photo credit: thadman- Bright Lights, Big Chicken: Remember when it was trendy to own a Chihuahua, a pug, or, for a brief moment in the late 80s, a hermit crab as a pendant around your neck? These days the hot pet is none other than a chicken. If you’ve got the space, they’ve got the time, and can be found clucking away in urban gardens across the nation. In interviewing chicken expert J. Linden about the benefits of our feathered cronies, I initially misheard her reference to “tilling the seed” as “killing the scene”, but it appears poultry do both. They also provide rich compost, function as garbage disposals, and create eggs full of Omega-3. Per Linden, “You can pet them…the rooster is the mean one, not the chicken”.
- Daddy, I want the golden ticket! In 2007 Oregon passed a law prohibiting the sale of junk food on school grounds. Now some teachers are complaining about having their access to soda and candy bars restricted. Teachers and students alike are allowed to pack these items in their lunches, but apparently teachers work too hard to remember to do this. Let me get this straight: you are so obsessed with soda that you are crusading to have a vending machine put in your lounge, yet you can’t remember to bring a can with you in the morning? Don’t you have anything else to complain about? Better wages, perhaps??
- Is she a teacher in Oregon? A woman called 911 because Burger King wasn’t making her burger. “You’re supposed to be here to protect me”, she tells the operator. The operator’s answer: “What are we protecting you from, a wrong cheeseburger?”
- Chocolate falso: The Hershey Company – the nation’s largest candy manufacturer – is closing its plant in Reading, PA and moving to Mexico. I guess this move closer to cacao’s regional origins would make sense if Hershey products actually contained real chocolate instead of vegetable oil.
photo credit: Andrew Mason
If you need to be any more convinced that exercise is good for you, look no further–A recently published study out of the University of Illinois and University of Pittsburgh now shows that physically fit adults have larger brains than non-exercisers. “The higher fit people have a bigger hippocampus, and the people that have more tissue in the hippocampus have a better spatial memory,” said U. of I. psychology professor Art Kramer, who led the study with Pittsburgh psychology professor Kirk Erickson. In light of this news it is especially important to keep physically active as we age because, ” your lifestyle choices and behaviors may influence brain shrinkage in old age,” Erickson said. “Basically, if you stay fit, you retain key regions of your brain involved in learning and memory.”
So it is true what my grandfather always said: “Move it or lose it, Dollface!”
Bacteria Baby!
You know, nutrition and health, are really complex. Attempting to deconstruct what we call “biochemical individuality” so that we can understand the truth that, “one man’s food is another man’s poison,” requires a great open-ness to learning through the study of good research. And bacteria are providing us with a vast land of study as we expand our undestanding of the subtle symbiosis that exists between our physiology and that of the world we interact with.
Biologist Jeffrey Gordon of Washington University in St. Louis has been researching mice, or more accurately the bacteria in mice. He set up a scenario where a group of mice became totally free of bacteria in their digestive tract. These mice could not digest food, which would pass right through, making them skinny.
Oh that is great! Skinny is healthy right?
No, in this case, skinny means malnourished.
But when Gordon introduced bacteria back into the digestive tract, the mouse began to digest food again and put on weight.
According to Gordon there are potentially 500 varieties of bacteria in the intestines and another 500 in the mouth. And get this, not only is there a huge variety in our mouths, but all over our bodies too. And what’s more, where we live determines to a great extent what bacteria we have.
Now for the really cool stuff.
Think because you’re poor you must be deprived of seafood? Think because you can’t buy those fancy supplements you’re doomed to Omega-3 deficiency? Think again. Although you may not be able to afford the slick lemon flavored fish oil from Norway, canned seafood is always an option. Yes, I said canned seafood. It’s not gross. It’s good, and it’s cheap. Try it.
This recipe calls for canned salmon which will run you a mere couple of bucks. Purchase wild as opposed to farmed, water-packed as opposed to oil-packed. Per 3 oz serving, salmon offers 1.1–1.9 grams of Omega-3s. The only fish comparable in Omega-3 content are tuna and herring. Before you start freaking out about mercury, note that salmon’s mean mercury level in parts per million is only 0.01. Even tuna, which has been so slandered, is only 0.12.
