September through December is the best time to fertilize a cool-season lawn, research has shown.

Not sure if you have cool-season grass? The answer is simple. If it stays green all winter, then it is cool-season. If it turns brown in the fall, assuming it is healthy, it is a warm-season lawn.

This only applies to grass. Most perennial plants, like trees and shrubs, should not be fertilized from August until the end of October. Fertilize an azalea now and it may start growing instead of entering dormancy like it is supposed to in the fall. Summer annuals can be fed as long as they are growing.

Lawns can be fed in the spring but only with light applications. Too much nitrogen can lead to summer disease problems. Most cases of brown-patch disease happen when too much nitrogen was applied in March or April.

What should the lawn be fertilized with? For decades most people used the good old stand-by: 10-10-10. They figured if it was good enough for the farmers crops, it was good enough for their lawn. There are two problems with that. The fertilizers used by farmers are formulated to be applied to agricultural crops. They do not work as well in landscapes.

The other problem occurred in recent years. About five or so years ago most, if no all, states passed laws that said phosphorous cannot be used in lawn maintenance fertilizers unless there is a recent soil test that states it is needed. The middle 10 in 10-10-10 says that the fertilizer is 10% phosphorous by weight. Therefore, 10-10-10 will be illegal to use on lawns in most cases. You can still use it to establish a new lawn, but there are better products.

View post:
IN THE YARD: Getting a lawn into a proper diet is important to its health and growth - GoDanRiver.com

Norah Nabkey has always been more nervous than her two older siblings.

Living in a global pandemic, however, has further heightened the 7-year-olds anxiety levels. Its made her fear leaving the house or visiting her grandparents. She has asked her mother, What happens if I get sick? Am I going to die?

Its so hard to drive home caution without instilling fear in your kids, said Brooke Nabkey, a mother of three in Ada Township. She was already an anxious kid to begin with and weve sort of created a monster.

This summer, she just crumbled.

Across the state in Grand Blanc, Michelle Counts has grappled with finding balance between keeping her three sons vigilant and aware of the dangers of the virus that has hospitalized multiple family members and friends, while not overwhelming them.

I wouldnt say depression but the majority of kids have dealt with fear surrounding things, Counts said. Both my little ones have voiced being scared, I dont want to go back to school, get corona and die ... they miss being with their friends but they dont want to lose their life or spread it.

The Nabkeys and Counts arent alone. Over the last five months, mental health experts across the state have noted elevated levels of stress, anxiety and depression among people of all ages, including children and teens.

The pandemic, along with attempts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in communities, have altered routines, isolated youths from their friends, teachers and coaches, and raised concerns over the threat of the virus itself.

In some cases, youth have been further affected by seeing loved ones get sick or die from the virus that has killed more than 6,400 Michiganders since mid-March. Others have had their home life impacted by a parents loss of income due to the associated economic recession.

Across the state and the nation, weve seen an increase in anxiety and trauma symptoms, said Lauren Kazee, a social worker whose career has focused on the mental health and wellness of youth. It has impacted different people in different ways.

Michigan has not yet compiled data on the mental health impact of the coronavirus pandemic. But the state is working in partnership with school leaders and mental health experts to prepare for the fallout by providing schools and parents with additional resources.

In April, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the state would provide funding to make a program known as Michigan Cares free to children, teachers and parents for the 2020-21 school year. The program, presented by the non-profit Michigan Virtual, provides free digital lessons focused on developing social, emotional and mental well-being skills.

Hindering the states response is an already apparent shortage in access to mental health services, Kazee noted.

We were already looking at such a huge need, a huge gap in service provisions and providers around mental health and to compound it with a pandemic has exponentially increased the need for these services, Kazee said.

Elevated risk of trauma, suicide

In June, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in West Michigan published a report forecasting the profound impact that the COVID-19 crisis would have on the mental health of Michiganders.

Due to the emergence of the disease and its impact on our lives and economy, many of the conditions that are known to increase risk for suicide are now in place in Michigan, reads an executive summary of the report.

The report includes children and adolescents among the groups who are especially at risk for a behavioral health crisis. They are at a higher risk for trauma and suicide due to being isolated from positive external supports, witnessing increasingly stressed family members and may be experiencing a lack of parental engagement as families try to balance work, homeschooling and childcare.

The economy could also play a role. In July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Michigans unemployment rate at 8.7% -- a drop from Junes 14.9%.

Heightened unemployment rates suggest a potential for increased child abuse and neglect instances as well, according to the Pine Rest report. Individuals who are victims of child abuse and neglect have three to five times greater odds of suicide than others.

For teens, the impact of social distancing may be particularly difficult, and teens who are experiencing social isolation are two times more likely to attempt suicide, the report states.

Among the recommendations called for by Pine Rest is for Michigan to continue to scale up teletherapy and telepsychiatry, and to urgently address shortages in the mental health workforce by retraining those whose jobs have been eliminated to work in entry level positions in the mental health field.

How to address the news with your children

Brooke Nabkey has taken differing approaches to keeping her children informed with the coronavirus based on what they can each handle. She lets her 12-year-old son Simon watch the news with her and they discuss it.

