Mindful Eats

Real vs. Organic, Non-GMO, Keto, Vegan, Plant-based Processed Foods

Beyond Meat Burger Ingredients

I went to the largest trade show for natural and organic products in the US this year - Natural Products Expo West. There are over 30,000 attendees and thousands of different food items. It's huge! There was a dazzling array of foods in packages. One of the most obvious trends this year was CBD, but the one thing that was abundantly clear was that Americans are confused about what to eat that is healthy! 

MindfulEaters, here's a secret: anything that comes out of a package is probably processed. You already know what real food looks like. Expo West was full of different kinds of food bars, plant burgers, and all kinds of convenience foods stuffed with supplements. All those things are processed foods! If there are lots of ingredients and it doesn't look like it's natural form, it's processed. It doesn't matter if it's organic, non-GMO, keto or stuffed with superfoods. A protein bar is still not a natural food item. Instead of eating the bar, have a hard boiled egg or two! You can boil lots of eggs at once, keep them in the refrigerator, then take them with you for a handy snack. Or have some chicken. You are going straight to the source for real natural protein instead of a funny bar shaped food.

You are better off eating non-processed or minimally processed unorganic real food than any kind of processed food. That's the simple truth.

Just because it's labeled organic, non-GMO, keto or vegan doesn't mean it's good for you. Organic macaroni & cheese in a box is still processed macaroni and cheese. Don't think you are eating something non-processed just because it's organic. You can eat it - just be conscious that you are consuming a processed food.

If you are eating plant "meat" to be healthier, be aware of what's in the ingredients list. A lot of things! (see above). You can grill a portobello mushroom just as easily. It's delicious and it's a real plant.

If you're snacking, remember a non-GMO quinoa chip is still a processed chip. Choose air-popped popcorn or roasted seaweed for snacks that are minimally processed. Or a banana, piece of fruit, carrot sticks or hard boiled eggs. Hummus and celery. You have so many options!

Why do you want to eat less processed foods? Because ultra-processed foods are bad for you.

What to do - Eat more fresh unprocessed food

1. Shop for real food. Organic or not, that's what is best for you and your family. Not protein bars, powdered supplements, chips or balls. Real food.
2. Create a food plan (your Mindful Battle Plan) for the week. Figure out your meals so you can take a list with you to the grocery store and spend less time making more satisfying meals!
3. Prepare most of your meals at home.The faster the better - and if you cook in large batches, you can take in lunch or have leftovers later in the week.
4. Figure out which ultra-processed foods are your weakness, and don't buy them! Do not let them in your house!! Here are some popular culprits: chips, diet soda, frozen pizza, candy, pre-packaged cakes, certain breads (do for the whole grain breads).
5. Snack well. Create a fruit bowl and keep it filled. This will be your go-to for snacks. Make a Mindful Mixfor your other snack needs.

 

What I ate today: steel cut oatmeal + strawberries + blueberries + blackberries, Prêt a Manger lobster roll, bowtie summer pasta, steamed broccoli, corn on the cob, pluot, green tea ice cream, Lesser Evil popcorn, coffee, water

Exercise: power yoga

What is ultra-processed food and why is it bad for you?

Lamb duo, potato, pepper ragout

I know once people get connected to real food, they never change back. ~Alice Waters

MindfulEaters, I hope you're having a great summer and enjoying the season's food offerings! As you know, we at MindfulEats hate processed foods. Now there's another reason - a recent study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that ultra-processed foods make you fat!

So, what is super-processed food vs processed food vs minimally processed food vs real food? It gets confusing! Basically, anything that is not in its original format is processed -- a potato chip is a processed potato, frozen pizza is no where near what it's natural components were, and even brown rice is minimally processed (because it is dried). But wait, brown rice is good for you, right? You're right, brown rice IS good for you! White rice is more processed than brown rice so it's not as good for you (it's rice with the hull and bran removed - the stuff with the vitamins and minerals in it). Fresh broccoli that came from the produce section is real, unprocessed food. Frozen broccoli is minimally processed because it's been frozen, but it's still good for you. Here is the deal: eat real or minimally processed foods! To try to standardize definitions, MindfulEats is going to use the NOVA classification which the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is using.