The recipe also makes use of smoked oysters. If you’ve never tried these, keep an open mind and pick them up next time you’re at your local grocery. You’re in for a treat. Now, please be careful when purchasing these. Often they are packed in soybean or cottonseed oil which tend to be partially hydrogenated (shorthand: “bad”). Choose olive oil instead. These little nuggets of the sea are incredibly high in Vitamin A, B12, and D, and chock full of minerals, particularly zinc, copper, and selenium. And best of all they taste great.
photo credit: orangeacid
The very first signs of spring are upon us here in Colorado. The crocuses are coming up in my front yard, the green shoots are just appearing on my bushes and trees and Daylight Savings Time is only twelve days away–hello 7:00 o’clock sunsets! Oh, and I am eyeballing the closets in my house, getting ready for the total Spring Cleaning. With my mind already on cleaning, I read a statistic in an article by Mark Haymand M.D. that really hit home for me– he writes, “A recent study of umbilical cord blood found 287 toxic chemicals, 217 of which are toxic to the brain and nervous system. And that is what infants are exposed to even before they take their first breath. These toxins include mercury, lead, PCBs, BPA, phthalates, plasticizers, flame retardants and more.” This reminded me that Spring is a great time to clean, not only our houses, but the homes that are our bodies, allowing us to lead healthier and lengthier lives and pass on that purity to our children.
Some great ways of cleansing your body of toxins this year:
photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography
Eat Organic: It might be a bit more expensive, but committing to eating only foods that haven’t been sprayed with pesticides is an immediate way to cut your exposure to toxins. On average those of us who eat conventional fruits and vegetables consume over a gallon of neurotoxins per year due to pesticide use. Some fruits and veggies are worse than others–one conventionally grown strawberry exceeds the FDA limit of pesticides for an adult person for the whole year while cantalope and watermelon are less toxic. Another great benefit of organic produce (especially if locally grown)–its packed full of more nutrients than its chemically showered alternative.
Know your Fish: Mercury poisoning is a serious issue. Almost fifteen percent of adult American women have toxic levels of mercury in their bodies. We all know that fish is a healthy alternative to red meat, but staying away from highly toxic big fish such as swordfish and albacore tuna and sticking with wild caught salmon or sardines can really make a difference. A good rule of thumb–the bigger the fish, the more mercury–as mercury accumulates in fatty tissue and all those big fish have eaten littler fish that have eaten little fish…etc.
photo credit: ellievanhoutte
When it comes to desserts, Americans have the monopoly on processed and allergenic food-like substances. If so many of us are intolerant to wheat or dairy, and if sugar is so toxic, why is standard post-dinner fare ice cream, cake, or cookies? When we’re waiting in the airport for a delayed flight, and we decide to mosey on over to Starbucks to pass the time, why are our options croissants and muffins? When we decide to treat ourselves to an indulgent Sunday brunch, why are pecan-stuffed french toast and Nutella pancakes our options to kick off our day and fuel up our tank?
I am not anti-dessert. Let me say it again: I AM NOT ANTI-DESSERT! I am anti the form it often comes in. As one of the five tastes, sweet is connected to Earth and offers us a grounding and comforting energy…IF we eat it in the right form. IF we don’t objectify it and use it as a mood-altering substance. IF we can connect to it the same way we connect to the other four tastes: as just one element of a day’s balanced food intake, offering us a feeling of calming and peace. NOT if it shoots our blood sugar up sky high and then causes us to crash into “food coma” as so many of us are known to do after one of those pecan-stuffed french toast breakfasts.
Raw desserts are a really wonderful way to explore dessert in its most pure form. If you’re not familiar with the raw diet, it consists entirely of vegan whole foods that have not been heated to above 116 degrees – the temperature at which the food’s nutrition begins to be destroyed. Raw foodists make liberal use of soaking, sprouting and fermenting, which are all ancient techniques that increase nutritional bioavailability as well as digestability. A raw food diet ensures alkalinity and if you read Jen’s post below you understand the importance of maintaining the right pH. I wouldn’t advocate for this diet as a lifestyle because it’s too low in protein, and particularly in the winter eating predominantly raw can be harmful to your immune system. I for one can’t even eat a piece of raw celery if it’s below 45 degrees out or I start to shiver. However, integrating more raw foods into your meals offers you more vital life force, and it’s especially nice in summertime when you want to cool off or if you’d like to try a cleanse for a few days.
- Tom’s Weight Struggles: In an interview with the Washington Post, our new Secretary of Agriculture reveals that his family of origin struggled with addiction issues and that he was overweight as a child. “I have struggled mightily with food,” he says, “I don’t want youngsters to go through what I went through”. Though he does not appear to have clear-cut visions for school food reform, he states he plans to “find people who share my concern and have more expertise than I do” to improve children’s nutrition. Sounds good so far, Tom…
- He’s Nuts: The Senate has unearthed emails from the owner of The Peanut Corporation of America basically pooh-poohing an employee’s warning about potential salmonella contamination. Nice to know he has our best interests at heart!
