Category Archives: Diet And Food

Bhima Sheridan, Ariella Granett, Nishanga Bliss and Betsy Thagard organize the no-fly campaign in south Berkeley. Photo: Daphne White

It has taken a surprisingly long time for the Swedish no-fly movement also known as flight shaming to arrive in the U.S. But perhaps its no surprise that Berkeley is the place where the fledgling movement has finally landed. Geographically, Berkeley is just about as far as you can get from Sweden and still be on the U.S. mainland; ideologically, the two are much closer.

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen who recently took a solar-powered sailboat across the Atlantic to avoid flying, was an inspiration for Flight Free USA. But so was the seventh grade son of the groups co-founders, Ariella Granett and Bhima Sheridan.

I was really awakened when my son came home recently and said: By 2030, the world will be uninhabitable, said Granett. It was really unsettling to hear your child say that.

It was really unsettling to hear your child say that by 2030 the world will be uninhabitable. Ariella Granett

I was drawn to this movement when I learned that jet fuel is a big part of our carbon footprint, and much of that footprint is for pleasure trips, added Sheridan. It is shocking that the carbon emission of one seat on a cross-country flight from San Francisco to New York and back is 1.6 tons. At the same time, there are 66 countries in the world where the average person uses less than 1.6 tons of carbon in one year! (You can calculate your carbon footprint.)

Reducing flight miles has a dramatically larger impact on the environment than other actions such driving electric vehicles, using solar power, recycling or eating a vegetable-based diet.

One persons share of jet fuel on a cross-country flight would wipe out a years worth of other environmental efforts, Sheridan said.

And so the couple decided to contact Swedish climate activist Maja Rosn, who co-founded We Stay On the Ground in 2018. The goal of Rosns group is to raise awareness of the impact of flying on climate change, and to persuade people to reduce emissions by staying on the ground.

Over a series of emails in August, Rosn suggested that the couple start an affiliate organization in the U.S. America is now the eighth country to join the no-fly movement: Sweden, Denmark, the U.K, Belgium, France, Germany and Canada have already organized. Several other Americans contacted Rosn shortly after the Berkeley couple did, and they became regional coordinators for Flight Free USA. The group would like to have 50 state coordinators by the end of 2020.

The goal of each no-fly group is to convince 100,000 citizens in their own country to pledge not to take any flights in 2020.

We want to move the needle, and this feels like a manageable change, Sheridan said. If you ask people never to fly again, its too big of an ask. But even if you live here and have family on the East Coast, one year feels manageable. If you cant be with the one you love, Skype, Sheridan joked. He and his wife consider themselves seasoned travelers, but they have pledged to forgo flying in 2020 and the foreseeable future.

For those who cant commit to a whole year without flying, Granett and Sheridan suggest a flight diet consciously reducing the number of airplane trips in any given year. This may be easier for people who travel for vacation than those who travel for work, especially in a country whose rail system is not nearly as developed as that of Europe.

However, Fly Free USA was preceded by another California-based organization aimed specifically at academics. Many academics, including earth scientists, have large climate footprints dominated by flying, states the website of No Fly Climate Science (NoFlyClimateSci). Meanwhile, colleges and universities ostensibly exist to make a better future, especially for young people. We want our institutions to live up to that promise. Several universities have signed on, but UC Berkeley is not yet one of them.

One-third of all air traffic globally takes place in the US, and that makes Americans the biggest users of flight miles anywhere.

One-third of all air traffic globally takes place in the United States, and that makes Americansthe biggest users of flight miles anywhere.

About 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions are from traveling, including flights, hotels, food and sundries, according to Arunima Malik,a researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia who studies the carbon footprint of tourism.

Flying is also the fastest growing cause of climate change, according to the Flight Free USA site. If aviation was a country, it would be the seventh worst polluter globally, according to the group. In 2017airlines carried 4.1 billion passengers, and this is set to rise to more than 8.2 billion by 2037. At the same time, climate scientists are warning that we have less than 10 years to make a significant reduction in our carbon emissions in order to avoid catastrophic climate change.

In Sweden, the no-fly effort has already shown measurable results. Air passenger traffic was down 3.8% in the first six months of 2019 compared with the previous year, according to The Washington Post. Train travel has increased by one third during the same period. As a result, Swedish leaders already announced they would inject new cash into the national rail company, according to the Post.

And the movement, only a few years old, has already spawned new Swedish words including flygskam (flying shame), tagskryt (train bragging), and smygflyga (flying in secret).

We dont want to shame people, but we do want to get them to think twice about flying, said Flight Free volunteer Betsy Thagard. I am a lifelong environmentalist, and I want to have grandchildren. But my children are both hemming and hawing about having babies, because they are so worried about their future.

I love nature, but last year I realized that my flying to beautiful places in nature was actually destroying them, added Nishanga Bliss, another volunteer. I went to the Swiss Alps, but I realized that the Sierras are beautiful, too. I love traveling, but this year I am going to stay closer to home. Im going to take the train: it will be slow travel, like slow food.

Granett went a step further. She is an architect who used to travel all over the country for work, but as a result of her new activism, she switched jobs and now works for an Oakland firm that only works locally.

I was doing very creative work, and it was a difficult choice, she said. But I couldnt reconcile wanting to curb my carbon footprint while flying off for work all the time.As it happens, the Swedish no-fly movement took off after Thunbergs mother, a well-known opera singer, announced that she would no longer fly to give concerts.

