Two groups of food pyramid promote leading causes of U.S. deaths

Hang in there with me for just a few minutes, folks.

The leading causes of U.S. deaths are heart disease, cancer, respiratory ailments and stroke. Right? In the vast majority of cases, these are attributed to poor nutrition, not genetics. What food groups do we as a nation consume the most? Meat and dairy. Consumption of which foods increases at the same rate as chronic disease and fatal illness? Meat and dairy. What are two of the main food groups the Food Pyramid encourages us to eat as part of our daily diet? Meat and dairy. Why would an agency of the federal government urge us to consume the two most unhealthy foods as part of each meal? (defended my 10-year old son).

Welcome to the Western diet, Western diseases and the cozy kinships within the USDA, a not unbiased agency which regulates and promotes their own interests. According to Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM),

The USDA’s statutory duty is to foster and assist in expanding uses in moving larger quantities of agricultural products throughout the private marketing system to consumers in the US and abroad. They compromise consumer health in favor of promoting specific food products.

The US spends more money on health care than any other developed nation, yet we have among the highest rates of preventable disease. Our convenient diets are nutritionally deficient, being high in fats, sugar, salt and animal proteins, as brilliantly researched by Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s famous 20-year China Study, and his subsequent work with the esteemed surgeon, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Forks Over Knives. Their independent and collaborative science illustrates that our bodies are engineered for optimum performance with plant-based nutrition.

For over a century, the USDA dietary guidelines have included meat and dairy as the primary sources of protein and calcium. A previous post, Calcium for Bone Health-Not What You Thought, details a direct correlation between animal-based calcium consumption and increased rates of osteoporosis.

The federal government is considering regulating our diets in an effort to tackle the obesity epidemic, especially in children, due to the amount of time spent and number of calories consumed during school hours. This is an appalling notion. There is obvious conflict mandating compliance with National School Lunch Program menus, and providing the very guidelines which promote obesity-related illnesses. Regular lunch entrees in my school district include corn dogs, breaded and fried chicken patties, breaded and fried chicken nuggets, fried mozzarella sticks, cheeseburgers and pizza. Always available: milk, ice cream, unhealthy snacks and drinks in vending machines. By contrast, a regular French school lunch in the town of Barjac, for example, consists of coleslaw, mussels mariniers, sautéed potatoes, and an organic, locally grown pear for dessert. Water and baguette are standard at every meal, of course. Karen LeBillon’s book, French Kids Eat Everything, details fundamental differences in their approach to school lunches. Menus are decided by regional school administrators and parents, there is no national food program, and there is a national ban on vending machines.

Each one of us is in control of our own health destiny. A plant-based diet not only prevents what’s killing us, but can reverse it. Dr. Esselstyn was shunned by the USDA after reporting his results, and the Food Pyramid still contains meat and dairy. In his TED talk, he explains our top killers are food-borne illnesses.

Your food choices are 100% up to you. What will you choose to eat today?

*           *           *

Forks Over Knives is streamable from Netflix. It just might save your life.

Related Posts:

My Picks: Top 10 Superfoods For Disease Prevention

Location, location, location! The High Cost of Living in a Food Desert

Trickery, Manipulation and $50: A Plan for School Cafeterias

The Kind Diet

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Love shines upon us

As much as we like to think it won’t happen to us, or decide not to dwell on what “could be,” try to live in and appreciate the present, at some point grief slams into us harder than any body blow. It’s a personal catastrophe that takes our breath away – for months or years. It rearranges our reality and we are alone. Each one of us must process this reality. The guidance of family, friends, therapists, religious mentors or self-help books reaches part of us, but we must do the work on our own. We must come to terms with the event and find a new route on our roadmap. A route we had not previously considered or ever wished to be on, could never have conceived of previously and leaving us blatantly unprepared. We must teach ourselves how get to somewhere that is not here. To pull ourselves out of despair.

Grief, of course, need not result from of a death. It may follow the end of any significant relationship or change in a major life circumstance. Divorce, chronic or terminal illness, infertility and miscarriage, job loss, or loss of freedom may lead you into the stages of grief.

What effect does this have on our own mortality? Does the stress of devastation and long-term panic increase our susceptibility to disease thereby shortening our lives? Are we consumed by our reality and our search for the new route to the extent that those who depend on us suffer? Do we try to be strong for our dependents while inside we continue to crumble? Do we even care about the future of the new route upon which we find ourselves? Would a hug help? I don’t know. Probably. I’m sure it depends on perceived realities, personal circumstances, coping ability, dependence on piety, previous experience, quality of relationships and mindset – different for us all.

What I do know for us collectively, is that it sucks and it’s a long haul. Even your loved ones do not share your exact perceptions, experiences and depth of devastation. And try as they might, bless ‘em, even if they are similarly suffering, they are limited in their ability to feel what is like to be you, and you cannot fathom what they are going through. Perhaps you cannot even discuss it.

The only goodness in all of it is that you have a choice. You look at the values, attitudes, manner of your departed and, when you are able, embody those beautiful aspects of them in order for them to have continued life through you. I’m certainly not to that point yet, but at least I have a goal and that gives me something to work on and look forward to. It’s an unrealistic goal, and I know it, but that is okay. I may enjoy the journey in the meantime and achieve more than I would have otherwise.

Maybe there’s something in that person that you’d like to illuminate. I hope you find it and shine it all over the place.

* * *

I wrote this one year ago. Now it has been two years since my mother left this earth. I have re-read this from time to time to update it, but I still feel the same way. My mother remains in my thoughts throughout every day, and the goal remains.

Further Reading:

The Grief Recovery Institute

Circadian rhythms control acute health episodes

10 a.m. heart attacks? It’s no coincidence. Our internal body clocks are governed by circadian rhythms, where over a period of roughly 24 hours, our bodies generate physiological processes to determine periods of sleeping, eating, and much more.

Diurnal mammals experience clear patterns of brain wave activity, hormone production, and cell regeneration based on sunlight and temperature. This activity occurs in the hypothalamus, located just above the cross point of the optical nerves in the brain.

Whether you’re a “lark” or a “night owl,” your circadian rhythms have been genetically set since birth. They may vary slightly over the span of a lifetime, but we cannot change our chronotype. This makes working the night-shift very difficult for larks, and explains the real causes of jet lag. Melatonin, the hormone produced after darkness, causes drowsiness. When sunlight hits our eyelids in the morning, light-induced signals travel through the brain to turn off melatonin production.

Because [shift workers'] work schedules are at odds with powerful sleep-regulating cues like sunlight, they often become uncontrollably drowsy during work, and they may suffer insomnia or other problems when they try to sleep. Shift workers have an increased risk of heart problems, digestive disturbances, and emotional and mental problems, all of which may be related to their sleeping problems. The number and severity of workplace accidents also tend to increase during the night shift. Major industrial accidents attributed partly to errors made by fatigued night-shift workers include the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear power plant accidents. One study also found that medical interns working on the night shift are twice as likely as others to misinterpret hospital test records, which could endanger their patients. It may be possible to reduce shift-related fatigue by using bright lights in the workplace, minimizing shift changes, and taking scheduled naps. -NIH, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

People who suffer from sleep disorders attempt to offset their body clocks by light therapy or increasing melatonin in the form of drug therapy, with some temporary success.

The image indicates which acute disease states coincide with time of day. Many health conditions are regulated by these rhythms. For example, lung function is at its optimal level around 4 p.m. Conversely, it is at its weakest around 4 a.m., the time of day when most asthma attacks occur. Heart problems and strokes escalate during the time that our blood pressure is highest, generally between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Deaths from all causes generally occur around 6 a.m.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30% of all adult employed Americans get no more than 6 hours of sleep, when they really need 7-9 hours. Women sleeping 5 hours per night or less are three times more likely to suffer a heart attack.