• Real food is unprocessed or minimally processed (Group 1 Foods). These foods are the ones you recognize - edible portions of plants and animals. When these foods are processed, it is to extend the life of the food or to remove inedible parts by freezing, drying, pasteurizing, etc.  They don't have multiple ingredients - they might not even come with an ingredients list or a nutritional panel. You can often recognize these foods since they are in their original form and include things like vegetables, grains, fruit, meat, seafood, nuts, eggs, herbs, milk. You should eat and cook mainly from this category. Is yogurt a Group 1 food? Trick question - plain yogurt is a minimally processed food because it's fermented milk, but when you add processed fruit it becomes an ultra-processed food.
• Processed food (Group 3 Foods). This is when real food has been altered a bit with sugar, salt, or oil to make it last longer or add flavor. Tofu, simple unpackaged bread, cheese, canned tuna, cured meat, beer and wine fall in this category. These foods tend to be convenient and have just a few ingredients on their lists. You can use these foods to build your meals (everything in moderation, please), but the more real food you eat, the better!
• Ultra-processed food (Group 4 Foods). These are where most of our calories tend to come from; they are the industrial formulations with five or more ingredients. They have been through multiple processes with added ingredients to taste delicious and make us want more. Examples of ultra-processed foods are soda, diet soda, chips, ice cream, sweetened flavored yogurt, sweetened breakfast cereals, packaged soups, fries, energy bars, and distilled alcohol like vodka, rum and gin. Remember, an organic ultra-processed food is still bad because it's ultra-processed!

Ultra-processed food is so convenient and so tasty, is it really necessary to give it up? Yes! It is tasty because food science has manipulated it and added things to it to make your brain want more. It is basically frankenfood. The NIH study showed that people on an ultra-processed diet gained 2 lbs per week on average, while those on a real food diet lost 2 lbs a week on average. In addition to weight gain, ultra-processed foods are also linked to higher cancer risk. We know you are here because you want to be healthier, so cut back on the ultra-processed food you are eating!

What to do - Eat more fresh unprocessed food

1. Create a food plan (your Mindful Battle Plan) for the week. Figure out your meals so you can take a list with you to the grocery store and spend less time making more satisfying meals!
2. Prepare most of your meals at home. The faster the better - and if you cook in large batches, you can take in lunch or have leftovers later in the week.
3. Figure out which ultra-processed foods are your weakness, and don't buy them! Do not let them in your house!! Here are some popular culprits: chips, diet soda, frozen pizza, candy, pre-packaged cakes, certain breads (do for the whole grain breads).
4. Snack well. Create a fruit bowl and keep it filled. This will be your go-to for snacks. Make a Mindful Mix for your other snack needs.

Want to know more?

• It's Not Just Salt, Sugar, Fat: Study Finds Ultra-Processed Foods Drive Weight Gain, NPR, 5/16/19
• What is ultra-processed food and how can you eat less of it?, Heart & Stroke
• 6 'Ultra-Processed' Foods to Throw Out Right Now, Health.com, 2/13/19
• What are ultra-processed foods, and are you eating too many of them?, Mother Nature Network, 5/17/19
• Share
• Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake, Cell Metabolism, 5/16/19
• Standardizing food classification with NOVA, World Public Health Nutrition Association, 2016
• Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort, BMJ, 2/14/18

 

What I ate today: vegetable hash with 2 eggs, 16 oz coffee, peach, 1 cup strawberries, 2 cups blueberries, 1 cup cheddar Hippeas, udon noodles + 1 slice pumpkin tempura + 1/2 slice sweet potato tempura, glass noodles + tofu + spinach + shiitake mushrooms, 1 tablespoon homemade green tea ice cream, 10 oz hot chocolate, 50 oz. water

