http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/21/zakaria.google.china/index.html?hpt=T2
Just as this topic arose, my geography teacher has incorporated it into an assignment.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Rise in Pacific Ocean's pH
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010846811_ocean21m.html
A 15 year study has confirmed the rise in pH of the Pacific Ocean. This is not a good sign. Though maybe this study will lead to opportunities for us to help our Earth rather than take advantage of it.
A 15 year study has confirmed the rise in pH of the Pacific Ocean. This is not a good sign. Though maybe this study will lead to opportunities for us to help our Earth rather than take advantage of it.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The inherited lung structure of alligators and birds.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8453053.stm
This BBC article written by BBC News science reporter Doreen Walton explains the new research on the lung structure of alligators and birds. Evolution and survival of the fittest. This report says that air flow in bird and alligator lungs is one-way and allows them to breathe in low oxygen environments. This breathing system has been passed down from their ancestors, the dinosaurs. I'd like to see a diagram of this lungs system.
This is right in time with the beginning of my first biology lecture and lab. I am attracting science based stories, last night Noah surprised me with the movie "Darwin." Charles Darwin was the beginning of evolution.
This BBC article written by BBC News science reporter Doreen Walton explains the new research on the lung structure of alligators and birds. Evolution and survival of the fittest. This report says that air flow in bird and alligator lungs is one-way and allows them to breathe in low oxygen environments. This breathing system has been passed down from their ancestors, the dinosaurs. I'd like to see a diagram of this lungs system.
This is right in time with the beginning of my first biology lecture and lab. I am attracting science based stories, last night Noah surprised me with the movie "Darwin." Charles Darwin was the beginning of evolution.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Green on the Inside
Today I am amazed and inspired by the abundance of little gifts that surround me. Many days I am 'too busy', or in 'too much of a hurry' to stop and notice these little pleasures. When, in truth, there is no rush at all, and there is plenty of time. It is up to me to be present and receive this world's beauty by simply OPENING MY EYES....
...This is a lesson in gratitude.
I love.....
..the pavement blurring beneath my tires on my journey into the city each morning
...................long, deep shadows to hide in during the magic hours of the day
..warm hugs while the night's dreams wash away with the morning light
...................soft hair after getting out of the shower
..questions, answers & telling a story. Listening.
..........the night's silence
...................my ability to create whatever I choose
....noodles, veggies, and that smile
.......being true to myself.
......................My perfectly functioning body
..the day's colors, love's reflection on our faces. The wind in our hair.
......sunlight warming my skin.
.................pure, refreshing, crystal clear water
.....daydreaming about upcoming success. Trusting my greatness.
..praying for rain
..............your voice.
This life is such a blessing. It seems so easy for me to forget that sometimes.....let this list serve as a reminder of my commitment to HERE and NOW.
God bless you today.
...This is a lesson in gratitude.
I love.....
..the pavement blurring beneath my tires on my journey into the city each morning
...................long, deep shadows to hide in during the magic hours of the day
..warm hugs while the night's dreams wash away with the morning light
...................soft hair after getting out of the shower
..questions, answers & telling a story. Listening.
..........the night's silence
...................my ability to create whatever I choose
....noodles, veggies, and that smile
.......being true to myself.
......................My perfectly functioning body
..the day's colors, love's reflection on our faces. The wind in our hair.
......sunlight warming my skin.
.................pure, refreshing, crystal clear water
.....daydreaming about upcoming success. Trusting my greatness.
..praying for rain
..............your voice.
This life is such a blessing. It seems so easy for me to forget that sometimes.....let this list serve as a reminder of my commitment to HERE and NOW.
God bless you today.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Digestion
Eat as you would in the Garden of Eden. Eat as close to nature as she had intended for you.
*******
I wrote the following article this morning, inspired by Noah's brother Nate. He has a desire to expand his knowledge of health food and wants me to go health food shopping with him. To start him off on his quest, I'd like to say this: You can buy all the health foods available and miss out on one main reason you are buying them: the nutrients. Those are obtained through digestion.
*******
Digestion
The key of digestion is to be able to make available all of the nutritious parts of your food.
It is our job to break down and separate the nutrients in our food, and sort them and send them to places in our body that can use them best. The good thing about this is our body is so smart that it has left only a few things to us to handle in this process while we are enjoying our meal & the people we are sharing it with.
Can you imagine going out to dinner with friends and family and having to sort out your nutrients, choose the correct break down enzymes, know where the nutrients need to go and ship them off to those places in a timely matter, all the while having conversation with people who are doing the same digesting process? Sounds like chaos, and I bet that not everything would reach its final destination. Good thing we only have a few details to pay attention to!