But for Norah, its better to filter the news.

With my son, Im showing him the world, she said. But for Norah, Im keeping the world away because thats what she can handle. When we watch the news or read an article, we can set it aside. But as a 7-year-old, everything she has stays right there in front of her.

Michelle Counts said her family initially kept a close eye on news related to the pandemic, but as things became too sad she limited her sons viewing and began coming up with activities to distract them like projector movies in the yard or making crafts on the weekends.

We decided lets not drown ourselves, she said. We know its out there, but lets not be so into it that were not living.

Bob Sheehan, executive director of the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan, noted that children start to make sense of the world around them around ages 5-7 years old. Youth 6-12 years old are more likely to ask questions and talk to their parents than older teens, who tend to rely more on discussions with their peers than their parents.

When it comes to informing your kids about the pandemic, he recommends finding a middle ground between scaring them into complying with safety guidelines and keeping them informed on how to minimize the risk of catching the virus.

You can tell them we wear masks to protect ourselves like we wear mittens in the winter, or wash our hands after going to the bathroom, or look both ways before we cross the street, he said. We dont show our kids horrendous crashes to teach them, we just say look both ways before crossing and alert them to the danger.

Sheehan recommends putting your kids on a news diet. Too much can be overwhelming, but not enough could leave them only learning from their peers. He noted that some kids will link the pictures and headlines of civil unrest related to police brutality with the pandemic, if the fact that theyre separate issues isnt explained to them.

Returning to schools

As students begin returning to school, both virtual and in-person, Kazee said its going to be just as vital for teachers to address their students emotional and social health as it is to get them back on track in math and science.

I think itll be important for us to really go slow, for schools to have permission to not push academics first and really attune to social and emotional needs of their students, Kazee said. Were coming into a unique situation we havent faced before.

To help schools prepare to welcome back students, both virtually and in-person, The Michigan Department of Education partnered with School Based Mental Health Professionals Coalition to create a pandemic return to school toolkit.

The toolkit provides resources for administrators and teachers, as well as parents and students. It focuses on disease prevention, but also addresses the underlying long-term effects of the pandemic, including the impact of collective trauma on students and their families.

Theres been a lot of focus on how to check in with kids as they come back, Kazee said. Thats the focus of meetings Ive been in.

If schools and mental health providers are able to bring in protective factors to offset the impacts of the pandemic, Kazee anticipates that theyll be able to build resilience in students and prevent lasting negative impacts down the line.

My hope is we want kids to have some type of routine and progress academically but we cant do it without addressing the social and emotional impacts of all of this, she said.

Michelle Counts youngest sons, Caden, 14, and Jordan, 11, will be starting the school year with remote learning through Grand Blanc Community Schools. To combat distractions from learning at home, shes setting up a phone- and video-game free area of her house with desks for completing school work.

Im nervous about that, she said. Its so easy to get distracted and I dont want them falling behind. I work from home but my job can be so demanding. I worry that a bunch of kids may struggle.

New counseling services emerge

Between January and June 2020, Michigan saw a 33.7% decline in the use of its mental health services for kids 17 and younger. Utilization declined each month from January through April, likely due in-part to the governors stay-home order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

That doesnt mean the need for those services declined though.

Its like after a car wreck, you see people walking around before they realize they broke their arm, Sheehan said. Thats what were seeing. Then there comes a wave of calls, people not taking their medications, and a rise in anxiety.

In May and June, Michigan reported a rise in mental health service use from the prior months, though with a notable difference in service type. While face-to-face contacts dropped significantly, virtual and phone-based counseling services grew exponentially.

Michigan has seen a significant increase in virtual forms of mental health services since the beginning of the year, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy | MDHHS)

Kazee called the growth in telehealth and teletherapy a silver lining for the pandemic. She said youth have shown in many cases that they feel more comfortable and are more honest during these sessions. She also noted that some providers are experimenting with text-based services as well.

Im hoping it will increase accessibility for those services, Kazee said. Were trying to think outside the box.

That doesnt mean tele-medicine is right for everyone. Brooke Nabkey said shes tried it with her daughter Norah, but its harder for her to focus than during in-person sessions.

Nabkey has seen improvements in her daughters anxiety levels since she began speaking with a therapist and taking lexipro, a medication that helps to restore balance of serotonin in the brain. Shes using virtual counseling in the short-term, but is looking forward to a return to normal.

As weeks of the pandemic have turned to months, Nabkey said she and her husband have gotten better at helping Norah through her anxiety. The therapy and medication have helped her to verbalize her feelings, Nabkey said.

Last week for the first time we took her to a restaurant again; we sat outside and she was OK as long as we explained the safety measures, like a constant reassurance of how were going to stay safe, she said.

We try to be patient but its hard to rally understanding for it if you dont suffer from it. Its trying to be logical and anxiety isnt logical.

For more information, visit the states mental health resources website, here. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions also has resources available, here.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS:

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nosewhile in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.

Read more on MLive:

Wednesday, Aug. 26, coronavirus data by Michigan county: See counties with highest, lower infection rates

View post:
Put your kids on a news diet and other tips to coping with anxiety during a pandemic - mlive.com

Virtuous chefs are forever trying to convince us that a healthy diet can still be rich in voluptuous flavors.

