Reflection: Weeks 8-14

This class was very motivational, educational, and engaging.  Through out this course I think we have all grown in the aspect of what being environmentally friendly is and to learn how each of us play a vital role in the environment.  

Documentaries
Each documentary we watched in this class was very eye opening and interesting.  In each one I learned things I never had before.  The Story of Stuff was my favorite because it was simple and to the point, it was very easy to understand and they made their point clear of what they were trying to get across.  I enjoyed it so much that I ended up watching the Story of Cosmetics for one of my Share 'n' Voices.

Advocacy Project
This project I enjoyed because it was interesting getting to learn about a particular topic of our choosing, mine being about the Great Lakes.  It was fascinating learning about what goes into the lakes and what is and is not being done to help.  It was fun listening to others advocacy projects, too.  It was a great skill to learn on how to write fact sheets and letters to officials because chances are we will have to do that someday as health educators. 

Photo Essay
This assignment was very fun.  I did my photos on nature and the peace and serenity that nature can bring us.  I was home when I took them and it was very enjoyable getting to walk around outside and take pictures. 

Share 'n' Voice
Share 'n' Voice's were great, they gave the flexibility and creativity that we all needed I think.  We could post on what we wanted to learn more about or if we wanted to share something interesting with people.  These assignments were fun and didn't actually seem like assignments.

Junking
The junking project that we did was very fun.  This also, gave us the freedom to use our imaginations and to reuse things and see objects in a different light.  It was enjoyable getting to see others projects and getting ideas of what to do in the future.  Here are a couple pictures of what my junking project looked like.

A place to hang all my necklaces!

A box to put perfume in.

Overall this course was very fun and I definitely learned a lot.  I am going to continue applying the concepts learned in this class to everyday life.  Have a good Christmas everyone!!

Share & Voice: Thrifty Decor Chick

I found this blog last week and it is so cool!  She has so many creative ideas, especially for Christmas.  I actually just finished one of her projects she posted about using mason jars and turning them into festive candles.  They turned out very pretty and I am going to give them away as Christmas presents.  Also, I just made a couple Christmas wreaths using hangers and burlap, then tied a bow around them, they will be Christmas presents too.  This lady has some pretty good ideas for reusing things.  So, if you guys are looking for some cool ideas and want to get creative, check it out!

http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-craftastic.html

Advocacy Project: Letter to Elected Official

December 12, 2011

Representative Robert J. Dold

United States House of Representatives

212 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

VOTE YES FOR H.R. 425 GREAT LAKES WATER PROTECTION ACT

Preserving the Great Lakes is something that needs to be done more actively.  As a citizen of Duluth, MN and living on the great lake of Lake Superior I know the mystique and beauty the lake brings to the community.  Also, as a health educator I know the damage that is being done to these lakes because of people.  If this continues, the lakes will not be safe for people who rely on them.

The Great Lakes are not being protected how they should be.  There is some being done to preserve these great lakes such as cleaning them up, protecting them from pollution, habitat destruction and species loss, but there is more that needs to be done.  Nearly 40 million people rely on the lakes for drinking water, food, work, and for recreation.  The lakes are taking a toll for what people do to them.  There has been a reduction in groundwater flow, dewatering of tributaries, and destruction of habitat.  People in surrounding communities of the lakes are being affected the most.

Some opponents to this act may say that preserving the lakes would take too much time and money.  It takes the cooperation and time of a lot of people working together to preserve them.  It takes money to clean up the lakes and people may not want to put as much effort into this issue as they should.  These barriers, however, can be overcome by people wanting to make a difference and this act being passed.  This act will provide the sustainability that the lakes need and the recognition of the problem to help keep the lakes clean.

We appreciate your time and support of the Great Lakes Water Protection Act.  We hope you understand and realize that the best course of action to protect these great lakes is to vote yes on H.R. 425 Great Lakes Water Protection Act.  If you would like any additional information or how to help further, please contact me at 555-555-5555 or abcdefg@yahoo.com

Bailey Stachour

Share & Voice: The Story of Cosmetics

A couple of weeks ago when we watched The Story of Stuff, it made me interested in wanting to watch The Story of Cosmetics.  Since we already did an assignment about looking up personal care products in the cosmetics database I wanted to learn more about what is in the stuff we use everyday.  Watching The Story of Cosmetics was disturbing, as it often is learning about everything that goes into our personal products. 

