Monday, December 21, 2015

Golden grains

See this article for a great intro to heritage grains that provide healthy alternatives to wheat and rice. Nice to see these grains are gaining cultivation and favor nowadays! Montana's organic farmers are helping with it, too.

Heritage Grains

Saturday, December 5, 2015

An icon moves on

Chuck Williams, the founder of Williams Sonoma, has passed away. One hundred years old, wow!

Chuck Williams

Farmers and GMOs

For most consumers, it's a matter of altered vs. natural. But reading this article it becomes clear that for farmers, it's about economics. Nice to see that non-GMOs can compete with GMOs, though! Choices are good - for farmers, too :-)

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Legumes in ancient history

Legumes have been around for a long time and have been farmed and harvested for their nutritional value since 9,000 years ago. See this interesting article describing archaeological finds made in Palestine.

Ahihud, one of the Neolithic sites in the Galilee. Photo: Yaron Bibas, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Back conditioning exercises

I've had some occurrences over the years where I put out my lower back bad enough that I could barely stand or move afterward - and it took a major muscle relaxant plus four days to recover from, too. Absolutely no fun, ugh!

In the course of dealing with my flakey back, I was sent to physical therapy, where they gave me some stretching and conditioning exercises to strengthen my lower back and leg muscles to better support my spine. When I'm consistent at doing the exercises (which I generally am) it's less likely that I'll have a problem, so I believe they've helped me.

Some of the exercises are detailed in this article from livestrong.com, so you may want to try some, too. In moderation of course - take time working into them and evaluate which work well and avoid any that don't.

Natural analgesics

Here's an interesting article from livestrong.com that showcases some pain-fighting spices and foods. As always, consume in moderation, watch for allergic sensitivity, and realize that none of these are a substitute for medical attention if necessary.

Monday, March 30, 2015

The MIND diet

Not a lot surprising here, since a lot of the MIND diet overlaps with a vegetarian and reduced dairy diet anyway. But it's nice to see corroboration of the healthy effects of a Mediterranean style menu, too.

Take a nudge, you could lose weight!

Here's a fascinating article about how Google has applied some clever psychology to help employees avoid weight gain in their food rich environment.

Health News Review site

I stumbled across this independent Health News Review site that looks pretty interesting and helpful in sorting out breaking stories on medical treatments, miracle cures, and "what's believable and what needs full disclosure and more homework". Looks like a good resource site to keep on-hand.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Chocolate and Heavy Metal - Yeah I guess they don't mix

Chocolate's a favorite treat of mine. Unfortunately, As You Sow released a report this week showing most major manufacturers of dark chocolate bars and candies have elevated levels of cadmium and/or lead in their products. Bummer! So much for the anecdotal "good health" benefits of dark chocolate, huh?! Will I now drop it from my diet? Unlikely, but I'll probably think more about how much I'm consuming, where before I never used to.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

A neat treat for travelers and in general

Came across these Gin Gin super strength candies at Degnan's Deli in Yosemite Village and was immediately taken with the 30% real ginger and simple ingredients. Yes, there's some sugar here as with many candies, but when on the move these are great little goodies to have in your pack or pocket!

Photo Credit: www.gingerpeople.com

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Pay attention to your internal "Bunk!" alarm...

I had a feeling of "Bunk!" when I saw recent headlines about "Many cancers due to just bad luck!" Finally, a voice of reason - and why we should not believe everything in the media at face value. And while we're on the subject, a recent study indicates red wine doesn't necessarily extend lifespan, as widely reported earlier, either.