- GO MARYLAND!!! This mellow little state may become the first to ban artificial food colorings! These toxins have been linked to hyperactivity and other behavior problems in children.
- It Beets Bush’s Broccoli: Obama has been quoted as saying he avoids beets. Attempting to entice the President into consuming this powerful liver cleanser and antioxidant, one blog offers him some irresistible recipes including a dark chocolate and beet brownie.
- Say WHAT?? A Pennsylvania Trans Fat Task Force (now THERE’S a cool idea for a superhero) has advised against a mandatory statewide ban on trans fat, cautioning it might cause suppliers to select even MORE harmful options as substitutions. Like what, cyanide? Fortunately the Center for Science in the Public Interest has urged officials to ignore them, but in the process, they slander saturated fat. Come on, it’s 2009. Let’s get over our prejudices and return to our ancestral way of eating…saturated fats are crucial for multiple biological processes. Don’t you want nice, sleek, juicy skin and organs?
photo credit: James Jordan
All of us strive for balance in our daily lives, our emotions, our habits-and yet balance can be difficult to achieve in the modern world. The same is true with the biochemical system in our bodies. Just like every other carbon based life form on the planet, the human bloodstream maintains a PH (potential hydrogen)balance. We like to be slightly alkaline, with a Ph of 7-7.5 optimally.
What does this have to do, you ask, with our diet? Well, what we eat intimately effects the acid-alkaline balance in our bodies. This has been known since at least the 1930’s. Unfortunately, our modern diet, high in very acidic foods like meat, white flour, sugar, soft drinks and coffee, not to mention extremely acidic substances like prescription medications and artificial sweeteners, has changed the PH balance of most of our bodies, the results of which, many naturopaths and nutritionists believe, can be seen in higher than average amounts of cancer, chronic yeast infections, diabetes, poor digestion,depression, impaired immunity, joint pain, osteoporosis, weight gain, and even heart disease. Think about it— acid is not healthy for most living things, it tends to eat through things quickly. In our bodies acid leaches minerals from our bones and organs by reducing our inherent buffering system, it kills digestive enzymes in our small intestines, screwing up our metabolic processes, and it increases free radical growth leading to an increase in cancer cells.
photo credit: h.koppdelaney
First things first:
To figure out if you are balanced, you must test your PH. This is easy to do, both with saliva and urine (I recommend both tests)–the tests are available at most pharmacies and health food stores and also here. I your PH falls into a healthy range good for you–keep doing what you’re doing! If not, here are some quick and guaranteed ways to restore the PH balance of the body:
Take Magnesium: Most doctors agree that almost all Americans are chronically short on this important mineral. Magnesium is an especially important nutrient for women as it helps the body assimilate calcium, thus preventing osteoporosis. 
Magnesium is one of the main agents in the bodies buffering system and helps raise the PH of the body quickly and naturally. It also can provide instant energy. A liquid supplement, often sold with calcium added is a great addition to a diet high in magnesium heavy foods such as avocados, almonds, cashews, and spinach.
The above is the phonetic rendering of “I’ll have a large regular”, the battle cry of Northeasterners everywhere upon entering one of those bastions of fried dough and frosting…Dunkin’ Donuts.
I know it’s kind of tired to bash American gluttony, but Rudd Soundbytes has such a compelling visual when comparing Dunkie’s drink sizes that I thought it was worth linking. A Chilean small is 7 fl oz, while a Bostonian small is 16 oz. But this Bostonian Small doesn’t drink Dunkie’s at all…(horrible, I know…)
photo credit: DavidDennisPhotos.com
The essence of the message of grains is this: Eat a wider variety of grains, in the unrefined state (whole, cracked or rolled), not in the refined state (bread, cereal, puffed, or crackers) and eat them in luscious, mouth-watering ways!
If you love the bakery, don’t worry; I am not going to suggest that you stop eating bread. I am simply going to suggest that you make other tasty choices most of the time and find ways that you can include the foods you like, including bread.
photo credit: notsogoodphotography
EATING for ENERGY: What Foods To Get You There
By Seth Braun, Holistic Health Counselor
We are all solar beings. And all of our fuel in some way comes from the interaction between the sun and the elements of the earth. All plants are like solar snickers bars. Photosynthesis transforms sun into carbohydrates, chlorophyll and captured life force. We are humans then take in this food at one or more phases of the sun’s energy.
How do we get the most from the foods we eat?
What foods are the best energy sources?
What foods should I avoid?
