There's a Pill For That

Who needs pesky old exercise when you could take a gelcap? 

image: A for-real magazine advert for OTC pain meds,
which I couldn't resist tearing and sharing. 

 

 

 

 
I love (read: do not love at all) the implication that drugs are the clear, self-caring choice over, say, yoga and "that sort of thing."). This reminds me of an ad for heartburn medicine that showed a beefy middle-aged dude holding a chili dog and grimacing in pain with the caption, "Why should you have to change your lifestyle to be free of acid reflux?"

Why, indeed? 

Ignore the 12% Behind the Curtain

You can't make this stuff up.


Innocently letting Pandora lull me this afternoon, I thought my ears were playing a trick on me when I heard Taco Bell advertising the main element of a Crunchwrap Supreme as "88% premium beef and 12% special recipe."


"Special recipe?" 12 whole percent's worth? 


I cop to being out of the loop, since this item is nothing new, but my amazement is fresh to me, and perhaps I'm not alone in living under a rock, shielded from the shenanigans in fastfoodland.


Anyway, when I hear "special recipe," my paranoid mind hears that as code for "weird-a** stuff you don't want to know you're eating." They aren't referring to the bun or the lettuce. They mean that what looks, to the uninformed observer, like hamburger meat. Apparently, 88 parts bovine to a dozen parts "other" is something to be celebrated in fast food circles. Color me impressed!


I couldn't resist a little exploring, and, to the Bell's credit, the website provides lots of nutritional info. The video was overkill (paid employees endorsing the product -- quelle surprise!), but, after a few lucky clicks I found zippy, conversational explanations about the purpose of various "Seasoned Beef" ingredients. Who knows, it might be just fine. I'm no scientist. But ohmygosh, the whole thing seems ambiguously sketchville to me. It's "special sauce" for the iGeneration.


Just to say: I loves me some red meat, no question. I just chowed on burgers last night, in fact, made from locally-raised, grass-fed beef courtesy of my friends Laurie and John at Meadow Mist Farm. I consider myself mucho fortunate to have a resource like this close at hand. Even if I didn't, I'd still prefer to retain that precious "extra" 12%.

PS: I know I'm late to the party here, but I can't help stating that I am officially terrified by "Fourthmeal." TB invented this clever term a few years back, and translated it as "the meal between dinner and breakfast." Because Americans need one of these! As it happens, the afore-mentioned Crunchwrap provides a full 1/3 of the RDA for saturated fat and half a day's sodium, so let's hope the other three meals are made mostly of air.

Pain for Vain?

This is yet another doom 'n' gloom post about chemical nastiness. Sorry to dwell! A huge part of being Greene is taking good care of ourselves, inside and out, so I think it's worthwhile to reflect on these questions. 

A friend asked me for suggestions about non-cell-destroying hair coloring options. She writes,

"I'm planning to get highlights later this month, but I'm scared! I offered to bring a special dye (Naturatint from drugstore.com) into the salon but the stylist convinced me that wouldn't be a good idea since she's never worked with that dye before and I might pick a bad color. Guess I have some sacrifices to make for beauty, huh?"

Will I really be beautiful enough unless I risk all kinds of nasty side effects?
Image: naturalhairdye.com.

I had to admit that I routinely fry my locks, and potentially my health, with the good, old-fashioned (by which I mean, bad, potentially hazardous), Hard Stuff. I really hadn't given the subject much consideration.

According to this very comprehensive article from NaturalNews.com, it's something one might want to consider, or at least research. As an "enhanced" blonde, I take a wee bit of comfort in the article's assertion that darker dyes are more dangerous than lighter ones, but I know that's splitting hairs (sorry!).

Has anyone tried the less toxic coiffure options? I'm not surprised that the stylist took a pass on this one, because I'm sure she doesn't want to be responsible for any Rapunzelistic disasters. Does anyone know of salons that specialize in not giving us cancer?

Heaping Helping O' Endocrine Disruption?

Holy Poisonous Food Products, Batman!

Nicole at And Baby Cakes Three pointed to this article on BPA leaching into canned foods -- even those from Whole Foods and other supposedly "green" companies. 

I heart my bodily systems!
Image: http://www.epa.gov.

I prepare from scratch almost everything I put in my mouth. Just about the only canned food I eat is tuna and,  occasionally, in a tight spot, canned carrots or green beans. Tuna, in particular, is a key ingredients of insta-meals when I'm pinch for time. I was totally bummed to read this article, because it means making yet another choice of convenience or peace of mind. Decisions, decisions...