Digestion all starts in your mind. Just thinking about a delicious meal will get the digestive juices flowing in your mouth. This saliva contains enzymes to break down carbohydrates.
Along the same lines, your eyes feed images to your brain. Make your food beautiful, and it will be easier to digest.
Teeth and tongue are our own personal, top-of-the-line cuisinart. It is extraordinary how well they can break down food and mix in enzymes. You just have to use them. They are not on autopilot like your heart is when it pumps. Chew, Chew, Chew & your body will get the most out of what you are spending top dollar on.
For food you drink, like juices and smoothies, you would think there is no reason to chew, though, that’s not what God intended in the Garden of Eden. There wasn’t a blender hanging from the apple tree, and there wasn’t a juicer in the field where carrots and beets grow. Liquefied food needs the enzymes from your saliva too. You want to be able to drink your food and chew your smoothies. Remember this and your stomach will gladly accept it’s featured role.
You can set your stomach up to win by having a winning nutrient line-up. Think of this: what you put into your stomach first will digest first. Fruit & vegetables are quick to digest. After being in the stomach for a short period of time, they are ready to go to the small intestine to release all of the amazing nutrients they have to offer. The small intestine is the site where most vitamins and minerals are absorbed into your body.
Second in digestive speed to fruits and veggies are carbohydrates. Then you have proteins and fats… much slower by themselves. Proteins need to be combined with stomach acid for a longer period of time to breakdown into user-friendly particles.
If you were to put the protein in first, and then the vegetables on top of it… what would happen? The vegetables would sit on top of the protein, and cook in all of that stomach acid. Have you ever cooked broccoli too long? It turns brown and the nutritional value goes down. Same as in your stomach. By the time the protein digests and the over-cooked broccoli reaches the heaven of vitamin/mineral absorption, the small intestines, there are few nutrients left for the broccoli to release. In a meal, think salad first, then grains/starches, and then protein.
Consider a smoothie that is all combined together. I like to think that it is ok since everything is broken to super-duper tiny particles anyway. I don’t think the whey protein will sit in your stomach as long as that big ole red steak.
Now, there is something called food combining. This synergy allows for greater digestion, though I don’t recall enough about it to teach it to you today. The best way to learn about it is to look at a food-combining chart. You will see which foods are optimally digested together and which to avoid mixing. What I do know is that most fruits should be eaten alone not to be combined with your total meal. Apples and pineapples are ok to combine with some things. In the fruit category, you can combine most fruits with other fruits. The exception is that melons should always be eaten alone. Also I have heard that steak & tomatoes are good to eat together… hmm, do you eat a lot of steak?
Fusion is a popular form of cuisine where fruit is added to salads and on pizzas, and all combining theories go out the window. This is what I say to fusion; enjoy it, just not every day.
Okay, after all of this being said about your food line-up and food combining, don’t stress about it. Stress is one of the worst things that you can do to your digestive system. And, if you are stressing for reasons other than which foods to eat, don’t stress that you are stressing. No worries, do your best and your body will do the rest. Prepare, eat and enjoy your food with a calm mind and open heart.
Breathe deeply and dig in!!
Tess
In your meals throughout the day, choose foods that will give you the most colors from the rainbow.
*******
*******
I wrote the following article this morning, inspired by Noah's brother Nate. He has a desire to expand his knowledge of health food and wants me to go health food shopping with him. To start him off on his quest, I'd like to say this: You can buy all the health foods available and miss out on one main reason you are buying them: the nutrients. Those are obtained through digestion.
*******
Digestion
The key of digestion is to be able to make available all of the nutritious parts of your food.
It is our job to break down and separate the nutrients in our food, and sort them and send them to places in our body that can use them best. The good thing about this is our body is so smart that it has left only a few things to us to handle in this process while we are enjoying our meal & the people we are sharing it with.
Can you imagine going out to dinner with friends and family and having to sort out your nutrients, choose the correct break down enzymes, know where the nutrients need to go and ship them off to those places in a timely matter, all the while having conversation with people who are doing the same digesting process? Sounds like chaos, and I bet that not everything would reach its final destination. Good thing we only have a few details to pay attention to!
Digestion all starts in your mind. Just thinking about a delicious meal will get the digestive juices flowing in your mouth. This saliva contains enzymes to break down carbohydrates.
Along the same lines, your eyes feed images to your brain. Make your food beautiful, and it will be easier to digest.
