If you haven’t already heard, one of the first and most important things Michelle Obama has done as first lady is to plant an organic garden on the white house grounds. This is the first white house garden since the Roosevelt’s! So what is the big deal and who cares if it’s organic? Well apparently big agriculture and the surrounding industries such as fertilizer and pesticide companies care. There was quite a big tug of war over this seemingly innocent garden before it was even started. Read more about that here. No matter what your political stance is, I think healthy organic food is something that everyone can appreciate and support. I for one am happy that Michelle-O stood her ground and went forward with the garden despite the resistance from the agriculture industry. Now Mrs. Obama will write a book about her gardening experience. This is sure to be a good read and will hopefully open up some people’s eyes about gardening, agriculture, and the food industry as a whole.

Thinking about the influence of this White House garden and book got me thinking about the current culinary state of our union. Certainly things have improved recently with raised awareness from the Food Network and movements towards organic and local foods. But overall the food and drink we consume every day in this country is pretty much an afterthought. Americans take for granted that they can eat anything they want, anytime they want, and just assume that since this is America it will all be good. In most other countries food is carefully selected, then enjoyed and appreciated as it should be. In other countries (many more than you think) people are just thankful to have any food that is available to eat for survival.

In Portland locally grown organic fruit and veggies are more common than not. Portland is the new foodie capital of the U.S. Our great farming climate and the locavore culture that supports Pacific Northwest farmers has a lot to do with that. If you don’t believe me just watch the Food Network and see how often Portland is featured. Better yet come out here yourself for a food/wine/beer tour of unbelievably good food and drink for reasonable prices.

Unfortunately some other areas of the country are slow to catch on to this grass roots trend that is also beneficial to the environment. However in my recent travels I’ve been surprised to see that many places I would not have expected are beginning to slowly embrace the benefits of farmers markets and locally produced food and goods. I suspect that in the coming years food and water will be the subject of wars as the human population continues to explode on this planet. More species and habitats will be wiped out while natural resources, food, and fresh water become scarcer. In the meantime the best that we can do on a local level for ourselves and future generations is to take an interest in local organic foods from farmers markets or start growing our own food, even if it’s in pots on the back porch.

Organic natural food is good for your health, and good for the environment. Food is after all a basic ingredient of our survival. So why should we endure eating poor tasting produce that is genetically modified, full of pesticides, and grown in bulk halfway around the country, or even the world? Instead you could pick tomatoes and other produce right from your back yard all summer long, or visit local farmers markets to get much better product than you can find at the local grocery store. If you do grow your own don’t limit yourself to veggies. Herbs, fruits, beans, grains along with many other things can easily be grown in a home garden, and other beneficial products like local honey can be bought at farmers markets.

As spring approaches we are getting ready to plant our own garden, which hasn’t been without some resistance from the ridiculous HOA in our neighborhood; but that is another looong story. Even in Portland there are some people who just don’t get how important local and home grown garden food is. Many people forget, or just don’t know that human’s mastery of agriculture is the seed that advanced civilization grew from. Sadly something as basic as agriculture can even get so big that it no longer becomes efficient, effective, or safe. Next time before you take a bite out of that Big Mac or TV Dinner, take a minute to ponder where that food’s ingredients actually came from, and what they went through before getting to your plate. If you really knew it might just make you lose your appetite.

Today’s fresh, local, and organic food and gardening movements, including Michelle-O’s white house garden, are reclaiming what the faceless greedy corporations have taken out of our food. Those things being taste, nutrition, and the knowledge of where your food actually comes from. With spring just around the corner do you have plans for your own vegetable garden this growing season? If not you might consider giving it a try. Just remember some plants can be genetically modified or have other issues, so do your research and try sticking to organic or heirloom varieties. Good luck and happy gardening!

Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, and Mint from our garden last summer

This is part 3 of 3 in the Sunshine Series. Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here.

Some people say sunscreen actually does more harm than good as stated in this article. If you read the article you will see two arguments against sunscreen. First is that it blocks your body from getting sun rays which help you produce Vitamin D, a deficiency that can bring about cancer and other conditions. As mentioned in the previous blog in this series that little detail can easily be fixed by taking a Vitamin D supplement. The second concern is that your skin will absorb toxic chemicals that are in the sunscreen. Most people think of their skin as a sort of armor, however this is not necessarily the case, so this point is valid. Your skin can absorb a surprising amount of toxins from topical solutions, sprays, and even bathwater. I’ll admit that cosmetics and skin science is not my area of expertise, so to shed some light on the subject I’m reposting an old blog that Charlotte wrote at JavaFoto about sunscreen.

In an effort to improve my health while also enjoying the outdoors, I started walking during my lunch hour with a friend from work Sokbun. During our walk today, she asked me what sunscreen brand I used. Well, I use Boots Botanics on and off but mostly off since it is a bit greasy. I usually mix it with the regular moisturizer that I love and it sort of works. It has been so nice and sunny lately so I think it is time to get back into a regular sunscreen routine. She mentioned “California Baby” was recommended by Skin Deep. This website was created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to promote awareness of cosmetic safety. I searched the site and found it to be a good resource for both safety and effectiveness. Well, time to get a search party going…

First candidate: ALBA BOTANICA SUN: MINERAL SUNSCREEN – FRAGRANCE FREE SPF 18 available at Amazon.com

Review: Great rating by EWG except for the lower SPF. I was hoping the lower SPF would make it lighter but it is still thick. Much lighter than the SPF30 but still hard to apply evenly It seems that this would be typical for non-chemical sunscreen.

Epionce Active Shield Lotion SPF 30+

Review: This one is lighter and spreads evenly but has a greasy feel to it. An hour later, it still felt greasy. I also noticed that the fine lines on my face became more prominent. EWG did not have any ratings for this brand. I got the sample from VanderVeer Center and the “set” of skincare products costs $195 for a six-month supply. I guess it could be worth it if the products work wonders for your skin. It didn’t on mine. I did like their regular moisturizer. It was light and made my skin soft.

I decided that I might be better off to go with a “middle of the road” product so I went for the classic Cetaphil.

Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF15

Review: A little bit thicker but very similar to Epionce without the greasy feel It did feel greasy at first but after a few minutes it settled down. Also, I had to make sure my skin was not dry, otherwise, the sunscreen would cake up a little bit in the flaky areas. This is the one I like best so far. I will stick to this for now until a better one comes along. EWG rated it as safe except for the last ingredient Triethanolamine. They also did not like the low SPF but for everyday use, I am not too concerned. For extended outdoor exposure, I would reach for the Alba sunscreen.

When it comes to sun protection the stakes can be high whether you do or you don’t use it. I’d recommend reading up at the Environmental Working Groups Sunscreen Guide, and about Skin Cancer at the American Cancer Society, and then make a decision for yourself. Probably the best sun protection is to just cover up, but even clothing can let damaging UV rays in. According to this site dark clothing provides better sun protection than lighter clothing, but since they absorb more sunlight dark clothes tend to be hotter. That is why people in the tropics often wear lighter clothing. A way around the clothing dilemma is to buy clothing that has UV protection built into the fabric. These can be found at sporting goods stores like REI.

There are a few other areas of concern with sun protection that many people neglect or forget about. Snow and water can reflect sunlight upwards causing you to burn in unexpected places, and faster than normal. You will burn faster at high altitudes where there is less atmosphere to block the rays. When you are submerged in water your skin will still burn. You can get burned on cloudy or cold days. Your eyes can get sunburned causing serious damage, so its always best to wear shades that have UV protection and wrap around or block UV rays from the side. Last but not least your skin will burn faster when its dry; from a dry climate, dehydration, swimming, or any other activity that robs your skin of its natural moisture. If you do get burned try some of these remedies to ease the pain.