Granett does not subscribe to the newly popular practice of buying carbon offsets to mitigate the effects of flying.

When you fly, you are doing immediate damage, she said. We dont have time for the trees to draw down the carbon. Its going to be stuck in the atmosphere for 20 to 200 years. I think carbon offsets are like greenwashing they make people feel better, so they can fly even more.

Until recently, Granett said she was in denial about climate change.

I didnt think there was anything I could do about it, personally, she said. But the day my son came home from school and said, The world is going to end thats how he heard it I was inspired to lead by example.

The Flight Free USA leadership is a motley crew: Granett is an architect, her husband and Thagard are real estate agents, and Bliss is an acupuncturist. They have been active in a number of local nonprofits Granett and Thagard co-founded South Berkeley Now! but none of them have run a national grassroots organization before.

Fly Free USA started in the last few days of August, and is still based in Granett and Sheridans dining room. It does not have tax-free status yet.

We are literally a mom-and-pop, all-volunteer grassroots group, Sheridan said. We use our own checkbook to print flyers, but volunteers chipped in money for the t-shirts.

The group is looking for volunteers both in Berkeley and nationally to help them spread the word.

If you can organize a pot luck or a hiking trip, you can organize for climate change: its the same skill set, said Bliss.

I believe what Margaret Meade said about a small number of committed individuals being able to change the world, Sheridan added.

And Granett is inspired by the many volunteers she has already connected with across the US and around the world, all working to reduce their carbon footprint by flying less.

I have made all these connections from my own living room, she said. I didnt need to travel anywhere.

(Featured photo: Creative Commons Zero)

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Please don't fly in 2020: From Sweden to Berkeley, the 'flight shaming' movement takes off - Berkeleyside

Today, a new book called Girls Who Run the World hits real and virtual bookshelves, and for anyone with a middle-school aged kid or looking to inspire a high-schooler, it might be worth checking out. Featuring 31 women who are the CEOs of companies that they have created themselves think Spanx, Glossier, Caribou Sciences and Stitch Fix each of their stories underscores that dreams sometimes can be made into reality when you want something badly enough.

We talked yesterday with the books author, Diana Kapp, a longtime essayist (with an MBA from Stanford) who authored the book in part to encourage her own teenage daughter to pursue her passions while making clear there will be obstacles, always, to overcome.

TC: You have an interesting and fairly broad mix of powerful women in this book. How did you choose who to profile?

DK: I went after stories that are compelling and innovative, while trying to ensure that not every woman has a degree from either Stanford or MIT. I picked Anne Wojcicki because shes a pioneer in the field of DNA testing. Nina Tandon of Epibone is working on growing artificial bones that can be put into the body. Christina Stembell of Farmgirl Flowers grew up on a farm and never went to college. Tracy Young was a construction project engineer who wound up selling her company to Autodesk. I could have written about 200 more women; there are so many good stories that are just not told.

TC: How much time did you spend with each of them?

DK: It really varied. I met some in person, like Tina Sharkey of Brandless and Christina (Stembell) and Kara Goldin of Hint Water. I interviewed a lot of them on the phone. I really wanted to tell the story of them taking an idea and having the guts to trust their own instincts and go after that idea, despite a lot of naysaying and difficulty fundraising. People thought Stitch Fix was an inventory nightmare, for example. At Minted, founder and CEO Mariam Naficy opened her online stationary store and not a single box sold for the first 40 days.

TC: Of the women you interviewed, who overcame the most?

DK: I love the story of Jesse Genet of Lumi, who became obsessed with screen printing in high school and would use every birthday to ask for some esoteric piece of printing equipment, finding out along the way about some light-activated agent that you could use for printing and driving six hours to get this product out of someones basement. Today, her company provides packaging to a growing number of consumer companies, from Rockets of Awesome to Blue Bottle Coffee, and I think shes just brilliant.

Jennifer Hyman and Jenny Fleiss bought 100 dresses in their own sizes in case [Rent the Runway] didnt work. Katrina Lake similarly bought clothes on her credit card, then sent them to friends and used paper and pencil to mark down feedback before hiring a TaskRabbit to help track that data. Whats important about all of these stories is that these women took steps that others can take, too. They started with tiny pilot programs. They arent the kids of entrepreneurs. They werent preordained to start companies. And while I might read about them in Fast Company or listen to podcasts about them, my 14-year-old doesnt. I think its important for kids to learn about people who would not take no for an answer, who got turned down by 40 VCs and kept pitching.

TC: You mentioned that you tried featuring women of different backgrounds. What were some of the unifying threads between them?

DK: One thing that does connect them is parents who ditched the idea of perfectionism. They let their girls take their own path. [PopSugar founder and president] Lisa Sugars parents let her stay up because she was obsessed with late-night TV, and thats how she got into being a pop culture critic and wound up launching a blog that had a million readers within a year. Sara Blakely of Spanx told me her dad didnt care what other people thought of him, which was a powerful idea for a kid to be marinating in; it gave her more freedom to be herself and to take her own path. Jesse [Genet] realized if she took two classes after the summer of her junior year in high school, she could graduate early and take her T-shirt printing business to LA, where she had data on the number of shops per block, and when she pitched her parents on these ideas, they listened to her. They let her take a non-traditional path.

TC: Did any or many of these founders take time off to raise their children?