Exercise: 1 hours of kickboxing, 30 min. upper body weight lifting

Eating Seafood Responsibly

Bonaire, squid

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it's always ourselves we find in the sea." ~ee cummings

There is a huge global demand for seafood. It is now a common menu item and sushi is as popular as Arby's. This wasn't always the case. When I was a kid, seafood was not popular. Catholics weren't supposed to eat meat on Fridays, so some would opt for fish. My family came from an island, so we ate a lot of seafood, which was considered weird. Then at one point, I stopped eating meat and was a pescatarian for 20 years. The seas weren't yet overfished, cod hadn't collapsed, mercury wasn't in seafood, and people weren't enslaved to feed the global appetite.

Things seemed to have come full circle. I have stopped eating most seafood, except for easily farmed items like mussels and oysters. There was a time when I would just ask a lot of questions -- where was the seafood from? How was it caught? Is it sustainable?

Then the questions just weren't enough. First, certain fish types were collapsing. Cod, blue fin tuna, swordfish... We were overfishing our seas, and these huge fish couldn't reproduce fast enough to replace what we were eating. Second, all the pollution we create was finding its way back into the ocean and bioaccumulating as mercury in the fish we eat. 10% of women of childbearing age in the US have enough mercury in their systems to cause defects. Third, I noticed that there was a lot of fraud. Many restaurants (including sushi restaurants) and stores were labeling fish as a certain type, like snapper, and it wasn't! Outrageous. And the last straw? Fourth, there is such a huge global demand for fish that PEOPLE ARE BEING ENSLAVED to work in the fishing industry! This "lucky" man escaped after 22 years. The problem is that there isn't enough accountability, so if someone tells you that no slaves were involved in the fish they are serving, they just don't know. I don't need to eat fish that badly.

Not to mention that I started scuba diving, and the fish that we eat are beautiful in their natural habitat. A shoal of squid is a graceful, beautiful sight - nothing like what you see on your plates. But that's a digression.

What to do - Eat Seafood Responsibly

1. Just avoid eating any seafood or
2. Eat only seafood that can be farmed or fished locally and responsibly. Mussels are a safe bet.
3. Don't feed pet food that contains seafood. Thailand supplies a lot of that fish, and that is where most slaves are used.
4. Use the Seafood Watch guide and app to find the most sustainable seafood. Ask your server and fishmonger questions about sourcing and sustainability.

Want to read more?

• MindfulEats on Sustainable Sushi
• MindfulEats on Sustainable Seafood
• Natural Resources Defense Council Seafood Guide

 

What I ate: 15 oz green juice, 10 oz yogurt + blueberries + chia seeds, 2 peaches, portobella mushroom + arugula + queso arepa, 6 Korean vegetable dumplings, 2 peaches, 2 ears of corn, dried mangos, 50 oz water, 4 squares of dark chocolate

Exercise: jogged 4.5 miles

Rules for Restaurant Eating to Avoid Getting Fat

Japanese breakfast

Eating out is one of the biggest diet killers and a sure way to eat unhealthy. It will make you fat. But sometimes you just can't avoid it. Traveling, catching up with friends, and being short of energy and time usually results in a restaurant meal. By the way, even if you ordered it in and eat at home, it's still a restaurant meal!

Since you're eating out, you probably want to treat yourself. Go ahead and do so - just follow some simple rules. We were delighted to find this great New York Times' article that believes the restaurant scene is offering healthier food choices. We've added some of their tips to ours to create an easy mindful cheat sheet.

