Convenience VS. Ecology
Stop Plastic!

Plastic bags were just outlawed (first in California, where else?) from the supermarkets. Then from drugstores. Plastic bags have come to be no more, no longer used, no longer manufactured for California. Now, it’s soon for your state. Why?

Why it’s for the good of the environment, Honey! Plastic doesn’t decompose in landfills. It lasts and outlasts. California (always first) has put a “stop” law on these bags to keep them out of landfills, out of the ocean. Have you ever seen the news reports of this gigantic doughnut of plastic stuff in the ocean that’s continuously and permanently circling upon itself, goosed by ocean currents?

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Snipped from NewScientist.com.

I have to admit something. I am obsessed with spicy food. Some may say addicted. I don’t know why, but I always have been. Thai food, Mexican food, Indian food … it doesn’t matter. The hotter the better. Oh, and one more thing. I am never sick … ever. Well, except that silly little meningitis episode I got a long time ago, but that is another story. So, one could ask, “Does all the spicy food lend some assistance to my healthy state of existence?” Umm, good question.

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Snipped from SciAm.com.

Finally, an interesting article that addresses our larger brain, and its ties with our diet. In many other articles, I have attempted to link our diet with our evolution. Whether it was our ancestor’s desire for high calorie, carbohydrate dense foods, or how our they perfected cooking starches which allowed for more dietary versatility and therefor a better chance at survival, I have linked our diet to our evolutionary success. Here Richard Wrangham, a chimp researcher, has come up with a theory that helps indirectly argue the points I have been making about our ancestral diets.

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Can we repair our bio-machine?

What if the human body had a warranty? Well, it may actually have one, but you are probably voiding it right at this moment. Mental stress and overly abundant food may two of the major culprits to our societies’ collective decline in health.

Ever wonder why stress is a killer, and why it plagues our civilization? What about why the foods that we crave are the worst for us? Our original blueprint for human survival may be a key to some of life’s ultimate questions. This blueprint for our bodies was designed by hundreds of thousands of years of evolution (unless you believe God created us just as we are right now, then your answer would be God didn’t think us through very well or is simply a cruel being). So we need to think back to the environment and lifestyle that triggered the evolutionary changes that made us what we are.

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Stay calm, it may save
your waistline.

You may be one of those people who eat excessively whenever depressed or sad but now researchers are finding that even simple stress can make us fat. With our modern-day, high-tech, stressed-out world, it’s no wonder that so many people are overweight. Could this be the hidden element behind so much obesity today? From an intriguing experiment with laboratory mice, scientists are now beginning to understand what part stress plays in obesity. You will be amazed at what happened with a group of otherwise slim mice when subjected to daily stress.

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Snipped from alternet.org.

I have written many articles on this blog exposing the hidden dangers in our food. With extensive industrialization of agriculture and the genetic modifications occurring in the food cell itself, there’s no wonder that many food sources have been contaminated, polluted and tainted in more ways than one. But there is one food source that in and of itself is actually proclaimed to be a harbinger of good health, but in fact is a danger to your health. This food source is soy. Yeah, I know, the mainstream food giants tout it as a miracle food that not only promotes heart health, but alleviates symptoms associated with menopause, reduces the risk of certain cancers, and lowers levels of the “bad” cholesterol. Well, coming from the $4 billion soy industry, do you think maybe their claims are only reporting the “good side” of soy? When questioned, they will only refer to the FDA’s approval for their health claims. But little is known about the “dark side” of soy that the FDA’s own top scientists kept silent about. So, what is it that these top scientists are keeping under wraps?

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Yummy, cloned corn!

If you don’t know what genetically engineered food is then it’s time you learn. I thought it just meant that it was altered somehow (innocuously) to make food better. But after reading up on the subject, I am sad to report that it has more to do with making a better profit than making better food. When over three fourths of processed food is genetically engineered, we need to not only learn what it is but start speaking up regarding our concern for what it is doing to our food supply and us. Again, the consumer is at the bottom of the list of priorities when it comes to what Agribusiness is up to. You may be surprised to learn what genetic engineering means to our health, the environment and the future of agriculture.

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Midwestern corn field.

Are the wrong farmers getting all the money?

Cerebral, one of the editors of this site and being very knowledgeable about health and nutrition, has always told me that if you want to eat a healthful, nutritious diet, only shop the perimeters of the grocery store. I never really thought about it, but most of the processed food, junk food and empty calories is in the middle of the store, or the aisles. So, it makes sense. However, when you buy only fresh fruits and vegetables, it can be quite expensive. Have you ever really thought about why that is? If you are a fan of fresh produce or eating healthy, this article may just make you mad. And, it all has to do with the Farm Bill.

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Snipped from LATimes.com.

For anyone who wants to make billions of dollars, your best bet is to market a diet drug. People go crazy for the stuff. I came across this article and was intrigued by the hysterical pursusit of the perfect weight loss drug. It was reported in the article that no sooner than the Santa Monica Walgreen’s put their new weight loss product, Alli, on the shelf, that it was gone in four hours. And, mind you, this was at $60 a pop. People couldn’t grab it fast enough. With a myriad of side effects, guess what was the only question asked about the drug?

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Snipped from Alternet.org.

I have written Health Alert articles on this blog about the safety of our food supply and why we should be concerned. First and foremost is the fact that the FDA does not have the budget to inspect food at the level that protects the consumer. This is due to the fact that their budget was reduced by the current Bush philosophy of “buyer beware”. Buyer beware would work some of the time if only we were informed consumers. But when you don’t even know where your food comes from, it becomes increasingly difficult. The problem seems to have arisen due to the fact that the 2002 Farm Bill that required labelling for the origin of food was to go into effect in September of 2004. Well, guess what? It still hasn’t gone into effect. So, again, big business has won out over the consumer by buying off members of Congress. The amount of lobbying money will make you sick (if the food doesn’t first).

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