The meat-and-potatoes crowd those who enjoy their steaks, buttery casseroles, cream sauces and whove never met a macaroni and cheese they didnt like dont buy it.

But with Good for You: Bold Flavors With Benefits, chef Akhtar Nawab makes a persuasive case that gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan diets can be as intensely flavored and satisfying as any other. Fully versed in Indian, Mexican, Italian and Southern cuisines, Nawab doesnt just practice a healthful-eating lifestyle, hes the living proof it works.

Recipe: Gazpacho with Poached Shrimp

The first-generation son of Indian parents, Nawab grew up in 1970s Louisville, Ky., marked by white bread and The Brady Bunch, he writes in Good for You. He was a chubby kid his Muslim Indian mother was an accomplished home cook who gained even more weight his first year in college, eventually topping 250 pounds.

After dropping out of college, he returned home and went on a joyless diet working with a nutritionist. Combined with exercise, he was able to lose weight. After culinary school in California in 1994, he went to work in the Bay Area, which led to working under superchef Tom Colicchio at Gramercy Tavern, Craft and Craftbar in New York. Today, Nawab who says hes not vegan but calls his diet plant forward and mostly gluten-free owns Alta Calidad in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Otra Vez in New Orleans.

Good for You:

Bold Flavors With Benefits

By Akhtar Nawab

Chronicle Books

224 pages, $29.95

Recipe: Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Tamarind and Cashews

Good for You synthesizes Nawabs secrets for making healthful food taste like not-so-healthful food. He accomplishes this by building flavor using spices, roasted chiles, herbs, aromatic brines, spiced marinades, seeds and nuts.

Flavor, he emphasizes, doesnt always have to employ fats. Instead, his recipes benefit from concentrated tomato paste, romesco sauce, cashew pure and a vegan soubise that makes dishes taste like they are full of butter and cream. He developed the recipes for these building-block sauces and marinades by making full-fat recipes and then stripping away the unnecessary.

From there, I replaced whatever I thought was missing with something that would add a nutritional benefit and amplify flavor, he writes.

Seeing is believing: The cookbooks photographs for dishes such as bison burger with paleo Thousand Island dressing; gluten-free bread (made with almond flour and ground flaxseed); pumpkin pancakes dripping with maple syrup; meatballs with cremini mushroom sauce; and turkey lasagna show that clean eating can be good eating.

Recipe: Cauliflower Rice Biryani

greg.morago@chron.com

Follow this link:
How one chef builds flavor without the fat - Houston Chronicle

From social media influencers to great aunt Bess, everyone has an opinions about the best habits for a healthy lifestyle. But whether youve gone all-in on apple cider vinegar or think the latest health fads are all hype, the choices you make can have long-term health consequences.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

Healthy lifestyle habits can slow or even reverse the damage from high cholesterol or high blood sugar, says lifestyle medicine specialist Mladen Golubic, MD, PhD. You can reverse diabetes, obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease.

Here, he sifts through the noise to help you choose the best lifestyle habits to prevent chronic diseases.

The leading causes of death worldwide are chronic diseases, Dr. Golubic says. And they include the usual suspects:

But you can prevent many of these chronic conditions by addressing their root cause: daily habits. About 80% of chronic diseases are driven by lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise, he says.

To prevent chronic disease, Dr. Golubic recommends adjusting your habits in these five areas:

His advice is straightforward: Eat plants that are whole, unrefined and minimally processed. Eating plant-based foods helps reduce diabetes, heart disease and cancer risk.

There is evidence that the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. This diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains fish, olive oil and nuts.

Other evidence suggests that consuming a fully plant-based diet can even reverse chronic, diet-related conditions, including advanced heart disease. This diet eliminates meat, dairy and eggs and includes whole foods such as vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fruits. It is the most compassionate and the most sustainable diet, Dr. Golubic says, and the one he recommends most.

I suggest you experiment. You dont have to go fully vegan tomorrow, he says.

Avoid refined and processed plant foods. Start by preparing one new plant-based meal a week.

Moving helps all your bodys systems. Experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week.

If that seems daunting, Dr. Golubic recommends starting small. Most of us can walk. So start with a 10-minute walk. Repeat this two or three times a day, he says. Then try to walk faster, have a minute of more intense walking or climb a flight of stairs. If walking is not an option, any physical activity will do. Simply move more and sit less.

Shoot for seven to nine hours of restful sleep each night. But if you just cant help burning the midnight oil, try to:

Chronic stress is not your immune systems friend. Try mindfulness, meditation and gratitude to relieve stress and improve your physical and mental health.

We tend to self-medicate with food, but there are healthier ways to relieve our stress, worries and concerns, Dr. Golubic says.

Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the state of being more present and aware of what you sense, feel and experience. Its a great way to cope with stress and relax.

Dr. Golubic suggests two ways to master mindfulness:

Meditation: If youre new to the practice, 44 breathing, or box breathing, is a great place to start. Heres how it works:

Do this for five minutes three times a week, building up to 20 minutes a day.