It’s estimated that out of the more than 11,000 signals we receive from our senses our brain only consciously processes 40 of them. We are creatures of habit–they make us who we are. So when we are trying to break bad habits it is important to replace them with good ones–think about it: you can’t give up junk food without replacing it with something healthier. Any habit you want to change needs a new outlet. Biting nails? Try gum or toothpicks. Giving up sugar? Replace it with stevia to get the sweet fix in a healthier way. Smoking? Try running instead since it’s so hard to smoke and exercise at the same time. (I did know a girl who would stop in the middle of a long run to light a cigarette-no joke. But she also went hiking in flip flops so…) Here are some other great tips on giving up habits:
Make it to 30 days: Experts agree that it takes 30 days for your internal willpower to overcome a habit. This is typically when your physical, mental, and emotional patterns have changed enough so that you no longer think about or act on the bad habit. So tell yourself, starting out, that you will just give it one month, just try it. To reinforce the 30 days give a friend a sum of money, your best jeans, or something else you highly value and tell them not to give the item back until the 30 days are up with the bad habit hopefully broken for good.
Create a Prompt: It is important, when breaking habits, to create prompts to become conscious of your behavior so that you remember what you are trying to avoid and what you have replaced it with instead. When I quit smoking cigarettes, my water bottle became a prompt. Every time I reached for a cigarette that was not there I latched on to the bottle and drank a whole bunch of water. After meals, I began to chew on toothpicks and that prompt replaced my thoughts about smoking.
Visualize: If it is eating more healthy, exericising, getting that great job or more freedom, whatever it is, if our brain cannot imagine it then it will not happen. Spend the time to really visualize where you will be with your habit broken and your goal attained. See yourself there-imagine who you are with, what you are saying, wearing. Make it intricate and then keep that in your mind as you go about breaking your habit. Every time it is hard–visualize it. Breath. Be conscious and know that it will get better.
Need a change of pace from Facebook’s “Which Pop Star Are You?” quizzes? Calculate your carbon footprint here.
From my Nana in Sarasota, Florida:
Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment
community.
The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and
traumatic complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.
Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of
celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs.
Butterworth, Hungry Jack,the California Raisins, Betty Crocker,the
Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch.
The grave was piled high with flours.
Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy
as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly
in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was
not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on
half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times he still was a
crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.
Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, two children, John
Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He was also
survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.
The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.
If this made you smile for even a brief second, please rise to
the occasion and take time to pass it on and share that smile with
someone else who may be having a crumby day and kneads it.
Old-school root beer: sassafras, allspice, ginger, wild cherry bark, vanilla beans, sarsaparilla, licorice, molasses
Modern-day root beer: artificial flavors, benzoate anions
Side effects of old-school ingredients: detoxifies organs, purifies blood, stimulates digestion, kills bacteria, pain reliever, astringent
Side effects of modern-day ingredients: allergies, asthma, gastric upset, hyperactivity, migranes, nausea
We’ve come a long way, baby…in the wrong direction. Will the real root beer please stand up?
Root beer has been made for centuries. Termed “small beer”, the first concoctions were a collection of herbs and spices tossed together and simmered. This powerful medicinal concoction was first carbonated in 1876, and as the food industry grew more mechanized and concerned with shelf life, artificial flavors and preservatives began to replace the potent and benevolent plant forces present in the original drink. How lucky for us that we can still make our own!
Although I’ve never been a soda fiend, I know plenty of people who love to have a sweet, crisp, bubbly and fluid taste in their mouths. If you fall under that category but you are focused on losing weight, never fear. You can indulge in this scrumptious homemade root beer, enjoying an ancient tradition while keeping your blood sugar stable AND filling your body with miraculous beneficial herbal medicine.
ROOT BEER
Ingredients
3 Tbsp. sarsaparilla root (about 1/2 ounce)
1 Tbsp. licorice root
1 qt. purified water
2-3 tsp. dried Stevia leaf -OR-
3-4 Stevia teabags
2 qts. carbonated water
Procedure
Simmer the sarsaparilla and licorice root in the quart of water for about 45 minutes. DO NOT BOIL — it brings out bitter principles. Add the Stevia leaf or teabags and simmer for 15 minutes longer.
Strain the plant material and return the pan to the burner. Simmer on very low until liquid is reduced to half. Remove from heat and strain through a cheesecloth. Will be left with about 12 ounces of concentrate. Chill in refrigerator.
Add two ounces of concentrate to 10-12 ounces carbonated water. Add Stevia extract to taste, if more sweetener is desired.
Yield: About 6 large glasses
Suggestion: May use 2 tbsp. of sarsaparilla and 2 tbsp. licorice root OR add any other barks or herbs of your choice.
(This recipe from BAKING WITH STEVIA, BOOK 2)
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