DK: I dont know that they took time off, but 18 of the 31 have children, and 10 of them have three or four children, so theyre managing to have big families. Katia Beauchamp ran Birchbox while on bedrest with her fourth child. SoulCycles founders brought their daughters to the studios they were opening up and had them pitch in. Kara Goldin, who was inspired to start her company after working in the software industry and gaining weight and drinking too much Diet Coke, really wanted to get [sales] going in Whole Foods before getting induced with her second child, so she brought bottles over to a local store [en route to the hospital]. When the stock guy called the next day to tell her all the cases were gone, she thought theyd been stolen.

Im sure that like every parent, they feel the pull to spend time with their kids, but they are so turned on by what they are doing. You dont [start a company] unless you have incredible passion for your idea because its so hard. And I love that they are having children but still chasing after something thats meaningful to them and that they think society really needs. I think thats a fantastic model for children.

TC: Were the people youve profiled helped by other women along the way? Is that an important piece of their stories?

DK: There is a lot of support going on; they definitely have a network. Many sit on each others boards or advisory committees. Katrina Lake is on Emily Weisss board [at Glossier]. Some of them sit on the board of [former model] Christy Turlingtons organization, Every Mother Counts.

Leslie Blodgett, who sold her company Bare Escentuals to Shiseido [in 2010 for $1.7 billion] is funding other women. Shes also now a student at Stanford and writing a book. She wants to have another chapter.

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Thirty-one women who run the world and what can be learned from them - TechCrunch

A super slimming mum-of-two has told how she shed six stone in 12 months transforming not just her life but the lives of her family as well.

Cathriona Tobin from Rhode, Co Offaly went from 16st 9lbs to 10st 9lbs after joining Slimming World in 2016 and is now a svelte size 10-12.

And thanks to her new healthier eating plan, her partner Philip and son Jack have also lost weight.

It has really worked out for the whole family. she said.

My son was 11 or 12 at the time and was getting bullied in school over his weight.

Because I started cooking healthier food, he was down to his age group in clothes sizes by the time his Confirmation came around and my partner had lost three stone.

Cathriona said it was important for her to find an eating plan that fit into her lifestyle.

I couldnt go on a diet where everything had to change, she said.

I needed to make it work around my family and we could still enjoy the foods that we were used to eating.

Like any family we would enjoy a takeaway on a Friday night. With Slimming World we didnt have to cut that out we just made a fakeaway at home instead.

The main thing was changing the way I cooked, making more meals from scratch instead of buying sauces and processed food.

Cathriona, who is now a Slimming World consultant, revealed she had struggled with her weight since she was a child.

I was always a big child, she said.

Then as I got older it was a vicious cycle I knew I needed to lose weight, but I would feel down about myself and comfort eat instead.

Food was like an instant hug it never asked any questions.

She stopped needing to comfort eat when she finally saw the weight starting to fall off, and found a new confidence in herself.

I was a stay-at-home mum and lucky to be one for as long as I was, but between the school run and the weight I felt like I had lost my identity, she admitted.

I was Jesss mammy, I was Jacks mammy. I wasnt Cathriona any more.

I was a very quiet person, you wouldnt hear a peep out of me unless it was to make a joke about my weight before anyone else could get in there.

I shied away from people and social events because my weight held me back.

But as I started to lose weight every week, I gained more and more confidence.

While Cathriona would have been more comfortable sitting on the sidelines before her weight loss, now shes front and centre.

My daughter was only three when I joined Slimming World, and to be honest I was struggling to keep up with her, she went on.

Now Im not the mammy at the edge of the swimming pool with a magazine, or the one opting out of the parents races at our local farm.

Im right there in the pool, Im the first one to sign up for the race.

Cathrionas advice for anyone struggling to lose weight is not to go it alone.

Get help, she said.

Find your nearest Slimming World group, get in contact with a consultant.

It can be a bit daunting to walk through the door but you wont regret it.

She added: Your weight doesnt define you but it can be life-changing when it comes off.

Losing weight has changed my life and I wouldnt like to see where I would be now if I hadnt joined Slimming World.

Excerpt from:
Irish mum-of-two on how she shed six stone in 12 months - Irish Mirror

There's no question that Sterling K. Brown, aka Randall on This Is Us (now in its fourth season) is one of America's favorite actors of the moment. Not only do fans hardcore ship his fictional relationship with Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), but his real life love story with wife Ryan Michelle Bathe is pretty romantic, too. Not to mention the obvious: The guy is pretty easy on the eyes.

One of the keys to the 43-year-old's apparent perfection? As revealed in a recent profile for Men's Health, he takes physical fitness and self-care incredibly seriouslyand for good reason. The actor revealed that when he was just 10 years old, his father died of a diabetes-induced heart attack at age 45. The Black Panther star added that no man in his immediate family has lived past the age of 65.

He continued, "I think when Pops passed, I had sort of a recognition of the fact that 45 was young...So I try to do things as proactively as possible to ensure that Im around to see my childrens children and be of value to them when they come into the world."

Because of his family history, the A-lister and father of two sons made a goal to live until he's 100 years old. What does he do to accomplish this? Apparently plenty of basketball, daily exercise, calisthenics, and 20 minutes of meditation a day. As far as his diet, he eats a lot of grains and greens. Oh, and did we mention that each year he honors his birthday with a 10 mile run? The guy is clearly committed.

"Theres so much to live for, and I dont want to sell myself short by thinking I dont have a right to longevity and vitality any more or less than anyone else, he said.

Our advice to Brown? Keep doing what you're doingbecause as anyone with eyes can see, the results of his hard work are clearly paying off.