Here are some of the facts I learned from watching this video:
-The average woman uses 12 personal care products daily, and the average man about 6.  Each product containing dozens of chemicals.
-Less than 20% of the products have been assessed for safety standards.
-Many products contain carcinogens, neurotoxins, and reproductive toxins.
-Words such as "Herbal", "Natural", and "Organic" have no legal definition.  That means anybody can put those words on their products without them actually meaning anything.
-There are no laws to get rid of these chemicals in products.
-Using these chemicals in combination with other products and their chemicals overwhelms our system.
-The FDA doesn't require all ingredients to be listed on the label in our cosmetics.
-Out of 12,000 products only 8 have been banned, not all are checked.

This was a very educational, unbiased but factual video.  It was informative and entertaining, it definitely kept my attention and people who use personal care products should watch it to see how the products could be affecting them, which is everyone....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8

Advocacy Project: Fact Sheet

Facts About Pollution in the Great Lakes

• Pollution in the Great Lakes has long been a serious problem, from both Marine and land-based sources. 
• People have to avoid regularly eating the fish from these lakes due to their contamination, and many species have declined.  
• Pollution contributed to the failure of the commercial fishing industry in the Great Lakes.
• The contaminants also affect birds that consume seafood from the area.
• Pollutants can produce many types of health problems in humans and cause the eventual extinction of animal species.  

 Information in this fact sheet provided by MarineFuel.com and EnvironmentMichigan.org

• Each year, 24 billion gallons of sewage pollution are dumped into the Great Lakes
• Wetlands surrounding the Great Lakes are being lost at a rate of 20,000 acres per year.  With only 400,000 acres of wetlands left in the Great Lakes basin, at this rate, we will destroy all the wetlands in 20 years.
• According to the EPA, during 2009, U.S. Great Lakes beaches had 3,300 days of closings and advisories.  Water quality monitoring showed that bacteria levels exceeded health and safety standards.  In many cases, the bacteria came from city pollution and under treated sewage.
• Recreational swimmers using any of the Great Lakes are cautioned about exposure to chemical pollutants and disease-causing microorganisms from sources such as untreated and poorly treated sewage.  Those using these recreational waters have a higher incidence of gastroenteritis, skin infection, conjunctivitis, and acute febrile respiratory illness. 
• There are over 140 non-native invasive species currently in the Great Lakes, including zebra mussels, sea lamprey, and the purple loosestrife plant. 
• One particularly destructive invasive species is the Asian Carp, which is such a significant threat because the fish are large, extremely prolific, and consume massive amounts of food.  They can weigh up to 100 pounds and grow up to four feet long.  They disrupt the food chain that supports the native fish of the Great Lakes by eating their food and reproducing at such rapid rates.
• Nutrient pollution coming from mega agri-business created a dead zone in Lake Erie that has grown to larger than 10,000 square kilometers, larger than the size of Connecticut.  Dead zones are areas where excessive algae growth uses up the oxygen necessary for the survival of fish and blocks sunlight to underwater grasses, preventing their growth. 
• Despite federal regulations capping mercury discharge at 1.3 ounces per year, between 2002 and 2005, BP released a whopping 12 pounds of mercury into Lake Michigan.  Mercury gets into the tissues of fish and cannot be filtered out, making it a significant health threat to people eating fish from Lake Michigan. 
• Persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes Basin are still around from the mid twentieth century.  The chemicals are present in much higher concentrations in aquatic life than the water because of their cumulative effect in each step of the food chain, a process known as biomagnification.  Several states have fish consumption advisories in effect cautioning people to limit or stop completely their consumption of certain fish from the Great Lakes. 
• There are 43 areas in the Great Lakes including Wheatley Harbor, Buffalo River, Milwaukee Estuary, Thunder Bay, and Eighteen Mile Creek that have been designated “Areas of Concern” by both the Canadian and US governments.  Prominent concerns in these areas are contaminated sediment and pollution. 
• Pollution in the Great Lakes IS a problem.  Find out how you can help.