Gratitude: Practicing gratitude is a good antidote for stress as well. In studies, burned-out healthcare workers who performed acts of gratitude such as remembering three good things or writing gratitude letters reported positive effects on their well-being after a few weeks.

Throughout our days we tend to notice more things that are not going well and pay little attention to positive moments, Dr. Golubic says. We are likely to feel better when, in the midst of a hectic day, we recognize and remind ourselves about all the gifts we have in life.

Social connectedness, or loving people, keeps you emotionally and physically healthy. Even when physical distancing is the norm, virtual connections can be transformative.

We have tremendous access to technology to help us avoid social isolation, Dr. Golubic says. Almost everybody has a cell phone, so you can be in touch with people and tell them how you feel about them. Even work emails signed, I hope youre OK, or, stay well, make a difference.

There are a few reasons it can be hard to get a handle on our habits, including:

To make healthy habits stick, Dr. Golubic suggests you:

Excerpt from:
5 Healthy Habits That Prevent Chronic Disease Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

Students on campus at the University of Georgia in Athens. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption

Students on campus at the University of Georgia in Athens.

As the fall semester gets underway, college students are reuniting with their friends, getting (re)acquainted with campus and doing what college students often do: partying. But in the time of the coronavirus, as more parties surface university administrators have been quick to condemn and even berate the behavior of students.

"Be better. Be adults. Think of someone other than yourself," pleaded a letter to students at Syracuse University following a large gathering on campus.

"We are terribly disappointed," leaders at the College of Holy Cross wrote to students before remote classes had even started.

"This is the kind of reckless behavior that will put an end to our in-person semester, and it must stop," wrote the president of St. Olaf College, a small school in Minnesota after an off-campus party.

For many students, this scolding feels like a bait and switch: Didn't those university administrators, many of whom brought students back to campus knowing full well the challenges, share in some of that poor decision-making?

Students at The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, shared their thoughts about this when we visited their newsroom a week after that university moved its semester online, citing coronavirus clusters seeded by student parties.

"If the success of your plan relies on 18- to 24-year-olds being responsible, then maybe it's not a very good plan," says Anna Pogarcic, a senior at UNC and the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. "The power dynamics of an 18-year-old versus this big university with its million-dollar endowment, you can't argue with that."

"I will give students a smidgen of the blame, just a smidgen of it," says Brandon Standley, a senior and managing editor at The Daily Tar Heel. "I think that the university gets the most blame, because they brought back thousands of students."

"No one should be surprised," says Maydha Devarajan, a junior at UNC who spent the summer editing stories that challenged the university's plan to bring students to campus and hold in-person classes. "We've known this would happen all summer."

According to a UNC survey from early summer, 28% of undergrads said they were "extremely or somewhat likely to go to parties or other large campus gatherings." And colleges have been openly anticipating it. In July, the dean of students at Tulane University sent an email to students about behavior. In the third paragraph, in boldface and all caps it said: "DO NOT HOST PARTIES OR GATHERINGS WITH MORE THAN 15 PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE HOST. IF YOU DO, YOU WILL FACE SUSPENSION OR EXPULSION FROM THE UNIVERSITY."

Fast-forward to late August, when many students returned to campus: Those parties and large gatherings happened, as expected. Across the country, from Tuscaloosa to Iowa City, students socialized indoors with lots of people without masks helped in part by many campuses' active Greek life.

"It breaks my heart to see this," says Anna Song, an assistant professor of health psychology at the University of California, Merced who studies decision-making by young adults. "It's like asking people to go on a diet. Putting them in a candy store and saying, good luck. And then if they break that diet, we say, 'Why'd you break the diet? And, you know, we're going to punish you for it.' "

Many college students still have developing brains, so it's not that they aren't informed or that they don't understand the risks it's that they're wired differently. "Peer networks and having connection with other people is absolutely critical in terms of development for young people," Song says. "There is a lot going on in the brain to reward those kinds of interactions."

Of course, not all students are partying. Many are following the rules and encouraging others to do the same. "I'm not the only person that's frustrated," says Reagan Griffin Jr., a sophomore at the University of Southern California. He moved from Tennessee to Los Angeles to be closer to campus, despite the fact all his classes are online. He says he's been hunkered down, even though many of his fellow Trojans haven't been. USC reported an "alarming increase" in COVID-19 cases last week. "Clearly, other people have faulty priorities," he says. The case increases are "the fault of people who either don't know or don't care, and neither of those things are excusable."

Unlike other types of public health issues, the coronavirus is highly contagious, so the actions of a few can affect an entire campus. "With this kind of virus, you can't have 60% compliance and be like, 'Hey, we did a great job!' " says Song. "You need to have near complete compliance for this to work."

She adds that university leaders must recognize what's driving behavior among their students. "You can't deny that the pull for social interaction is incredibly strong for this group; it's formative for them," Song says. "So asking them to deny that is a Herculean challenge."

In June, she raised an important question about asking students to refrain from partying when they head back to college: "Are we asking them to do something that is almost near impossible?" Now, she thinks the answer to that question is yes. "I do believe it's not fair to ask them to do this," she said this week.