6 “Good Sleep” Tips to Maintain Your Circadian Rhythms

• Regulate the amount of sleep by setting a bedtime and wake time, allowing for the recommended 7-9 hours. Try to make it the same 7-9 hours each night.
• Follow your mother’s advice and get in at least 2-3 of those hours before midnight.
• Reduce intake of stimulants 4-6 hours before bedtime. That nightcap is likely to cause sleep disturbances, and choose decaf for your after-dinner coffee. Nicotine has a calming effect, but remember that it’s really a stimulant.
• Keep the bedroom dark by installing light-blocking window shades. This allows for continuous production of melatonin during the sleep hours.
• Relax before bedtime with a hot bath, light reading, aromatherapy, or whatever you find calming. Watching TV, having emotional discussions, and even a cluttered bedroom are likely to subconsciously invoke anxiety in that room over time.
• Eat to sleep. Like turkey, milk contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid related to relaxation and restfulness. Other sleep-enhancing foods are shrimp, tuna, halibut, pumpkin, bananas, peaches, apricots, avocados, artichokes, asparagus, almonds and walnuts, oats and eggs.

Ready to get back on the clock now? Sweet dreams.

Who gets to live?

Gender selection for the purposes of eliminating genetic disease or family balancing remains controversial. Not just an option for abnormal genetic screening results, is it another step in population control, gendercide, and the war on women?

The world’s highest population countries remain China (1.35B) and India (1.2B). These and many other countries have traditionally placed greater preference on male offspring, and have instituted population control measures over the last several decades. The manner in which the policies are enforced is physically and socially horrific. As gender selection for birth abnormalities became more common in developed nations, many couples now seek it out to choose their baby’s gender if for no other reason than “family balancing.” Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) virtually guarantees successful gender selection of embryos. X-chromosone-linked diseases are identified in vitro and the undesired embryos removed, for indication of genetic disease. Or not.

China

Held-over beliefs from Confucianism enabled continuation of the practice of female infanticide and abandonment in China long before the 1978 “family planning” law was enacted, allowing one child per couple. (Occasionally now in rural areas, if the first-born was female, two children may be granted.) This has created a nation of five decades of “missing girls” and an extremely lopsided sex ratio. Population estimates show 111 million Chinese men currently unable to find a wife, secondarily spurring an increase in human trafficking of Chinese girls. It is calculated that 21 million children are born each year and the female portion is missing due to institutionalized killing or neglect. Baby girls are drowned, poisoned, starved, or carted to orphanages where 90% of them will perish as will any record of them having ever existed. Pregnancy in China must be approved and if a subsequent pregnancy is discovered, the mother, now criminal, is captured for a forced abortion procedure usually in late-term, also causing a spike in maternal mortality.

One investigation into an orphanage, or “dying room,” found,

…a lame girl sitting on a bench…her leg swollen with gangrene. Then crying was heard from a nearby cot. Underneath the blanket was a tied bundle of cloth, a girl was found. Upon unswaddling her, the last layer being a plastic bag, she laid in urine and feces. The next cot was the same, and the next and the next. Many children had lesions where the string wrapping them had cut into their bodies. All the non-handicapped children in the orphanage were girls. A response from the Chinese government reads, ‘The so-called dying rooms do not exist in China at all. Our investigations confirm that those reports are vicious fabrications made out of ulterior motives.’ As a result of the documentary The Dying Rooms (1996), American families have adopted over 35,000 Chinese girls, more than any other nation.

India

Described as the “heartland of sex-selective abortion,” India’s Hindu practitioners readily agree that many unwanted female children are “done away with.” Most Indian women are not able to be independent agents of their own destinies, but victims of a long-standing social ideology which prefers sons. Families must provide for the daughter while she is growing up, knowing once she marries, a large dowry will be required and she will become of service to the husband’s family. Formally outlawed, the dowry practice is still pervasive.

The combination of dowry and wedding expenses usually add up to more than a million rupees [US $35,000]. In India, the average civil servant earns about 100,000 rupees [US $3,500] a year. Given these figures combined with the low status of women, it seems not so illogical that the poorer Indian families would want only male children.” Murders of women whose families are deemed to have paid insufficient dowry have become increasingly common. -Female Infanticide and Feoticide.

India is expected to surpass China in population by 2030 as a result of it’s “less successful” family planning policy. Nevertheless, 50 million girls and women are missing from India’s population as a result of systematic gender discrimination, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

U.S.

The west, being more advanced, tends to use our ethnocentric values to judge other cultures, and often realign them with ours. In no case would we view infanticide is acceptable family planning. Yet, we tout the ability to Choose The Sex of Your Unborn Baby Now! at a high cost and for reasons much more frivolous than poor quality of life of millions of girls and women around the globe. Steven Pinker’s article, “Why They Kill Their Newborns,” notes that we are much more tolerant of killing newborns than older children as seen in the lenient two-year sentencing of Amy Grossberg who threw her infant into a dumpster against the outcry and harsher life sentence of Susan Smith for killing her 14-month and 3 year-old children.

Even American-born baby girls are “sacrificed by the tens of thousands,” according to Steven Mosher of Population Research Institute. A Columbia University study found a disparity between the number of males and females born in certain Asian and sub-Asian populations within the US.

Do you call it abortion, neonaticide, or infanticide? Some people call it the gravest, largest holocaust on earth. Do you see gender selection for non-genetic reasons as morally wrong? For whom? I’d like to know.

Related articles:

• FEMALE INFANTICIDE: United Nations Ranks India the Deadliest Place for Female Children Genocide (alakhtal.wordpress.com)
• It’s a girl: The three deadliest words in the world (antiworldnews.wordpress.com)
• U.S. clinic offers sex selection service to Indo-Canadians (ctv.ca)
• Gender Selection in Canada: No Easy Answers (sentientdevelopments.com)

Choose an anti-inflammation diet to help control allergies

I spent the entirety of last weekend outside, one day at a 9-hour outdoor seminar and the other day at my son’s 3-game baseball tournament. Generally allergy-free, by the middle of the second day, I was sneezing, coughing, eyes watering like crazy, and had the worst nasal congestion I’ve ever experienced with runny nose. I used up 3 little packages of tissues in about 20 minutes. I couldn’t wait to get home to my remedies. Sound familiar? What do you do? Take Antihistamines? Visit your specialist for immunotherapy? Are you more likely to take a holistic approach to strengthen the immune system and avoid OTC medicine side-effects?

The Diet|Allergy Link

Many of the foods we eat produce a direct response from our bodies. What we put into our gut is processed by our liver. These two systems work well together even when dealing with all the unnatural foods and other odd “invaders” we send down or breathe in. Occasionally, they become overwhelmed and things they normally handle well, like pollen, become too big a job.

What To Eliminate From Your Diet

The milk protein, casein. One symptom of seasonal allergies is inflammation. We can usually feel the pressure in our heads, but it lingers around the rest of our body as well. It is often present in people with asthma, diabetes and other autoimmune disorders. Casein causes inflammation and produces mucus even if there is no dairy allergy present. Removing it from the diet completely is especially helpful for managing the common triad of allergies/eczema/asthma. Be wary of non-fat and non-dairy items and read the labels. Some cheese substitutes made from soybeans and almonds may still contain casein.

Protein. Vancouver’s Dr. Andrew Weil, who writes weekly for the Vancouver Sun, advises reducing the amount of protein consumed. “I believe that high-protein diets irritate the immune system in some people, aggravating allergies and autoimmune diseases. Because proteins are the components that make an organism unique, the immune system reads them to decide whether materials in the body are ‘self’ or foreign. When the immune system is overactive, as it is with an allergy, flooding the body with animal and plant proteins may confuse it further and may make resolution of these conditions less likely. I have found that low-protein diets can be helpful to people with chronic allergies and other immune-system problems.”

Sugar. Just 3 ounces of sugar can suppress the immune system within 30 minutes, and up to 5 hours. Given that the average American eats three times that amount in a single day, eliminating or even reducing sugar intake can significantly boost your immune system.

Gluten. Foods processed from wheat, barley and rye can produce excess mucus in the nasal cavity which is not drained from the nostrils. This stagnated mucus is a fantastic environment for encouraging fungi, viruses and bacteria growth resulting in sinusitis. Read labels and stay away from semolina, starch, bulgur, gram flour, bread crumbs, bran, spelt, couscous or high protein flour. [Note: it can take up to 4 weeks for your body to rid itself of gluten residue.]

What To Add To Your Diet

Cold water fish. Haddock, tuna, salmon, cod, trout, mackerel, sardines and herring are all rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Shellfish also contains these acids, but not as much. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and when consumed regularly can be effective in treating hay fever, sinusitis, hives, eczema. Asthma sufferers will notice an increase in open airways. [Note: avoid omega-6 fatty acids. These have the opposite and adverse effect of causing inflammation, and are found in sunflower oil, mayonnaise, prepared salad dressings, and fast foods.]

