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.
Taking steps into the world of natural health and living.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
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
Upcycling- The process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. Wikipedia
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
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
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
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.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group
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.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
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.
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.
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