What to do - Eat Out Smartly

1. If you can, choose your restaurant carefully. Pick a high quality restaurant that focuses on real food. Mediterranean restaurants are often fresh, healthy and flavorful. There are also some fast casual chains that are health conscious: Chop't, Mod-market, Lyfe Kitchen, Native Foods Cafe Sweetgreen and Pret-a-Manger.
2. Scrutinize the menu and try to order whole foods that are grilled or less sauced.
3. More plants, less meat.
4. Some menus have "healthy" options with less calories and fat. Focus on these. They are often called "heart-healthy" or fit. The NYT points out that even the Cheesecake Factory has a "SkinniLicious" menu with over 50 items less than 590 calories.
5. It's all about portion control. That restaurant meal you are eating has more than twice - sometimes four times - the meal you would make at home. To combat that, leave half of your meal on the plate (you can take it home) or order two appetizers instead of an appetizer and an entree. If you can't take food home, just leave it! You didn't ask for such a huge portion so you can leave it guilt-free.
6. Be wary of white sauces. Stay away from mayo, caesar dressing, ranch dressing, hollandaise, cream sauce. It's loaded with fat and calories. Add zing to your food with lemon juice, vinegar and mustard.
7. At a steak restaurant? Choose the filet mignon. It is the lowest calorie option. According to the NYT, filet and a glass of wine will clock in under 750 calories.
8. Eat only delicious bread. It's easy to be mindless about bread. Choose a flavorful, whole grain bread and have just one piece.
9. Drink water. Lots of it. It's good for your skin, and all those juices have calories. Diet soda is full of chemicals.
10. Eat eggs and oatmeal. They are both healthy, as long as they are as natural as possible. Don't add sauces or sugar! You can often find eggs for lunch or dinner at a diner. If you're having breakfast, the processed stuff like pancakes and waffles are NOT the way to go. Bacon and sausages? Have ONE if you need to. Split the side order or leave half of it on the plate.
11. Do not get your own dessert! You did a good job with your meal, don't blow it! After a calorific meal, desserts are calorie bombs. Just get fresh fruit (nothing on it), or share a single desert with at least one (preferably more) people.

 

What I ate: 15 oz. green juice, greek yogurt with blueberries and strawberries, one egg, 2 c.Trader Joe's Japanese fried rice, 12 oz decaf coffee, cheese and crackers, nachos, eggplant kottu, fruit salad, 2 c. cherries, 45 oz water

Exercise: jogged 5.8 miles

 

Manicures and Nail Polish are Bad Habits

Photo Credit: The New York Times

We've been anti-manicure for a long time at MindfulEats, as evidenced in this post from 2009. Manis and pedis have become common place in the last 15 years, and there is nothing natural about them. We didn't like them for the below obvious common sense reasons, and now we are delighted to be backed up by in-depth reporting from the New York Times.

• Nail polishes and solvents often have chemicals like formaldehyde (used to preserve dead things) in them. Just smell the stuff -- if that doesn't tip you off to its contents then I have a bridge I'd like to see you in Brooklyn. Coating yourself in this stuff isn't good for you. If you are a regular mani-pedi girl, have you ever wondered why your natural nails are brittle, discolored, or just not normal? Sure, companies will tell you that you don't use enough polish or remover to provide a serious health risk, but since you are here at MindulEats, you probably aren't too keen on voluntarily adding additional chemicals to yourself beyond the many that we cam't control (e.g. pollution, furniture, paint)
• Nail technicians have serious health problems from working with nail products - at the least rashes and breathing problems, and they are not being fully informed of the risks of the job
• Nail art doesn't look good. They are going to look as dated as tramp stamps (the tatoos women used to get in the small of their backs) in 10 years.