With desperate pleas and social contracts failing to curb these events, some schools have turned to punitive measures. At several campuses, including Syracuse University in New York and Purdue University in Indiana, students have been suspended for attending and hosting large gatherings. In Chapel Hill, town officials charged students with misdemeanors in connection with off-campus parties at UNC. At the University of Connecticut, students were kicked out of on-campus housing for hosting a party in their dorm room.

But will this harsher approach work? Public health experts aren't convinced.

"We know shaming and blaming people for public health interventions doesn't work, whether you're talking about sexually transmitted diseases or you're talking about drug use and drinking," explains Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease physician and public health expert. "You never want to do something that will drive behavior underground and make it more risky."

Song agrees. "My first thought was I bet what some students will think is 'Well, then I just can't get caught,' " she says. "So it becomes a game."

She's hopeful that enforcement from other students might be more successful than punitive messaging, since young adults value peer connection.

"The best hope is that the students are vigilant with each other," she says, "because it's coming from a peer who's saying, 'You are hurting me, you are hurting our community and as a member, as your peer, as a person in your social network, I am not standing for that.' And I think that probably weighs more than everything else."

Alternative options

Another important aspect of regulating behavior is providing alternative programming. "We have to figure out how to help students meet some of those socialization needs, but in a safe way," Song says. Offering outdoor, socially distant activities, she says, will help schools "fare way better than just to say, 'Hey, just don't party.' "

Figuring out what a social life looks like on a college campus is Connie Carson's job at Furman University, a liberal arts college in Greenville, S.C. As the school's vice president for student life, she has leaned heavily on student organizations during the coronavirus pandemic.

"They are the lifeblood of any campus," she says. "Students are so much more creative, honestly, than we are." She points to a recent outdoor movie shown on the Furman campus, where students used hula hoops to enforce social distancing.

The school is working on ways to use outdoor venues to have "appropriate gatherings" such as trivia nights or dance parties to keep students on the grounds, rather than having them tempted to head off-campus, to downtown Greenville.

This responsibility sits firmly on the shoulders of the college, not the students, says David Paltiel, a professor at Yale who studies public health policy. "As the university, you've got the responsibility to provide students with imaginative, compassionate, realistic, low-risk options for staying socially connected," he says. Administrators need to be upfront with students about the challenge they're facing with enforcing student behavior, he says, and some infractions may be worse than others.

"If you have to turn a blind eye to a game of beer pong that is happening on the quad or in a driveway, that's well worth it," says Paltiel. "What you're trying to prevent is the superspreader event where 150 unmasked kids get way too close to each other in the basement of some frat house with no windows open. That's what you're trying to prevent."

Paltiel isn't expecting administrators to actually know what's cool; that's why he says involving students, especially those involved with fraternities and sororities, is essential. He suggests this script for administrators, who are being upfront with students: " 'Here's the money. Here's the party tent. Here are the outdoor space heaters. Here's the pigs in a blanket. Here's the keg. What I can't have you doing is having these things indoors, unmasked. I can't have too many people in a single space.'"

And remember, he says, what schools are asking students to do is hard, so a bit of empathy and compassion can go a long way. It hasn't been easy for many adults either.

Follow this link:
Playing The Blame Game: The Uphill Battle To Prevent College Partying - NPR

Eleanor Frederick / For The Times-News| Times-News

Ready to enjoy a way of eating that is great tasting and good for you? Then the simple, delicious and satisfying Mediterranean way of eating may be right for you.

Created by N.C. State Extension and the Community and Clinical Connections for Prevention and Health Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health, MedInsteadofMeds.com is filled with recipes and resources that make Med Month a great time of year to start eating the Med way.

The Med way reects a way of eating that is traditional in the countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea and includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts, seeds, and olive oil and limits highly processed foods and added sugar. This approach to eating has been extensively studied and is associated with promoting health and decreasing the risk of many chronic diseases including some forms of cancer, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

As such, the Mediterranean way of eating is recommended around the world, including in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

In 2019, the Mediterranean diet won the gold as 2019's best overall diet in rankings announced recently by US News and World Report. The analysis of 41 eating plans also gave the Mediterranean diet the top spot in several subcategories: best diet for healthy eating, best plant-based diet, best diet for diabetes and easiest diet to follow.

More: Lighten up your favorite comfort foods

Fortunately, the Med Instead of Meds program isnt all about pasta and olive oil (although theres nothing wrong with those tasty ingredients!) The program also lends itself to creative and delicious uses for much of the fresh harvest available in fall.

Wild mushrooms and barley risotto

Serves 6

Barley is a great grain with lots of nutty flavor and a nice bite. We often see barley in soup, but it can be used for many dishes. This risotto takes advantage of this grains great taste and creamy texture when cooked using this method. Risotto is often thought of as a dish made with rice, but it is actually a cooking method. It seems hard at first, but it is not difficult. Just get a glass of your favorite beverage, stand and stir and contemplate life for a few minutes. The extra effort is worth the trouble. This dish is a great example of adding lots of vegetables in a grain dish to decrease calories and boost fiber.

