doing it and there is a reward at the end for their efforts.
>
>IMHO marrow is one of those things missing from many modern diets.
>It provides arginine, an amino acid that has anti-inflammatory
>properties and is a precursor for NO which keeps the heart healthy.
>Taken in large enough quantities it just might improve one's sex
life.
>Few people make chicken soup the way it was meant to be made with
>boiled up chicken carcases. We've been giving it a go in the slow
>cooker since the carcases are cheap from the local butchers and make
>good stock. I'm considering grouper bones for making fish stock.
>Taking a time warp back to more wholesome food staples doesn't happen
>over night. (Sorry about the mixed metaphors.)
>
>Sorry about the long answer. I get carried away.
>
>They are big beef bones for dogs.

On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:41:35 -0700, "Cheri" <gserviceatinreachdotcom>
wrote:

>Thanks for the explanation Quentin, I had never heard them called
>that.

Nor had I.

>Quentin Grady wrote in message ...
>
>>
>> Cannon bones are a local name for large beef leg bones. They are
>two
>>maybe three feet long in some cases. They have hardly any meat on
>>them. That has gone into making mince for the dogs or humans as the
>>case may be depending on the source of cannon bones,.
>>
>>They're too large to get your thumb and forefinger around with one
>>hand. I can do it with both hands. Dogs love them because with
>>vigorous gnawing they eventually get to the marrow and suck that out.
>>Marrow is supposed to be a good source of omega-3. Well that's what
>>the pet shop bloke reckons. Maybe he is right. Apart from Golden
>>Labradors whom I'm reliably told prefer whatever is at the bottom of
>a
>>rubbish tin, dogs really get off on marrow.
>>
>>I'm also told the vigorous gnawing releases endorphins and dogs get
>>high on the chewing, Well they would wouldn't they. <grin> They
>like
>>doing it and there is a reward at the end for their efforts.
>>
>>IMHO marrow is one of those things missing from many modern diets.
>>It provides arginine, an amino acid that has anti-inflammatory
>>properties and is a precursor for NO which keeps the heart healthy.
>>Taken in large enough quantities it just might improve one's sex
>life.
>>Few people make chicken soup the way it was meant to be made with
>>boiled up chicken carcases. We've been giving it a go in the slow
>>cooker since the carcases are cheap from the local butchers and make
>>good stock. I'm considering grouper bones for making fish stock.
>>Taking a time warp back to more wholesome food staples doesn't happen
>>over night. (Sorry about the mixed metaphors.)
>>
>>Sorry about the long answer. I get carried away.
>>
>>They are big beef bones for dogs.
>
We inhertied a small spoon with a very long handle, apparently it was
a marrow spoon, used exactly as the name suggests for scooping out
bone marrow. I can remember doing just that as a child . . .

On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:44:56 +1200, Quentin Grady
<quentin@paradise.net.nz> wrote:

>On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:18:37 +0100, Trinkwasser
><spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:11:30 +1200, Quentin Grady
>><quentin@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>>
>>>On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:11:55 +0100, Trinkwasser
>>><spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>>I had another one which would come out at night and eat the burned on
>>>>crap off my cooker. Then it would sunbathe in the red light under my
>>>>(electric) heater.
>>>
>>>
>>>You say that almost with a sense of admiration for its ingenuity.
>>
>>I was less impressed when it died in a cupboard. The stink was
>>appalling.
>
>G'day G'day Trink,
>
> That I can imagine. Sort of like the time I managed to drop a packet
>of green tripe, lamb and garlic frozen mince for the dogs in the car.
>Naturally I found it after it had melted for reasons you can guess.

Two stories follow

> None of us have any idea why your ingenious little friend died
>stinking out the house so the following is not a comment on that.
>
>However your post reminds me that people often imagine when they use
>rat bait poisons that the little uninvited guests will obligingly go
>outside to die. Often they don't crawling into the least accessible
>places.
>
>This is one advantage of rat traps.

I plead not guilty to poisoning him but someone else might have. Or it
may just have been his time, they live fast but not for long.

My story: mother's car developed an appalling smell the source of
which I put down to having spilled a thermos of coffee on the carpet
and the milk having gone rotten. However cleaning the carpet didn't
seem to help much.

