Becoming Ourselves

Difficult Choices Nowadays!

We want to be as healthy as we can be, even though we don't have the land or the time to grow all our own organic food, but we go to places that try to provide us with choices, like Wild Oats, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and many more . . .

Yet, what is best? What is best for our families? What is best for the people that work in the fields?  What is best for the planet?

Garlic kills brain cancer cells

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina discovered three elements found in garlic that are effective in the killing of a fast growing type of brain cancer cell.

"This research highlights the great promise of plant-originated compounds as natural medicine for controlling the malignant growth of human brain tumor cells," according to Swapan Ray PhD.

"To take advantage of any potential anti-cancer benefits from garlic cut and peel a piece of fresh garlic. . . and let it sit for fifteen minutes before eating or cooking it. This time allows for the release of an enzyme (allinase) that produces the anti-cancer compounds. Eating too much garlic can cause diarrhea, allergies, and internal bleeding, so it is important to monitor garlic consumption."

The Marvel of the Brain

I am currently reading Diane Ackerman's poetic and scientific description of the brain, An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain. It begins-

"Imagine the brain, that shiny mound of being, that mouse-gray parliament of cells, that dream factory, that petit tyrant inside a ball of bone, that huddle of neurons calling all the plays, that little everywhere, that fickle pleasuredrome, that wrinkled wardrobe of selves stuffed into the skull like too many clothes into a gym bag."

The chapters ahead look so fascinating that it's hard to stop reading.

"The news isn't that fruits and vegetables are good for you.  It's that they are so good for you they could save your life."                                                                                 --TIME  10/20/03

None of Us Eats our Veggies

No matter how much we know about the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables, "fewer than a third of American adults eat . . .what the governments recommends", and we haven't for over 10 years! 

Senior citizens seem to be trying the hardest to eat their fruits and veggies.  Evidently we really need to see the end in sight before we start to eat the way that we know we should.

The great majority of younger adults (18-24) that continue to imagine themselves invulnerable to disease, aging, car accidents (whatever), still avoid veggies, if they have them at all. (LA Times, 3/16/07)

Well, good reason for me to swallow my Juice Plus+capsules.  I never just cook vegetables for myself, do you?  I never cook anything just for myself. 

Colds are Worth Avoiding

We often take a relaxed attitude about colds, "everyone gets them" They make us feel very, very lousy and we notice that just a little cold can interfere with our ability to concentrate, but we even feel guilty about whining and letting other know how miserable we really do feel, since it's "just a cold."

Well, now to make you feel even worse--researchers at "Mayo's Clinic College have found a surprising link between certain viruses and forgetfulness."  Some of the same "picornaviruses that cause colds and diarrhea can cause lasting damage to the memory-governing hippocampus region of the brain." Mice that had experienced a cold through being injected with the virus could not negotiate a maze that had once been familiar, even after they had recovered.  Researchers concluded that "acute  viral  infection can cause memory deficit".  So this can explain why, after a lifetime of severe colds, "the elderly often lose their memories."  (The Week,  11/10/06)

Good reason to eat healthfully and get enough sleep, and many other precautions like hand-washing. I won't mention-stay away from children, since those of us that are around children usually have no option. We are there because it is our livelihood, but most of all, and/or because we love them and so that is where we want to be. But, we must watch our nutrition and any other means of maintaining our well-being, since the repercussions may last forever.

Brain Stimulating Aromas

From a great brain site with many resources, tips, and brain stimulating ideas, SmartKit---"to sharpen your mental edge"--

It has long been recognized that scents directly affect the limbic system, therefore emotions,  but  even more "importantly, the limbic area also houses the hippocampus—the memory engine of the brain. Since smell signals project into the limbic area, it should not be too surprising, therefore, that smell can also affect memory. This leads us to the field of aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy seeks to capitalize on this nose-limbic system connection to enhance mental and physical well-being. Typically, its practitioners use essential oils (volatile organic oils derived from plants) to bring these changes about. While I am skeptical of many of the bold claims made for aromatherapy, certain studies have actually shown some real benefits and results.