I feel that when it comes to sunscreen the pros outweigh the cons. I use sunscreen regularly, but also try to cover up with long sleeves and pants when possible, along with a complementary sun hat and UV protective sun glasses. My face is particularly sensitive to sunscreen and will break out horribly if I use anything that contains oil, which will clog my pores. I’ve found the brand that works best for my face is Eucerin Sensitive Skin Sun protection, I usually get 30 SPF. Although it ranks as middle of the road health-wise according to the EWG  Sunscreen Guide, it’s still better than most of the usual suspects. It’s also oil and fragrance free which is gentle on my skin. I will typically dilute it with a little water before putting it on my face so that it spreads more evenly and lighter. Since Eucerin is a bit expensive I usually use something else for my arms and legs when necessary. That will typically be whatever Charlotte recommends for me, or happens to have on the shelf at the time. From her “Skin Deep” blog post I’m guessing that her selections are probably better than anything I’d pick out.

I remember seeing billboards with the Coppertone girl in Florida when I was growing up, but despite that advertising campaign the message to wear sun protection didn’t sink in until I was an adult. It is really up to the parents and authority figures to get educated on skin cancer, which is the most common form of cancer. Then make an informed decision on how to protect themselves, and their children whose skin is much more vulnerable and sensitive than adults. Don’t take my word for it though. If you think I’m making a bunch of fuss about nothing then just ask the Aussies who have one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Crikey!

Although not very stylish, this sunhat is much better looking than Melanoma spots. Speaking of spots, pay no attention to the ugly clear cutting tracks in the picture, it’s all part of the logging industries plan to destroy the planet.

This is part 2 of 3 in the Sunshine Series. Part 1 is here.

There is a reason that John Denver said “Sunshine on my shoulders, makes me happy”! That reason is that he was getting a lot of sunshine in Colorado, and it was in fact making him happy. If any of you remember him then you know he usually had a pretty good tan going so it is doubtful that he was wearing any sunscreen, which might not have made him happy.

After doing some research I’ve found that sunlight does not contain Vitamin D, but rather your body creates it in response to direct sunlight. Too much Vitamin D won’t hurt you, but too much sun exposure will. By taking Vitamin D supplements your body can build it up so that you are able to go through periods of time without it. It is not uncommon to see vitamins or supplements with RDA % amounts in the hundreds or thousands range for Vitamin D and some others. This study goes into further detail on how much is really needed, and how much is too much.

It does appear that sunscreen can block the rays your body needs to produce the Vitamin D making reaction. Also interesting is that it seems people with darker pigmented skin have less capability of producing Vitamin D from natural sunlight. This leads some researchers to speculate that might be a cause for higher rates of certain types of cancer in African Americans. With all of these concerns some doctors are now advocating some sunshine without sun protection, and even indoor tanning.

I’ve lived in and experienced firsthand three different types of sun worshipping cultures in the U.S. so I find the tanning salon trend very alarming. I grew up in Florida where people rarely wear sun protection. When I was a teenager my tan was so dark that you might think I was Seminole Indian. Today I’m very fair skinned, and when I visit Florida my relatives always ask me why I look so pale. I still have huge sunspots on my shoulders and crow’s feet around my eyes as reminders of my past growing up in the Sunshine State.

Me skimboarding when I was 15, my sister in the foreground was also overly tan.

When I moved to Texas I was appalled at all the people walking around with orange unnatural looking tans that made them look as if they just jumped out of a microwave oven. The source of these unsightly tans was tanning booths or spray can tans, both of which are undoubtedly unhealthy. It was not uncommon to see orange stains on people shirts around the sleeves and neckline from the fake spray on tans that make you look like Hulk Hogan. To get an idea of the tanning disaster I’m talking about take a look at these celebrity tan disasters. Although there are plenty of places to get sunshine in Texas very few people venture outdoors in the searing heat, and outdoor activities simply aren’t popular in the Lone Star Shopping Mall State. This is where the all too convenient tanning beds come in. People in Texas are very concerned with material things I observed, and looks are one of those material things. Ironically Texans eat so much that they are considered of the most overweight states in the union, go figure?

After Texas I moved to Colorado where I quickly adopted the Rocky Mountain active outdoor lifestyle in order to enjoy the 300 days of sunshine per year. After an incident of skiing without sunscreen I came home looking like the Human Torch. Thereafter I always wore a sunhat and sunscreen whenever I went outdoors. However, many of my fellow Coloradoans did not. I knew many people who were very fit and healthy looking, but otherwise looked 20 years older due to over-wrinkled leathery skin. This was mostly a result from sun exposure at higher altitude, and to some degree the arid weather. If you feel wearing sunscreen is an inconvenience then consider wearing a sun hat to protect your face where the skin is most sensitive and susceptible to wrinkles. Case in point, I actually know a guy in Colorado that had to have a melonomia spot surgically removed from his face, and he was still in his 20’s.

So the point I’m trying to make with my abbreviated autobiography is that with a deteriorating Ozone Layer skin cancer has become a much bigger problem than it ever was in the past. Despite the fact that getting fresh sunshine without sun protection will help your body produce Vitamin D, I would not recommend it. Instead Mulder and I both recommend getting out in the sun with protection, and enjoy the psychological benefits that sunshine gives you. There is no need to fry yourself under UV rays to get your Vitamin D when you can just take sunshine in a pill. If any of you decide to try popping a pill to kick the winter blues be sure to come back and leave a comment to let me know how it works out for you. As for what kind of sunscreen to use, Charlotte will enlighten us on that topic in part III of the Sunshine Series.

This is part 1 of 3 in the Sunshine Series.

Mulder Sunbathing on the deck

A couple of weeks ago I was watching the news and the anchorman said “today will probably be the last sunny day of the year”. Talk about a downer! Since then we’ve actually had a few sunny days, but otherwise it has been rainy as predicted, and more on the way. The gray curtain of the Pacific Northwest winter is about to descend up us and it won’t leave until around Spring Break. To make matters worse we are pretty far north so the days are much shorter here than in the south. That means that soon after you “Fall Back” for daylight losing time it can get dark before 5:00 PM. If you work 9-5 in an office you may not see sunlight for much of the winter. According to this BusinessWeek article Portland ranks Number 1 as America’s unhappiest city. Ouch!

For those who don’t live in this part of the country you might have misconceptions about the notorious winter weather out here. It doesn’t rain all year long, and it doesn’t rain all the time in the winter either. However it is almost always cloudy and overcast from November-February. It’s not just partly cloudy overcast either. I’m talking about a dark gray 100% cloud cover that looms overhead emitting drizzle, fog, freezing fog, humidity, and the constant threat of rain, which does happen quite often. To top it off the humidity makes the temperature feel colder than it really is. The temps usually hover in the 40’s during the day, and 30’s at night, rarely deviating from that cycle. To make matters worse many people in the seasonably cloudy northwest get SAD (seasonable affective disorder) during the long winter months with minimal sunshine. Many locals will tell you its all hype and the cloudy weather doesn’t bother them. Others are more frank about it and just accept the fact that it’s a seasonable thing. While I enjoy the indoor hibernation of being “rained in” for a while I can tell you it gets old very fast. By the time January rolls around it can be a downright drag.

Before you start feeling SAD let me share with you some good news about how to cope with the winter blues. It’s very simple really, so simple that you might kick yourself for not thinking of it sooner. Take a vitamin D supplement. Sounds ridiculous I know, but it actually works. This was suggested to me by another Coloradoan who moved out here and felt SAD in the winter. After leaving a place that has about 300 days of sunshine per year and moving to a place that has about 300 cloudy days a year it can be a difficult adjustment. I might add that in my case I had been working swing shift inside of a factory building that had no windows at all. Additionally I am slightly lactose intolerant so I drink very little milk, which is a good source of Vitamin D for most people. Something had to change.