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

For this assignment I chose to do my photos on nature.  I took the photos when I was home for Thanksgiving and thought it would be a perfect area to capture the outdoors.  I grew up with a lot of land and was always outside.  As many of us have probably heard, nature is good for our health and helps to balance and ground us.  I know for myself, just getting outside and taking a walk through our woods and taking these photos was both serene and calming.  Nature is obviously a huge part of the environment, and we should all take time to enjoy it's wonderful benefits and beauty daily.

My parents opened up an apple orchard this year!

Our very long driveway.

Love this photo- my dad built these houses and put them all over our property.

Our house, so cozy!

Lexi =) Helping me take photos.

My mom's very large flower garden, it is very pretty in the summer when everything is in bloom.

The pond behind our house.

A deer rub, my dad told me to put this in here.

We have a bunch of deer stands all over our land, this is one of many.

A ghost tree.

Deer feeder behind the house.

Lexi once again, on a tree my dad recently cut down.

A lovely bird feeder.

Rock flower garden.

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

After doing more research on the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011, I have decided it is not something that I fully support.  So, instead I have turned my attention to the Great Lakes Water Protection Act.  I wanted to do something that deals with a local issue and also with water so this seemed like the appropriate act to support.  The bill summary is as follows:

Title: Great Lakes Water Protection Act  Summary: Prohibit’s publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from intentionally diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of the treatment facility if the diversion results in a discharge into the Great Lakes unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; (2) there is no feasible alternative; and (3) the treatment works provides notice; or (4) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation of the treatment facility.

Sponsor: Representative Dold, Robert J. (IL-10) (introduced 1/25/2011)

Cosponsors (1)

Latest Major Action: 1/26/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. 

Status: Referred to the subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

Recommendation: Vote Yes for H.R. 425 Great Lakes Water Protection Act

Over the years the preserving of the Great Lakes has gotten somewhat better but there’s always room for improvement.  People have been working at cleaning them up and protecting them from pollution, habitat destruction, and a loss of species.  The people most affected by this act would be the people in surrounding states of the Great Lakes.  They are the ones most affected if nothing is done to pass this act, as well.  The communities/families in the surrounding states would lose clean water if not for this act being passed, but they would also gain the most if it were passed.  Their water would be clean and more accessible.  Nearly 40 million people rely on the lakes for drinking water, food, work, and for recreation (Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes).  The lakes are taking a toll for what people do to them.  There has been a reduction in groundwater flow, dewatering of tributaries, and destruction of habitat (Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes).

Climate change may occur in the Great Lakes if it is not preserved correctly.  Some economic effects of the climate change may be increasing temperature, more storms, and changes in the lake levels.  People in surrounding areas of the lakes would notice these effects the most.  Some social costs would be people wouldn’t be able to do as many recreational activities in the lakes such as boating.  People would have to be more careful in preserving them, for example they would need to be careful with fertilizer run off from their lawns, gas spills, garbage, overusing of the water, not destroying habitats, and killing of invasive species.  Benefits of better preserving the lakes would be more bountiful water, cleaner water, habitat renewal, and possibly higher lake levels. 

Barriers to preserving the lakes would be time and money.  It takes the cooperation and time of a lot of people working together to preserve them.  It also, takes a lot of money to clean up the lakes and to make sure they are being preserved how they should be.  These barriers can be overcome by people volunteering to help and donations of money.  Also, from getting money from organizations wanting to help in keeping the lakes clean. 

To get the issue of this problem out to the public it needs to more talked about and in the news, newspaper, radio, etc.  People need to know what the problems are and what they can do to help.  Everyone needs to contribute their small part to the larger picture to make a difference.

                            Contaminants that cause fish advisories in Canada and the United States.

Some measures to sustain the Great Lakes were taken from governments, industries, and organizations in the 1980’s and 1990’s to try and solve Great Lakes problems.  Chemical pollution was reduced but non-invasive species continued to invade the lakes (Our Great Lakes).  In the late 1980’s an agreement to cover airborne fallout and contaminated runoff from land was made.  There were plans to clean up polluted areas and develop indicators of ecosystem health. 