The NYT has gone far deeper than our common-sense observations with excellent investigative reporting that took 13 months. Just a few of their points:

• Nail technicians in the vast majority of cheapie nail salons are paid far less than minimum wage and often subject to abuse
• Nail technicians suffer serious health problems: respiratory illness, miscarriages, birth defects

What to do - Pay Up for Manicures

1. Don't get mani/pedis at all. Just keep your nails clean and short. Long painted nails will look weird and dated in 10 years anyway. And think about all the money you will save!
2. Give yourself manicures. If you can't resist, buy polish that is as nontoxic as possible and DIY.
3. Pay up for mani/pedis and go less often. Don't go to the cheapie neighborhood salon. Go to a reputable place with a selection of chemical free nail polish (just kidding, it doesn't exist, find polish without as many chemicals) and ask your nail technician what they are being paid. 

This series by the New York Times is very impressive investigative reporting that took 13 months. It will change the industry, if not our culture:

• The Price of Nice Nails, 5/7/15
• Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers, 5/8/15
• Readers' Questions and Answers

Please let us know if you are going to change your mani habits in the comments!

What I ate: 4 oz scrambled eggs, 2/3 cup yogurt+blueberries+strawberries+pineapple, 10 oz coffee, 10 oz green tea, Pret a Manger nori roll wrap and 1 Harvest Cookie, 1 chocolate chip cookie, brown rice + broccoli + mushrooms, cheddar puffed rice, Trader Joe's mini rice crackers, 1 cup pineapple, 4 pieces dark chocolate, 12 oz pomegranate juice, 50 oz water

Exercise: None

Vote YES to Proposition 37 on Nov. 6

 Right to Know Video by Nutiva

A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity. ~Dalai Lama

Hurricane Sandy has focused me on food. The electriciy outage is forcing me to eat everything in my refrigerator before it spoils, and worry about the food left at Pop Karma. I guess the positive of it is that the food DOES spoil since it's not genetically modified, and isn't some Frankenfood made in a lab.

While we are grappling with food issues on the East Coast, a very important food date is coming up in California. Proposition 37 is up for voting on November 6th. This proposition that would require that genetically modified food (with exceptions of course) is labeled as genetically modified. That's it. Transparency. So if you want genetically modified food, you can happily know it is, and if you don't want it, you can avoid it.

Monsanto and other large food corporations have poured millions of dollars into California to fight this proposition. Why? Because genetically modified foods (GMOs) make a lot of money for Monsanto and other companies. Food that has been altered to resist pests and spoilage are obviously better for manufacturers. But they aren't obviously better for human health. And until they are, I don't want it. I'm not into eating untested food to make other people richer.

The food corporations insist that Proposition 37 will open the way to frivolous lawsuits and will cost more for consumers. The proposition may not be perfectly worded, but no bills are since they are so negotiated before they become law. And frankly, someone that wants to bring a frivolous lawsuit will do so no matter what. Proposition 37 is a step in letting people know what is in their food. The food corporations think that once they do know, they won't want GMO food -- hence it will cost consumers more. Because they have been using cheap GMOs to lower the price of food. Give us a choice!

As a food manufacturer at Pop Karma, we are firmly anti-GMO. It may cost more, but we aren't playing with your health.

If you are in California, please vote on November 6th, and vote YES to Proposition 37. And encourage everyone you know to do so.

Want to know more?

• Proposition 37 Voter Information Guide
• Michael Pollan's Take on Prop 37 (Yes), Vote for the Dinner Party
• Monsanto and Food Corporations Reasons to Vote No to Prop 37

 

What I ate: Haven's Kitchen whole wheat pancakes + butter, quinoa, sauteed green chard + broccoli + tempeh, kimchi, fresh pasta, boiled watercress + Rao's sauce, Cremont cheese, rosemary crostini, chai tea, milk, water

Exercise: 2 mile patrol with dog + 24 flights of stairs

 

Paula Deen is a Waste

  Paula Deen photo from the Huffington Post, 1/24/12 

The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. ~William James

Paula Deen's diabetes announcement happened nearly three weeks ago, and she still makes me mad. I have to take a break from our regularly scheduled program for a rant.