To read the entire interview, head over to MensHealth.com.

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Sterling K. Brown Says His Father's Death at 45 Inspired Him to Try to Live to 100 - Oprah Mag

Photo by Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

Studies regarding nutritional recommendations are notoriously difficult. As there are so many variables that need to be factored in, including lifestyle, environment, and genetics, its challenging to tease out any dietary habit as having a direct relationship to good health or bad. Many try to do it, but most of these seemingly absolute recommendations are buried in an advertisement for whats being studied. Blueberries anyone? Just ask the makers of blueberry extract. A general rule is to steer clear of any dietary recommendation from a source that sells said food, supplement, diet plan, or powder. In those situations, its pretty easy to see the conflict of interest, so buyer beware.

But when a peer-reviewed study is published in a highly acclaimed academic journal such as the Annals of Internal Medicine, which certainly doesnt have a side gig promoting juice cleanses, rosemary-sage lotion, or turmeric tea, even the most discerning skeptic will take it as real. A peer-reviewed journal is one that only publishes articles that have been vetted by multiple unpaid reviewers who are considered to be experts in the articles specific area of study, and each article must be reviewed and approved by at least one major editor on the journals editorial board. Very large studies also need to be carefully scrutinized by the Editor-in-chief.

The Annals of Internal Medicine has over 150,000 subscribers, which is one of the highest numbers for an academic journal. They have one of the highest impact factors of any academic journal, a metric of how often articles published in a particular journal are cited in other journals. Over 18,000 reviewers contribute their input to the peer review process of the Annals. This review process is rigorous, as less than 8% of articles submitted actually make it to publication.

One of the requirements of all reviewers and editors on any academic journal board is that they disclose any conflict of interest they have, each time they review any article. This includes describing any connection to commercial entities related (or even unrelated) to the article reviewed, or any personal or professional connection to the authors. Perhaps even more critical is that authors need to disclose any financial relationship to companies that may be even remotely related to their work.

Pile of banknotes of one hundred dollars. Selective focus. Closeup. Background

And more important than reviewers and editors disclosing any commercial relationships indicating conflict of interest, the authors relationships absolutely need to be disclosed to any reader in a specified section of the article. Commercial and/or financial relationship does not necessarily negate the value of the study altogether, nor does it mean that it shouldnt be published. However, it provides transparency to the reader regarding any potential bias in the work.

On October 1, 2019, the Annals of Internal Medicine published updated clinical guidelines regarding red meat and processed meat consumption. In essence, the authors found no health benefits to reducing either processed or unprocessed meat consumption. This was contrary to nearly all study recommendations and national dietary recommendations put forth in the prior several decades. Cue the red flags.

Dried Peppered Beef Jerky Cut in Strips

As mentioned above, nutritional studies are notoriously challenging, as there are so many confounding factors, including self-reporting bias, lifestyle variables, difficulty with follow-up measures, genetics, and environmental factors altering veracity of the data. One factor that shouldnt be a factor at all is the veracity of the authors words, especially when it comes to disclosure statements. In this study, suggesting that reducing red meat consumption is not necessarily beneficial for health, the authors did not disclose any conflicts of interest. As this study was counter to nearly every nutritional study in the recent past, all of which showed some degree of evidence that red meat consumption is harmful to cardiovascular health, and additives to processed meat are potentially carcinogenic, not to mention extremely high in sodium, this study was what some would call groundbreaking. Others would call it suspect.

And so began a little digging on the authors relationships. It didnt take long to find that, indeed, some of the authors, notably the lead author, did not disclose relationships to organizations connected to the meat industry. For one, the research consortium responsible for work on the study is supported by a section of Texas A&M University which is partially funded by the beef industry. Dr. Michael Wilkes, host of NPR Sundays Second Opinion, discussed other conflicting relationships not disclosed by the authors, including support by the International Life Sciences Institute, which is funded by some little-known companies such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and Nestle. He also voiced concern that not only was it unethical that the authors did not disclose relationships to the meat industry, it was irresponsible of the editors to gloss over the authors lack of disclosing such relationships.

In this day and age of click bait by celebrity endorsements, wellness products, diet scams, and weight loss promises, the last vestige of integrity remained academic publications. The public (and those in academia) are rightly perturbed by this sudden flip flop, as they should be.

Just when weve begun to get wise to health scams from folks hawking their wares, we are now faced with questioning some of the highest quality academic journals, which, to date, had been the last bastion of unbiased presentation of new information.

Cost-benefits sign

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Whats The Beef On Red Meat? - Forbes

On Monday, California made it legal for people who fatally hit an animal in the road to take it home to eat. The law only applies to certain animals deer, elk, pronghorn antelopes or wild pigs and the perpetrator must apply for a wildlife salvage permit within 24 hours in order to legally move the animal.

California is the 29th US state to enact such a law; many US states have been happily serving up roadkill for years. In West Virginia, there is even an annual roadkill festival, where local chefs compete with their best roadkill recipes.

We spoke to an expert to answer all the burning questions people may have about roadkill as a dinner entre.

This depends on a few things, according to chef Doug Paine, who ran a popular roadkill supper club in Vermont. His first tip is to avoid already dead animals. Dont drive up to dead animals and pick them up, he says, adding: If the animal is injured or dying at least you know how long it has been there.

(Anyone who finds an animal should notify officials first, to make sure of what the regulations are in your area around harvesting roadkill, or to see if it can be saved.)