Vitamin C. This is actually an antihistamine in itself. The plus side, though, is that it does not damage the liver as OTC antihistamines can, and it can strengthen the immune system. Foods rich in Vitamin C are broccoli, shallots, yellow onions, oranges, kiwi, strawberries and bell peppers. Raw fruit smoothies are a great way to get more Vitamin C, especially if you make them yourself so you can be sure nothing is added which might hamper the benefits.

Local bee products. Honeybees pollinate all sorts of blooming plants and trees. Apiary products in your area will contain a minute amount of the specific pollens that you encounter every day. Eating 1-2 tbsp. of local honey or bee pollen daily will naturally build up your immunity to these flowering varietals.

In The News

Two interesting studies have linked diet with disease in newborns, or the likelyhood of disease developing during childhood. One study showed that an apple each day during pregnancy will significantly reduce the risk of wheezing and asthma developing. And a diet regularly including fish will dramatically decrease incidence of eczema, even from birth.

Another study in the same publication touts the benefits of a Mediterranean diet. This diet is heavy on fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, olive oil and fish, and extremely low in red meat. It was reported that children are 66% less likely to have itchy eyes and runny nose, and the incidence of asthma, at least on the island of Crete, is nearly zero.

Related Reading:

Mediterranean Diet May Prevent Allergies

OAS and Out With The Fruit Bowl (at least at my house)

Bee Pollen: Superfood

My Picks: Top 10 Superfoods for Disease Prevention

HIV prevalence by African country

One of the most effective public health education tools to combat HIV/AIDS in Kenya is back. Last month, the popular TV program Shuga began airing it’s second season.

Three episodes were funded for the first season through MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation and other funding partners, but demand has landed six new episodes this season. PATH joined with other sponsors PEPFAR and UNICEF to bring this meaningful tool to Nairobi. And since it’s rights-cleared, it will air on all five major broadcast companies throughout Kenya.

In addition to teaching safe sex and HIV transmission methods, this season of Shuga: Love, Sex and Money addresses alcohol use, transactional sex, rape and homosexuality. This was an important part of their sexual behavior communication plan, as it is still illegal to be gay in Africa.

What makes the show so popular?

It’s steamy hot, which, for all intents and purposes, is unchartered programming territory for the 16-24 year old Kenyan target group. It’s sexy, fun, and relatable.

What makes the show so successful?

It’s changing behaviors and saving lives. Read here about reaching young adults who had little to no access to TV or internet in 2009. Between 60% and 80% of all viewers were more receptive to this teaching tool for behavior change. About the new season, from The Saturday Post Zambia,

The documentary addresses social and economic factors that contribute to the high HIV prevalence and new infection rates, particularly among young people, in Sub-Saharan Africa and the world. The film resonates with young people. The main [goal] is to increase knowledge and start a debate about HIV among young people so that they don’t get infected. It aims to encourage behaviour change to prevent new infections.

The secondary phase is to remind people that HIV is not a death sentence. People can live positively with HIV. The campaign is an explosive drama shot and produced in Kenya that challenges young people to ignite a movement to change their sexual behaviour and turn their norms to stop the spread of the killer disease specifically in Kenya, Trinidad, Ukraine and Zambia.

Take a look at the Season 2 trailer:

Related Links:

Sesame Square, Kami and Shuga Battle HIV

MTV Shuga

MTV Staying Alive Foundation

PATH: A Catalyst for Global Health

Continuous Chest Compressions save more lives than traditional CPR

There’s a new, more effective method for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, developed by Gordon A. Ewy, MD, and Karl Kern, MD, physician researchers at the University of Arizona. The reason? To encourage by-standers to help out if they are uncomfortable performing traditional CPR, involving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a stranger. Additionally, this method is easier and doubles the likelihood of survival from sudden cardiac arrest. No certification is necessary.

Continuous Chest Compression is a hands-only method of CPR whereby the helper aims for 100 chest compressions per minute. This seems like a lot, but it is the only way to start the blood moving to the brain. The video clearly demonstrates how to perform this procedure. Please take 6 minutes to learn how simple it can be to save a life, and pass it on.

The earth blooms at the vernal equinox

Fantastic powder and continued snowfall brought us back to Crystal Mountain for our weekly ski day. I looked forward to a regular run with a first-time guest we brought along who was performing impressively. I took a sudden bad fall, my body careening one way, one ski unnaturally in the other. Pressure in my knee and a pop. And I still had to get down the mountain. Turns out I tore my MCL.

In and out of a medicinal haze, one leg having the mistaken self-identity of a wet noodle, my thoughts traveled. They went to exotic, wondrous realms that we all occasionally glimpse. They roamed far and long. They focused particularly on the beauty and majesty of the earth and I don’t know how to describe it really, but I felt the Wheel turn. It wasn’t the first time, but it was perhaps the strongest.

It’s still wintry outside, but the crocuses are popping up in little yellow armies all over the place. My tulips and daffodils are close behind. Easter. My husband’s annual musings: What do bunnies and eggs have to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ? And why did He ascend into heaven after 3 days? On and on. We don’t have answers for him.

Every year with grand pageantry we frantically rush about in fancy clothes, search for colored eggs, eat a special breakfast, speed to make it to the church service on time, sign all the kiddos into appropriate classes — if they want — or would they like to come sit with mommy and daddy this time? Can they be quiet and sit still for an hour? No? Ok, sign them all in to separate classes as originally planned, run down the hallway and up some stairs, quickly compose ourselves before entering the sanctuary, squeeze into separate spots on overcrowded pews and, with a sigh, sit down to receive the famous, magical, miraculous lesson that is Easter. After all that, we’re still asking the same questions and wondering if this was how God intended for us to spend Easter morning.

In an effort to feel more fulfilled this year, we will be celebrating Ostara instead. I found some answers on my own, things that even my many college religions classes never touched upon.

In celebration of the Germanic goddess Eostre, the holiday contributed not just its name to Easter. Prior to Christianity, people celebrated the balance of light and darkness, the return of the sun and the warming of the earth, fertility of animals, especially the abundance of goats’ milk, and the hare who is nocturnal all year until early spring when it is in a frenzy to mate as much as possible. Female hares can even conceive more than one litter at a time. As gifts, people decorated eggs in bright colors for their neighbors and friends as tokens of the new life spring brings. The celebratory meal consisted of, among other things, ham and honey. Ham, because all winter they survived on salted meats and ham was considered the finest. For a period before Ostara, they would fast (hello, Lent) to purge their bodies of the heavy, unhealthy meals. And honey, as a symbol of pollination which would yield a bounty of fruits and vegetables. (We turn that “sweet” into chocolate and candy.) Ostara was a celebration of the wonder of all Earth’s gifts, and a time of renewal. A time to be grateful.

The onset of Christianity (I don’t mean for that to sound like a disease-state) sought to forcibly banish all these customs. People who wanted to retain the old ways then had to hide their colored eggs on their friends’ land. Children were sent out with baskets to find and collect them. The ancient holiday occurs at the vernal equinox. During this time, the moon is dark for 3 nights. Christianity borrowed a bit of that too in determining that Jesus would ascend into heaven after 3 days.

We’ve always known that Christian holidays fall on or around the Pagan ones and that old traditions were loosely incorporated in an effort to persuade people to more readily accept the new religion. Well, to me, one is pretty black and white–a time of joyous thanks that the long winter is finally over and a rejoicing for the promise of new life inside and out. And the other still has so many shades of gray that I can’t see my hand in front of my face. The texts of the Gospels alone, while beautiful, were decided by groups of men who argued time and again what must be included and excluded. And today we live and breathe by those decisions? That doesn’t make sense to me.

On March 20, we will celebrate Ostara. On April 8, I will host Easter dinner for my extended family. I will serve, among other things, ham and honey. After a hectic Easter morning, they can relax at our table knowing they did the right thing earlier that day, and so can I. All I will have had to do is bake the ham and thank God for the miracle that is the Earth.

Ostara blessings to you!

Family Activity

Find the time the vernal equinox will occur in your location. Just prior, if possible, take an egg outside and set it upright. It will balance perfectly – some say for minutes, some say for hours or days – due to the sun’s equidistant position between the poles of the Earth!

See if your egg does this at the vernal equinox!

