Eating Locally, part 3: Pesticides

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Pesticides are an amazingly large problem in our society because, in general, they're invisible. Modern pesticides are made of all sorts of chemical combinations that may or may not be tested in any real degree. From the layman perspective, what humanity is doing is using these poisons in usually-light doses in order to kill off bugs and weeds, or reduce or eliminate other crop-destroying elements. This, then results in a larger crop for more profit, right?

Unfortunately, as many of us already know, that's far from the end of the story. The effects of the poisons are often farther reaching than is expected, as we have now discovered oceanic dead zones stretching far out from the mouths of rivers into which the pesticides have been carried into. We have found out that pesticides can and are wreaking havoc on various forms of wildlife, from frogs to bees. And we have found that even at birth, our bodies are already "infected" with varying amounts of toxins.

The long-term effects of pesticides have finally caught up with us, but we haven't really caught on.

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Natural Cures' First Five Rules for Staying Healthy

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I've had Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau on loan from the library now for a good long while and I've found myself bookmarking a lot of the information in here for sharing, even though it is taking a while to read. While a full review is still forthcoming, in a nutshell my opinion of the book so far is that there is a lot of great information, relatively little in a way of proof or referencing, a lot of fearmongering, and a good bit of backhanded salesmanship that promotes the author's wares. I've looked up the author somewhat online and found a good bit of controversy about him, so I do read what he has written with a little caution, and I also feel that some of what he says is charlatanry. All that being said, I strongly agree with a lot that is said, and wanted to share some of the things I'm finding here, paraphrased in my own words.

Without furher adieu, here are five things you can do to stay healthy:

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Quick Get-Healthy Checklist: Ten Things to Fight a Cold

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Okay, so you've got that sniffle-tickle-scratchythroat feeling approaching. It is unsurprisingly common in this day and age, at this time of year. I see all sorts of friends, family, and co-workers out of the office, staying at home with the sick kids, just trying to recover for days and days. But when given the proper environment, the body can resist instantly or fight off a cold in about a day or so. What do you do? Run through this checklist and make these part of your get-healthy quick routine:

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The Many Milks

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Once in a while I break down and actually get a latte at a local coffee shop, Cafe Patteen, and the conversation with the owner (I'm usually drawn to places where the owner actually works) often comes around to talking about milk due to the rather strange way I order.  IF I order a latter, it's always a decaf latte, extra hot, made from 50% half-and-half, and 50% water.  You may ask, "why not just order 2% milk, in that case?" But there are reasons to my insanity. Sometimes.

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Listen to This Man (Jamie Oliver)

This is really the first year that I've come to know Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef, and I don't really even know him very well at all. Additionally, I haven't really followed the TED awards and talks much before this year either. But I think the combination of both of them has come to be one of the most important events in the growth of our food supply. I find myself strangely torn between optimism and pessimism on this subject. I want so badly for people to be healthy, it thrills me beyond belief to see the subject come up as the First Lady's "problem to deal with" or as the central theme of the latest reality show. Yet when I peek over at the next checkout lane in the grocery store to see it piled high with the very processed junk that is poisoning our children everywhere, I can't help but feel that some people are going to be beyond help, forever.

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Your Money or Your Health

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It's interesting to see what pops up when you concern yourself with the food that you eat. After recent conversations about restaurants and local "health drinks" I was shown a website about a local weight loss program, Hopkins Fusion,  that sells Herbalife, the same protein powder/sports mix that City Blendz sells, and out of optimistic hope to be able to make a difference I wrote to the company to see if, at least, they knew about the unhealthy ingredients in their "health" shakes, forwarding the link to my recent article about their product. I was a bit taken aback by the response I received.

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Who Told You About Girl Scout Cookies?

Image by The Suss-Man (Mike) via Flickr

As a result of my recent post about Girl Scout cookies, a couple of conversations came up from friends and acquaintences of mine, and it occurs to me that a lot of people might have similar questions.

Dan, a guy came into our office today helping his daughter with her girl scout cookie sales so I looked at his sheet tallking about all the kinds of cookies and EVERYONE of them stated that they had 0 trans fats. So who told you they were loaded with trans fats?

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Trans Fat Ignorance

via @labnol on Flickr

It took a decade starting from 1989 before the government even agreed to make a decision about trans fats. Three four after THAT it was finally made law - but producers had a grace period of until 2006. Thus it is 2010, four years after the final deadline for manufacturers to label the amount of trans fat in products, ...and many people everywhere are still unaware of how much trans fat might be in their food.

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