We ask very young athletes to be role models and hold them to high standards of behavior. LeBron James was razzed mercilessly when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers at the age of 26 in 2010. Tim Tebow receives intense scrutiny at the age of 25. Tiger Woods. Enough said. These people didn't ask to be famous - they were given amazing athletic ability and worked hard. Should they be role models? I'm not so sure. What about more mature, accidentally famous people like US Airways pilot Chesley Sullenberger who was held up as a role model after he successfully crash landed his plane into the Hudson River without losing a single person? Sully was 58 and never asked for fame. He did his job admirably and held up gracefully as an old-school role model under public pressure.

Paula Deen is a 64 year old fame whore that has just been gifted the opportunity to be an inspiring role model. Without a great deal of discernable talent, she doggedly pursued fame and money by shilling fatty fried food and saturated fats. She achieved her goal. That in itself is admirable.

Then she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and hid it for three years so she could continue flogging fatty foods that are hurtful to diabetics and those susceptible to it. If she were young and didn't know any better, that would be shameful. However, she is a 64 year old grandmother. Elders in society should display wisdom. If they are fame chasers, they should be role models. Paula Deen makes me sick. She did neither. Instead of highlighting healthy lifestyle changes, she chose to highlight a drug (Americans love quick fixes) for cash.

Ms. Deen also denies responsibility for pushing unhealthy recipes by telling Al Roker, "I've always eaten in moderation." Mindful Readers, this is a joke. Her physique belies her. Ms. Deen says that though she always ate in moderation, she is now eating lighter and increasing her exercise. The "increased" physical activity she is adding? She says she is walking with her husband more (up to a mile!) and running after her grandkids now. People, grandparents are supposed to run after their grandkids. If they were too unhealthy to do it before, that is a serious problem. And her diet? She wants to show you can continue enjoying food. Hello? Whole foods in their prime ARE delicious. What is wrong with her? Just in case you wanted to argue 60 year olds can't be in shape, here is a photo of 62 year old Vera Wang from a recent Harper's Bazzar interview, who probably has no problem chasing after her kids.

What could Paula Deen do? I would be awed if she used her diagnosis and her fame to be an inspirational role model. She could determinedly set her pudgy jowls, look her fans in the eyes, and say "Y'all know that I have type 2 diabetes. Being fat, not being active, and eating unhealthy foods for years did not help. Now that I have personally learned about how food, exercise, obesity and disease are interrelated, I am very sorry for the food I have encouraged America to eat in the past. I commit to y'all that I am going to manage my diabetes with a healthier lifestyle. I commit to losing 30 pounds through exercise and diet. Watch and support me on this journey." 

It's not too late, Paula Deen. Prove me wrong. Inspire us. 

Want to learn more?

• Did Paula Den's Diet Cause Her Diabetes?
• The Paula Deen Debacle on Eater

 

What I ate today: 1 grapefruit, 1 pear, latte, 2 slices multigrain toast with butter, 10 Rising Moon Organics wild chantarelle ravioli + Rao's marinara sauce, biriyana rice + tikka masala sauce, saag paneer, macrobiotic noodles, dried squid, spelt berries, haricort verts, shrimp, 1 Crumbs Blackout cupcake, hot chocolate, 45 oz. water

Exercise: jogged 3 miles, 120 situps, 7 pushups, 25 tricep bends, 3 backbends

 

Benefits of Alcohol - or is it Bad?

Alcohol gives you infinite patience for stupidity. ~Sammy Davis Jr.

Alcohol is intertwined with human history. Ancient Greeks had drinking parties, or symposia, which could be celebratory events or debacles. The modern Greek system (as in college fraternities) continues this tradition today in almost the same format but without togas.

So is drinking alcohol good or bad for you? Like so many answers in MindfulEats, the answer is it's usually fine in moderation BUT it depends. Research indicates that moderate alcohol drinking may provide health benefits. Most of the health benefits seems to come from red wine, which has resveratrol and flavonoids as well as other antioxidants. The resveratol may help reduce the risk of heart disease and heart attacks. These are all available in other foods like grape juice, tea and dark chocolate.

