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.

Read 'n' Seed 3: Second quarter of the China Study

In this quarter of the book I covered chapters 5-10 and pages 109-222.

The first chapter covered in this section focuses on heart disease in America.  The main points that stand out was the cultures that have lower heart disease rates also eat less saturated fat and animal protein and more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.  There were a few studies conducted that tried to alter heart disease in some patients by having them eat less fat and cholesterol.  The results were that the group of people who starved off their disease by eating less animal foods and more plant foods lived longer and the other group of people who didn't change their diet after already having a heart attack died.  This study suggests that the more animal protein you eat, the more heart disease you have.  In this chapter it is also talked about surgery and all that technology has helped with in the area of diagnosing and helping diseases, but is it truly helping or just covering up the problem? (As opposed to diet and prevention).  It is said that we not only know how to prevent heart disease, but also how to successfully treat it.  Not by surgeries that are dangerous, costly, and do not cover up the serious problems, but we've held the answer in our hands for a long time- eating the right food.

The next two chapters cover obesity and diabetes.  Many of us already know the complications from both.  It is talked about how both of these can be prevented and cured with eating a whole foods and plant-based diet, and with exercising.  We are given studies that prove the healing affects of food and lifestyle changes that can reduce the rate of diabetes.  So many of us are given misinformation and have habits that we aren't willing to change.  Imagine if we were educated on the facts and were willing to make moderate lifestyle changes- the outcome would be incredible.

Cancers (breast, prostate, colon, and rectal) are discussed as well.  With breast cancer we are given the risk factors and what increases these factors, such as a diet high in animal foods and carbohydrates.  Women who consume this type of diet hit puberty earlier and have menopause later, and this extends their reproductive years.  This also means that they have higher levels of female hormones.  According to the China Study data lifetime exposure to estrogen is 2.5-3 times higher among Western women than with women in China.  And according to one of the leading breast cancer research groups, there is overwhelming evidence that suggests that estrogen levels are a critical determinant of breast cancer risk- all the more reason to consume a plant-based and whole foods diet.  Environmental chemicals may also be a cause in disrupting hormones and maybe even cause Type 2 diabetes.  With colorectal cancer rates, they vary hugely between countries.  This seems to be because of environmental factors as well, such as diet.  Fiber is believed to be one of the main cures for preventing colon cancer.

In the final two chapters it is talked about autoimmune diseases and what many of them have in common, such as often happening in the same person or are found in the same population.  It is trying to be found as to why they happen in some ethnic and geographic areas and not in others and what causes them.  It is then talked about bone, kidney, eye, and brain diseases.  Once again it is said that a plant-based diet can prevent a broad range of these diseases.

This was a lot of information to take in.  The main point that I got from all of this was that people need to start taking charge of their diet and lifestyle.  There are so many diseases that surround all of us and we need to do all that we can in PREVENTING instead of only treating.  The public needs to be more informed on what can be done in bettering our health.  We should all care about these issues because it is our health and our lives.

Eye Opener: CSPI

I didn't think that the food I ate actually made that big of a difference on the environment, apparently I was wrong.  After calculating how much I eat a week with the Eating Green Calculator, I was surprised to learn how much I am taking from the environment and how much it costs by what I am eating.  Usually, I don't eat a lot of meat so I didn't think my results would be very high.

According to the calculator, in a yearly period it would take 0.5 acres of grass and grain needed to feed the animals I eat.  It would take 0.1 pounds of pesticides used to grow animal feed, 18.6 pounds of fertilizer used to grow animal feed, and the most astonishing, 3,255 pounds of manure are created by the animals I eat every year.

After recalculating the number of servings per week I would be willing to not eat, my results went down, even if it was just a little bit.  I cut back on all of my servings by at least one.  It may seem like a small change but did actually make a pretty considerable difference over the time period of one year.  In the end, I did take the pledge.  I've been wanting to cut back on my meat servings anyway- and this would be the perfect time to make that commitment.  I hope to only eat meat maybe a couple of times a week.