Teeth and tongue are our own personal, top-of-the-line cuisinart. It is extraordinary how well they can break down food and mix in enzymes. You just have to use them. They are not on autopilot like your heart is when it pumps. Chew, Chew, Chew & your body will get the most out of what you are spending top dollar on.
For food you drink, like juices and smoothies, you would think there is no reason to chew, though, that’s not what God intended in the Garden of Eden. There wasn’t a blender hanging from the apple tree, and there wasn’t a juicer in the field where carrots and beets grow. Liquefied food needs the enzymes from your saliva too. You want to be able to drink your food and chew your smoothies. Remember this and your stomach will gladly accept it’s featured role.
You can set your stomach up to win by having a winning nutrient line-up. Think of this: what you put into your stomach first will digest first. Fruit & vegetables are quick to digest. After being in the stomach for a short period of time, they are ready to go to the small intestine to release all of the amazing nutrients they have to offer. The small intestine is the site where most vitamins and minerals are absorbed into your body.
Second in digestive speed to fruits and veggies are carbohydrates. Then you have proteins and fats… much slower by themselves. Proteins need to be combined with stomach acid for a longer period of time to breakdown into user-friendly particles.
If you were to put the protein in first, and then the vegetables on top of it… what would happen? The vegetables would sit on top of the protein, and cook in all of that stomach acid. Have you ever cooked broccoli too long? It turns brown and the nutritional value goes down. Same as in your stomach. By the time the protein digests and the over-cooked broccoli reaches the heaven of vitamin/mineral absorption, the small intestines, there are few nutrients left for the broccoli to release. In a meal, think salad first, then grains/starches, and then protein.
Consider a smoothie that is all combined together. I like to think that it is ok since everything is broken to super-duper tiny particles anyway. I don’t think the whey protein will sit in your stomach as long as that big ole red steak.
Now, there is something called food combining. This synergy allows for greater digestion, though I don’t recall enough about it to teach it to you today. The best way to learn about it is to look at a food-combining chart. You will see which foods are optimally digested together and which to avoid mixing. What I do know is that most fruits should be eaten alone not to be combined with your total meal. Apples and pineapples are ok to combine with some things. In the fruit category, you can combine most fruits with other fruits. The exception is that melons should always be eaten alone. Also I have heard that steak & tomatoes are good to eat together… hmm, do you eat a lot of steak?
Fusion is a popular form of cuisine where fruit is added to salads and on pizzas, and all combining theories go out the window. This is what I say to fusion; enjoy it, just not every day.
Okay, after all of this being said about your food line-up and food combining, don’t stress about it. Stress is one of the worst things that you can do to your digestive system. And, if you are stressing for reasons other than which foods to eat, don’t stress that you are stressing. No worries, do your best and your body will do the rest. Prepare, eat and enjoy your food with a calm mind and open heart.
Breathe deeply and dig in!!
Tess
In your meals throughout the day, choose foods that will give you the most colors from the rainbow.
*******
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Raw Almond Milk
Raw Almond Milk
to be used as you would milk or soy milk!
1 cup raw almonds (soak in a bowl of water overnight, drain & rinse before using)
3 cup water
sweetener of your choice, and to your taste. choose 1 or 2:
stevia (sometimes we use vanilla flavored stevia drops!)
agave
3 - 5 soft pitted dates
honey
real maple syrup
vanilla (optional)
To make raw almond milk blend the soaked almonds with the water until smooth (give it a minute or 2, on high). Then strain the mixture through cheesecloth, or strainer into a big bowl. (we use a fine strainer) If the pulp texture is fine & soft, then you know you've gotten the most milk for you buck! Save the almond pulp in a container and put in the refrigerator for later use.... it can be used for many nummy things: add to cereal, add to cookies, eat with fresh fruit & almond milk.
Put the almond milk back into the blender, and blend in the vanilla and sweetener until smooth. (We sometimes skip this step and just add these to the blender in the first step, this way the pulp is sweetened too!) This milk will last in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days. Shake well before using.
Variations: Blend in a banana and nutmeg to make a festive rawnog. Blend in mango & ice for a nice mango lassi. Blend frozen papaya & fresh mint for a refreshing cooler (this is the Hawaii version) Blend frozen blueberries & fresh mint for a Pacific Northwest Cooler ;) See how much fun this can be!
Here's a tip: Raw almonds can be a pricey thing if you don't know where to shop. Organic is always best, though for more budget conscious, Costco has a great deal on a large bag of almonds (and they are raw, too!)
to be used as you would milk or soy milk!