I’m not usually one to promote taking pills to fix problems, especially pharmaceuticals; however when talking about natural holistic supplements I do feel there are many advantages to be had. In a time when most people’s diets consist of processed foods you miss out on a ton of vitamins and minerals that our ancestors got naturally from real food. Additionally people’s lifestyles have changed over the last several hundred years with the advent of the indoor factory job starting during the industrial revolution, and today with cubicle jobs. Simply put people don’t get out enough, and don’t eat enough natural foods, which amounts to an unnatural lifestyle.

With this in mind I bought a bottle of Vitamin D pills for about ten dollars, per my fellow Coloradoans suggestion. These pills each contained 1000 IU of Vitamin D3, or 250% of your RDA (recommended daily allowance). According to this article and others I’ve read, the RDA of Vitamin D is outdated and should be much higher than the current standard. Apparently this outdated standard is the amount needed to prevent rickets. That is a malnutrition condition that my Grandma used to warn my sister and I that we’d get if we didn’t eat all of our food. If only I had the Internet and Google back when I was a kid I would have informed Granny that nobody in Florida has a Vitamin D deficiency.

When winter settled in last year I started taking the Vitamin D daily. The first day I took the sunshine pill I felt like Superman at work. It was just one of those days that I felt absolutely terrific like I was on vacation at the beach. I wondered if it could all be in my mind, maybe the power of suggestion. Over the next few weeks the effect was less significant, however if I stopped taking it for a week or so, and then took it again I would definitely notice a difference. Very rarely do you get a noticeable feeling from taking a vitamin or supplement like you do from a drug like caffeine. In this case however, I have concluded that the Vitamin D does have the effect of making you feel as if you spent a day in the sun, but without the sunburn.

If you’re still not convinced then let me tell you about our doggie Mulder who is a regular sunbather. Every chance he gets, but especially in the wintertime, he will find the only available patch of sunlight in the house or yard and just go sprawl out there. Sometimes it’s just a small corner in the backyard where the sun is shining, or a spot in the hallway where the sun is beaming down from the skylight. He is always excited to go on a walk, but especially if it has been raining recently and the sun makes an appearance. That is when he will really campaign for a “W” (walk). Some of his political strategies to speed up the W are staring out the front door window pane and then looking back at me with longing puppy dog eyes. If I get up out of my office seat he will get excited and start walking around in circles and snorting as if to say “oh we’re going now”? I have a hard time saying no to his enthusiasm so he usually gets his way. I wonder, does he naturally know about the benefits of catching some rays, while I’m just now figuring out?

You talking about me?

There are other ways to beat the winter blues too. Many folks around here try taking a vacation to someplace sunny during the winter months. We haven’t had this opportunity yet, but I do think a trip to Hawaii in January sounds delightful. I also like to go skiing or snowboarding where you can feel surprisingly warm being all bundled up, and get lots of sunshine reflecting off the snow. Of course it is absolutely necessary to wear sunscreen on the mountain or you will be fried to a crisp, but this brings up another concern. Does sunscreen block Vitamin D like it blocks UV rays? I’ll explore this concept in the upcoming part 2 of the Sunny Series.

Last month the Environmental Protection Agency released its action plan to clean up the Columbia River. Let me tell you, it’s long overdue! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Columbia, it’s the largest river in the Western United States, and the 4th largest in the country. The last section of the river flows just north of Portland along the border of Washington and Oregon before finally emptying into the Pacific Ocean near Astoria, Oregon. Although Portland is about 80 miles inland from the ocean, the river is large enough to accommodate enormous container ships. It’s a startling site to see when you are hiking along a peaceful river trail on Sauvies Island or elsewhere, and then peak through the trees to see a gargantuan container ship floating by.

The Columbia River

Lewis and Clark followed this mighty river over 200 years ago for much of their cross country journey to the Pacific Ocean. I’m sure they would be disappointed to see what it has become today. Although the river is still beautiful in some areas it is full of dams and lined with paper, logging, and other industrial mills that sport huge smoke stacks which appear to be giving the finger to Mother Nature. The first major dam is the Bonneville Dam, which does to its credit produce a lot of clean hydro energy for our region, but still you have to wonder what other effects it has on the river and its ecosystem. To add to these unnatural eye sores is the Hanford site in the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland) area of Southwestern Washington State.

Bonneville Dam

Hanford, which was part of the Manhattan Project during the cold war years, is a huge nuclear site 1/3 the size of Rhode Island. It’s also located right along 50 miles of the banks of the formerly natural Columbia River. Like many nuclear wastelands in this country there is buried radioactive material that is now leaking into the water table. I found a very detailed article from the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations outlining the problems this site has caused for salmon. I’m worried about the salmon too, but what really got my attention was this paragraph:

The site now contains 177 underground storage tanks in a huge “tank farm,” holding millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste in a soup of highly corrosive chemicals and potentially explosive. At least 67 of these underground tanks have leaked at least one million gallons of highly radioactive waste into the groundwater. More tanks begin leaking each year as they continue to corrode. More than 200 square miles of Hanford’s groundwater aquifer have now been contaminated. Further contamination comes from 2,300 tons of corroded spent nuclear fuel rods held in two water-filled basins less than 500 yards from the Columbia River. The place is one huge Superfund toxic waste site, which the law requires the federal government to clean up.

Holy contamination full of radiation Batman! This stuff could be in our drinking water!!! If you want to know more about how to get clean drinking water see my post on “Got Water”. As for the salmon and other local fish populations, it’s a no-brainer that they are being affected too. If you don’t live locally and think no big deal, it’s NIMBY (not in my backyard), well you might want to think again. Pacific Salmon which is served nationwide could be sourced anywhere from California to Alaska. The Columbia River and polluted Puget Sound near Seattle are big producers of these fish. Fortunately Salmon spend much of their lives out at sea, but you still might want to check for an orange/yellow glow before taking a bite.

In additional to these contamination problems, you have fertilizer and pesticide runoff from all the regional farms near the Columbia and other rivers and creeks that empty into it. If that isn’t enough to cause you concern, let me tell you about the frequent sewage spills that affect our local rivers during the rainy season. This is untreated sewage that spills into the rivers, not that treated sewage is any less gross, but at least it’s sanitary. However treated sewage doesn’t mean everything bad is necessarily removed, just what is required by law. There have been growing concerns that many of the pharmaceuticals our society and others are becoming addicted to are finding their way back in the water supply through the toilet. Think about it – something in-something out, it’s the law of nature. As an example, this article mentions how Prozac was found in the drinking water supply in England. It further outlines how the problem is much worse in third world countries that do not filter or sanitize their waste at all. If you are thinking NIMBY again, just remember it all ends up in the ocean at some point, and we all share that. By the way if you’ve ever wondered what happens to toilet waste once its flushed down then check out this interesting toilet reading material.

Unfortunately I’ve had my fair share of experience with most of the above. When I was growing up in Florida we would sometimes see processed sewage flowing into the inlet and out to sea. Let me tell you nothing ruins a day at the beach quicker than that! While living in Colorado I became very familiar with the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production facility just 10 miles north of Denver. It was at one time considered the most toxic 25 square miles on the planet. Protesters forced the government to clean it up in the 80′s, so they basically hauled all the toxic leaking nuclear waste down to New Mexico where there were no protesters. The question for Oregonians and Washingtonians is what are we going to do about our pollution problem in the Columbia River. The EPA is taking the first step, but I’m sure they can use all the support they can get. You can write your elected officials, but realistically most of us will never go through with that most likely useless effort. So my answer is to just start talking about it, or blog about it. Public awareness and concern is the way to create buzz and change. In the meantime I’ve written the first couple verses of a song called the “Columbia River Blues”. Maybe someone much more talented and artistic than me would like to finish and record it.