If you don't currently drink, there is no reason to start drinking to get these benefits.

For those of you that do/have had a drink, you know that people react in different ways. Drinking can be pleasurable - it can help you "unwind" and it can make you funnier and more talkative. There's also the flip side, when the demon pops out and you end up apologizing the next day for being overserved. It definitely dampens your judgement. George W. Bush quit drinking completely one morning - I'm guessing the quitting included a massive apology for the evening before. We all know people that quit - whether for a while or forever. Like caffeine, you should be mindful of how much you drink and why. Drinking can be a slippery slope. If you need a glass, or three, to unwind and be funny, that's a problem. Find other ways to unwind (and I know it's hard to believe, but you really aren't any funnier). If you need a drink to face certain situations, that's a problem. If you're an alcoholic or you know someone that is, get help.

Drinking also makes you fat. They're known as empty calories since they don't add any nutrition (except for that moderate glass of red wine). On average:

• Beer, 12 oz, 149 calories
• Light Beer, 12 oz, 110 calories
• Red wine, 4 oz, 80 calories
• Dry white wine, 4 oz, 85 calories
• Sweet white wine, 4 oz, 105 calories
• Liquer (vodka, gin, whisky, etc), 1 oz, 65 calories
• Sweet Liquer (Drambuie, Cointreau, Kahlua, etc), 1.5 oz, 188 calories
• Champagne, 4 oz, 84 calories
• Margarita, 4 oz, 168 calories

Toss back a few of those and you've added some insta-pounds.

So what's moderation? Obviously it depends on size and gender, but the general rule of thumb is two drinks a night for men (14 a week) and one for women (7 a week). And that doesn't mean a week's worth in one night.

Want to learn more?

• Mayo Clinic Guidelines: Keep it Moderate
• American Heart Association on Wine and Heart Disease
• Alcohol Calorie Calculator
• Beer Calories: This cool site lists your beer, calories and alcohol content

 

What I ate: 2 lattes, hardboiled egg, grapefruit, 2 oranges, Stacy's Naked Pita Chips, Cedar hummus, Mindful Mix, Early Bird Aloha granola, whole wheat spaghetti + Rao's Siciliana sauce, multigrain salmon + avocado sushi, 12 oz coconut water, 45 oz water 

Exercise: slow 10 miles, 40 min yoga

 

Sitting Will Kill You

Lizard sitting so much a pigeon sits on it 

Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still. ~Chinese Proverb

Some recent news on sitting reported in the New York Times will make some of you very happy, and some of you not-so-happy. You know that your body is meant to move and you exercise regularly since it's important for your health. Awesome. Well, it turns out your body is REALLY meant to move. Extended periods of sitting cause muscular change that can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and other bad stuff. Your body shuts down at a metabolic level, and exercise doesn't undo it.

How do we know this? Scientists recently parsed some data from a study on men's exercise habits in 1982 (done by researchers affiliated with the Cooper Institute in Dallas), and they found that men who spent more than 23 hours a week watching TV or sitting in their cars had a 64% greater chance if dying from heart disease than men who sat 11 hours a week or less. Even active exercisers didn't get a pass.

Recent animal studies show that mice or rats who aren't allowed to move around normally quickly develop unhealthy cellular change.

Adults spend 9+ hours per day in sedentary activities: work, commuting, playing video games, reading, Internetting, watching videos.

You've got to move your body or lose it! Fidgeters are delighted by this news. For those that like to couch potato it or sit in front of a computer for hours, you have to strategize a little. The good thing is that you can counteract sitting by adding as much movement into your day as you can.