A study done in 2003 showed that rosemary could increase alertness. Additionally, it produced a “significant enhancement of performance for overall quality of memory and secondary memory factors”. (Reference 5)

Research out of the Neurological Clinic at the University of Kiel in Germany demonstrated that the essential oils of peppermint and eucalyptus increased cognitive performance.  These same oils also had a muscle-relaxing and mentally relaxing effect. (Reference 6)

A survey of the aromatherapy literature also reveals this anecdotal evidence:

• Jasmine has been linked with an alert and awake mental state.
• Lavender may be good for reducing test anxiety or anxiety right before you give a speech. It may also be useful for reducing excess stress that may get in the way of studying.
• Vanilla lifts a person’s mood.
• Ginger is thought to promote alertness and stimulate cognition.
• Citrus is also felt to be energizing. Some companies are using lemon essential oils in offices to negate the effects of the post-lunch dip on alertness"

For the rest of the article and some cautions, go to Aromatherapy to Boost Brain Power.

Our Love for Bottled Water

"Our growing preference for bottled water is hazardous to the planet's health, says a new Earth Policy Institute report.  Americans alone drank 7 billion gallons of the stuff in 2004, and worldwide consumption has more than doubled in just six years. To bottle and ship a year's worth of bottled water to the US, companies such as PepsiCo and Danone burn 1.5 million barrels of oil, enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year. Almost 90 percent of the plastic bottles end up in landfill, where they can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.  In a  world in which billions lack any access to clean drinking water, this is an absurd extravagance--especially since both taste test and chemical analyses reveal there's usually no difference between tap water and bottled water. . . Bottled water costs 10,000 times more than tap water--and is often more expensive, per gallon, than gasoline." (The Week, 3/3/06)

Local Even Better Than Organic?

It looks like we need to look at the BIG picture, when we go to our favorite organic grocers.  What does it cost in petroleum and other dangers to the environment?  "In the UK, researchers calculate that purchasing food grown within a 12-mile radius has a greater positive impact than buying organic food that is not local, substantially lowering the environmental cleanup costs from $2.3 billion per year to under $230 million.  That's a 90% savings!"

To start off, we do not need spring and summer fruits during the winter, in fact, there is substantial evidence that it is healthier to eat according to our own environment's seasons and personal bio- rhythms. 

Of course, we may be more concerned with the immediate effects of pesticides and decreased nutrition for our own selves and families.  The best case scenario would be local AND organic.  Let's definitely push for that in our own communities.  But, as an example of the broader issue---

"In one year, the port of New York City exported $431,000 of California almonds to Italy and imported $397,000 of Italian almonds to the U.S.  That's nuts!" (Adbusters, March-April 2006, via Open Exhange Magazine, July-Sept. 2006).

Women Need Exercise More Than Men

According to the authors of Strong Women, Strong Hearts, "exercise is twice as important a predictor of death for women as it is for men.  (Quoted in Environmental Nutrition, 7/05)

Healthier Brains from Carpooling

Besides getting to your destination quicker while whisking along in the carpool lane, your brain will also be happier. Those driving by themselves in the right hand slow lane are inhaling 50% more carbon monoxide than you and your fellow carpoolers are breathing.  So you not only arrive to the job earlier, but you are ready to start working with sharper mind.     (Energy Times, 2/03)

Our Own Medicine Cabinet

According to Dr. Joan Borysenko, "healing is really the simplest of matters. We heal by becoming truly ourselves, by discovering our wholeness.

The process of healing is one of self-realization. It is a peeling away from the fears, concepts and negativity that obscure the light of our own true nature and its innate essence of compassion, creativity, wisdom and love. As negativity is transformed, the physical body often heals as well.  MORE. . .

Just as our mind affects our body, our body also affects our mind because they are all one. . . Mind and body cannot be separated."

In an interesting segment of the her recent audio CD, The Power of the Mind to Heal, she explains how our "Brains are Like Medicine Cabinets."

Brain Nutrition

Integrative Psychiatry: Mental Symptoms and Nutrients (7/14/06), via Brain Blogger.

"...Nutrients play a critical role in mental health. They are the building blocks of the nervous system. In fact, the brain has first call on the available supply of nutrients. Therefore, the first effects of nutritional deficiencies are often mental symptoms. Deficiencies in almost any of the vitamins and minerals can show up first as emotional or mental symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, or impaired memory and concentration."  MORE . . .