Not only people in surrounding states to the Great Lakes would support this act to preserve the lakes but people who get food and water from them, as well.  People who would be in opposition to this act may wish to save money and not support it or they may just not have enough time to change their daily habits.  In order to create a alliance between allies and opponents you would have to find a common ground that both agree on.  Once both realize they have something in common they would be more willing to change and work together to find a solution that is overall good for everyone involved.  I want policy makers to vote Yes for the Great Lakes Water Protection Act. 

Sources:

International Joint Commission. (2004). Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes.

            Retrieved from www.ijc.org/php/publications/pdf/ID1560.pdf

The Library of Congress THOMAS. (2011). Bill Summary & Status. Retrieved from

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d112:4:./temp/~bd7rEa:@@@L&summ2=m&|/home/LegislativeData.php|

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Our Great Lakes. Retrieved

            from binational.net/ourgreatlakes/ourgreatlakes.pdf

Share & Voice: Holiday Open House and Health Fair

I currently am interning with Michelle Russell, the lady who owns Holistic Health and Healing in the Marshall Professional Building here in Duluth.  She is a Holistic Health Practitioner as well as a certified Healing Touch Therapist, which in short is a therapy that deals with energy work.  Healing Touch offers a variety of benefits such as, calming, relaxation and relief from pain.  It is non invasive and involves hardly any touching of a person but works with our energy fields and balances us in the body, mind, and spirit. 

Coming up on December 7th and 8th there will be an open house that has a variety of health care options.  There will be booths set up with information on local businesses and informational seminars.  This would be a great opportunity for people to attend if they wish to learn more about health and wellness in the Duluth community.  Tell your friends and family!

I have attached the link for this event.
Open House

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/ THOMAS

The Healthy People 2020 objective that I have chosen is reducing the amount of toxic pollutants released into the environment. This objective is under the Toxics and Waste category.  The baseline for this objective is 3.9 billion pounds of toxic pollutants were released in to the environment in 2008.  The target to reduce this amount down to is 3.5 billion pounds.
 
H.R. 2018 Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011
Title: To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to preserve the authority of each State to make determinations relating to the State's water quality standards, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Mica, John L. [FL-7] (introduced 5/26/2011) Cosponsors (39)
Latest Major Action: 7/18/2011 Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 103.
Recommendation: Vote Yes for H.R. 2018 Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011
My Political Representatives: Representative Chip Cravaack
Clean Water Act

Share & Voice: Gooseberry Falls Photos

Recently, my roommate and I took a little adventure up to Gooseberry Falls for the afternoon.  We wanted to get outside while it is still nice and there is no snow on the ground, yet!  It was a gorgeous day and we took a bunch of pictures so here are some to share, enjoy! 

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.
John Muir

Morning Glory Muffins

2 1/2  cups sugar
4 cups flour
4 tsp. cinnamon
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 cups shredded carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup flaked coconut
6 eggs beaten
1 cup apple sauce
1 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla

In large bowl mix first 5 ingredients.  Add next 4 ingredients, mix well.  Add remaining, stir until well blended.  Spoon batter into muffin papers.

Bake at 350

Cupcake size: 17 minutes
Muffin size: 27 minutes

My Poltical Representatives

 Hello new web group members!  I look forward to blogging with you in this next part of the semester.  I apologize for my political information below, I am not the most well informed when it comes to politics so hope I have listed all that we need to.  Take care!

President: Barack Obama
To contact Barack Obama.
The President's information.

Governor of Minnesota: Mark Dayton
To contact Mark Dayton.
Mark Dayton's information.

Senator of Minnesota: Al Franken
To contact Al Franken.
Al Franken's information.

Senator of Minnesota: Amy Klobuchar
To contact Amy Klobuchar.
Amy Klobuchar's information.

Congressman of Minnesota: Chip Cravaack
To contact Chip Cravaack.
Chip Cravaack's information.

Reflection: Weeks 1-7

Over the past weeks we have learned a multitude of things in this class, all of which are very eye-opening and make you look at things in a new light.  We have all been introduced into this world of blogging, which at first I was a little skeptical of, but am growing more accustomed to it as the weeks progress.  Blogging I have discovered is a convenient way to get many different messages across, and as my comfort level grows with knowing how everything works, it is somehwhat entertaining.