If it is safe and legal for you to eat, you will need to cook it within 12 hours so it doesnt begin to spoil.

Paine says that anyone with a basic understanding of food safety can prepare roadkill fairly simply. His definition, however, includes gutting, dressing and hanging the roadkill, so dont attempt it without some basic butchery skills.

If you are unsure, take it to a butcher: Most butchers are familiar with wild game, but you can also scout around online for speciality meat processors if youre nervous about that, he says.

There are many good things you can eat off the side of the road and much of it is better quality than what you would get in the store.

Any wild venison or moose meat is far superior in flavor to commercially grown meats because they have a naturally organic diet, explains Paine. In the US particularly, mass-produced meat is fairly mild because people are put off by stronger flavors like grass-fed beef or mutton, he adds.

Roadkill, on the other hand, is pretty much the most organic you can get the animal hasnt been reared in poor conditions or factory farmed, and it has survived on an organic diet, resulting in a rich and complex flavor, according to Paine.

The best thing hes eaten? For us the most surprising was black bear. Its really quite tasty, like a darker pork with a little more red meat. We made some nice sausage out of it, says Paine. (Youre perhaps best advised not to go out looking for that one.)

There dont seem to be any clear guidelines about animals that you cant eat, although many people are against eating household pets such as cats or dogs.

Paine does, however, know of a specific animal which is not that tasty: We tried muskrat once, and it wasnt particularly great. It had a flavor like a cross between turkey and tuna fish. It was very strange, he says.

Studies suggest the most environmentally friendly diet is a vegan one, but for those hell-bent on eating meat, roadkill could be a more ethically conscious alternative.

The animal rights campaign group Peta supports eating roadkill over eating meat prepared in slaughterhouses.

Peta has no ethical objection to laws that allow the collection of an animals remains discovered on the side of the road. While the best thing for animals, the environment, and human health is to go vegan, roadkill is certainly a superior option to the neatly shrink-wrapped packages of meat in the supermarket, which contain the corpses of animals who spent their lives on a filthy feedlot and were crammed on to a transport truck and whose throats were slit in a terrifying slaughterhouse, a Peta representative said.

There are 29 states (now including California) where you can eat roadkill, and some even have roadkill eating attractions.

But you should approach with caution: the laws around harvesting roadkill differ by state. For example, in some there is a legal requirement to have a permit or to submit your roadkill for inspection first; in others there are certain animals you cant eat depending on the time of the year. Always check the official guidance in your state first.

Paines easy recipe for bear chilli is laid out below, although were betting you can use a substitute if you dont happen to stumble upon any wild bear.

Ground bear meat 1lb

Chopped bacon lb

1/2 a chopped onion

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 chopped fresh tomato

Lime juice 1/4 cup

Chopped cilantro 2 tablespoons

Chopped garlic 1 tablespoon

Cocoa powder 1 tablespoon

Dried chilli or chilli powder 2 tablespoons

Maple syrup 1/4 cup

Red wine 1 cup

Salt 1 teaspoons

Tomato juice 1 cup

1 cinnamon stick

Method

Original post:
How to eat roadkill: everything you need to know - The Guardian

Two Roombas roll past the metal shelves, humming over the soothing music playing in the fairly small growing room. A big neon sign glows overhead. On shelves, green shoots pop out of black trays. Everyone who passes through the room wears aprons and gloves to comply with regulations. Welcome to Micro Pharms.

The small business grows and sells microgreens locally, specializing in more than 20 types of the small herbs. Micro Pharms is USDA certified, and also certified naturally grown, which means no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or GMOS are used.

The products range from micro kale to radish shoots to amaranth. Each tray is germinated in covered cases, and then grown for about seven to 14 days before being harvested and packaged. The room is kept warm, and the water used for the plants filtered before use.

Christopher Phamowner, founder and sole employeestarted Micro Pharms about five months ago when he decided to start eating healthier and had trouble finding microgreens in the Baton Rouge area.

I wanted to change how I live and how my diet is, Pham says. Then I started growing it for a few friends, started growing it for chefs around town, and started growing it for retailers.

Right now, he sells about 30 trays a week, packing them into containers of two servings each. The packaging is his own design, keeping with a theme of cute baby microgreens. Pham is also currently working with Rouses and Southside Produce Market, hoping to expand his reach.

Since he started, he has been working both at the shop and at his day job as a car salesman. While its a little challenging to do both, he says its all about the hustle, really. He enjoys being with the plants.

Basically coming here and being with the plants, its my little sanctuary, he says.

He walks around the room and points out all the different sproutings, talking about the flavors of chives, pulling out some packages of microgreens from the freezer. One favorite is amaranth, the bright pink grain pictured on his logo. Hes also growing edible flowers, which take longer than microgreens.

This new space, which hes only been in for a month, is already decorated with large prints created by Phams sister, who is an artist.

Pham says he saw the microgreens trend first in New Orleans, and wanted to bring it back to Baton Rouge when he realized how difficult they were to find here.

Theres not that many places that grow it here, so it was hard to get them, Pham says. With me here in the middle of Baton Rouge, I can just hand them out to customers, easy peasy for them.

One of the more unusual uses of his products comes from the restaurant Wing Fingers in Lafayette, which puts radish shoots from Micro Pharms on top of its hot wings. Locally, you can find the Micro Pharms greens in dishes at places like Soji: Modern Asian and Umami Japanese Bistro.

For the most part, Pham says people buy his produce because they want fresh, healthy greens.