Food Desert

How far do you live from a large supermarket? What if you only purchased foods you were able to carry either by walking or using public transportation? What if there was a McDonald’s one block over? How is your health affected?

These are questions posed around the communities of food deserts, areas in industrialized nations which are not close enough to any nutritional food retailer. In urban areas this is usually measured at one mile away, in rural areas, about ten miles. Existing stores in these areas carry high-priced, unhealthy options. In many cases, these are the only options.

Health Hazards

The high-fat and sugar content of the foods sold at convenience stores or small “grocers” (term used as loosely as possible) is causing an increase in disease in lower socio-economic communities where large supermarket retailers will not build for lack of profit. Consumers in these low SES minority neighborhoods show an increase in meat and processed foods, and much lower intake of fruits and vegetables, but are spending 37% more on food in general. This contributes to spikes in obesity, diabetes, sugar addiction, malnutrition, and heart disease.

As of 2011, the USDA underestimates about 2.4 million Americans living in food deserts. Factors not included in this measure are access to transportation, barriers for the elderly, food price, crime rate, and ethnic disparities, leaving the actual number of people at risk of food insecurity to be much higher. One study (Policy Link and The Food Trust, 2010) showed that in New Mexico, the same cart of groceries costs $85 for rural residents, and $55 for urban residents, a common disparity in relative costs. About a quarter of the people who qualify for welfare and food stamp programs live in food deserts. In fact, according to Mari Gallagher, founder of National Center for Pubic Research, USDA food stamp retailers provide more barriers to nutritious foods than fast food retailers.

Food Desert Locator

Food Oases

Several states are seeing community-level interventions which pair public and private finances to significantly undercut costs and losses to supermarket chains. Co-ops are useful in promoting local growers, and farmers’ markets, although costly, also increase access to food. Community currency has been shown to boost profits in both of these endeavors. Even community gardens strengthen community and social support while providing access to nutritious foods. About 20 grants exist to help individuals and communities afford healthy food projects.

Please click the link below to watch what Karriem Beyah has done for an urban food desert in Chicago’s South Side:

Urban Deserts: Fresh-Food-Free Zones TIME.com

What can your community do?

Related Posts:

Hidden Hunger In The Heartland

Any search on the internet will include these foods among about 20 others, but my Superfoods qualified for the list by being either 1) rare [I love trying exotic foods]; or more importantly, 2) a whole food high in phytonutrients which not only act as antioxidants but are essential nutrients. Essential nutrients are required for normal body functioning, but cannot be synthesized in adequate amounts, and must be obtained from a dietary source. Processed or cooked foods have lower levels of phytochemicals and contribute to an increase in preventable disease. Your physician may be able to manage or treat disease, but prevent it in the first place by controlling what’s in your power–starting with your diet. So, in an effort to put your health in your own hands, try out my list of Superfoods for disease prevention.

1) Blue-Green Algae or Spirulina: Used since the 9th century, it’s about 60% protein, 7% lipids, and contains all essential amino acids. It’s better than meat or dairy products, and is superior to most plant products such as legumes. Photosynthesis in cyanobacteria produces oxygen. Cancer cells cannot thrive in oxygen-rich blood, or in alkaline conditions. Six species, however, are susceptible to toxic contaminants and may quickly grow into algae blooms, so be careful where you get yours, or use a supplement. Look for cyanobacteria.

2) Wild Alaskan Salmon: Maximize your benefit by eating this at least twice each week. Not any Atlantic or farm-raised salmon, but fresh Alaskan salmon whenever you can find it. The omega-3 fatty acids are powerful for heart (reduces risk of heart disease by 38% and heart attack by 60%) and brain (decreased risk of Alzheimers, asthma and behavioral conditions present in children, and depression and other psychiatric disorders) function; perfect for pregnant moms for healthy development of fetal brains and retinas. It is always delicious. It is usually expensive. The alternative is paying for disease treatment, which is more costly [in dollars and quality of life] in the short- and long-term.

3) Bee pollen: My regular readers may already be familiar with a previous post on this topic, but the benefits were so extreme and numerous that I could not include them all without multiplying the length of my post by about 3. So, to recap — this is assimilated into the body naturally at the cellular level. It is the only existing compound which  scientists have not been able to reproduce in the laboratory. It is 40% protein, is high in B-complex vitamins, as well as A, C, D, E; contains 27 mineral salts and over 5,ooo enzymes necessary for healing and digestion; and contains 96 known nutrients. It aides in so many health issues (strengthens capillaries, improves cholesterol and complexion, reduces risk of prostrate cancer and supports sexual and reproductive function, calms allergies, and even contains natural pheynlalanine which curbs appetite) and much more. This is one amazing Superfood. Get it. Eat it. Up to one tablespoon per day. Ask your doctor if it is safe for you, and try one grain of the pollen first to see if you suffer any anaphylaxic reaction. Where to buy: Bees In The Burbs.

4) Cacao: First used in Mexico, Central and South American cultures, the bean of this small evergreen tree is high in antioxidants and phytochemicals, fiber, iron, magnesium, chromium, zinc, vitamin E, and flavinoids. It does not contain vitamin C as previously thought. When the seeds are roasted, they lose some of their nutrients and this processed form is called cocoa. Most developed nations process it even further, reducing the health benefits and contributing to our overall fat intake. The Archives of Internal Medicine reported that cacao is 14 times better at lowering blood pressure than red wine, and 21 times more effective than green tea. It’s a natural muscle relaxer, especially for asthma, and has been used to treat edema or swelling from fluids. It increases oxygen in the blood so it reduces risk of heart disease and cancer, and increases blood flow to the brain. Where to buy: Theo Chocolates.

5) Watermelon: Not just a snack! Locally-grown is best. Otherwise, just know that this Superfood is one of THE healthiest fruits. It contains the highest amounts of lycopene. Yes – much higher than tomatoes! Lycopene is an antioxidant which fights against heart disease and cancer, especially prostate cancer, and inflammatory diseases such as asthma, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. It contains vitamins A, B6, and C for improving tooth and gum disease, and macular degeneration. It helps heal wounds and is a natural energy booster. Also high in potassium, watermelon can help control blood pressure and possibly prevent strokes. It relaxes blood vessels which contributes to a “Viagara effect.”

6) Kamut: Allergic to wheat? Kamut is a unique high energy grain reported now as “the wheat you can eat.” Athletes also prefer this type of wheat as it contains 65% more amino acids than common wheat, more lipids and fatty acids, and is 40% higher in protein content. It is a good souce of selenium, zinc and magnesium. Kamut has an interesting back story. “Following WWII, a US airman claimed to have taken a handful of this grain from a stone box in a tomb near Dashare, Egypt. Thirty-six kernels of the grain were given to a friend who mailed them to his father, a Montana wheat farmer. The farmer planted and harvested a small crop and displayed the grain as a novelty at the local fair. Believing the legend that the giant grain kernels were taken from an Egyptian tomb, the grain was dubbed ‘King Tut’s Wheat.’ But soon the novelty wore off and this ancient grain was all but forgotten. In 1977, one remaining jar of ‘King Tut’s Wheat’ was obtained by another Montana wheat farmer, who with his son, an agricultural scientist and plant biochemist, soon perceived the value of this unique grain. They spent the next decade propagating the humped-backed kernels originally selected from the small jar.”  They are naturally resistant to insects and disease–if one stalk is effected, the others remain healthy. Kamut is a registered brand which is available as a cereal, in breads, pancakes, waffles, cookies, pasta, bulgar and couscous.

7) Cinnamon: Nearly everything sold in grocery stores today, besides fresh produce and meat, has added sugar. This even includes low-calorie and low-fat foods and health food bars. Bagels. Campbell’s soup. The added sugar takes many forms–fructose, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, lactose and maltose. This, imo, has lead not only to an increase in type 2 diabetes and obesity, but to a national sugar addiction. These added sugars instruct the body to hold on to fat instead of burn it, and have a disastrous effect on blood sugar and insulin levels. There is only one natural product to counter this – cinnamon! You may have been unaware of this and that is because it is not man-made and drug companies cannot profit from cinnamon. Studies show that even one gram (less than 1/2 tsp.) of cinnamon per day reduced blood sugar by 20%. The recommended amount is up to 6 grams which can reduce blood sugar by 63%. It mimicks all the positive effects of insulin and encourages uptake of glucose. Take cinnamon before, during, or after a meal when blood sugar levels are highest. Minimize or eliminate processed foods from your diet and use cinnamon regularly. You will see and feel the difference! 