Ingredients:

6 cups mushroom, vegetable, or chicken broth

1 cups water

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced onion

cup red wine

3 cups sliced or coarse chopped mushrooms, any variety or combination

1 cups uncooked barley, rinsed (do not use quick cooking)

6 cups baby spinach or Swiss chard (chopped)

cup grated parmesan cheese (omit to make this dish vegan)

1 tablespoon butter (omit to make this dish vegan)

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, bring broth and water to a simmer.

2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or large chefs pan. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add red wine and cook until almost evaporated.

4. Add the mushrooms and cook stirring often until they begin to release their juices.

5. Add barley and cook for 1 minute.

6. Add 1 cup of warm broth and stir continuously until almost all of the liquid is absorbed.

7. Continue adding broth 1 cup at a time while stirring. Keep adding broth until barley is cooked through and tender (about 35-45 minutes). Add a bit more broth. Dish should be a bit loose at this point as it will continue to thicken.

8. Stir in spinach and allow to wilt.

9. Add more broth if the dish is too stiff.

10. Stir in balsamic vinegar, cheese and butter if using.

11. Taste and add pepper and adjust seasoning if needed.

Apple cucumber slaw

Serves 2

Dont just pickle those end of the season cucumbers. Combine them with crisp apples and other veggies that have a crunch for a light and easy fall salad.

Ingredients:

1 apple, cut into matchsticks (use a sweet apple such as Red Delicious, or a tart apple such as Granny Smith)

English cucumber or garden cucumber, chopped,

sweet onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped fine

cup white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Serve immediately, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

Microwaved baked apples

Serves 2

This is a super easy and super delicious dessert or snack. Any apple will work, but firm apples such as Fuji, Gala, or Braeburn work best. You can change it up with different spices to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:

2 apples

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Core the apple, leaving the bottom intact.

2. In a bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon the sugar mixture into the apples.

3. Place the apples in a deep casserole dish and cover with the lid.

4. Microwave for 3-4 minutes or until tender.

5. Let the apples sit for 2 minutes before serving.

Eleanor Frederick is the family and consumer sciences agent for the Alamance County Cooperative Extension Service.

The following story appears in the Sept. 2020 edition of Alamance Living magazine. If you want to read more stories like this, pick up a copy of the magazine at various locations in Alamance County, or call 336-227-0131 to subscribe so issues will be mailed to your home.

See the rest here:
Enjoy Autumns bounty the Mediterranean way - Burlington Times News

By Stan Gudmundson

Peterson, MN

I absolutely despise what the radical left is doing to America and the world today. Tearing down statues, monuments, and trying to destroy history, good and bad, is much like Mao Tse-Tungs Cultural Revolution in its destruction of the old. As if history can be changed.

Their beliefs about and attitudes toward the past are silly. And infuriating. Its as if sanctimonious self-righteous 21st century purity could produce retroactive historical change.

Leftists seem to think that, were they able to change places with our ancestors, they would have believed and behaved differently. Thats fantasy. A case can also be made that revisionist historians suffer from the same delusional malady.

Were they able to do so, they would have had to do exactly the same things they did. Nothing would have been different. Time and circumstances have changed but human nature has not.

When Columbus came to the Americas, he launched an inevitable cultural clash that had to occur sooner or later. He just happened to be first. Moreover, it wasnt just a cultural clash. It was also an ecological clash that continues today as invasive species show us.

We dont exactly know what it was like here before Europeans arrived because the diseases they brought obliterated native American populations. And much of their cultures.

Now, imagine that you are a male child of a couple living in Norway or Sweden in the 1800s. By law, the farm you are grew up on will pass from your parents to your oldest brother. You will have to work for him or someone elses older brother or find other work in a time and place where there wasnt much other work. Going to sea was an option but it was a dangerous way to make a living. To make matters worse, a famine hits, something that periodically strikes Scandinavia. And the rest of the world. About 350,000 people starve to death this time.

Like many, many others you are desperate but have a chance to move to America and start a new life, free of primogeniture and Norways other limitations. You take it. When you arrive you learn English and stop speaking Norwegian. You are never, ever going back to the awful life in the old country.

If you were to be from the United Kingdom, your children will have a chance to grow taller than you because of an improved diet. Like the diet that historically allowed the British royalty to be four or five inches taller than peasants.

Because of the incredible mortality rate, in some parts of the world, children werent named until they were five years old. America offers hope. Maybe you can begin naming your children at birth.

You are joining people confronting stone age cultures now modified by the introduction of European horses and cattle. Moreover, Indian homes werent always static. Many moved often, fleeing from the predations of other tribes. Inter-tribal warfare and conquest is extremely brutal and, many kept slaves. When tribes in the southeast were relocated to Indian territory in Oklahoma, they brought with them at least 3,000 black slaves.

Pekka Hamalainen, in the book Comanche Empire, points out that Indian slave traders even captured Indians and Spaniards sending them to the horrible Caribbean sugar plantations. When the Spaniards once decided to stop trading for slaves, the Comanches killed their captives in front of the Spaniards. They publicly raped the women first as they continued to do after the Spaniards relented and began again trading for the slaves to save lives.