These past weeks we have also taken on individual products.  Mine has been to read "The China Study", and to learn more about nutrition and diseases, and the link between the two.  It was a very informative book and I am glad I read it.  It will definitely prove useful because of the profession I am getting into.

We have also, discovered how much of an ecological footprint we have left so far on the earth.  Rather disturbing, it was also interesting and somewhat sad to know all of us are creating these huge footprints that the earth is only going to be able and sustain for so long.  We have looked at how we eat and where our food really comes from.  The large majority of the population is being kept in the dark on so many food issues and it is fascinating.  My eyes have been opened either farther in regards to food and as conscientious as I am with food, I am going to try and be even more so.

Another big issue introduced to us was the water issue and how we are creating so much waste with the unnecessary plastic bottles we all use.  They are hurting our environment terribly and will continue to do so in the future if we don't make the necessary change to cut back substantially on our use of them.

The biggest thing I have learned so far is that even though I may be making a difference with the small things I do everyday to better the environment, I can always be doing more.  It is the small steps that make   the biggest difference.

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

Part 1

Antiques-  An old, collectible item.  It is collected or desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features. It is an object that represents a previous era or time period in human society.  Wikipedia

Antiquing-  Is a shopping activity.  Is a woodworking and decorative art technique.  Wikipedia

Junk-  Any old or discarded material, as metal, paper, or rags.  Dictionary

Junking- The art of searching or shopping for bargains, anitques, collectibles, or any concievable kind of dust collector or garbage.  Urban Dictionary

Flea Market-  A type of place where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered.  Wikipedia

Thrift Shop-  A shop that sells secondhand goods at reduced prices.  Dictionary

Upcycling-  The process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.  Wikipedia

Resale Shop-  The selling again of something purchased.  Dictionary

Part 2

Each of the above terms deal with environmental health in the aspect that they all contribute towards a healthier environment.  When we go antiquing/junking at thrift stores and flea markets we are contributing to reusing and upcycling, helping our environment to not have as much waste and use what we already have instead of creating more waste.  

Duluth resources:

Antique Boutique- 357 Canal Park Drive, Duluth - (218) 529-7667

Vintage Duluth- 205 East Superior Street, Duluth - (218) 722-1917

Goodwill- 4883 Miller Trunk Highway, Hermantown - (218) 727-0001

I will occasionally go antiquing and go to second hand stores.  I like to find a lot of house supplies at places like 

these because it is much cheaper and there is still a lot of nice stuff that works just as well if not better.

Part 3

The first junk project that inspired me and I really like was a mirror project.  It looks very pretty and it would be fun to do, you could do a lot of different things with it.  I love mirrors and you could put something like this in any room of the house.  Elegant Mirror

The second junk project is supposedly an old grill grater of some sort.  But they turned it into a type of display board.  You could put this anywhere in your house and it would be a very practical thing to have.  Would go well in an office, as well.  Display Board

The third project deals with the use of an old ladder.  I love how many things you can do with ladders and would love to get one.  You could use it for hanging towels, displaying things, hanging it on the wall with pictures in it and all sorts of things.  Ladder

Read 'n' Seed 5: Fourth Quarter and Final Review of the China Study

This section of the book covered chapters’ 13-18, pages 251 to 359. 

One of the main topics covered was the politics and backings of health organizations and how the author came to be with all of his research.  It was very interesting to learn that a lot of his research wasn’t approved of or it was looked down upon.  These chapters went more in depth on the science of nutrition and cancer and how food plays a vital role in diseases. 

A big issue is how Americans eat so much more meat and fat then other developing countries.  People in Western countries are mostly meat eaters and people in traditional countries are mostly plant eaters.  As mentioned before, we consume a large amount of protein, most of it being animal protein and we eat very few fruits and vegetables, and when we do eat these things a large amount of them are processed.  There was a very interesting chart that labeled 38 countries and where they stood when it compared fat intake with breast cancer.  Not surprising the U.S. was towards the top.