8) Maqui Berry: Originating from rainforests of Chile and Argentina, the composition of the purple Maqui berry (or Chilean Wineberry) has twice as many antioxidants as other berries, including the Acai berry. It promotes cardiovascular health, immune system, skin, bone and joint health. It is also a great detoxifier and will help jump start a weight loss regimen. The berry is available in many forms, so if you’re like me (which you’re probably not) and not fond of berries, look for it in supplement form from a knowledgeable practitioner as it is common to find weaker strains of the berry or supplements of less-than-optimum strength.

9) Quinoa: Often served at our table in place of rice, Quinoa is an ancient Incan grain which is a complete protein (contains all 9 essential amino acids) packed with phytonutrients. It is an extremely rich source of manganese and magnesium, folate and phosphorous, it assists the body to fight migraine headaches, diabetes and athlerosclerosis. It protects mitochondria from oxidative damage and is therefore recommended for reducing several types of cancer. When eaten in conjunction with fish, preferably wild Alaskan salmon, it can reduce by 66% wheezing and incidence of asthma, especially in children. 

10) Alliums: This is the onion group which includes shallots, leeks, scallions, garlic and chives. We often incorporate their pungent flavor in cooking, but how are they beneficial for health? They are high in antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activity which reduces blood platelet aggregation and hyperlipidemia, and helps heal colds and coughs. The phytochemicals are released upon chopping or crushing. They enhance thiamin absorption and lower blood pressure. This group is occasionally contraindicated for people taking certain diabetic therapies, so check with your physician before regular use. 

Some of my Superfoods are best locally purchased and not from major supplement stores. Ask a holistic health practitoner, or check back soon as I will include links to some fantastic small business retailers once I receive permission from all of them. In the meantime, select wisely and eat purposefully. Bon appetit!

Heat and minerals combine for natural healing

More accessible than thalasso spas or hammams, mineral hot springs are natural geothermal waters heated through contact with volcanic magma or the earth’s crust. Temperatures range from 15° above ambient ground temperature to 176° F. Hot springs have been used for healing purposes by indigenous peoples since prehistoric times all over the earth.

Mineral Therapy

Interaction with several layers of earth and clay contributes essential minerals to the waters. Even trace amounts of minerals can have a significant therapeutic effect when absorbed through the skin. Mineral content and chemical compositions most often found include:

Arsenic: while toxic in large quantities, trace amounts encourage plasma production and tissue growth; beneficial for fungal infections on the skin; arthritis.

Bicarbonate gas: increases circulation and opens peripheral blood vessels. Use in tepid to warm waters can alleviate symptoms associated with cardiovascular disease, hypertension and mild atherosclerosis; relieves stress.

Boron: increases brain activity, strengthens bone and builds muscle.

Chlorides: beneficial for rheumatic conditions, arthritis, stress, arthritis.

Iron: increases blood production and strengthens the immune system.

Lithium: alleviates depression; helps with digestion.

Magnesium: converts blood sugar to energy; promotes healthy skin.

Potassium: regulates heart rhythms and decreases blood pressure; eliminates toxins.

Sulfates: treat respiratory ailments and skin infections. Also beneficial for liver  and gastrointestinal conditions.

Help Yourself

Balneology is the scientific study of naturally occurring mineral waters, and is incorporated into routine medical care in Europe and Asia. It is not practiced in the United States where preventive health has been pushed aside in favor of morbidity treatment. Given the number of mineral hot springs in the US, this is unfortunate. Two-time Nobel Laureat (for chemistry and peace), Dr. Linus Pauling noted, “Every sickness, every disease, every ailment can be traced to a mineral deficiency.” Being in charge of our own health destinies, however, we may avail ourselves to the many therapies of mineral springs.

In the late 1880′s, Doc Holliday, gunslinger of OK Corral legend, ended up living in Glenwood Springs, CO where he used the hot springs to treat his tuberculosis. In the early 1900′s, Teddy Roosevelt occasionally hunted in Colorado, and found the hot springs and vapor caves there beneficial for his health conditions.

Carson Hot Springs in Nevada, was enjoyed by settlers on their way to the Gold Rush, and a resort there even began bottling a healing “new Mineral Water” as early as 1895.

Three thousand years ago, American Natives occupied what is now known as Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. The Quapaw and Caddo tribes there still consider the hot baths a sacred and integral part of their culture.

Check for mineral hot springs in your area or when traveling. Many websites offer mineral content of their springs, and you will be surprised at how many more elements are common than the few listed above. Also be aware of rules and regulations–some spa settings will be pricey, and more natural settings are likely to attract nudists. But there are so many mineral hot springs, you can be sure to locate the perfect one. A handful of US hot springs:

Glenwood Hot Springs, CO.

Faywood Hot Springs, NM.

Crystal Hot Springs, UT.

Virginia Hot Springs, Allegheny Mountains, VA.

Goldmeyer Hot Springs, WA.

Sol Duc Hot Springs, Olympic National Park, WA.

*Caution*

Some springs are extremely hot and can be fatal. Check with your doctor to know your body’s tolerance with your health conditions. Surrounding ground is also hot and has often melted soles off of shoes.  

Traditional hammam, Morocco

Snowed in and shivering this week, my mind wanders to other forms of medicinal healing waters, specifically those of the traditional hammam, “spreader of warmth,” also known as “the silent doctor.” Originating from Roman thermal baths, hammams were, and in many places still are, communal bath houses common in Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, and a variation in Japan. In eastern cultures, hammam visits may be the only time women leave the house, so it is also a place for socializing. It’s possible to find old hammams still frequented by weekly bathers, or updated experiences in sterile spa settings. But the wash routine remains and you will leave the hammam refreshed and cleaner than perhaps ever before.

The hammam is reserved for women to use during the day and men at night, or on separate days of the week. It is customary to bring your own toiletries, undergarments, towel, kiis (exfoliating mitt), two buckets, optional small bowls for rinsing, optional floor mat, and something to wrap around your wet head upon your departure. Spa hammams, of course, use their own skin care products and allow men and women use of separate areas of the spa.

Hammam rooms are centered around a gushing flow of thermal water. The first room you will enter is the preparatory warm room. You will wear dark underwear but no bra. Fill your buckets with warm and cool water. Use the cool water bucket to rinse off the marble or stone floor space where you will sit, and to rinse your body. Spend time here to relax, allow your pores to open and your cares to flee.

Move to the hot room where you will spend ample time sweating to detoxify and cleanse your skin.When you reach your tolerance for heat it’s time to move on.

Enter a second warm room where you will wash. As a courtesy, someone may offer to wash your back. Do not interpret this as anything else. Or, an attendant may assist you if you have previously asked and paid for that service. After your skin is washed with the kiis, and also your hair, use the warm water bucket to rinse.

From here, you enter the cold room to begin to adjust to outside temperatures. Often there are benches and showers to use for a final rinse before a deep-pressured, abrasive massage on the stone floor. Remaining dirt and several layers of skin are removed, joints are cracked. Your skin is olive-oiled and then covered with a special lotion and you’re ready to be on your way. Remember to cover your wet head, as is custom, or someone is likely to do it for you.

Arabs tailored bath houses from early Greek and Roman ones, became an important hygienic aspect of religion and were often connected to Islamic mosques. Residents of and travelers to Cairo 500 years ago supported over 300 bath houses. You will even find some there today dating back to 1300. It’ll cost you between 2 and 3 of today’s dollars in a traditional hammam, or upward of 200 at a spa.

Heat, steam and massage have been enjoyed and used medicinally from ancient tundra dwellers to Jordan. “The silent doctor” still has us yearning for renewal from this ancient water therapy.

HAMMAM Spa, Toronto.

Riad Kniza, Marrakech.

Amanjena, Morocco.

Miraj Hamman Spa, Vancouver.

Sea water therapy for body, mind and soul

Although thalassotherapy is one of the ancient health regimens of Greece and Egypt and even Hippocrates, it remains one of the best-kept secrets.

Through the last half of the 18th century and the 19th century, Dr. Richard Russell’s hype of thalassotherapy benefits spurned a multitude of seaside resorts in England, and Duchess Berry’s in France. Today its greatest popularity is near the Dead Sea, and yet, it is a relatively obscure therapy.

