Changing the Way We Eat - Factory Farmed Meat

This past Saturday, I spent the day watching TEDxManhattan's web event "Changing the Way We Eat" and was re-inspired to do more.  But what?  I eat mostly organic, am a weekday vegetarian, and when I eat meat I make a conscious effort to eat organic and humanely raised meat.  Here's why.

One of the talks which touched me the most was by Wayne Pacelle, the President and CEO of The Humane Society of the US.  What he said makes sense!  He pointed out that 2/3 of American families have at least one pet; and (mostly) we adore our furry friends.  It's true!  "Poochie" may have his own monogrammed bed to sleep in, if not in our beds.  And "Poochie" has space to roam around (less room in a NYC apartment) and he gets fresh air outdoors.

We love animals.  We have Animal Planet.  We visit zoos.  And nothing is cuter than pictures of baby animals with their moms.

But these are the moms in factory farms.

Sometimes, the mother pigs legs are tied apart so she doesn't get a break from suckling.  The piglets are taken away from mom after one month (in nature, piglets would stay with mom for several months, like humans).  The piglet is sent to crowded feces-filled pens; male piglets have their testicles cut out and tails clipped, without anesthesia.  Mom is sent back to a pen to get re-inseminated, often yearning for their young, going crazy.  Pigs are intelligent animals, both highly adaptable and trainable, smarter that cats and dogs even!!  Would you allow your "Poochie" treated as factory pigs?  Watch this video if you want to see more: Undercover at Smithfield Foods.  Luckily the use of gestation crates are being banned.

What am I going to do?  I'm going to continue to raise awareness.  Avoid all factory farmed meat.  They are fed antibiotics in their feed and hormones to get big fast.  These antibiotics and hormones are passed to us when we eat animal products (meat, milk, eggs, etc).  This is a poor system that is both unhealthy for the animals and for humans.  Our responsibility is to protect the environment and the species in it.  So far, we haven't done a great job, but you can start now.  It's great that you love "Poochie" but make kinder choices with your fork.  If you want to look and feel healthy, then put healthy food in your body.

This is the pig I am willing to eat (from Stone Barns):

Fostering Real Connections (for Happiness)

Call me old-fashioned but I'm saddened with how we socialize these days.

Being social is extremely important to me.  As a child of a sociologist, I've inherited my father's curiosity on how cultures interact and socialize.  In my field, study after study demonstrates that socialization improves health -- stronger immune function, better memory, lower blood pressure, and makes you happy.

But nowadays we socialize through social media and text messaging.  In fact, social media interaction actually makes us feel sadder and lonelier (article: The Anti-Social Network).  We feel left out, because as one quote in the article says: "Facebook is like 'being in a play.  You make a character.'"  This character is happy and social: posting fun vacations, reviewing fabulous restaurant, expressing how much she loves her hundreds of "friends" (many of whom she hasn't had an actual conversation in months, if not years).  Alex Jordan, the PhD student who conducted the Stanford study, compares Facebook profiles to airbrushed photos on the covers of women's magazines.  It's not real, y'all!!!  I've recently started calling it "Fakebook".

....cuz although there's that perfect family photo with that cute baby dressed up and smiling, I know that it took many takes to get the baby not crying.  And the majority of the time, that baby is drooling and causing sleepless nights.  Not so cute....

What I find most sad is that we don't actually connect anymore.  My biggest pet peeve is having dinner with friends and someone is elsewhere - texting away, checking Fakebook, or worst of all, on the phone.  I find this ruder than eating with your mouth open.  I look around at restaurants and phones are on the tables; commercials showcase this - a guy checking scores during dinner with his girlfriend.  What happened to being completely present with your company?

I'm guilty of this.  I'll text someone over a phone call.  I'm not always present on a phone conversation (looking up stuff online).  I tweet.  I constantly check Facebook.  But when I'm with patients, I'm not on my phone.  I'm present for that 60-90 minutes trying to get to know my patient, figuring out what they need, and doing my best to provide.  Nothing fancy.  Many times I find just being an ear is the best medicine.  In return by being present, I am constantly connecting and find my work completely gratifying.  This makes me happy and (research says) healthy.

