“One of the most powerful weapons against the new H1N1 virus is summed up in a three-word phrase you first heard from your mother: wash your hands.”
Or even more importantly, keep your hands away from your face, especially your eyes.
Read more:
With Soap and Water or Sanitizer, a Cleaning That Can Stave Off the Flu
Another article everyone should read:
“By analyzing the Framingham data, Christakis and Fowler say, they have for the first time found some solid basis for a potentially powerful theory in epidemiology: that good behaviors — like quitting smoking or staying slender or being happy — pass from friend to friend almost as if they were contagious viruses. The Framingham participants, the data suggested, influenced one another’s health just by socializing. And the same was true of bad behaviors — clusters of friends appeared to “infect” each other with obesity, unhappiness and smoking. Staying healthy isn’t just a matter of your genes and your diet, it seems. Good health is also a product, in part, of your sheer proximity to other healthy people. By keeping in close, regular contact with other healthy friends for decades, Eileen and Joseph had quite possibly kept themselves alive and thriving.”
Read more at the New York Times.
OK, it’s official. A decade long study involving 500,000 participants has shown that eating red meat is a major health risk.
Of course, this isn’t exactly news, but the new study shows the size of the risk much more clearly, and isolates this risk from other factors that affect the health of meat eaters.
See the New York Times article.
We all are looking for a way to shed those extra pounds. Wouldn’t it be great to be motivated to lose those last 5 pounds still stuck to your gut from the days when eating on the run seems good for your career but horrible for your waistline? The solution is this: fatbet.net. Gather a few couragous friends and bet them to lose more weight than you can of you’re off to the races! I’ve personally lost 15 pounds on it so far and I’m no where near the finish line. The awesome thing about this website is the message board. I’ve vented, logged all my food intake and kept track of my success. In my bet, the loser gives $50 dollars to the charity of the winner’s choice. It’s up to you what the wager will be but the outcome will be a healthier, thinner and more beautiful you. Here is a link to the nytimes article with more information about fatbet.net Enjoy!
New York Times Article about Fatbet
Yes! Kale chips are back!
A few weeks ago we started carrying Kale Chips from Alive and Radiant Foods. Alive and Radiant is a small company in Berkeley California that makes a variety of raw food snacks. Up to now their best seller has been Raweo cookies - cookies made from soaked nuts, honey and various flavorings.
Kale Chips are basically hunks of dehydrated kale with flavorings like curry or “cheesy” (nutritional yeast). We think they are pretty amazing. New York Magazine put it pretty well - they taste as great as the best junk food but are as healthful as any food you can find.
We’ve had trouble keeping them in stock, but we think we’ve got the supply problem handled now since we have a large standing order that we supplement with additional orders as required. So if you stop by the store, we should have them in stock - especially if you see the Kale Chips signboard outside.
Oprah Winfrey just had a show about California Proposition 2, which would create regulations for minimum cage sizes for some animals raised for food. The show is a good introduction to the topic of factory farming of animals and the way that the profit motive unrestrained by ethical considerations towards animals has led to conditions of cruelty to the animals, poor quality food for humans, and damage to the environment.
In the segment on eggs, we were glad to see none other than Ivan Martin and the Natural Acres farm in Millersburg Pennsylvania. Amy and I have been out to see visit the farm, which has a bed and breakfast and welcomes visitors. The chickens are housed in a trailer that is moved from field to field. They are let out during the day and can explore a wide area, hunting for insects and fertilizing the earth in the process. We get a delivery of eggs and meat every Friday morning from direct from Natural Acres. We’re the only store in New York city that carries their eggs. We’ve discontinued the other brands of organic eggs that we used to carry because we think the Natural Acres ones are the best, and we know exactly how they are made and where they come from.
The New York Times magazine also just had a feature article on Proposition 2.