Now almost entirely a spa experience, thalassotherapy is based in coastal cultures. It was believed since ancient times that the sea fog and the sea itself contain restorative trace elements of magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium and iodine and are absorbed through the skin. Hippocrates observed that fishermen whose hands were often cut would never develop infections. In 1904, French biologist Rene Quinton proved that sea water contained the same elements as blood plasma and were curative.

Methods of Therapy

Thalassotherapy pools contain seawater pumped from far offshore, used within 48 hours at 98 degrees to maintain the vital microbes, minerals and plant life essential for healing. Immersion into this warm bath often with pressurized air jets, promotes the creation of healthy cells while the mind moves into harmony with the body’s nervous, respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Daily therapy over six days has a lasting effect for six to eight months as evidenced in people with diabetes, asthma, arthritis, heart ailments, hypertension, cellulite, stress and skin problems.

Massage increases circulation and respiration, heals sore muscles and eliminates toxins. Seaweed dilates blood vessels, allowing for more immediate entry into the bloodstream, and opened pores allow the skin to be more receptive to the natural ingredients. Marine mud, algae paste, seaweed wraps and salt scrubs are optional components.

Thalassotherapy Spas

Should you find yourself along the sea, inquire about thalasso spas. Treatments can be costly, but not prohibitive. The results you see and feel will override any reservations you have for future therapies. Here are just a few:

Biarritz Thalasso Resort – three locations in coastal France.

The Royal Myconian Hotel and Thalasso Center – Mykonos Island, Greece.

Playa Grande Resort & Spa – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita – Rivera Maya, Mexico.

Kempinski Hotel/The Dome – Turkish Riviera.

Seattle

Let’s not dwell on the aerobic benefits, reduced carbon emissions, absence of parking hassles, and all of the other personal and public health benefits of cycling about town that we all know. Instead what I’d like to focus on is the passion for biking that can grab hold of an entire population. Perhaps nowhere more so than right here in the Emerald City. Biking in Seattle is a frenzy, a pastime, fun with friends, green, cool, occasionally fatal, but most importantly, odd.

Many large cities have implemented community bike-sharing programs for getting around town for a nominal fee, most notably Amsterdam, Helsinki, Lyon, London, Hangzhou, Montreal and Portland. Some are able to maintain the programs, but often the bikes end up stolen or thrown into canals within the first year. True cyclists are not deterred, however, and seek out bike-friendly areas in which to live or recreate. Copenhagen draws millions of bike enthusiasts every year, and nearly 40% of the local population commutes that way daily, indifferent to the chilly winter weather. Seattle, as usual, brings its own style to bike culture.

We ride our bikes to work, or hang them on city bus bike racks;

mountain bike, and water bike.

There’s the “pedal-powered news and opinion” Seattle Bike Blog along with nearly 45 others, at least 18 official bike and cross-training clubs, and about a gazillion cycling events or races. We decorate them with holiday lights. We use a creatively custom-made Sperm Bike, the hefty ride which shuttles sperm between banks (around UW, go figure) and labs (on Pill Hill).

Seattle even has a bike-loving, “car-hating” mayor. But when mayor Mike McGinn hired a Bike Czar to “move his agenda,” he ignited a spirited outcry at City Hall and lively news debates. (Audio: 13:00 minutes.)

One man received a traffic ticket for speeding on his bike – a citation for traveling at 42 mph in a 30 mph zone. The cop said he’d “been looking for a biker to pull over.”

If you’re visiting in the summer, as you do, join us for the annual Fremont Solstice Naked Bike Parade. Don only body paint, please, as you settle into your Seattle saddle.

Seattle in the Saddle

Image by Karl Melder

Greece’s troubled economy has seen new infections rise by 52% in 2011, and that rate is expected to increase to 60% by the end of the year. (The US rate of increase is about 7%.) The rate of injected drug use is increasing because people can no longer afford other methods, and there have been heavy cuts to prevention in the form of free needles. The World Health Organization recommends 200 per year per user and Greece is handing out only three. Mobile testing units which frequently hit areas of high prostitution and drug use have ceased, in lieu of free-standing facilities in “posh neighborhoods,” out of reach of those who need them most. Drug therapy is becoming more unattainable, and according to Reuters and the National School of Public Health,

Antiretroviral drugs cost Greece at least 1,000 euros per patient a month. For the state to pay for all those people would cost just over 130 million euros a year. According to Christianna Rizopoulos, who collects data at the Hellenic Center’s HIV office, there is talk among health professionals that the government plans to cut its contribution for drugs to 600 euros per treatment per month, so patients would have to foot almost half the bill.

And this at a time when unemployment is up, hovering around 20%.

Outlooks for the US economy project at least a decade, maybe two, for recovery. Currently, there are over 250,000 Americans unknowingly carrying the virus. Fear of stigma prevents many from being tested, even though access to care is fairly good. Hillary Clinton’s hope of zero new infections by combining prevention techniques may work on paper, but realistically it’s a pipe dream until economies stabilize.

The government is not going to stop new infections. YOU are. David Scondras, CEO and Founder of Search For A Cure/HIV Treatment Advocacy, explains what you can do to ensure effective measures to protect yourself:

For confidential testing, find a site near you by entering your zip code. Pass it on.

Usually, a study of peace is really a focus on conflict. Since 2007, however, a Global Peace Index ranks 153 countries measuring 23 indicators including income, social sustainability, spending, warring, climate change, amount spent on weapons, safety, respect for human rights, education and distribution of resources. The top-rated countries in this index provide an opportunity to study the structure of peaceful nations, and the tools we need to determine the peacefulness and economic environment we can create for our own future.

A nation’s inequalities define its functionality and have a direct impact on its economy. As the Institute for Economics and Peace claims, violence—both internal and external—creates costs for business and government and reduces productivity. This seems obvious, but it translates into billions of dollars. Had the U.S., which ranked 82nd on the GPI, similar levels of peacefulness to Canada, ranking 8^th, the U.S. economy would have benefitted by $361 billion per year, and would have stimulated about 2.7 million additional jobs, reducing our unemployment rate by about 20%. In turn, arts and business would also flourish.

The strength of a society’s peace factor determines the likelihood that the society can withstand serious crises. Social sustainability structures are outlined in this short video:

Interestingly, the two social sustainability structures that carry the most weight are acceptance of the rights of others, and good relations with neighbors. The U.S. could begin it’s climb up the index ladder by focusing on these two notions.

For the first time, the United States was ranked according to state and based upon the absence of violence.

Image by ChartsBin.com

We, each of us, can shape our own future both individually and collectively. Ignoring the data for structure of peace would be irresponsible and detrimental to our economic future. We are now at the precipice. How unwise it would be to let another year pass in the same direction we’ve been heading. Our federal government is losing stability and has become an unreliable factor. We, as people and institutions, must start going about the business of peace and hope the government will join us, as it is a necessary indicator on the index. We must rely on ourselves to accomplish peace. Don’t think as an individual you can make much of a difference? Let this woman be your inspiration.