Paddling down the Columbia River,
Navigating the waterways of waste,
Oh no, no, no
I don’t have medical insurance
So I’m hoping the toxic water don’t splash up in my face
Oh no, no, no

The EPA says lets clean this river up,
No more mercury, jet fuel, fertilizer, pesticide, or nuclear contamination,
Oh, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Put your hands together and clap now
The Columbia is a going back to nature
Yeah, yeah, yeah,

A view of the Bonneville Dam from the summit of Hamilton Mountain

Greetings GreenCropCircles (GCC) readers! I wanted to let everyone know I’m currently in the process of streamlining the site, so if you see any extraterrestrial changes don’t worry; it’s all part of the planned alien invasion. Some changes are a nifty new background and a few pages linked at the top of the banner now. Feel free to comment if you like or dislike the colors or anything else. I will probably keep experimenting with new colors and banners until the site looks right. I’ve also been tinkering around with the Feedburner settings and SEO (search engine optimization). I apologize to any Feedburner subscribers who might have received emails of old blog reposts or pages. If you do get any more of those unnecessary notices just disregard them. Figuring out all of the technical details of running a blog is a work in progress, but something I enjoy and look forward to.

On another note Charlotte has launched a food blog called PurpleYamHill. It’s a very professional looking blog and I think it has good potential for a wide audience and outstanding content. It’s gotten off to a slow start, but with the rainy season on the way I think our kitchen will see more activity in the near future, which means more food blogging. I also enjoy cooking and eating healthy so I’ll contribute some posts there when the inspiration strikes, which happened last week when I wrote about “The BMT sandwich”.

As for the content on this site my goal is to try to post at least once a month. I’d like to post 2-4 blogs per month in the future but I’ll have to see how it goes. I really enjoy writing these posts and have a long list of subjects I want to write about. Unfortunately these are not easy posts to create since a lot of research is typically involved. The research does allow me to learn more facts about the topics in my posts, and then pass that information along to the readers. Of course my opinions will be in the mix too, but as intelligent readers I would expect all of you to come up with your own opinions and conclusions to anything I or anyone else says.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have taken the time to read our blogs, contributed content, helped spawn ideas for us to write about, left comments, or provided feedback in any other way. It all helps to keep Charlotte and I inspired bloggers. I have a few posts that I’m currently working on so check back for those updates soon. In the meantime I’ll leave you with a hypnotizing picture of our favorite doggie Mulder.

Look into my eyes, you're getting very sleepy. Now on the count of 3 I want you to go get me a cheddar cheese treat!

I’ve always enjoyed fishing even though I’ve never been very good at it. Some of my earliest memories are from fishing trips I used to take with my Dad while growing up in Florida. I guess it’s just one of those activities that really appeals to kids. Most likely just being outdoors and in nature has a lot to do with it, as this study shows. Unfortunately many of the other 6,867,644,353 people on earth like to fish too, which is bad for the fish. There are only so many fish to go around.

Approximately 80% of the world’s population lives within 60 miles of the coast. For many of those people seafood is the primary staple of their diet, either by choice or necessity. Growing up in Florida seafood was a common part of my diet too. Lately as I’ve become more environmentally aware I’ve tried to cut down on my fish and seafood consumption. When I do eat seafood, which might be about once a month, I often lean towards more sustainable choices like wild salmon or trout, which are also high in Omega 3’s. Additionally these fish on average do not live as long as some larger fish, so that means they have less time to accumulate toxins in their bodies like mercury which is passed on to you when you eat them. It is actually possible to get mercury poisoning from eating too much fish. Some of the unhealthiest fish you can eat are the large predator fish that are at the top of the food chain like swordfish, shark, and tuna.

Besides being high in mercury many large game fish are being pushed to the edge of extinction. One such example is the heavily over-fished Chilean Sea Bass. Whole Foods Market has recently implemented a seafood ratings system which will mark seafood with a green, yellow, or red label. Over the next few years they, along with our other favorite grocery store Trader Joes, intend to completely phase out all red labeled seafood from their shelves. Other stores are following through with similar actions, but all too often it takes pressure from environmental groups or more knowledgeable purchasing decisions from consumers to prompt these changes.

Most wild salmon and trout are sustainable and healthy fish that are typically regulated and monitored by the department of fish and wildlife. Many states mandate catch and release style fishing in sensitive areas, while enforcing catch limits everywhere else. State managed fish hatcheries help keep the populations in line with the demand by anglers. These fish hatcheries are not to be confused with fish farms which raise fish in a controlled environment solely for the purpose of producing commercial food. While that might sound like a sustainable practice, it is not. The farmed fish are in an unnatural environment, which means they are more susceptible to disease and toxins. Usually the meat on these farm raised salmon is so pale and dull that red food color is used to make the end product look more attractive. Furthermore these unhealthy fish pass on disease, lice, and other problems to wild salmon which threaten their populations. Here is a very interesting youtube video describing the problem in detail.

Even though wild salmon in moderation can be healthy for people, the same is not true for your canine companions. I was surprised to find a notification in my Oregon Fishing Regulations book warning about salmon poisoning to dogs from Cascade salmon and trout. Even if you don’t live around here the salmon you buy at the store could very likely be from the Pacific Northwest, so if you have a dog this is something you should be aware of. Apparently Cascade salmon and trout can carry a parasite that when ingested by a dog is almost always fatal within days if left untreated. Thoroughly cooked fish is ok, but why risk it at all? There are places I’ve been fishing around here where people will just clean the fish on the river bank and leave the guts sitting there to rot. If you have a dog with you they will be sure to investigate this mess by sniffing and licking it, which can lead to big trouble for Fido.

Another problem in marine life is invasive species. Just as we have invasive species with animal and plant life, the same is true for marine life. Two examples I can think of on land in Oregon are the Bark Beetles that destroy forests by eating trees, and English Ivy that smothers trees and kills them. In the water one of the many invasive species Oregon has are Pike Minnows, which affect salmon and steelhead populations by eating their small offspring. To counter this problem a pikeminnow reward program is in place that pays anglers to catch these pesky fish. Each fish is worth from four to eight dollars, and a few fish are tagged with special 500 dollar tags so you can go green while fishing for green.

Throughout history mankind has driven many species of animals into extinction from overhunting, loss of natural habitat, and other unnatural means. Many people have the wrong impression that the oceans are a vast unending natural resource. With nearly 7 billion people in the world, the fish dimension is disappearing fast. Marvin Gaye sang about the problem in 1971 with Mercy Mercy Me, The Ecology, “Oh, things ain’t what they used to be, no, no, Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas, Fish full of mercury…”. Just as he knew about it then, we know about it now. So you have to ask yourself, what can you do to help fix the problem, or at least do to keep from adding to the problem? For some inspiration here is one of the many video tributes to Marin Gaye’s sad song.

As you all know, and some of you may have already forgotten, the biggest marine oil spill in world history gushed freely in the Gulf of Mexico over the summer of 2010 for 87 days. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Well Explosion and following leak was both deadly and devastating, killing 11 initially in the explosion and 2 more in the cleanup effort. Countless species of birds, mammals, and fish died in this disaster; more than we’ll ever know. The economic, psychological, emotional, and environmental damage to the Gulf Region was arguably as bad, or worse, than it was from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since nobody really knows the extent of the damage the oil will do long term, or how much oil is really still hidden in the depths of the ocean a mile or more deep, the end result of this catastrophe has yet to be determined.

I watched the entire sequence of events unfold on TV just like most people in the world who don’t live close enough to experience it firsthand. In a day and age where we are so desensitized from the bombardment of news and media sources it’s hard to really think of this as more than a news headline, unless you are affected by it personally. Sure everyone was mad about it, but what could anyone besides BP really do to fix it- nothing. So everyone went into bystander mode including the government. Watching, waiting, worrying, wondering, when will it end. Nobody wanted to get too attached to the issue emotionally because nobody could do anything to solve the problem except BP. Only BP had the equipment to fix the problem. Possibly other oil companies could have helped, but it was too convenient for them to watch their competitor drown in oil, along with the Gulf Region.