This holiday season and as I enter 2012, I vow to foster real connections.

• Dinners at home with my boyfriend with the TV off and computers away
• Phone out of sight at social gatherings.
• Phone calls instead of text messages or FB posts when checking in on friends.
• Better attempts to meet up with new and old friends 

Freaking out about Rice?

I sure am.

This week, a study about arsenic levels and rice consumption hit the news. The researchers at Dartmouth University found that each gram of rice consumed was associated with a 1% increase in total urinary arsenic output. What this means is that more than half a cup of cooked rice per day is comparable to consuming 1 L of water with the maximum allowed in public drinking water (10 parts per billion)!!

I grew up on a traditional Chinese diet. We ate rice everyday (more than half a cup)....AND I'm from swampy SE Texas where rice is grown. I remember the cropdusters overhead "dusting" the fields. Ick! Inorganic arsenic is naturally found in groundwater and elemental arsenic is mostly from timber preservation and pesticides used in agriculture.  Arsenic has been connected to cancer, cardiovascular disease, premature birth, low birth-weight, and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.

I love rice. I often recommend rice, especially to my gluten-free patients, so what to do?  Well this isn't actually "news".  In the April 207 issue of Environmental Science & Technology, rice in south central United States was found to contain 1.76 times more arsenic than rice grown in California.  A white rice grown in Louisiana had the highest total arsenic and an organic brown rice grown in California ranked lowest.  Even if it's grown organically doesn't guarantee low arsenic levels because the soil is likely contaminated.  Ugh.

Rice from Bangladesh is super arsenic-ified, but basmati rice imported from Pakistan and India and jasmine rice imported form Thailand contain the least amount.

I'm certainly not going to eliminate rice from my diet, but I will consciously choose and order rice grown in California, Pakistan, India, and Thailand; and although organic doesn't seem to mean much, I'll still choose organic over conventional.

Will this change your rice eating habits?

Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

Adapted from maplebird's Butternut Squash Soup II from allrecipes.com:

• Ingredients:
•   2 tablespoons olive oil
•   1 small onion, chopped
•   1 stalk celery, chopped
•   1 medium carrot, chopped
•   2 medium potatoes, cubed
•   1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
•   1 (32 fluid ounce) container vegetable broth
•   salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 
  

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the vegetable broth to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
2. Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining broth to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Giving Thanks....

This Thanksgiving, I'm spending it with someone I'm very thankful for. I love my family and adore all my friends, but the person I'm thankful for today is the one who has to deal with me day to day. My boyfriend.

A year ago, we were separated. It was a tough time for the both of us, and it forced us to evaluate our relationship and ourselves. I'm not perfect. I'm extremely moody and opinionated. I'm irritable and sometimes mean. This is hard for even some of my closest friends to believe, since most of the time, I'm upbeat, positive, and kind. But I have my bad moments. I get stressed and lash out on those closest to me.  My parents, my sister, and all my exes can vouch.

My boyfriend had a tough time dealing with this darker side of me (thus our separation last year). And we acknowledge that he has his own issues too. We all do.

But this holiday, I am giving thanks to the man:

• who loves me despite my mood swings
• hugs me despite my mean comments
• supports and encourages my crazy ideas (weekday vegetarian, composting)
• adores my cat (sometimes more than me)
• teaches me by example
• goes out of his way to accommodate my requests yet calls me when I'm being ridiculous

It makes me sad that he doesn't know how much I appreciate him.  He doesn't realize I consider everything he says to me.  He is a patient man.  A kind man.  And I am lucky to have him.  I am thankful to have Orest.

Radiation Armor?

A friend/colleague posted belly armor on his Facebook page today, and that got me freaked out again about the EMF (electromagnetic field) we are constantly being exposed to.

Last time I was freaked, I bought my wire headset for my phone (which I rarely use now -- ooops).  And now I'm seriously contemplating the belly armor.  I'm not pregnant but I do sit for hours with my MacBook ON MY LAP at home.  