Global Peace Index 2011

1. Iceland
2. New Zealand
3. Japan
4. Denmark
5. Czech Republic
6. Austria
7. Finland
8. Canada
9. Norway
10. Slovenia
11. Ireland
12. Qatar
13. Sweden
14. Belgium
15. Germany
16. Switzerland
17. Portugal
18. Australia
19. Malaysia
20. Hungary
21. Uruguay
22. Poland
23. Slovakia
24. Singapore
25. Netherlands
26. United Kingdom
27. Taiwan
28. Spain
29. Kuwait
30. Vietnam
31. Costa Rica
32. Laos
33. United Arab Emirates
34. Bhutan
35. Botswana
36. France
37. Croatia
38. Chile
39. Malawi
40. Romania
41. Oman
42. Ghana
43. Lithuania
44. Tunisia
45. Italy
46. Latvia
47. Estonia
48. Mozambique
49. Panama
50. South Korea
51. Burkina Faso
52. Zambia
53. Bulgaria
54. Namibia
55. Argentina
56. Tanzania
57. Mongolia
58. Morocco
59. Moldova
60. Bosnia and Hercegovina
61. Sierra Leone
62. The Gambia
63. Albania
64. Jordan
65. Greece
66. Paraguay
67. Cuba
68. Indonesia
69. Ukraine
70. Swaziland
71. Cyprus
72. Nicaragua
73. Egypt
74. Brazil
75. Equatorial Guinea
76. Bolivia
77. Senegal
78. Macedonia
79. Trinidad and Tobago
80. China
81. Gabon
82. United States of America
83. Bangladesh
84. Serbia
85. Peru
86. Cameroon
87. Angola
88. Guyana
89. Montenegro
90. Ecuador
91. Dominican Republic
92. Guinea
93. Kazakhstan
94. Papua New Guinea
95. Nepal
96. Liberia
97. Uganda
98. Congo
99. Rwanda
100. Mali
101. Saudi Arabia
102. El Salvador
103. Tajikistan
104. Eritrea
105. Madagascar
106. Jamaica
107. Thailand
108. Turkmenistan
109. Armenia
110. Uzbekistan
111. Kenya
112. Belarus
113. Haiti
114. Kyrgyz Republic
115. Cambodia
116. Syria
117. Honduras
118. (blank)
119. Iran
120. Niger
121. Mexico
122. Azerbaijan
123. Bahrain
124. Venezuela
125. Guatemala
126. Sri Lanka
127. Turkey
128. Cote d’Ivoire
129. Algeria
130. Maruitania
131. Ethiopia
132. Burundi
133. Myanmar
134. Georgia
135. India
136. Philippines
137. Lebanon
138. Yemen
139. Colombia
140. Zimbabwe
141. Chad
142. Nigeria
143. Libya
144. Central African Republic
145. Israel
146. Pakistan
147. Russia
148. Democratic Republic of Congo
149. North Korea
150. Afghanistan
151. Sudan
152. Iraq
153. Somalia

Beware of nightshades

Got aches and pain? Eliminating nightshades from your diet for a full 3 to 4 weeks is likely to provide total relief.

What are Nightshades?

Nightshades are part of the Solanaceae family of plants including tomatoes, tomatillos, hot and sweet peppers (not black pepper), potatoes (but not yams/sweet potatoes), eggplant, huckleberries, tobacco, pimento, paprika and cayenne, Tabasco sauce, and the poisonous belladonna and mandrake.

This ominous-sounding group of vegetables contains alkaloids, which can exacerbate arthritis, muscle tremors, paralysis and difficulty breathing. For especially sensitive people or those allergic to nightshades, these alkaloids can be fatal. For the rest of the population, it may encourage joint inflammation resulting in arthritis, of which there are about one hundred varieties, gout, or digestive problems and GERD, eczema and psoriasis. Alkaloids cause the bones to excrete calcium and other minerals and trace elements from the body.

Unless we are making a conscious effort, we are eating a much higher concentration of nightshades than we are aware. Nightshade spices are in most processed grocery store foods, including mayonnaise, salad dressings, salsa, and mixed spice packets just to name a few. But it’s also because we subconsciously seek them out because we crave them. They are high in potassium and counter the high sodium content in animal foods, i.e., meat and potatoes; cheese pizza with tomato sauce, etc. Unknowingly, we search for food combinations to make the appropriate balance.

The degree to which people can be affected by nightshades varies by individual and no medical research has definitively proven nightshades to cause or inflame arthritis, but testimonies and physician trials have shown enough relief that many medical practices recommend nightshade elimination from diets. Even a small amount ingested can cause minor irritations to death, depending on the individual.

Thousands of people who regularly received cortisone injections for arthritis pain relief have been able to discontinue the shots after three to four weeks without eating tomatoes, salsa, potatoes, eggplant and cayenne pepper.

Interesting Stats

• Journal of Neurological and Orthopedic Medical Surgery: Of the 52% rigidly on the diet [without nightshades], 94% reported complete or substantial relief of arthritis.
• Dr. Bruce Ames/Dr. Swirsky Gold: In a poisoning associated with a school lunch program, 61 of 109 school children and staff in Alberta, Canada, became ill, most within 5 minutes, after eating baked potato.
• Potato neurotoxins have been shown to cause birth defects in rodents.
• Positive correlation of appendicitis incidence rates with potato consumption.

Nightshades have been used and referenced in shamanism, witchcraft, and murder. They come with a history of both mystical danger and scientific caution. Some of the alkaloid properties have been used as anesthesia, and they are still a basis for potent narcotic medicine and sleeping pills.

It’s worth taking a nightshade-break in your diet for a few weeks to see if you feel better. I wouldn’t be surprised if you did! If you absolutely cannot, cooking the vegetables will reduce alkaloids by nearly half.

Related Reading:

Calcium For Bone Health: Not What You Thought

Tomatoes Are Evil

Layla Yamabe, Quinault Nation Muckleshoot Canoe Family

Today I welcome my close friend and neighbor, American Native, Layla Yamabe, for an interview during Native American Heritage Month.

Layla, thanks for joining To Your Health to give us an insight into living within your Native culture. Please introduce yourself:

My name is Layla Marie Yamabe and I’m enrolled with the Quinault Indian Nation. I grew up in Renton, WA., and they call me an “urban Indian” because I was raised in an urban area, away from the “Rez” or Reservation.

Was Native heritage always a part of your lifestyle?

No, it was not. My mom took my sisters and me to one of the bigger pow-wows around Seattle when we were young, but aside from that she did not pass down anything that was truly Native.

How did you become re-connected with the tribe?

I became reconnected with Natives two years ago when I started going to Northwest Indian College at the Muckleshoot site. There is a brand new college there where I enrolled and met many Muckleshoot tribal members who informed me about some free classes provided by the tribe. So in addition to pursuing my degree in Native Environmental Science, the extra classes were cedar bark weaving classes and I learned how to make cedar hats, arm bands, and headbands out of cedar. I also enrolled in gathering classes through Northwest Indian College where we learned how to gather native plants and turn them into medicine. From my connections there, I was introduced to people from the Muckleshoot Canoe Family. The Canoe Family and Canoe Journey changed my life.

What is the Canoe Journey and how did it change your life?

The Canoe Journey, or Tribal Journey, is a waterway journey that Natives from Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California take each year in traditional canoes. Primarily these are Salish Sea tribes, but some Natives from Brazil joined us on the journey this year as well. Typically, each group, or canoe family, starts the journey from their home port and ends at the home of the host. This was my first journey and my canoe family, the Muckleshoot Canoe Family, started the journey early at Squaxin Island in the southwestern part of the Puget Sound, and we traveled our way north to Swinomish near LaConner, WA. We traveled by canoe during the day and celebrated/sang/ate/danced at night. We left on July 17th and arrived at Swinomish by July 25th. When we got to Swinomish, we were welcomed with days of celebrations, food, singing and dancing along with about 15,000 other tribal members. Each tribal family thanked the host for allowing us to arrive upon their shores, by singing, dancing, and sharing gifts with the host tribe. The host thanks each tribal family and in turn, shares gifts with them. Some of these gifts include sacred songs which cannot be sung by any other tribe until they are given as a gift. We were given the gift of a song, “Eagle Spirit Paddle Song,” by Sacred Water tribe after loaning them a canoe. It’s a beautiful song and we were moved to receive such a gift.

What kind of preparation is involved for the tribal members before they set off on the journey? 

Beadwork of salmon

My Canoe Family started practicing in the spring for the summer journey. Preparation includes physical work-outs in addition to water training and safety. We take one of our canoes out on a lake or in Puget Sound and practice for an hour or two at a time every week. We have weekly Canoe Family meetings from spring to fall and meet twice a month during the winter. During these meetings, we take care of business, eat dinner together, practice our songs and dances. I also learned beading and made a salmon bead design for my canoe vest.

How did this impact your life?

Thousands of Natives and non-Natives participate in the journey. The journey is a physical, spiritual, and cultural event. It takes a lot of strength to be a “puller” on a canoe, and pull, or stroke, for hours every day. Most of us pray and use our spirituality to gain strength. We are gathering just like our ancestors did and traveling the same waterways our ancestors traveled. Another great thing about the journey is that so many different tribes reunite and we get to meet new people and learn other tribes/family’s songs and dances.

The Canoe Journey changed my life! I have a biological family and now I have a Canoe Family. We became very close to each other, I now see them as my brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles, cousins, etc… I learned for the first time how to pray on the journey–it came to me one night during meditation, through powerful visions/dreams… When I felt weak on the canoe, I prayed to my ancestors and sang the songs, and leaned on my canoe family for strength. I met the love of my life on this journey, and that has certainly changed my life.

