It isn't coincidence that a rat bit me and it is the year of the rat. That is just creepy. Then, I told my mother that it was the year of the rat, and she said something like "I know, I was born in the year of the rat (1948), maybe I was trying to tell you something".

She's no dumby. She is ALWAYS trying to tell me something. I'm a dog, so maybe the rat was trying to attack me with the hopes of me being a canine. I'm not sure, though.

I wish people would stop asking me how I got bit by the son of a bitch. I feel like they want me to say "Well, I was rummaging through the BFI thing because I was hungry and......." , or "I thought it would be fun if I took a stick and stuck it in the sewer to see if anything would latch on, and sure enough...".

I mean, lay off me, I feel dirty enough as it is with the humidity.

They have some pre-existing idea from how they're portrayed by society that they always look away and refuse to truly look without eyes that are already biased when I try and show them in person how cute rats can be.

Okay... maybe it doesn't help when I shove them in people's faces and say, "Aren't they cute?" But if you think they're ugly, I dare you to clean your mind of all pre-existing notions of the animals, and look at one, just really look at one, look at their adorable faces, and tell me that you still think they're ugly.

Now look!

Artificial sweetener linked to weight gain

Rats fed food with saccharin added more body fat, researchers found

 

WASHINGTON - Using an artificial, no-calorie sweetener rather than sugar may make it tougher, not easier, to lose weight, U.S. researchers said Sunday.

 

Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studied rats that were fed food with the artificial sweetener saccharin and rats fed food with glucose, a natural sugar.

In comparison to rats given yogurt sweetened with glucose, those that ate yogurt sweetened with saccharin went on to consume more calories and put on more weight and body fat.

 

The researchers said sweet foods may prompt the body to get ready to take in a lot of calories, but when sweetness in the form of artificial sweeteners is not followed by a large amount of calories, the body gets confused, which may lead to eating more or expending less energy than normal.

 

"The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with high-calorie sugar," Purdue researchers Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson wrote in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, published by the American Psychological Association.

 

"Such an outcome may seem counterintuitive, if not an anathema, to human clinical researchers and health care practitioners who have long recommended the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners as a means of weight control."

 

Other artificial sweeteners such as aspartame that also taste sweet but do not lead to the delivery of calories may have similar effects, the researchers said.

 

"Animals may use sweet taste to predict the caloric contents of food. Eating sweet noncaloric substances may degrade this predictive relationship," the researchers wrote.

 

"With the growing use of noncaloric sweeteners in the current food environment, millions of people are being exposed to sweet tastes that are not associated with caloric or nutritive consequences," the researchers added.

The research was the latest to examine the question of whether artificial sweeteners -- used in many soft drinks and other foods — help or thwart those trying to lose weight. Various studies have offered mixed results.

 

Industry responds

The new research drew criticism from the food industry.

 

"This study oversimplifies the causes of obesity," Beth Hubrich, a dietitian with the Calorie Control Council, an industry association representing companies that make low- and reduced-calorie foods and beverages, said in a statement.

 

"The causes of obesity are multi-factorial. Although surveys have shown that there has been an increase in the use of 'sugar-free' foods over the years, portion sizes of foods have also increased, physical activity has decreased and overall calorie intake has increased," Hubrich added.

1. Here's the rat palace. Soon to provide even more hours of ratty amusement with the addition of a hammock, hanging hide-away bed, and wheel. (Once I get my ebay shipment.)

2, 3, and 4. Clover and Cora. Really, almost too adorable to handle.

We're really making lots of progress. They're getting much more comfortable with me. I just had them out of the cage for almost an hour and they didn't poop or pee once! (Which is a BIG improvement. Rats tend to "fear poop" when they're scared, so this is a good sign. Plus, I'm not really a fan of getting pooped on.)

I don't understand why rats have the reputation that they do. I think they're quite beautiful! Not to mention, extremely friendly and gentle. And they clean themselves quite regularly.



That's Escher and Gödel there with their tails intertwined, Escher being the brown one on the left and Gödel being the hooded brown one on the right. And Bach is the hooded black one behind them. He's a bit more of a loner than the other two.

See what I mean? Gorgeous.

You can see more pictures of them here.

I'm pretty sure mum's mislabeled one of the pictures, though. It says Bach & Gödel when I'm fairly certain that it is Gödel & Escher. See if you can see which one.