What to do - Move Your Body

1. Exercise. Even though sitting is bad, it's still important to exercise.
2. Identify the times that you spend time sitting. It might be at work, commuting, or watching TV.
3. Try to get up once or twice an hour when sitting to pace around. Set an alarm. You can also get a desk that allows you to stand instead of sit.
4. Combine TV watching with household chores. "Home activities" like cleaning, straightening, and changing lightbulbs require more energy than sitting.
5. Make your commute active. Walk or bike to work and to do chores. Stand on the train. Park as far away from the entrance as possible.

Want to learn more?

• The Men Who Stare At Screens, NYT 
• Sitting Disease
• Mindul Exercise
• Standing Desk

What I ate: blueberries, cherries, strawberries, tomatos, 24 oz. coconut water, 16 oz. vegetable juice, milk, acai juice, Raw Milk Cheddar NYCheese, mahon cheese, whole wheat fusilli+heirloom tomatoes+garlic scape+basil+parmesan, Mindful Mix (macadamias, almonds, walnuts, goji berries, cranberries), 4 slice dried mangos,  Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip ice cream, 40 oz. water

Exercise: Ran 8 miles

What You Can Do About Antibiotic Use in Animals

Industrial pig farm. Photo via honestmeat.com

There's a better way to do it. Find it! ~Thomas Edison

One of the problems with industrial farming is the use of antibiotics. 70% of antibiotics in the U.S. go to the animals. Unlike human use, industrial farmers feed it to their animals daily to prevent sickness and accelerate growth. That's like feeding your kids antibiotics every day (for the rest of their lives) as soon as they start nursery school so you can 1) fit more kids in a class and 2) prevent them all from catching each others' colds. Yup, that's crazy. BUT, you can do something about it! This overactive drugging impacts you because:

• It creates superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics (like MRSA). Bacteria become exposed to antibiotics, and then the ones that survive are no longer resistant. It's kind of like a vaccine for bugs.
• You end up drinking antibiotics. The drugs end up as runoff in land and water. There are more and more drugs showing up in our water supply. If I want any, I'd rather take it myself, thanks.
• You can end up eating antibiotics. If the meat or milk you ingest was fed antibiotics, it can end up in you. Yuck.
• Farm workers are getting sick from handling animals. They end up with infections that are drug-resistant (like MRSA). That's sad. 

It's taken a while, but the government is beginning to agree it's crazy. The Department of Agriculture, FDA and Center for Disease Control are all urging farmers to stop feeding antibiotics to their animals. There are hearings on Capitol Hill this week, and a draft bill in Congress banning the use of antibiotics in healthy animals. The farm industry is fighting back hard since the drugs allow them to cram more animals in a small area, and the animals also grow faster with the drugs. It will take years before any laws are actually enacted, but you can impact them and you can avoid antibiotics in your food now.

What to do - Avoid Animal Antibiotics

1. Buy responsibly produced meat, dairy and eggs. Look for labels that say grass-fed, pasture-fed, free-range or organic. You can buy directly from growers at farmer's markets, where you can ask if they use antibiotics, or just ask the butcher how the animals are grown.
2. Don't eat industrially-produced meat at restaurants. Ask your waiter what farms the animals are from - are they from responsible farms or raised industrially?
3. Contact your Congressmen and tell them to support the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA). Here's an easy way to act on PAMTA.

Want to learn more?

• What is industrial farming? (Mindful Eats)
• CBS News on guidelines for antibiotic usage in animals
• CBS News on impact of antibiotics in animals
• Pew Campaign on saving antibiotics
• WebMD on MRSA

What I ate: blueberries, cherries, strawberries, tomato, Teas Tea white tea, chocolate milk, 1 latte, Seeds of Change rice pilaf, raw milk cheddar NYCheese, sauteed salmon + rainbow chard, brown rice, seaweed, Mindful Mix (macadamias, almonds, walnuts, goji berries, cranberries), 1 slice dried mangos,  Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Half-Baked ice cream, 40 oz. water

Exercise: ran 4 miles, 60 min vinyassa yoga