Eventually I tipped the back seat and discovered a very flat frog,
which presumably had been in some garden waste she asked me to take to
the tip and which had only semi escaped.

A colleague used to have even more bizarre things happen than I did.
In a country pub he was offered an very smart Volvo estate, the sale
of which was due to its previous owner having died suddenly, and
everything about it looked above board so he jumped at it.

After a while he also discovered the car began to smell.

Careful inspection revealed what appeared to be tiny particles of meat
embedded in the roof linig.

Further questioning elicited the fact that the suddenness of the death
of the seller's uncle was due to his having blown his own head off
with a shotgun. While in the car . . .

On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:28:30 +0100, Trinkwasser posted:

>On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:41:35 -0700, "Cheri" <gserviceatinreachdotcom>
>wrote:
>
>>Thanks for the explanation Quentin, I had never heard them called
>>that.
>
>Nor had I.
>
>>Quentin Grady wrote in message ...
>>
>>>
>>> Cannon bones are a local name for large beef leg bones. They are
>>two
>>>maybe three feet long in some cases.

It's a very familiar term to horse folks.

--
roses are #FF0000
violets are #0000FF
all my base
are belong to you

On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:25:36 +0100, Trinkwasser
<spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:

>>This is one advantage of rat traps.
>
>I plead not guilty to poisoning him but someone else might have. Or it
>may just have been his time, they live fast but not for long.
>
>My story: mother's car developed an appalling smell the source of
>which I put down to having spilled a thermos of coffee on the carpet
>and the milk having gone rotten. However cleaning the carpet didn't
>seem to help much.
>
>Eventually I tipped the back seat and discovered a very flat frog,
>which presumably had been in some garden waste she asked me to take to
>the tip and which had only semi escaped.
>
>A colleague used to have even more bizarre things happen than I did.
>In a country pub he was offered an very smart Volvo estate, the sale
>of which was due to its previous owner having died suddenly, and
>everything about it looked above board so he jumped at it.
>
>After a while he also discovered the car began to smell.
>
>Careful inspection revealed what appeared to be tiny particles of meat
>embedded in the roof linig.
>
>Further questioning elicited the fact that the suddenness of the death
>of the seller's uncle was due to his having blown his own head off
>with a shotgun. While in the car . . .

Yuck. It had to happen to someone. Thankfully its not likely to be a
regular occurrence.

I'm surprised the fabric lining of the roof wasn't destroyed by the
blast. Goes to show you can never be TOO careful when it comes to
deals that are a steal.

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:35:16 +1200, Quentin Grady
<quentin@paradise.net.nz> wrote:

>On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:25:36 +0100, Trinkwasser
><spam@devnull.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>>>This is one advantage of rat traps.
>>
>>I plead not guilty to poisoning him but someone else might have. Or it
>>may just have been his time, they live fast but not for long.
>>
>>My story: mother's car developed an appalling smell the source of
>>which I put down to having spilled a thermos of coffee on the carpet
>>and the milk having gone rotten. However cleaning the carpet didn't
>>seem to help much.
>>
>>Eventually I tipped the back seat and discovered a very flat frog,
>>which presumably had been in some garden waste she asked me to take to
>>the tip and which had only semi escaped.
>>
>>A colleague used to have even more bizarre things happen than I did.
>>In a country pub he was offered an very smart Volvo estate, the sale
>>of which was due to its previous owner having died suddenly, and
>>everything about it looked above board so he jumped at it.
>>
>>After a while he also discovered the car began to smell.
>>
>>Careful inspection revealed what appeared to be tiny particles of meat
>>embedded in the roof linig.
>>
>>Further questioning elicited the fact that the suddenness of the death
>>of the seller's uncle was due to his having blown his own head off
>>with a shotgun. While in the car . . .
>
>Yuck. It had to happen to someone. Thankfully its not likely to be a
>regular occurrence.
>
>I'm surprised the fabric lining of the roof wasn't destroyed by the
>blast. Goes to show you can never be TOO careful when it comes to
>deals that are a steal.

he also bought an antique table and didn't realise until after he'd
got it home that it only had three of its legs . . .