It is discussed on how doctors rarely talk about nutrition with patients and that they should be talking about it.  The system we are currently in, the system that takes responsibility for promoting health of Americans, is not working, something is failing us.  The medical community relies heavily on medication and surgery, and it is said that doctors have virtually no training in nutrition and how it relates to health.  Nutrition is often not taught in relation to public health problems- This worries me since the field I am getting into is community health and I want to be adequately trained in nutrition and how it plays a large role for public health.  People should be concerned that they are being misinformed and uneducated in this area.  For people getting into the community health occupations, it is our careers that may take a toll.  In order to help people help themselves we need to give all the appropriate and necessary information, and in order to do this we need to be well educated, as well.

“More people die because of the way they eat than by tobacco use, accidents or any other lifestyle or environmental factor.”  This quote pretty much sums up the book and all that it is trying to explain, prove, and help treat.  People need to first realize they need to make a change in their eating habits before anything else can happen.  We need to acknowledge that we are the ones producing disease upon ourselves and to stop trying to blame everyone else for our problems.  Yes, we are given choices everyday to either eat a fruit or eat something bad for us, it is up to us to say no, to making our bodies healthier.  We need to all start caring more of what we put in and on our bodies, our health and lives are at stake and no one else is going to change these problems.

This book was very informative and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about nutrition and cancer/diseases.  Anyone that is going into a health-related field should read this book.  Some of the more significant things I learned was how having too much protein in your diet can be a bad thing; it increases your risk of getting cancer by a lot.  This is an important thing to know because so many Americans incorporate way too much protein into their diets.  Too much of any one thing is bad.  Another significant thing learned is the importance of plant-based foods and we should all be consuming more of them and less meat.  And the last and more important fact is that certain diseases can in fact be reversed by a proper diet.  This proves just how much our bodies can do when given the right food.  These are all very important to me because they are life lessons that I will always carry with me, and I can educate others on them.  

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

The product I chose to find out how safe it is to use was Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara.  The overall hazard of this product was below moderate but still higher than I would have liked.  The cancer rate for this product was slightly above moderate which I found to be disturbing.  The developmental and reproductive toxicity and allergies and immunotoxicity were both below moderate.  The use restrictions were above moderate.

I have been using this product for along time and it is one of the few products that I haven't switched over to either being organic or natural, mostly because I really like the product and didn't think it could cause much damage because I only put it on my lashes.  But, after finding out what I have, I would like to find a different mascara.  It scares me to think that some of the high concerns with this product are endocrine disruption as well as, organ system toxicity.  If just mascara is this hazardous it makes me wonder about all the other products we use through out the day.

Read 'n' Seed 4: Third Quarter of the China Study

For this portion of the book I covered chapters 11 and 12, pages 225-250.  The main topics covered was about good nutrition, eating right and how to eat.

In the first chapter, Eating Right: Eight Principles of Food and Health, they name the multiple benefits of a healthy lifestyle such as you can live longer, have more energy, prevent diseases, avoid surgery, and many others that we all know.  I'll sum up the eight principles that are discussed.

Principle 1- Nutrition represents the combined activities of countless food substances.  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  This means that the chemicals we get from foods we eat are engaged in a series of reactions that work in concert to produce good health.  Our bodies have learned how to benefit from the chemicals in food as they are packaged together, discarding some and using others.

Principle 2- Vitamin supplements are not a panacea for good health.  It makes little or no sense that isolated nutrients taken as supplements can substitute for whole foods.  Maintaining the usual western diet while taking nutrient supplements and thinking this is healthy is unrealistic.  Taking supplements will not do everything that a whole foods diet can provide.

Principle 3- There are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants.  Plant foods have dramatically more antioxidants, fiber, and minerals than animal foods.  There are four nutrients which animal-based foods have that plant-based foods do not: cholesterol, Vitamins A, D, and B12.  Three of these are nonessential nutrients.

Principle 4- Genes do not determine disease on their own.  Genes function only by being activated, or expressed, and nutrition plays a critical role in determining which genes, good and bad, are expressed.

Principle 5- Nutrition can substantially control the adverse effects of noxious chemicals.   Nutrition primarily determines whether a disease will ever do its damage.