Now the bleeding has stopped, and the only people that will be affected by this long term are the residents that live on the Gulf Coast, or people brave enough to eat the government certified safe Gulf Seafood. Nearly as fast as the oil spill stopped, the news stories stopped flowing too. There were three other oil spills this summer (one in Michigan, one on land in Louisiana, and another one off the shores of Louisiana), but they barely registered a blip in the news, or were covered up quickly. It’s amazing how easily people can forget about an event so horrific, and move on talking about the next big story. Personally I’m disgusted by the whole thing, so when I had a chance to visit Florida this summer in late July and early August I knew that I had to tour the region to get my own impression, and then write something about it.

By the time I got to Florida the BP Oil Well was finally capped and testing was in place to finalize the seal on the cap. The current headline was all about if the cap would hold, what tropical storms were heading to the region, and what fishing areas had been reopened. My first stop was Siesta Key Beach south of Tampa. The oil spill never really reached this far south, at least not visibly. The water was brilliantly green and the sand white as can be. The beach was packed, and everything seemed to be business as usual.

The second best beach in the country-according to Travel Channel

A week later in early August I started my tour of the Florida Panhandle area that was affected by the oil spill. First stop was St George Island State park near Apalachicola FL. On the drive down there from Tallahassee I saw a few BP gas stations with tarps covering the BP signs. Apparently some BP stations have already started changing business names because nobody will buy gas from them. At the beach the water was the normal green color, but had streaks of brown in it. People were fishing and swimming as if nothing had happened.

The BP name ain't what it used to be.

Surf Fishing in the Gulf at St. George Beach

You might be a redneck, if you pitch a tent at the beach

A few days later I left for Texas and decided to make a driving tour of the Gulf Coast on the way. The first stop was in Panama City which was very deserted for this time of year. The panhandle beaches (also known as The Redneck Riviera) typically have their high season in the summer, unlike the rest of Florida. I walked out onto the Panama City Pier to see if I could figure out why the water had even more brown streaks in it than St George Island. The park ranger said that the water turned brown every summer when the algae bloomed during hot weather; it was indeed HOT. However I’ve never heard of this or seen it myself in the 16 years that I lived in Florida, or on the many visits I’ve had since. Although I did grow up on the southeast coast I have visited the Gulf Coast and the panhandle on numerous occasions.

To quote Diamond Dave- Panama, Uh Oh Oh Oh Ohhh

Does that look like normal algae to you?

More fishing off Panama Pier

Driving west my next stop was just east of Destin at Miramar Beach where signs were posted warning people that the beaches in this area had been affected by the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill. I found tar on the beach and trash barrels labeled oil (which ironically look like oil barrels) to put this in. Surprisingly people were still swimming and fishing as if nothing had ever happened. The water was even browner than Panama City. On the radio I heard a commercial sponsored by BP. The content was as you would expect, the usual propaganda about how BP cares and is working hard to clean the waters etc, and then I heard this- although you may find dead fish washed up on the beaches this is a normal result of the algae bloom that happens every year along the Gulf coast. Really???

Oil affected beach- hey let's go swimming!

Who cares if there's oil in the water, lets party like its 2009!

On the lookout for oil and dead wildlife

The next stop was Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola Florida. Just a few weeks ago the Florida Governor Charlie Christ was seen on the news walking along this beach area surveying the puddles of oil spilled all over the famous white sand beaches Pensacola is known for. Driving along I saw several cleanup sites full of generically marked buses that looked like modified tour buses used to transport the oil cleanup crew to and from the beaches. There were police cars blocking access to the normally public areas, and crime scene looking tape blocking access to the parking and beach areas where workers were. Everything was very secretive and BP seemed to be in full cover-up mode. I had the feeling that if I crossed the line to the cleanup area I might be shot on site. It was that kind of operation, and this was happening in several areas starting around Destin and heading west. I left the coast and hit I-10 for my next stop Biloxi Mississippi, which still had temps in 90’s and near 100% humidity when I arrived near midnight. When I stepped out of the car my glasses fogged up and I nearly fainted from the heat. Blah!

Green flag or not, I wouldn't swim in that!

Tar/oil on the beach

No public access, anymore..

I’ve driven through Mississippi many times but to date my only memorable experience here was witnessing a fight at a local gas station somewhere around Jackson. A Charlie Daniels song Uneasy Rider comes to mind. This time I drove across the Gulf Coast on US90 which is similar to Florida’s coastal A1A. I stopped at several beaches from Biloxi to Gulfport and beyond. The water seemed to be a constant brown sewer color with a similar smell to go with it. There were several drainage pipes or culverts pouring straight into the gulf along various beaches, which were adding who knows what to the already oil infested waters. Dead fish were washed up all over the beach. Big industry factories were looming in the distance along the coast spewing out pollution of their own. Although the beaches were pretty much empty there were still a few hardy souls fishing and swimming in this water, which looked like it could be straight from an overflowed toilet. I struggled to keep my lunch down, and decided that I had seen enough.

Biloxi- Is that oil sheen in the water from the boats or the spill?

Dead fish and unknown substance on the beach in Gulfport

The lovely waters of Gulfport

Although I only saw the aftermath of this disaster it did put some things in perspective for me.

1. I realized it doesn’t matter how bad the environment is. Some people just don’t care, don’t pay attention, and won’t change their normal routine and habits to make a difference. Not even if that difference is for their own good.

2. My Mom reminded me that when my sister and I were kids we would always get tar on our feet at the beaches and have to use baby oil to get it off. As far as I know tar only comes from oil, although some oil leaks are naturally occurring. In any case there doesn’t seem to be much tar on the east coast of Florida anymore so its likely oil spills weren’t regulated or reported as much back in the old days.

3. The fishing industry is alive and well on the Gulf Coast. The recently closed fishing waters are quickly being reopened in order to get life and economics back to normal for Gulf Coast residents. Even as new studies are finding oil and dispersant residue in local seafood like crab larvae all along the gulf coast, locals are eating it anyway to show support for the fishing industry. If the government says its ok, then it must be, right? Not really.

4. The total oil spill was estimated to be 4.9 million barrels or 205 million gallons of oil; spelled out that’s 205,000,000 gallons! So basically if 2 out of every 3 people in the United States were to pour a gallon of oil into the gulf that would about equal the spill.

5. About a month after the oil well is capped it’s difficult to find any news on this catastrophe. The effects will be felt for years to come, but it seems everyone is so eager to move on and forget. The big money of BP in combination with the government cover-up machine has pretty much brushed this under the rug. Most people who don’t live in the Gulf Region have already forgotten about the Great Oil Kill and are now focused on what Mississippi’s favorite son Brett Favre will do this season.

6. BP has signs posted all over the Gulf region asking people to report oil and dead wildlife if you see it. I wonder if the dead wildlife is really counted or quietly discarded? We will never know for sure how many casualties this disaster claimed, nor how many future generations of wildlife will be affected by the new dead zones created in the Gulf from the oil and dispersant.

7. The number of dead birds, fish, and mammals that were washed up on the Gulf Shores was listed in the thousands, because that is all we could see washed up on the shores. This is conveniently inaccurate for BP and the public conscience. The reality is the oil spill affected an area much larger than the Gulf Coastline you saw on the news. Let’s just say hypothetically the spill affected an area the size of the state of Louisiana, which is probably not far off. Now if you counted the causalities only along the state’s shoreline, that would be a gross underestimate considering you covered a couple hundred miles (not even square miles), when the entire state is made up of roughly 58,000 square miles. Now imagine that the state is made up of water that is up to a mile deep in some areas, so you had to cover not only the area but the entire volume of its depth. It’s unfathomable!

