Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

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Earth Day 2010: Food for Thought

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

by Catherine Haug

NOTE: The opinion expressed in this post is my opinion only, and does not necessarily reflect that of the ESP core team nor of the entire ESP community.

This year, Earth Day – the day we honor that home on which we rely for all our physical needs – celebrates its 40th anniversary on April 22, 2010. And the celebration begins even before that: April 17 – 18 are Global Days of Service, toward making the world more sustainable. And on our National Mall, several programs are planned for that entire week. See Earth Day Network for more.

In this post, I explore the concept of nourishment: how it has gone awry since the advent of the industrial age, and what we, as individuals, can do about it.

The Three Essentials

ESP is concerned with what is essential; the three most critical essentials, all nourishment required for life, are: Food, Air, and Water. Without these three, life is not possible. When the quality of any of these three is diminished, quality of life is weakened. (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Health | Comments Closed

Diet, Lifestyle and Health Care Cost

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

by Catherine Haug

It may surprise you to learn that certain diseases or health conditions that are now commonplace, were practically unheard of until the early 1900s. This includes:

  • diabetes
  • clogged arteries (abnormal cholesterol and triglycerides)
  • heart disease
  • high blood pressure
  • obesity
  • periodontal disease

In fact, type-1 diabetes was quite rare, and type-2 diabetes was unheard of. Yes, people did have heart attacks, but it was not the frequent killer, and at such young ages, that it is today.  Even cancer was not as common then as now. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Health, Shop Local | Comments Closed

Avoiding Toxins in Plastics

Friday, November 6th, 2009
BPA-Free Plastics

BPA-Free Plastics

by Catherine Haug, Nov 2009 (Photo, right, from NPR (8))

We’re hearing a lot about toxic plastics these days, and its not just BPA-containing plastics.

  • The most toxic of plastics is PVC (poly-vinyl chloride), which is used to make plastic wraps for foods, and water pipe (3). It is also commonly used for garden hoops, but its toxins can leach into garden soil and be taken up by plants.
  • Polycarbonate or Nalgene baby and sports bottles have been targeted because they contain toxic BPA. Its toxicity lies in its estrogen-mimicking ability. This means that when you absorb it into your body, it binds on estrogen receptors, blocking them from your own estrogen and perhaps initiating errant body processes that lead to the formation of cancers.
  • And most recently, the PET plastic used for soda and water bottles has been found to be toxic by disrupting hormone activity (6).

But there are other reasons (besides toxicity) to avoid plastics; perhaps chief among these is the high amount of energy and resources used to make these plastics. And, of course, our objective is to minimize energy consumption!

  • Plastics are not (generally) biodegradable, and many are not recyclable here.
  • For the most part, they are made from petroleum (or petroleum-dependent corn crops), and require additional fossil fuels to power their production.
  • They are a major contributor to the problem of global climate change.

Plastics have become a ubiquitous part of our lives, from microwaveable frozen food trays to children’s toys, to replacement body parts. How can one avoid them?

(more…)

Posted in Health, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Michael Pollan: Big Food vs Big Insurance

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

by Catherine Haug

Steve E. sent me this NY Times Op Ed article which I thought I’d share with our ESP community: Big Food vs. Big Insurance, NY Times Op-Ed, Sept 9, 2009.

Pollan explores the link between the Great American Fast Food Diet and soaring health care costs.  As our elected officials debate how to reform our health care system, perhaps now is the time to deal with this elephant in the living room: The REAL reason for the high cost of health care, and what to do about it.

Our ESP Community IS doing something about it; we:

  • Grow our own food or buy it from local producers;
  • Put the fresh harvest by for winter;
  • Prepare more meals at home, from scratch;
  • Encourage local restaurants to eschew pre-prepared ingredients in favor of using raw ingredients from local sources;
  • Get more exercise by walking or biking instead of driving, and by working in our gardens; and
  • Share joys and sorrows with our neighbors.

Check out this article: Big Food vs. Big Insurance, NY Times Op-Ed, Sept 9, 2009 (Note, this is a 2-page article).

Posted in Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Health | Comments Closed

Food Preparation & Preservation Blog

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

by Catherine Haug

As many of us reap the harvest bounty from Farmers’ Markets, CSAs, or our own gardens, we are interested in ways to preserve these foods through the winter.  And if you’re like me, you’d rather preserve it as a living food, than can it. One way is to store foods in a root cellar (check out Gathering Summary: Root Cellars, Gardens & Greenhouses and Cold Storage Info); but there are other ways as well.

With this in mind, check out Rebuild: The Blog, by Amanda Rose and her mother, who is a renowned cook. Many of the posts on this blog are about food preparation and preservation, and include “Mom’s” instructional videos.

[NOTE:  I will remove this post from ESP’s website after a few weeks, so if Amanda’s website interests you, bookmark it (make it a favorite), for future reference.]

I first became acquainted with Amanda as the author of a health website called Rebuild from Depression, concerning dietary ways to fight depression, with a focus on living foods.

Here’s a few sample food preservation posts from Rebuild: The Blog:

And, in the spirit of FUN: check out this related blog post, that rather brings home the petroleum vs. real food issue: Pollan painting #4: The golden arches. This concerns a painting by Amanda’s 5-year old son, inspired by his mother’s reading Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and summarizing it for him.

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Health | Comments Closed

What about Supplements, when Looming Fuel Shortages Become Reality?

Monday, August 24th, 2009

by Catherine Haug

Do you take dietary supplements?  I’m not talking about herbal tinctures, teas, salves or powders that you can make yourself. I’m talking about pills, capsules or gel-caps containing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other supplement substances that are made in industrial facilities. If your answer is yes, listen up.

When the day arrives that the shelves are empty in grocery, drug, and health food stores, what will you do? If you rely on these supplements to optimize your nutrition, you’ll be out of luck at the store.

Oh, yeah, you can order off the internet.  Whew!

Nope. If grocery warehouses cannot afford to truck foods and other products to your local store, what makes you think an internet provider will be able to do this?  Well, they could raise their shipping charge from order-of-magnitude $5 to, say $500. But could you afford that? Heck, the supplement manufacturers won’t be able to afford the cost of fuel to produce their product, even if they could afford to ship it to you.

You’re just out of luck. Time to rethink the supplement game. (more…)

Posted in Energy, Food-Nutrition-Health, Health | 2 Comments »

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