The annual Canoe Journey is an important cultural event for NW tribal nations

Will you go on the Canoe Journey next year?

I wouldn’t miss the Canoe Journey for anything, so of course I will go next year! I love being a part of keeping this Native tradition alive and my Canoe Family is so important to me. I want my kids to know the strength and knowledge of our people and the traditions that keep us strong. I am so proud of my Canoe Family.

Related articles

• Canoe Families Play Starring Role in Study of Salish Sea Conditions (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.

The aforementioned studies find that showing gratitude, not just “being” grateful, increase a positive outlook and make us more likely to feel fulfilled, do things for others, exercise more and complain less. All these things in turn, attract abundance to us, giving us even more reason to acknowledge our bounty.  We become mindful of our actions and our thought patterns. We are increasingly aware of how our words and deeds affect other people, are less likely to respond in anger, and are better able to cope.

Even children reap these benefits. According to the Science of Parenting,

adolescents who were grateful showed greater optimism, greater satisfaction with their family, friends, community, school and self, and an overall positive outlook on their life, including positive thoughts concerning their friends’ and families’ support. Research with older adolescents revealed that gratitude is positively associated with life satisfaction, social integration, and academic achievement, and negatively related to envy, depression, and materialism. Other studies have shown that children who express or acknowledge gratitude sleep better and have stronger bonds and relationships with others; these advantages also correlate with children’s development of competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring/compassion.

And, it appears that the benefits of this healthy outlook can last up to six months.

In the first Thanksgiving feast, the Pilgrims were thankful to the Indians for helping them out that long winter instead of killing them outright. But, as we all know, the catalyst for the “movement” was worship–a large part of which is giving thanks to the Creator for the outpouring of blessings even when illness, death, and lack of basic necessities loomed large. Extra large. In comparison it seems silly in today’s world how much we really have, (you got that new 4s, right?) and hopefully we are giving thanks enough to feel fulfilled.

Tears of Gratitude

I’m leaving you this time with a show of gratitude. In my house we have picky eaters. On the frequent occasion when those eaters are not eating, we no longer become cross, force their meal upon them, or make them sit at the table until far past bedtime just to return to table to finish it cold at breakfast. (All these things we have tried.) Instead, we sit them down at the computer to watch this short film and then quietly and humbly, they return to the table and eat. I’m only slightly sorry if they don’t like what’s being served to them, the point is they’ve got a nutritious hot meal in front of them and they will feel grateful for that.

You’re not in trouble, but grab a tissue box and please take 6 minutes to watch “Chicken Ala Carte,” judged Most Popular Short Film at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival.

Oh, and thank you.

April Lutz, stabbed 25 times in the neck, heart and lungs by a peer, has been released in stable condition from the hospital.

April Rose Lutz, 14, was stabbed 25 times in the neck, heart, and lungs last week at a local high school by a fellow student. She had six hours of surgery, was attended to by 40 physicians, and has just been released from the hospital. The attacker is being held on $1M bail and is charged with first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault, as she also stabbed in the arm and back the victim’s best friend who was trying to help. The friend required 20 stitches. During questioning, the attacker said she planned the event for days and went to school that morning with the goal of stabbing someone. It wasn’t that Lutz was a specific target, she just happened to be brushing her teeth in the wrong bathroom at the wrong time.

• A fist-fight between girls on a local middle school bus prompted the school district’s discussion of training bus drivers in dealing with hand-to-hand combat situations.

According to the Journal of School Psychology, Relational Aggression includes more “relational” forms of aggression such as negative gossip, ostracism, and manipulation of social relationships of girls in American schools. These behaviors are intended to harm another’s reputation, social relationships, or feelings of inclusion within a group, using relationships to inflict the damage. The victim is socially isolated while the status of the bully is heightened.

Usually socialized to refrain from conflict in the form of physical confrontations, girls seek indirect forms of aggression. Aggressors may be proactively instigating harm, or may be responding reactively to harm they themselves received. Either way, this form of aggression often goes unnoticed by teachers and other school staff but can escalate to physical confrontations or death.

Teens have been instigators or recipients of “mean” forever, and we were always told it was normal socialization and the rebellious nature of teenagers. It’s grown to the extent today, though, that aggression experts have exponentially increased in all areas of mental, social, sexual, family, and school health.

Besides the type of the horrific accounts noted above, this type of proactive or reactive aggression can lead to lower GPAs, increased depression and anxiety, eating disorders and loneliness.

Notice the definition says, “…in American schools.” Apparently this phenomenon is constrained to only American girls. With the popularity of “American Girl” doll collections/stories/movies/stores portraying changing times throughout U.S. history from the POV of girls who manage to be strong, independent thinkers despite their circumstances, I find it odd that aggressive behavior is what we have ultimately come to leave our youth. I’ve heard all causes cited – from absent parents, over-active parents, over-indulgent parents, bad parents, overloaded schedules, a general loss of religion, poor teaching standards, abuse, sexual orientation, heavy reliance on therapy – the list goes on. I’m a fan of the AG story lines showing strength and determination of girls, girls who despite all odds end up making the “right decisions,” prompting a love of U.S. history, and the company’s vision to promote the best in girls’ attributes. (Too bad one naked girl alone, who can even look “just like you,” costs $100+, and of course you want to clothe her with a matching outfit for your daughter, surround the character with all her appropriate accessories, related animals, bedroom furniture and a farm. Seems like AG missed the point and is contributing more to the negative factor of marketing than the better factor of helping girls find their innate strengths.) Did we not heed the lessons of our real historical heroines, Edith Abbott, Mary Todd Lincoln, Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Blackwell, Jane Addams, Mary Bethune, Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, Rosa Parks, Sally Ride, and Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.?

What are our true American girl legacies?

The issue of Relative Aggression is so new that clinical studies are just beginning (thanks taxpayers!) and we are still in the infancy of understanding this tween/teen girl phenomenon.

• Talk with your child’s principal and classroom teacher about the problem and see if they have noticed anything.
• Have your principal notify other teachers, recess aides, hallway monitors, and cafeteria staff so that everyone who comes in contact with your child can be on the lookout and poised to intervene should an episode be repeated.
• Arrange opportunities for your child to socialize with friends outside of school to help build and maintain a strong support system.
• Encourage your child to stick with a friend at recess, lunch, in the hallways, on the bus, or walking home because kids are more likely to be targeted when they are alone.
• If your child is taking part in cyberbullying, make sure that they are aware that such behavior is not acceptable. Many children fail to realize that saying mean things about someone on the Internet or through text messaging is a form of bullying. If your child is victim to cyber-bullying, teach them to not respond to the message, and bring it to the attention of an adult.

• Form groups of mothers of tweens/early teens to discuss issues and practice “role playing” positive ways they might respond if they (or a friend) are being bullied.
• Begin a daily ritual with your kids of sharing “highs and lows” of the day, i.e. “What was your high of the day?” “What was your low?” This can be done after school, dinnertime, bedtime, or whenever works for you. It is important that parents also share their own highs and lows as it reminds children that adults have ups and downs too, and it increases the likelihood that they will be willing to open up to you about issues of concern – like being bullied or knowing that a friend is in trouble
• See author Rosalind Wiseman’s site regarding creating cultures of dignity especially to address bullying and girl aggression.

If you have a daughter, try the Nurtured Heart Approach to Parenting to tell her exactly why you love her, maybe even 20 times a day. It will take you less than a minute every time. Isn’t she worth that? Fill her up with evidence-based goodness and watch her attitude and behavior change. Be her cheerleader. Like Becky Bartlett, NHA Advanced Trainer, teaches, instead of a lecture before she goes out, how about a pep rally? Define her innate goodness to her and you will see the miracle of change. Trust me.

Parent & School Resources:

Nurtured Heart Approach to Parenting

Mean Girls—Realities of Relational Aggression

Ophelia Project

Bullying Information Center

The Bullying Stops Here

Related Reading:

Anti-Cyberbullying Campaign in Maple Valley Schools by Amy Croan

The Girls by Amy Goldman Koss

Queen Bees & Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher

American Girl Book/Doll Cult Opens Membership To Boys [Kids Today] by jezebel.com