8. Money seems to fix everything, for now. BP has deep pockets. Case in point- former BP CEO Tony Hayward gets an 18 million dollar golden parachute so he can “get his life back”. BP probably makes more profit annually than some small countries. With all that money they have millions to spend on propaganda, cover-up, and cleanup. 50 million alone went to advertisements saying we’re sorry, we care, and we’ll fix the problem. 50 million that could have gone to new energy technology research so we can get off oil.

9. If BP really cared about the environment they wouldn’t have sprayed 2 million gallons of toxic dispersants into the gulf after the EPA ordered them not to. In an effort to make the oil disappear they did it anyway. Unfortunately the dispersant doesn’t really make the oil disappear; it just spreads it out, along with the toxic dispersant. But as far as BP is concerned what you can’t see won’t hurt you, or at least it won’t hurt their image.

10. BP will likely divide itself up into smaller companies like other major companies with a bad reputation have. In the meantime if you want to boycott BP these brands also use BP oil- ARCO, AM/PM, Aral, and Castrol oil. I’m sure there are many others but it’s hard to find that information on the internet, just like it’s hard to find any current news about the oil spill. It all seemed to mysteriously vanish just like the oil.

11. Irony is cruel. This disaster did happen off the shores of the country that historically has been the number one consumer of oil products- U.S.A. Recently that top spot has been overtaken by the Chinese who have a population about 4 times the size of the U.S. What happens as China continues to grow and other populous countries on the rise such as India follow? We may be able to develop our own alternative fuels to become energy independent, like Brazil did decades ago after the 70’s oil crisis, but how long will it take for these new up and coming nations to follow that lead. If they are as slow as us it will take decades.

Now that the oil can’t be seen on the water surface or beaches where is it? Suddenly a great convenient theory about oil eating bacteria appears and all is well. If this is true don’t the bacteria defecate like every other living thing on earth, and wouldn’t that waste still contain the oil in some form? Where is the oil, and what form has it taken? Has it dispersed so much that it’s just mixed up with the water in trace levels so that whatever effects it may have down the road can never be traced back to the oil spill? There are lots of questions and proposed answers to all of this, but trying to find the truth in it all is like trying to mix oil and water. Meanwhile the residents of the Gulf Coast will be left behind and forgotten, once again.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Just like people pets need exercise too, so why not stay active together.

I’ve known a few people that have had news like that from the doctor. One person I know that was over 300 pounds finally decided to have gastric bypass surgery done after the doctor told her she may not live long enough to see her kids grow up. I saw her several months after the surgery when she had lost over 100 pounds and looked like a completely different person. I’m not saying that surgery is a great thing but if you neglect your body then tough decisions like that will have to be made down the road. If a fortuneteller had told this girl 10 years previous that she would require surgery to reduce the size of her stomach unless she changed her lifestyle and diet then maybe things would have been different for her. What I’m trying to say is why not have better health, fitness, and lifestyle before getting to the point of needing surgery for a health related problem that was preventable.

To wrap up the last part of the healthy series blog here are a few suggestions for changing the final aspect of lifestyle. If you haven’t read part 1 and part 2 yet then be sure to check those out.

Be honest and open with yourself and others
Be honest with yourself about your weight, and don’t be afraid to talk about it with friends and family. The topic of weight is a touchy subject to most people. Women are especially sensitive about their weight, but they shouldn’t be. When you are too sensitive or afraid to deal with the subject of your weight you are really just hurting yourself. You will get more support from your internal network than you might think. Additionally by talking the talk you will be expected to walk the walk. For some people the support or expectations they get from others is all they need to get moving in the right direction.

If you are going to be your own boss make sure you are doing the job
Think of this example; kids can get into all kinds of trouble and danger if left unsupervised. That is why they need adults to oversee them. Adults can likewise get into trouble when suddenly they grow up and nobody is there to tell them what they should or shouldn’t do. Good upbringing and education go a long way but nobody can be completely prepared for adulthood. One good thing my mom did when I was a kid was limit my sister and I to one treat each per trip to the grocery store, which wasn’t that often. These days I’m my own boss and despite that early discipline it is still hard to leave the store with more food than treats. In fact my wife doesn’t like it when I shop because I buy so many random items that don’t add up to meals. I can only imagine how bad some people can be who are their own bosses but basically give themselves permission to do whatever they want. More problems can ensue if you decide to let someone else who isn’t qualified be your boss. By nature most people want to follow someone else’s lead because it’s just easier than making their own conscious decisions. That easiness can turn into laziness, complacency, and misguided trust in sources that are unreliable. Just because your coworkers eat a big mac for lunch everyday doesn’t mean you should too. If someone else is your boss then fire them and/or recommit yourself to being a better boss.

Don’t let society determine who you are
Our over-polite and politically correct society is increasingly sending out the message that it is ok to be overweight, or to “be comfortable with who you are”. That’s great in concept and certainly accurate in some regards, but when it is in context to body weight that statement really tells people is its ok if you are overweight and there is no need to change. When surrounded by so many people that have this carefree attitude it’s easy for anyone to get off track. If you want to be successful YOU have to take the initiative to make it happen. This means independent thinking, self discipline, and having a proactive attitude. Don’t let society influence who you are. Decide for yourself who and how you want to be, and then make it happen!

Tune out the media
Even more than society, media pre-programs us with misconceptions and all kinds of propaganda. Just because Subway’s 5 dollar foot-long sandwich is only 5 dollars and supposedly healthy that doesn’t mean it’s ok to eat the whole thing at once. I’ll admit Subway is better than most fast food, but that I just can’t get that annoying jingle in their commercial out of my head. It makes me want to spear the TV with a foot-long sandwich so I never have to hear it again! Unfortunately this is exactly what these advertisers want, a commercial that you will remember one way or another for a very long time. Because even worse than hating them is forgetting them or not knowing they are there at all. This is just one bad example of media influence. There are also magazines, actors and actresses, politicians, billboards; just all kinds of advertisements and images coming at us from all directions vying for our dollars and interest. It’s all so overwhelming that people start to forget who they are and just become vessels of popular society. Just as you have to be proactive with exercise and diet, be proactive with your mind. Turn off the TV and read, study, learn; basically decide to think for yourself again. You will have a more studious approach towards life and an overall healthier attitude, which translates into a better lifestyle.

Get enough sleep
This should be a no-brainer, but many people can’t seem to get this sleep thing right. Your body and mind need sleep to recuperate from the day’s activities, and if you are exercising you need more sleep than normal to rebuild your muscles. Some people do have sleep disorders, but others just sacrifice sleep to make up for lost time or because of a poor personal schedule. I’m a late night person myself so swing shift works well for me. I worked a very early AM shift with a brutal commute for a year, and that made my circadian rhythm go haywire. During that time I only averaged about 5 hours of sleep per night. I was always tired and even though my job was very active I gained weight from eating more than normal to try to make up for the lack of energy. Once I got a swing shift job that was closer to home I went back to sleeping 8 hours a night with a normal diet. Without even trying I lost almost 10 pounds in a month to get back to my typical weight around 170.

Lay off the booze
This is a tough one for many people, myself included. I like to enjoy a good microbrew or glass of wine now and then which has just become part of my lifestyle. In limited quantities this is no problem, and many studies show that it can indeed be healthy in some aspects. The problem is most people don’t or can’t limit themselves to just one or two drinks. When you drink excessively this hurts your health, motivation, budget, waistline, workout routine, and brain functionality. I’ve decided to take a serious layoff from booze in 2010 to see what effects it has on my lifestyle. Initially I planned to go dry for the entire year but with summer coming I decided 6 months is long enough. It’s been 5 months already and the only thing I miss about not drinking is the social aspect. I guess for me it has been a good experiment and will permanently change the way I think about drinking alcohol. I will likely be more conscious of how much and how often I drink just like I have been about the food I eat after going on the South Beach Diet some years ago. In fact one thing I learned from the South Beach Diet was that instead of drinking beer which is full of Maltrose (a form of sugar), or mixed drinks loaded with sugar, try wine. Vino is much healthier, full of antioxidants, and easier on your waistline. What you do in this department depends on your lifestyle, but limiting or cutting out the booze for a while can really contribute to your overall success in the area of health and diet.