The Comanche tribe, establishing a way of life dominated by horses, controlled the southwest for upwards of 200 years. They could have easily wiped out European settlements in all of Texas, New Mexico, and areas to the north. To an extent, they tolerated them because they needed European trade goods. Especially guns.

Some Indian tribes, anxious to save themselves from Comanches and others came to missions begging to keep them safe. If they could. In exchange, many promised to become and did become Christians.

History is really grim and a mess. The left should stop pretending they are better than and would have behaved differently than our ancestors. They couldnt and wouldnt have.

Read the original post:
The phony criticism of history and our ancestors - Fillmore County Journal

Taking specific stepsto transform national food supply systems can help countries achieve climate goals and limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius, a new joint UN report on climate action has found.

Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions for Food Systems, published on Tuesday, by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), WWF, EAT, and Climate Focus, also reveals that nations are missing significant opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It also identifies sixteen ways policymakers could take more action, from farm to fork, to integrate food systems in their national climate strategies, that could also help improve food security.

According to the head of UNEP, while COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of food supply systems, the pandemic has also demonstrated that businesses and people are ready to build back better.

This crisis offers us a chance to radically rethink how we produce and consume food, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, said in a news release announcing the reports findings.

For example, reorienting consumption by halving food waste and catalyzing a shift towards more plant-rich diets, is also a powerful climate mitigation tool to take advantage of. It is up to us to seize this opportunity and put sustainable food systems at the heart of the green recovery, she added.

Improvements by as much as 25 per cent

Currently, diets and food loss and waste are widely ignored in national climate plans, but by adding them, policymakers can improve their mitigation and adaptation contributions from food systems, by as much as 25 per cent, said UNEP.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, every five years, countries are expected to revise or resubmit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) steps that they will take to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

2020, therefore, presents policymakers with the opportunity to adopt food systems solutions and set more ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, in turn, improve biodiversity, food security and public health.

Food: more than a third of emissions

Food systems which gather all elements and activities that relate to the production, processing, distribution, preparation and consumption of food account for up to 37 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, offering plenty of space to improve.

Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF-International, called on governments to include climate and nature positive food systems approaches in revised and more ambitious NDCs submitted in 2020.

Without action on how we produce and consume food, we cannot achieve our climate or biodiversity goals, which are the foundation to achieve food security, prevent the emergence of diseases and ultimately deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Affordable and accessible diets

Gunhild Stordalen, the Founder and Executive Chair of EAT a non-profit organization that works towards catalyzing a global food system transformation added that fixing food systems goes beyond supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.

Shifting to regenerative, carbon-absorbing production and adoption of healthy, predominantly plant-based diets that are affordable and accessible, as well as halving food waste and loss, are crucial actions that must be included in countries NDCs and integrated in their climate action plans with clear ambitions, she said.

As we enter the Decade of Action, lets make it the decade of delivery for a healthy, sustainable and equitable food future for all, added Dr. Stordalen.

Actiontowards transformation

The sixteen actions identified in the report include reducing land-use change and conversion of natural habitats, which could reduce emissions by some 4.6 gigatonnes of equivalent carbon dioxide, or Gt CO2e, per year.

Comparably, reducing food loss and waste, which accounts for 8 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, could reduce emissions by 4.5 Gt CO2e per year. Similarly, improving production methods and reducing methane emissions from livestock, could reduce emissions by up to 1.44 Gt CO2e per year.

Much greater reductions, could be achieved by shifting to healthier and more sustainable diets with a higher proportion of plant-based than animal-based foods could avoid emissions of up to 8 Gt CO2e each year. But, no current national climate plans explicitly discuss more sustainable diets.

Eliminating excessive meat consumption, improving storage facilities and reducing food waste is good for our health and improves food security, said Charlotte Streck, Co-founder and Director of Climate Focus, a think tank that provides advice on international climate policy to public and private actors across the globe.

With a check-list and concrete examples of activities and targets, this report provides guidance for policymakers to integrate food systems in their national climate strategies, she added.

Related

Link:
Decisive Action and Change Needed to Reform and Rebuild a Better Lebanon - Modern Diplomacy

Editors Note: In order to help communicate with the citizens of Moore County, Health Department Director Robert Wittmann has partnered with Dr. Paul Kuzma to prepare a series of articles meant to inform the public about COVID-19 and public health.

There has been a lot of information about COVID-19 and the efforts to contain it. Less has been written about how to protect yourself at an individual level.

While there is no way to completely eliminate your risk of contracting COVID-19, or to ensure that you dont get a severe case, there are steps you can take to improve your odds of staying healthy. Here are a few simple ways to reduce your risk while improving your health.

n Optimize your pre-existing health conditions.

It is widely recognized that people with significant medical conditions have worse outcomes and higher death rates if they develop COVID-19. These conditions include: obesity; chronic kidney disease; type 2 diabetes; serious heart disease; COPD; cancer; immune suppression; and sickle cell disease.

While it is not possible to eliminate these diseases in most people, it is possible to optimize them. It is more important than ever to work with your health care providers to get yourself in the best condition possible.