1 cup raw almonds (soak in a bowl of water overnight, drain & rinse before using)
3 cup water
sweetener of your choice, and to your taste. choose 1 or 2:
stevia (sometimes we use vanilla flavored stevia drops!)
agave
3 - 5 soft pitted dates
honey
real maple syrup
vanilla (optional)
To make raw almond milk blend the soaked almonds with the water until smooth (give it a minute or 2, on high). Then strain the mixture through cheesecloth, or strainer into a big bowl. (we use a fine strainer) If the pulp texture is fine & soft, then you know you've gotten the most milk for you buck! Save the almond pulp in a container and put in the refrigerator for later use.... it can be used for many nummy things: add to cereal, add to cookies, eat with fresh fruit & almond milk.
Put the almond milk back into the blender, and blend in the vanilla and sweetener until smooth. (We sometimes skip this step and just add these to the blender in the first step, this way the pulp is sweetened too!) This milk will last in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days. Shake well before using.
Variations: Blend in a banana and nutmeg to make a festive rawnog. Blend in mango & ice for a nice mango lassi. Blend frozen papaya & fresh mint for a refreshing cooler (this is the Hawaii version) Blend frozen blueberries & fresh mint for a Pacific Northwest Cooler ;) See how much fun this can be!
Here's a tip: Raw almonds can be a pricey thing if you don't know where to shop. Organic is always best, though for more budget conscious, Costco has a great deal on a large bag of almonds (and they are raw, too!)
The Truth About Soy
The Truth About Soy, this was the title of one of my nutrition classes at Body Mind College in 2004.
This class was the beginning of my life without most soy products. Before this class, I was a soy milk, tofu & soy protein consumer.
I learned in this class that soy products, that are not fermented, put a huge tax on many parts of our digestive systems. I also learned that the touted benefits of soy and our health are misleading & sponsored by the large soy companies. Fermented soy products, like tempeh, are actually healthier for you because they contain digestive enzymes to help you digest, & they contain beneficial bacteria. It's too bad that tempeh lattes don't exist ;) Though, I am not writing this so you will switch from tofu burgers to tempeh burgers. I'm writing this in hope that if you are a soy milk/tofu/soy protein consumer, you will either research on your own about the truth of soy, or take advice & find alternatives to this fast growing mainstream product.
I receive a weekly newsletter from Dr Mercola @ http://www.mercola.com/. He is a leading advocate on health & nutrition. This weeks newsletter was titled What's So Bad About Tofu? It reminds me of my lifestyle without soy. Also, it reminds me of my friends & family who have soy milk in their refrigerators. Thus I am inspired to write this email. On Mercola's website, there is a short video clip of an interview with Dr Mercola & Dr. Kaayla Daniel, as well as some great written information. This would be a good place to start if you are interested in finding out more about soy. You can find it here http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/16/what-s-so-bad-about-tofu.aspx Also, Dr. Daniel is the author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food. This seems like a great read for you health concious folks.
There are many alternatives to soy.
At our house we make our own almond milk. This is such a delicous treat!
What do you think about soy? Share you thoughts!
This class was the beginning of my life without most soy products. Before this class, I was a soy milk, tofu & soy protein consumer.
I learned in this class that soy products, that are not fermented, put a huge tax on many parts of our digestive systems. I also learned that the touted benefits of soy and our health are misleading & sponsored by the large soy companies. Fermented soy products, like tempeh, are actually healthier for you because they contain digestive enzymes to help you digest, & they contain beneficial bacteria. It's too bad that tempeh lattes don't exist ;) Though, I am not writing this so you will switch from tofu burgers to tempeh burgers. I'm writing this in hope that if you are a soy milk/tofu/soy protein consumer, you will either research on your own about the truth of soy, or take advice & find alternatives to this fast growing mainstream product.
I receive a weekly newsletter from Dr Mercola @ http://www.mercola.com/. He is a leading advocate on health & nutrition. This weeks newsletter was titled What's So Bad About Tofu? It reminds me of my lifestyle without soy. Also, it reminds me of my friends & family who have soy milk in their refrigerators. Thus I am inspired to write this email. On Mercola's website, there is a short video clip of an interview with Dr Mercola & Dr. Kaayla Daniel, as well as some great written information. This would be a good place to start if you are interested in finding out more about soy. You can find it here http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/16/what-s-so-bad-about-tofu.aspx Also, Dr. Daniel is the author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food. This seems like a great read for you health concious folks.
There are many alternatives to soy.
At our house we make our own almond milk. This is such a delicous treat!
What do you think about soy? Share you thoughts!
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