What is EMF?  AC power which is the power that comes out of the electrical outlet produces an electric field and a magnetic field.  Together, these create an EMF.  The electric field is shielded by walls, plastic, rubber; however the magnetic field passes through walls, plastics, humans......

There many conflicting studies.  Is EMF radiation harmful?  In May 2011, the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer published a review of the evidence on health risks of EMF, and concluded that there was limited evidence that cellphone users might be at increased risk of glioma and acoustic neuroma, and that there was inadequate evidence of any other health risks posed by EMF.

However, the other camp says differently.  Recently a study showed that EMF exposure during pregnancy increases the chance of asthma in offspring, and there are studies showing correlations to leukemia, as well as a possible increased risk for birth defects, miscarriages, autism, and other cancers.  Radiation does disrupt cell division and DNA replication, so it makes sense that fetuses and small children are thought to be most at risk.  

We simply can't avoid all non-ionizing radiation out there (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet), especially for us living in NYC.  And just about everyone owns a cell phone.  But, in line with my thoughts on toxins, we can certainly do our best to minimize exposure.

• Keep electronics to a minimal in the bedroom, especially near your head.  You just need an alarm clock there, and with that even, you should keep it 6 feet from you.
• Turn off and unplug electronics and computers when not in use.  It's safer for you (and helps lower the electricity bill).
• Get rid of your cordless phone, microwave, cordless baby monitor.  If you can't do that, at least keep them a safe distance (6 ft) from the pregnant belly and baby.
• Don't sleep under an electric blanket without turning it off and unplugging it.
• Cell phones and bluetooth devices emit EMF, so use a corded headset instead.
• Protect when possible.  Purchase shielding devices.  Hmmm, I will buy Belly Armor for my laptop habit.
• Get a Gauss meter to figure out where in your home has the highest EMF levels, so that you can arrange your furniture accordingly.  

Honestly, I do some of these things (not all), but it's something to think about as I try to live as nontoxic as possible (without moving to the wilderness, of course).  ;-)

Are we just born this way?

Last month I had an astrologist read my birth chart, and I have to say it was quite amazing.  Ok, I may have lost some of you, thinking I'm getting a bit "woo-woo".  But leaving the astrologist had me thinking: "How did she know so much about who I was from just my birthdate and time?" She honestly was able to point out my "issues" & patterns and what drives me in life, without having a conversation with me first.  The non-believers must be thinking that she made a blanket statement that applies to everyone right?  Well I consider myself a skeptic like anyone else, and she was spot-on.

So that got me thinking, how in some way, Astrology is similar to Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and Epigenetics.  In my understanding of these modalities, we are born with a set code/pattern/energetics, whether it's passed on from our parents or what happens at conception or birth.

In Homeopathy, everyone has a "constitutional type" based on a remedy, therefore exhibit certain physical characteristics, personality traits, food cravings, and disease patterns.  The thought is that one's constitution comes from parents & ancestors and from traumas experienced during conception and in utero.

Ayurveda calls constitution "prakriti", a combination of doshas -- space, air, fire, water, earth.  Prakriti is determined at conception: the genetics of your parents, time and season of conception, imbalances your parents were feeling at the moment.

Chinese Medicine also talks about "jing" or essence.  Jing is the material basis for the physical body and nourishes, fuels, and cools the body.  There's prenatal and postnatal jing.  Prenatal jing is attained from the parents at conception and determines constitution, strength, and vitality.  Postnatal jing is attained after birth from food, drink, and breath.

In the field of Epigenetics, environmental factors like diet, stress, behavior, toxins, and prenatal nutrition create epigenetic "marks" which make an imprint on gene, which then get passed along from generation to generation.  Basically, what we eat and are exposed to affect gene expression, turning some on and other off.

So what?  Astrology may not be so far-fetched after all.  It's interesting how our ancestors studied stars and biological patterns, which coincide with what science tells us today.  We are born with a set map and choices & experiences we make from conception affect us and future generations.  It matters what you do and what you eat, as it affects you and your future generations.  Preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care all count! Thousands of years of observation ain't wrong.