If you want to pick up some greens or see him in action, Pham will be making magic noodles, which are noodles colored a bright blue by pea flowers, at the Oct. 16 Night Market at Soji: Modern Asian.

Find Micro Pharms here and on Instagram.

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The new Micro Pharms puts the finishing touch on local dishes with its tiny greens - 225 Baton Rouge

Image Credit: pexels

When your energy is low, you might be tempted to reach for a cup of coffee or a handful of candy for a quick boost.

Try something a little different. The whole point of superfoods is to buildimmunity, extendlife and preventcancer.

Some of the superfoods listed here are designed to release energy slowly throughout your body, in order to keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Here is your guide to some of the best snacksfor you to enjoy, in order to stay energized all throughout the day.

1. Eggs

Eggs are a no brainer. They are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet and are very high in protein and good fats. Eggs are great way to stay fuller for longer and they taste delicious. They have no sugar and 1g of carbohydrate per egg, which is perfect for the health conscious.

Make ahead of time: Try scrambled eggs with spinach and feta wrapped in a whole grain protein wrap.

2. Avocados

This incredibly nutritious fruit, should be a go-to when you are hungry. I once had a teacher, who was diagnosed with cancer. She was told by her doctor to have one avocado a day for a boost in immunity. Avocados also adda rich texture and flavour to any dish and are very high in fibre. Fibres are indigestible plant matters that can greatly contribute to weight loss and also reduce blood sugar spikes. Another benefit is that they keep you full for longer, so energy is released slowly throughout the day.

Why not try a mashed avocado with parmesan cheese on wholewheat toast with some baby tomatoes?

3. Bran Muffins

Bran is super high in fibre and a really versatile grain. It keeps things moving in your body and contributes to a healthy and filling diet, that is bound to keep the hunger at bay during the long working days.

Bran muffins are great, because they can be made in batches and eaten several times a week. You can also freeze the batter for later use.

Why not add more nutrients, by making a banana bran muffin tray?

4. Almond Butter

Almond butter is the new peanut butter. Packed with tons of vitamin E, an aid to help lower cholesterol, this spread can boost heart health, is high in nutrients and tastes delicious. The University of Massachusetts Medical School recommends almonds as one of the nuts that should appear most frequently in your diet. Aside from all these great health benefits, almond butter is also a great food that keeps you full throughout the day.

Why not try almond butter, spread on a whole wheat toast with slices of bananas? Or spread it on some apples for a low carb option.

5. Fava Beans

Many Arabs will be familiar with the Fava bean, commonly known as Foul. Fava beans, are small, green-colored beans, that are a deep brown once cooked. They are quite prevalent in the UAE, as you can buy them canned and seasoned from any supermarket. This nutrient-rich legume is quite high in protein and fiber (our two superstars). This bean is also low in fat and is an excellent food source of many nutrients essential for human health. They are delicious, when seasoned and can be enjoyed with a side of eggs, cheese or bread.

Why not try a traditional Foul Mudammas?

6. Greek Yoghurt

Greek yoghurt has got the power of protein on its side. This deliciously creamy and very healthy ingredient is a perfect way to prep for a day of fasting. Greek yogurt is also packed with probiotics and has double the amount of protein as regular yogurt. That extra bit of protein is what will help you feel full satisfied. Greek yoghurt is low in carbohydrates, which means you won't get a sugar spike.

My nutritionist recommends to add some fat to your yoghurt to bring the sugar even lower. So add a spoon of almond butter to the pot.

7. Smoked Salmon

This pink goodness has been an important part of human nutrition since the stone age. Salmon is an essential part of a healthy paleo diet, as it is an excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals. Salmon is also known for its omega-3 fatty acids, which is an essential fatty acid that the body cannot make it itself and must be obtained from an outisde source, to contribute to healthy brain function.

Why not try poached eggs, avocado and smoked salmon on a wholewheat english muffin?

8. Quinoa

Quinoa is one of the worlds most loved health foods, because it is gluten free, high in protein and has all of the essential amino acids. It is also usually grown organically, which has really helped it gain its popularity as a superfood. Its versatility is really great too, as it goes well with a lot of other ingredients, allowing you to enjoy it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It keeps you full for a long time, which is great way to help you get through your days of fasting this ramadan. Make sure you pair it with a protein, to decrease the sugar spike in your body.

9. Peanut butter

Although typically associated with elementary school lunches, peanut butter is a deliciously creamy ingredient that is high in protein and keeps you feeling full. This versatile spread is also very good for your health. The healthy oils in peanut butter help with weight loss and diabetes. Peanut butter is also full of the heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Thats the kind of fat you need to eat to lose that stubborn belly. Make sure you buy the expensive kind though, that does not have any added sugar in it.

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9 super foods that keep you full and energized all day long - Gulf News

Ottawa social worker Elaine Birchall can tell you all about people who keep way too much stuff, how youll know if youre one of them and what to do about it.

There are a lot of misconceptions about hoarding, starting with the one that those who hoard are survivors of the Depression or other deep deprivation.

Not true, says Birchall. While there is such as thing as adaptive hoarding people who acquire and save things because they know theyll need them the other kind is maladaptive or compulsive hoarding. Whatever that person intended to do with all those things, that has broken down.

Some of the nicest people I know are people who hoard, said Birchall, the founder of the Canadian National Hoarding Coalition, who has since trained mental health professional health professionals across North America. Her book, Conquer the Clutter, was published this month.