Here is the link to the Eating Green Calculator: Calculator

Read 'n' Seed 2: First quarter of the China Study

In this first section of the book I covered chapters 1-4 and pages 1-108.  The main topics addressed in this first quarter of the book were the problems that all people in the U.S. face, such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.  Many of us are misinformed and confused on what is factual and what is incorrect.  

A whole chapter covers proteins and what exactly they are, if they are truly good for us and if so what type of proteins should we be consuming, and how much of a certain protein is healthy.  Many people today think that protein (mostly animal protein) is good for us, and we've been told to believe this for a very long time.  In one study in the book it was found that most protein-rich children with diets most like our meaty American diets, had the highest rates of liver cancer.  The people who eat the most animal protein have the most heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.  Could there possibly be a diet-cancer connection?  This book is all about explaining that yes indeed, diet plays a much more important role in our lives than we could ever think, and yes certain diets cause cancer.

Another chapter goes into detail on the science behind cancer, and the possibility of even "turning it off".  This chapter addresses some of the more popular cancer-causing agents such as Nitrites, artificial sweeteners, Dioxin, and Aflatoxin to name a few.  Maybe some of you have heard of these in the news.  These chemicals are all scary yes, because they have the potential of when being exposed frequently, incidence of cancer also increases.  But what if there were a chemical that was capable of turning on cancer 100% of the time?  Another experiment talked about in the book proves that yes, when protein was fed to rats at high levels they all got cancer every time!  I was very shocked when reading this.  If this is the truth then no wonder so many Americans are diagnosed with cancer every year.  So many of us eat meat daily, some for every meal.  These findings are astonishing.  To prove their testings even farther, they conducted more experiments to prove that low protein diets could decrease enzyme activity and prevent dangerous carcinogen binding to DNA (cancer).  To sum up this chapter- consuming less protein leads to less cancer.

In the fourth chapter it discusses China, and all the implications (or in this case non-implications) that this country has with cancer.  It was found that cancer was much more profound in some geographic areas than in others.  It is now being thought that cancer may be largely due to environmental/lifestyle factors and not genetics.  Fascinating!  They also compared the American diet to the China diet and how the differences between the two play a part in cancer rates.  China has a significantly larger amount of fiber intake than the U.S. does and a much lower intake of animal protein than the U.S. does.  China also has a diet that is based 90% of plant proteins.  The following chapters will go into detail on the importance of plant diets.

Each of these issues and findings that I have stated affects everyone in our society.  Something needs to be done about the way most people eat.  We need to be informed on what proper nutrition is and what really may be the leading causes of cancer.  Each of us should care about this because cancer is one of the leading causes of death and each of us knows someone who has been diagnosed and affected by the disease.  If something is not done about this the problem it is only going to get worse.  We need to take matters into our own hands and educate ourselves, no one is going to do it for us.

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

For this activity I took a quiz to find out what my ecological footprint is and how my lifestyle affects the earth.  The quiz asked questions like how much I drive each week, how many people I live with, do I recycle, and how often I buy new products for my home, if I eat locally, etc.

The results in the end were surprising.  I thought I conserved resources pretty well but according to my results it would take 3.9 earths to sustain me, kind of sad.  My ecological footprint broke down as services being the biggest area of resources I use, followed by goods, food, shelter, and then mobility.  To support my lifestyle, it takes 17.2 acres of land and 16.6 tons of carbon dioxide.  Broken down into parts and what would be affected the most by my lifestyle would be energy land, followed by crop land, grazing land, forest land, built-up land, and fishing ground.

To reduce my part on the planet I want to start not using as much water by reducing time on dishes and taking shorter showers.  I want to start recycling more and driving less, car pooling with others and walking more is something I want to do.  Cutting back on electricity by turning off lights when I leave home and at night I'm going to do as well.

It is disturbing to think that my ecological footprint alone causes this much havoc to the earth.  If everyone else causes this much damage to the earth I don't know how everything is going to keep as it is right now. People need to start taking bigger steps and precautions to helping the earth otherwise it won't be around much longer.  Small steps everyday such as recycling, not using a lot of electricity and running water, eating locally, and walking instead of driving help.  If everyone became dedicated to doing these steps it may actually work, but we need to work together.

Here is the link to the ecological footprint calculator:Ecological Footprint Calculator