Walk after eating
We learned about the effectiveness of this after traveling in Europe for 4 months. Although the portions were smaller we still ate well and usually had a beer or two with our meal because it was so good over there, and usually the cheapest beverage on the menu. We always walked after eating because other than taking the train it was the primary way of getting around so we really had no choice. After that trip I was down to almost 160 pounds which was the lightest I had been since my early 20’s. After putting some thought to this I came to the conclusion that your stomach really does a lot of work to digest food which naturally makes you tired, and after eating you feel somewhat bloated and full so naturally you want to just relax. If you go against this natural desire and do something mildly active like walking after eating then your food will settle easier and you won’t feel so lethargic.

If you can’t work out find another way to stay active
In the year 2000 I went snowboarding for the first time on a very icy day and ended up separating my shoulder. The doc said there was nothing he could do for me short of surgery which wasn’t necessary unless I was a professional athlete. He simply suggested taking an Advil whenever I participate in an activity like racquetball or weight lifting that involved my shoulder. For about 5 years I had to go light on the weights, and at times went for months without lifting but I still managed to keep in pretty decent shape doing other things. When I did work out I skipped the Advil (which will eat holes in your stomach) and just lived with the pain. Eventually I did have to quit playing racquetball because the pain was too much by the time I would finish a few games. Instead I got more involved in other activities like hiking and ironically snowboarding, which made up for what I missed in the gym. I’m the kind of person that just needs to stay active so I had to adjust my lifestyle to accommodate that need and I think that adjustment turned out to be a very good thing. The gym is a great way to get in shape, but to have a healthy active lifestyle you need other sources of exercise than lifting weights or running on a treadmill.

Make your goals dynamic to match your lifestyle
Don’t get so set on obtaining a certain goal that you fail altogether and lose your overall confidence. If you’re goal is to lose 100 pounds in order to get down to your high school weight, but you are only losing 1 pound per week, then you will likely get frustrated and eventually give up altogether. If you do see yourself getting frustrated then modify your goal to be more obtainable. Make it a goal of losing 25 pounds, and then once you do that try for another 25 pounds. Even if you only lose the initial 25, but manage to keep that weight off in the long term, then it’s still a winning scenario from where you started.

There are no shortcuts
Plastic surgery, liposuction, TV gimmicks, diet pills, steroids- forgedaboudit! Two wrongs don’t make a right. It amazes me what people will put themselves through to try to take a shortcut. Oftentimes the shortcut takes more effort than the normal and correct course of action. The bottom line is if you want to be fit and healthy you need to exercise and eat better; so go exercise and then cook a nice healthy meal- now repeat over and over again.

Listen to your body
In today’s modern society we’ve lost touch with nature and ourselves. Your body often tells you what it needs and when enough is enough, but we usually don’t listen. Make it a goal to have a harmonious relationship with your body so you can naturally know what is right and wrong when it comes to eating, exercise and sleep. Most people don’t want to take the time to prepare healthy meals, exercise, or get a good night of sleep, but this is really just an excuse. These are not things you make time for; it’s just something you incorporate into your lifestyle. You wouldn’t say you never have time to do laundry or pay bills would you? Of course not, you have to do those things so you just do them. Eating healthy, exercising, and sleeping should be the same way. That’s not to say that you won’t occasionally get off track, but that is ok as long as you get back on track before your body derails. Just remember losing weight and getting in shape isn’t something you do just to look good for the summer, it’s a lifetime commitment to a healthier body and mind.

Does this count as Exercise? You Betcha!

This post is part 2 of 3 in the Healthy 2010 series.

There are only a few basic material things in life a human needs to survive; air, water, food, and shelter. Beyond that everything else is a luxury. Air is a given and I’ve talked about water in previous posts. Food is pretty important so why do people take it so lightly, or should I say heavily? Most people (myself included) have a few basic problems with their diet that can cause health and weight issues. In some cases people know what the problem is but ignore it. In other cases they let their lifestyle dictate their diet, or they just don’t take the time to care about what they eat. Occasionally an individual may be disillusioned into thinking their diet is perfectly fine when in fact it is not.

For most people the biggest problem in their diet is eating more calories than they burn. This doesn’t always mean how much you eat, but also how much of what specific foods you are eating at certain times. Too much of anything is usually bad for you. I’ve gone through many tweaks and improvements in my diet over the years for various reasons. Besides having a fairly healthy diet I’ve been fortunate enough to have pretty good harmony with my body so when I eat I’ve always been able to tell when enough is enough. Furthermore when I eat or drink something that isn’t good for me my body is usually affected in some kind of negative way. For example when I eat something with too much salt I will usually get a terrible headache which makes me think twice before making the same mistake again. I do have a little problem with snacking and sweets (especially chocolate), but I don’t want to be a bad influence on anyone so I won’t outline all the different kinds of chocolate I have in my snack attack arsenal. Instead I hope to be a positive influence by outlining some of the finer points that I have learned over the years to maintain a healthy diet, and maybe I can work on my own snacking problem too…

Eat a balanced diet
Sounds cliché eh? Well you all know this fact well, but too many people still eat subsistence junk food just to get by. The false notion is that if you are filled up then you are good to go, but your body is not like a car where you can get by on whatever fuel happens to be the cheapest and easiest. Do your research and take the time to plan out a quality balanced diet that meets all of your health needs. Here are a few things to think about when you are considering what is right or wrong in your diet. People need protein but too much meat can be unhealthy, especially fatty meats like beef. Try eating grilled chicken breasts or sliced turkey sandwiches instead of double cheeseburgers or fried chicken. Healthy alternative sources of protein include beans, nuts, lentils, dairy, quinoa, etc. Fish is very healthy, but can contain high levels of mercury depending on the type. Do your research to find out which types of fish are sustainable and contain less mercury. Dairy is a good source of protein, but can have other issues with RGBH hormones and lactose which affects most people to some degree or another. Try buying organic milk that is free of RGBH, or convert to soy milk. We drink Silk brand organic soy milk which is excellent. For carbs there are what is known as good carbs and bad carbs. The bad carbs have a high glycemic index, or in other words they are rapidly digested. Examples of those are potatoes and white bread. Good carbs would include whole grains and healthy fruits. The South Beach Diet book does an excellent job of explaining this and is a good read even if you don’t do the diet. More on that in the next section.

Go on a diet (guys this means you too)
I know there are a lot of fad diets out there and I don’t believe in any diet that says eat all carbs or all protein, because anything that doesn’t include a healthy well balanced meal just isn’t healthy in the long run. Many of the all protein meat crazed diets that have come out in the last decade do help you lose weight, but it doesn’t always stay off and certainly is not healthy. Likewise being vegetarian isn’t always a healthy choice either. I’ve known vegetarians that make up for the lack of meat by eating sugar filled goodies. Going vegetarian will usually mean you eat less overall because you have less options, but you still have to eat quality food. A good diet is all about eating well balanced meals. One diet I do think is good is the previously mentioned South Beach Diet. It initially starts you off on a shocker diet of mostly protein, and then reintroduces good carbs back into your diet after the 2 week introductory phase. Even though I was not overweight I went on this diet some years ago with my wife I still lost 15 pounds over the course of the diet. For me this was a little too skinny and I eventually went back to my original weight after eating normal again, but I have always been more conscious of my food selections since then.