One of those is Lucy, an Ottawa woman who ended up the curator of the possessions of seven family members after they died and couldnt bear to part with any of it without total anguish. That included seven sets of china.

Every piece of china had been passed own to me in a custodial manner. And I was to hold it in the same esteem, said Lucy. I got to the point where I couldnt deal with it.

Birchall has worked more than 600 people who hoard. Her book, Conquer the Clutter, includes examples of interventions and therapeutic plans for some of the clients she and her clutter coaches have worked with.

Spoiler alert: Its not always happily-ever-after. Lucy is now down to four sets of china. Its a work in progress, she said.

Birchall was hired as a social worker with Ottawa Public Health in 2002 and tasked with continuing the research the municipal agency had started about a new type of referral. No one quite understood what it was. It felt different. Ottawa Public Health wanted to know what they were dealing with, said Birchall./

She went into private practice in 2007 and founded Birchall Consulting to work as a hoarding behaviour and intervention specialist.

Hoarding affects so many municipal departments fire, police, bylaw and public housing, to name a few. It was a lot bigger than anything we ever imagined. I was getting calls from the fire marshals office in Toronto. Hoarding has a direct correlation to homelessness and the risk of homelessness, she said. Not every hoarding situation is that severe. But it is a compulsive disorder.

About 15 years ago, researchers believed that one or two per cent of the population hoarded. It used to be considered a syndrome of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but became a distinct disorder in its own right in the DSM-5, the diagnostic manual of psychiatric disorders, in 2013.

Now were talking about five or six per cent. But that cant be accurate. I cant go anywhere without someone self-identifying as hoarding, or telling me theyre worried about someone. Even if its only five or six per cent, we need better research, said Birchall.

There are three paths that put people at higher risk of hoarding behaviour. One of these is genetic. Research shows that 84 per cent of people with obsessive compulsive disorder who hoard have a mother, father, sister or brother who also hoards, said Birchall. Then you add the power of modelling behaviour. When children grow up in a very cluttered, chaotic environment, they either react with extreme minimalism or they cant find the skills to simplify their lives.

The second path is having a high-risk co-morbid factor like depression, social isolation or an addiction. It makes it more difficult for people to manage.

The third path is for those are even mildly disorganized, then becoming vulnerable and overwhelmed. It could be a major event, like a death in the family or a health crisis, or a series of smaller events. Sometimes people acquire and save things to soothe themselves. In other cases, they compartmentalize their lives. They go to work and pretend that everything is fine, but they go home to a hoarded house. Theres a whole section in the book on online shopping, said Birchall.

Birchall decided to write Conquer the Clutter because she believes those who struggle with such a private, personal challenge as hoarding disorder have credibility. I wanted a legacy of the last 18 years of what I had learned professionally, and what I had been taught by my clients.

Among them was a couple who decided to surrender their three boys to child protective services because they could not declutter their house to make it safe. Sometimes even the threat of official intervention isnt enough motivation to change.

The most heart-wrenching situations are those when people know that they are not able to resolve the problem, said Birchall.

She often gets asked about Japanese organizing guru Marie Kondos method of tidying up.

The method of choosing things that spark joy is a recipe for disaster for people who hoard. For them, everything sparks joy. There are people who are really motivated by her method and theyre able to maintain it. These are not people who hoard. I had a client who could organize her underwear drawer, but could not apply it to the rest of her home.

In order to change, people have to change their relationship with their things, so they dont use them to cope with something else, said Birchall. She challenges her clients to face their fears, beliefs, fundamental values, things that they had been taught as children and their sentimental attachments to their possessions.

The younger people are when they start the hoarding behaviour, and the longer they engage in the behaviour, the harder they will have to work on their mental processes. At a minimum, I believe people can learn to manage and understand what their triggers are and avoid those triggers. Its like a diet. Sometimes that chocolate cake is going to look really good. The trick is to know yourself and respect yourself, she said.

If you have a one-thing-in-one-thing-out system, then youre not in danger. But some people cant discard things. Were not organizers. I dont do the cleanup unless the person engages in a counselling relationship. I dont shame and blame.

Lucy has been working with Birchall for years.

There was no shame or condemnation, unlike the (Hoarders) TV show. They go in, they blitz it, and they dont deal with the underlying issue, she said.

Lucy has no family to inherit the things that have been entrusted to her. Her way of letting go has been to donate her things, but to choose the charity.

It was a matter of letting it go in stages and not be torn up about it.

(Conquer the Clutter, co-written with Suzanne Cronkwright, is available through Birchall Consulting, Amazon.com through Amazon.ca next month, and Chapters Indigo in the Ottawa area.)

1. Indiscriminate hoarding: These people acquire different kinds of stuff and hold on to it until they are discovered and persuaded to reduce their collections. Given enough time and without treatment, indiscriminate hoarders create personal and public health and safety hazards.

2. Discriminate hoarding: These people accumulate things they see as attractive and valuable. They see themselves as collectors.

3. Combination hoarding: Valued items are mixed up in piles with unimportant things. These people often fail to discard everyday items such as food containers, garbage, newspapers and unused furniture.

4. Hoarding in Diogenes syndrome: Often called senior squalor syndrome, this is a situation featuring extreme neglect, domestic squalor and social isolation as well as apathy. These people are often suspicious and paranoid about public officials.