Think of it like preparing to play a big game or run a marathon. The better condition you are in at the start, the better you will fare during the event, and the quicker you will recover afterward. So make sure you see your providers, take your medicines and get your health as optimized as possible. It is safe to go to your doctors office, so dont delay necessary health care.

The most important things you can do for your health are:

n Exercise. Lose excess weight. Stop smoking.

Exercise is probably the single most important thing that anyone can do for their health. Our bodies are machines that are meant to be used. Walking is the easiest and best exercise for most people. If you are able, 30 to 60 minutes of walking at as brisk a pace can work wonders. For those that cant walk, there are exercises that can be done while seated or standing in your home.

Exercise helps with weight loss, diabetes, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, immune function and mental health.

We are fortunate in Moore County to have excellent resources for exercise. If you need professional guidance, there are physical therapists and personal trainers in our community, and FirstHealth has a program called Exercise is Medicine that can help you get started.

n Improve your nutrition with a healthy diet and vitamins.

There have been some interesting findings on the role of vitamin and nutritional deficiencies and their role in the risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe disease. Some deficiencies can impair the normal functioning of our immune system.

Most vitamin and mineral deficiencies are best managed by eating a healthy diet that includes a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since it is not always possible to meet all of our nutritional needs this way, you may want to consider vitamins. Some suggestions:

Vitamin D. Vitamin D is an important modulator of immune function and a number of researchers recommend optimizing Vitamin D levels to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 disease. This may also reduce the risk of influenza.

Our body naturally produces Vitamin D when we are exposed to sunlight. It is present in foods, is added to most milk, and is available as a nutritional supplement. The recommended upper limit of daily Vitamin D supplementation is 600-800 international units (15-20 micrograms). High doses of Vitamin D can cause side effects and should be taken only under medical advice.

Zinc. Zinc is available as a supplement and in lozenge form. A review in 2013 found that zinc supplementation reduces the duration and severity of the common cold, which is caused by a corona virus. Correction of zinc deficiency may reduce the severity of COVID-19.

Since zinc has direct antiviral activity, it may be prudent to suck on a zinc lozenge immediately if you feel the beginnings of a sore or scratchy throat. This may inhibit the virus before it can get a foothold in your body. High levels of zinc can cause side effects, so high dose zinc supplementation is not recommended.

Selenium. Selenium is an element that is necessary for cellular function. Research has demonstrated an increase in certain viral infections in people with selenium deficiencies. In China, people who lived in areas with low natural selenium levels had worse outcomes with COVID-19. Selenium is present in some foods and is in many multivitamins. Excess selenium can be toxic so high doses are not recommended.

Vitamin C. Vitamin C is available through diet and supplements. While there is no direct evidence of reduced infection with COVID in people who take Vitamin C supplementation, it plays an important role in immune modification, the bodys inflammatory response, and has antiviral activity.

So do these simple things today to reduce your risk of developing severe COVID-19. Exercise. Eat a healthy diet and include some fresh fruit and vegetables. Consider taking a multivitamin and address any vitamin deficiencies. Suck on a zinc lozenge at the first sign of a sore throat. Get out in the sunshine. Quit smoking. Work with your doctor on your overall health. Take your medicines as prescribed.

It isnt difficult to take some concrete steps today to reduce your risk of severe COVID disease. In fact, these steps are the foundations of good health.

Dr. Paul Kuzma has practiced medicine in Moore County for more than 20 years and is currently completing his Master of Public Health degree at Johns Hopkins University.

View original post here:
Column: Simple Things Can Be Done To Guard Against COVID Illness - Southern Pines Pilot

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - The death of 'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman at age 43 from colon cancer hit many people hard.

"The African-American ethnic population has the highest rate of colorectal cancer of any ethnicity in the United States," said Dr. John Sayles, a colorectal surgeon with Sentara Healthcare.

Sayles says there is no one answer as to why there is a racial disparity in colon cancer.

"There are many inequalities. That could be socioeconomic status, lack of access to testing sites and transportation," said Sayles.

According to the American Cancer Society, from 2012 to 2016, colorectal cancer rates in African-Americans were 20% higher than in whites, and death rates jumped 40% higher.

The Health Equity team at Sentara is looking into how economic status, access to health care, transportation and other social determinants effect health in order to identify potential causes of health inequity in our community. They're working in partnership with community physicians, organizations and all Sentara facilities to achieve more equitable health care.

"While colon cancer rates are actually diminishing, they are going up in the younger population because they are not expecting it so they are not going to get an evaluation," said Sayles.

Sayles urges African-Americans to get screened at the age of 45. Screenings usually begin at age 50 and occur every 10 years.

"Early detection is huge. You find polyps early, then you have a better chance of a cure," he said.

Be aware of early warning signs.

Blood in stool, changes in bowel movement, shape and size, mucus in stool and pain can be later symptoms, Sayles explained.

He said diet and lifestyle prove to be key preventative measures to lower your colorectal cancer risk.

"Don't smoke, [eat a] balanced diet, limit processed foods," he said.

Continued here:
Colon cancer one of many health disparities recognized in Hampton Roads - wtkr.com