Eat the right foods at the right times, and likewise avoid the wrong foods at the wrong times.
As you know breakfast is a very important meal in the day. I’ve never been a big breakfast person and often skip it altogether, so this is something I also need to work on. Generally speaking you should eat a good meal early on to get your body fueled for the day. Whatever calories you eat in the morning should be burned off during the day so if you are going to eat something indulgent this is the time to do it. On the flip side of this dinner and especially midnight snacks or anything around your bedtime is something you have to be very careful of. What you eat during this time will not be burned off like your earlier meals so they can make a big difference in your waistline. Nevertheless some people like me feel the need to eat something before bedtime. I stay away from sweets and large meals and usually opt for a small bowl of whole grain cereal in soy milk to hold me over. As an overall rule you usually want to eat most of your daily caloric intake earlier in the day, and try to eat a healthy low carbohydrate meal in the evening.

Learn how your body needs and uses food
There are a lot of theories and ideas on what and when you should eat. Read up on these ideas, try them, and then follow what works for you. One of many examples I can think of from reading fitness magazines is to make use of what is called a protein window. The idea is you eat a meal with high protein content during your protein window so your body will utilize that protein to help rebuild muscles. The two main protein windows are within an hour of working out, before or after, and just before you go to bed. You body is active and looking for protein (and carbs) to recover during and after your workout so this is obvious and should be considered. The theory on eating before bedtime is that your body will utilize the protein you eat to rebuild your muscles during the night. Pure protein meals like a grilled chicken breast (by itself) are usually low in calories and won’t make you gain weight so this isn’t a bad thing at all. You might keep this in mind if you work out frequently, but late night is not the time to carb up, nor do you need to make a practice of eating a midnight protein meal unless you are a serious body builder. The idea here is to take the initiative to learn what your body needs to be healthy and don’t be afraid to change your diet to see if you get better results.

Stop the mindless eating
Everyone should be conscious of what and how much they are eating rather than just blindly shoveling food into their mouths. Mindless eating is snacking, eating too much, and not paying attention to what you are eating. You don’t want to deprive yourself to the point that you eventually binge, so remember that moderation is the key here. It is always better to eat overall smaller meals with healthy snacks now and then to hold you over, as opposed to 2-3 large meals with long stretches of growing hunger in between. Some examples of healthy snacks are mixed nuts, yogurt, fruit, raw veggies, etc. Aim for a healthy balanced diet with the right amount of healthy carbs and protein; and don’t be afraid to throw in an occasional treat. For me the treat is one bite of 72% dark chocolate after a meal (about half an ounce). Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and a great choice for a healthy snack in moderation. Be warned though, it does contain some caffeine so it’s not a good choice for kids, and it is poisonous to dogs (along with grapes and raisins) so keep it out of their reach.

Portion your Food
After Charlotte and I got married she gained a little weight and one night asked me why I thought this was happening. I told her simply it is because she is eating exactly the same amount of food that I was. I am quite a bit taller and heavier than her, not to mention being male which means I need more food and burn more calories. Even though I eat less than the average American, when she was eating the same amount as me she was still eating more than her body could handle. She started weighing her portions of food out on a kitchen sized digital scale, and would eat only that predetermined portion. I thought this was funny at first but it turned out to be very effective for her, and she still does this with most meals! Another habit to get into is if you go out to eat at a restaurant try splitting a dish with your significant other, or split your dish in half before you start eating so that you can eat the half portion for lunch the next day. When I was working out heavy in the past I would sometimes force myself to eat more than I naturally would so that I’d gain weight. Once I stopped working out frequently my appetite took a long time to return to normal. This is something to keep in mind for anyone who eats more than they should for any reason.

Cut down on the Salt and Sugar
American food is full of salt and sugar and both of these come in many forms. All of the processed, prepackaged, and fast food we eat is loaded with both of these culprits along with many other undesirables. Sodium makes your body retain water causing you to feel bloated. Your body needs to sweat to cleanse itself, but when you eat too much salt you end up holding water and other impurities that your body should be purging. Too much sugar is obviously not going to help matters either. Soda, candy, and anything with corn syrup (see Children of the Corn blog) is just packing the pounds on your waistline, so exclude those from your diet as much as possible. The French are known for their deserts (believe me they do eat them), but you rarely see overweight people in France, or Europe for that matter. What’s the difference? People over there eat more natural foods from markets, and much less processed foods; a good example to follow.

Make a drastic change in your diet such as cutting out MSG, Corn Syrup, or both!
I stopped eating foods with MSG about 10 years ago. My diet was instantly transformed because suddenly about half of the food I normally ate was eliminated, which meant I had to cook and buy more natural and organic foods. We recently cut out corn syrup as well, which cut out many more of these junk foods that we previously thought were ok. While adjusting your diet in this way may seem like a hardship, just think of it as a positive change in lifestyle. Remember its ok to fudge once in a while. I’ve found good alternatives to Heinz ketchup at Trader Joes and Whole foods that don’t have corn syrup. However if I’m at a restaurant and have French fries in front of me I’m still going to use whatever ketchup is available, because what’s a French fry without ketchup? By the way fries or pommes frites as we like to call them are another big weakness in my diet…

Eat lots of fiber
It’s a dirty topic but someone’s got to talk about it. You need fiber in your diet to keep your digestive pipes clean. Take care of your body just as you would a vintage car. Eating fiber is like putting fuel injection cleaner in your gas tank. When you don’t get enough fiber digested food hangs around making you feel bloated and clogging up your intestinal track. Fiber helps your digestive system run clean and keeps you regular. Fibers can be naturally found in fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains to name a few. If you feel like you can’t get enough of these foods naturally then you can buy fiber supplements at any vitamin store. There are many varieties of soluble and insoluble fiber so if one doesn’t work well then try others. Anything with psyllium husks usually works very well. Additionally fiber is thought to help reduce the risk of prostate cancer which is very common in American men.

Hit the health food store
You can get great products and free advice at the local vitamin and supplement store, or in the equivalent department of an organic grocery store like Whole Foods. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and try new products. Items like protein powder, fiber supplements, multivitamins, and flax seed oil can be great additions to your diet. I’ll cover some of these topics in more detail with future posts. Just don’t overdo it with any one product, and be sure to ask get the opinions of multiple people in addition to online research before taking anything new.

Eat slower and chew your food better
Instead of eating until you feel stuffed try to estimate how much food you should eat before you even start your meal and stick to that amount. It takes about 15 minutes for your brain to get the message that your stomach is full so if you eat slower you’ll be less likely to overeat. When you eat slower you generally tend to chew your food longer which makes your brain feel like you are eating more. Well chewed food will be easier to digest. Taking your time to eat a healthy nutritious food should be an enjoyable experience preferably shared in the company of others, rather than a cheap fill-up at a fast food joint. An added bonus to eating healthy and slow is that you will have less gastric disturbances with good food that is eaten properly, in comparison to fast food that is quickly consumed.

Eat at home
Somehow people have the misconception that restaurant food is actually good for you since it looks and tastes so good. This is usually not the case. Fast food is almost always low quality junk food, and restaurant food is more often than not high quality junk food. Many of the chain restaurants serve little more than overpriced frozen and processed foods that are loaded with MSG, salt, preservatives, corn syrup and other junk. This article outlines examples of sandwiches from both fast food and chain restaurants that sound healthy but are anything but. Instead of falling into the convenient trap of eating out all the time take the time to shop for good quality groceries and cook your own meals. Don’t just buy the same frozen, bagged, and canned junk food at the grocery store though. Buy the good stuff and try shopping at the farmers market for fresh wholesome foods. Cook large meals so you can eat leftovers for a couple of days rather than going out. Cold cut sandwiches are healthy, easy, and cheap too. Even convenient delivery pizza on occasion (thin or whole grain crust is better) can be good for multiple meals and is usually healthier than most other fast foods as long as you are conscious about the toppings. Implementing some of these strategies into your food routine will help you shed the excess padding off of your waist and put it back in your wallet where it belongs.