5. Animal hoarding: These people have so many animals that both human and animal health and safety are compromised.

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Continued here:
She conquers the clutter: Ottawa's Elaine Birchall has written the book on hoarding - Ottawa Citizen

LifestyleWellbeingIrritable and snappy just before lunch? Its not just in your head needing a snack can severely affect your mood, says Ellen Manning

Tuesday, 15th October 2019, 14:45 pm

Most of us have experienced the feeling. You havent eaten, youre irritable, grumpy and cant concentrate. Youre hangry.

Theres science behind it, too. Last year, researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada discovered that feeling angry when youre hungry is due to a sudden drop in glucose levels, which can have a lasting effect on your mood. They studied the impact of such a sharp drop on the emotional behaviour of rats.

One group of rats was injected with a glucose metabolism blocker and put in a specific chamber. Another group was injected with water and put in a different chamber. When the rats were later given the choice of which chamber to go back into, most avoided the one where they had suffered the drop in glucose, or suffered hypoglycaemia. This suggests they recognise that this caused them stress and anxiety, say the researchers.

Hunger and anger can look the same in the brain

Some of the chemical signals that are released when were hungry are the same as when we are angry, explains Sophie Medlin, consultant dietitian and director of CityDietitians. This means that the same pathways in our brains are triggered when were hungry as when were angry, making the two feelings difficult to distinguish between. When our blood sugars drop, these signals are released and we become motivated to find food.

However, Kristen Lindquist, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina, who carried out research into hanger with PhD candidate Jennifer MacCormack, says its a bit more complicated than this. People commonly confuse body states with emotions, such as a rapidly beating heart for anxiety, feelings of hunger for anger, she says.

Lindquist says her research with MacCormack looked at the way context can influence how people interpret those hunger pangs, and what happens to make them manifest themselves as hanger.

Why hanger happens

Hanger occurs when were feeling the sensations associated with being hungry unpleasantness, high energy, a clenched stomach but we are in a context associated with anger. For example, someone criticises us or violates a norm, she says. In those cases, we interpret our bodily feelings as hunger instead of anger. Critically, this doesnt happen just any time youre hungry. The context needs to be right. Our findings show that if youre in a positive or neutral environment you wont feel hanger. You need to have the opportunity to infer that your body state is about anger.

So, if you are suffering from hanger, what actually happens to you? According to Geeta Sidhu-Robb, nutritionist and founder of health foods brand Nosh Detox, hanger can sap our productivity and affect our decision-making and perception of risk as well as our mood.

Our bodies release hormones when we are hungry. These in turn lead to the cravings that we find all too familiar, she says. However, when we are not able to sate our bodys needs, we become fatigued, less enthused and irritable.

Snappy and irritable

It also affects the way we interact, she adds. Hunger makes us snappy and irritable and actually more desperate. In a working environment it is becoming ever more important to sustain healthy professional relationships with colleagues and clients. If you arent feeling yourself, this isnt going to be the case as you take it out on those nearest to you.

There is an unlucky portion of society that is more likely to suffer with hanger. Our anger response is partly dictated by genetics and environmental experiences as well as by hormones, Medlin explains. Men typically release greater levels of the chemicals that trigger anger and have more of the receptors for them, but women may experience different levels of hanger as their hormones fluctuate through their menstrual cycle.

So how do you combat hanger? Sidhu-Robb says there are fixes that can help alleviate symptoms. These include eating fruit to keep cravings at bay as well as drinking water. A final fix is setting a regular eating schedule. Random snacking can confuse our brains into producing hunger hormones irregularly. The body loves rituals and regularity. The more you offer that the happier you and your body will be.

Don't go too long between meals

Medlin agrees, suggesting that people plan meals and snacks that stabilise blood sugars and try to not go too long in between meals. She suggests high-fibre, high-protein foods, as well as lots of vegetables and in general, keeping blood sugars stable.

There is arguably a longer-term benefit to keeping things a bit more stable when it comes to your food. The researchers who carried out tests on rats believed that missing meals regularly could affect your overall mood. PhD student Thomas Horman, who led that study, said poor mood and poor eating could become a vicious cycle.

The general effect of food on our mood and mental health is something to which Dr Sally Bell thinks we should all pay a bit more attention. She has been a doctor for 20 years, and helps people by looking at elements of their life such as food, sleep and movement and encouraging them to make changes that could help. She runs workshops at Hampton Manor in the Midlands, where guests hear about the role food plays in mood while eating a specially designed dinner designed to illustrate some of the points.

When Im dealing with mood issues the first place I will go to is the gut, says Dr Bell. Theres really robust research now that the health of our gut bacteria, our microbiome, is very much linked to mental health issues. And we know that the health of that bacteria and the integrity of that gut lining is influenced by what we eat.

Stopping hunger turning into hanger

For Lindquist, awareness is also key helping you to deal with the way you interpret your feelings of hunger and avoid them turning intohanger.

If youre aware of your emotions, you can short-circuit hanger, perhaps because you can regulate your feelings or recognise that you just need to eat something. People can become more aware of their body sensations, the context that they are in, and how they are interpreting their feelings.

If theyre feeling frustrated while trying to complete a task at work right before lunch, they may just have low blood sugar. Dont have a tense conversation with your spouse while making dinner wait until after youve eaten something.

We know this is the case for little kids, but seem to have forgotten that hunger can make us irritable as adults, too.

Foods to avoid if youre feeling hangry

The best things to eat if youre feeling hangry

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The science behind why we really get 'hangry' before eating and how to prevent it - iNews