Principle 6- The same nutrition that prevents disease in its early stages (before diagnosis) can also halt or reverse disease in its later stages (after diagnosis).  Chronic diseases take several years to develop.  The same good nutrition maximizes health at every stage of a disease.  Research findings showing that a whole-foods, plant-based diet reverses many diseases.

Principle 7- Nutrition that is truly beneficial for one chronic disease will support health across the board.

Principle 8- Good nutrition creates health in all areas of our existence.  All parts are interconnected.  Our food choices have an impact on our energy, on our physical activity, and on our emotional and mental well-being and on our environment!

We should all care about each of these principles because they can help to reduce public confusion regarding food and health.  

In the other chapter, How to Eat, it is talked about how you can eat all you want as long as it is the "right" foods.  Just make sure there is a lot of variety in your diet, of whole and unrefined plant-based food.

It's Your Time, How Do You Want to Spend It?

I was reading this article and really enjoyed it because it is so true, here is a summarization of it....

The whole article is about finding a calmer, more satisfying approach to life.  We all live in a generation when this is hard to do.  Chronic busyness is epidemic in our culture, especially for women.  We cram so much into our days, we feel as if we're constantly slaving away.  That's why they created a 14-day plan to help with the busiest schedule.  Each day you will do one simple task designed to identify and eliminate your biggest time wasters and in the end, create a new and improved schedule.

Day 1 Keep A Time Diary
Write down what you do in 30 minute intervals, right after you do them so you don't forget!  Once you know exactly how you spend your time, you can start to think about how to spend it differently.

Day 2 Practice Monotasking
Choose one project and vow to concentrate on it for at least 30 minutes.  We always try and multitask, but research suggests that trying to do multiple things is ineffective.  "Wherever you are, be there.  Whatever you are doing, do it."

Day 3 Stop Reacting
Be choosy about who and what you give your time to.  Do the things that need to be done first, followed by less urgent things at the end of the day.

Day 4 Delegate Something
Focus on tasks most essential to your work and others that don't need to be done by you.  YOU don't need to do everything.

Day 5 Stop Dawdling
Procrastinating wastes precious time!  Avoiding a task makes it seem even more daunting.  Choose one project you've been dreading, at work or home, and just get started.  Ask yourself, "What am I really avoiding here?"

Day 6 Schedule Spontaneity
If you want freedom in your life, schedule it.  Block off time in your schedule to do nothing.  It is recommended that spending free time in nature helps you to get back in tune with the rhythms of the earth.

Day 7 Sketch Out Your Days
Plot out the coming week, using a scheduling tool.  Look at the necessities first and then the things you really want to do.  Make as much time for elective activities that you do for activities that you need to do.

Day 8 Trim One Thing From Your To-Do List
People often jam their day full of activities that they'll never get to, leaving you feel rushed and frustrated.  "Time management is not about doing more things in less time, but fewer things of greater importance in the time we have."  For every task ask yourself two questions: Do you enjoy it? Does it fulfill a life purpose?  You should answer yes to at least one of those questions.

Day 9 Embrace Imperfection
You can pick up so much time and energy knowing that nothing can ever be perfect.  Don't beat yourself up if something isn't done perfectly.

Day 10 Be A Little Selfish
For at least a half hour, do something your enjoy that you can rarely make time for.  Self-nurturing is very important.

Day 11 Replenish Your Energy
Putting in long hours doesn't make workers more productive.  Stay energized by taking breaks through out the day.

Day 12 Respectfully Decline
Saying yes to every single request, is a sure way to lose traction on fulfilling your own needs.  Practice setting boundaries both at work and home.  "You have to know when to say no."

Day 13 Do A Technology Cleanse
Yes!
"Media Multitasking" is taking its toll.  People who frequently spend time with multiple technologies at the same time make more mistakes, remember less, and take longer to complete tasks.  Give your brain a break, power down all the devices.

Day 14 Reignite A Passion
Spend time pursuing a hobby or long-term project.  Use this time to experiment with activities that feed your spirit and intellect.

We can all learn something from each of these components to living a more calm and fulfilling life.
This article I got from Whole Living magazine.