This is two strikes for tuna, which is also fairly high in mercury. Actually, three, since the National Resources Defense Council puts tuna in the category of fish that are, "perilously low in numbers or are caught using environmentally destructive methods." In other words, sort of a no-no all around. Here's NRDC's Consumer Guide to Mercury in Fish.

But, I digress. We're talking canned foods of all kinds (soup, ravioli, BABY FORMULA...) not just the thrice-cursed chickenofthesea.

ILY, Natick Community Organic Farm! natickfarm.org

Obviously, fresh (and locally grown, and organic, and non-genetically-modified) is best, but sometimes I really want to hit the hay instead of taking an extra minutes to prep something for tomorrow's lunch. What's a busy, health-and-eco-conscious girl to do?  In my case, given the dangers of Bisphenol A, and my fondness for my thyroid, pancreas, and ovaries, (and since that much-coveted good night's is dependent upon me having a quiet head), I think I will try hard to avoid canned foods in the future.

Greenesters, what do you think?

Do you eat canned vittles? Are the sealed sleeves of tuna safe? What about the plastic bags for frozen veggies? How do you conserve kitchen time while preserving your health and wellness? Any thoughts are much-appreciated.

Sleepy = Dopey

I invest a good deal of money, time, and mental energy in my health.

I see an acupuncturist, 

a chiropractor, 

an integrative Western-style doctor,

a dentist, and

an optometrist.

I brush and floss three times a day,

have a good mattress. 

practice yoga and meditation, 

eat organic meats, eschew caffeine, 

don't smoke, 

avoid the microwave, 

wear sunscreen (more on that soon), 

use orthotics, 

try to remember my multivitamin and fish oils, 

and even take the stairs whenever possible! 

And yet, I  ignore one of the most important (and most cost-effective) factors in overall health: sleep. Public shaming time:

Yes, I've been keeping track, and I did the math. It's an average of 6.3 lousy hours per night, while my doc says even grown-ups should get 8.Doesn't seem so bad, until you remember that's 30-50 hours of sleep debt per month!

I first heard about sleep debt from Dr. Jennifer Caudle, the director of family medicine in the division of General Internal Medicine at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, MD. 

Apparently, not sleeping enough is like shopping with a credit card. Even if I lose the receipt, the bank still knows about my little trip to BCBG, and the next one to Banana Republic. That pesky balance builds and builds and has to be paid, one way or another. At least with money, it's only money -- I pay the piper and wipe the slate clean. ("Ouch! But that skirt is cute and totally worth eating iceberg lettuce the rest of the month.") The possible ramifications of sleep-deprivation, though...they ain't pretty. I'll let Gwynnie give you the GOOP on that.

I routinely pick on Gwyneth Paltrow's blog (easy target), but her newsletter on sleep hit me right between my half-mast eyes. It compounded my PCP's recent chiding and the running conversations I have with friends, such as: "Tonight, I really am turning off the light at 9pm! 10, latest! OK, 11... Well, maybe tomorrow."

I'm sick and tired of being so tired I feel sick. With proof coming in from all sides that a well-rested girl is a greene girl, it's time I do as Dylan suggested—"shut the light, shut the shade" and get some Zzzzs! 

ReCap

There are many reasons to love Aveda, chief among them being olfactory. I mean, it's no use forming a partnership with a women's cooperative network in Morocco, sourcing ingredients from traditional communities, or becoming the first beauty company to manufacture with 100% certified wind power unless your cleansers, hair-curling goop, and signature herbal tea are the opiates of the nostrils, right? 


Besides seducing my sniffer and softening my skin, though, Aveda boasts an innovative program to recycle plastic bottle caps. (Surprise! While it's easy, these days, to find a place to recycle your plastic water bottle, most facilities don't have a system in place to deal with its screw-on top. That gets tossed and can eventually contribute to terrible wildlife destruction and marine pollution. Pee-Ewww!)

Recycle Caps with Aveda is targeted towards schools, but, being neither a parent nor a teacher, I have gotten into the habit of saving bottle caps at home and carrying them right into my local Aveda store. (It might be wise to call ahead to yours, in case policies differ, store-to-store).

 (Our cap collection, awaiting its trip to the Atrium Mall.)

Store visits can, of course, be an expensive habit, thanks to the aforementioned heavenly scents swirling in the rarefied Aveda air. Still, at my last drop-off, I mustered nerves of steel, purchased nothing, and was offered, as thanks for my trouble, a free sample of the latest nose-worthy Caribbean Therapy™ moisturizing cream.

Better for the earth, great for my epidermis, and including a free giveaway? Smells like a winning combination to me!

Bounce It Out

Regeneration begins at the cellular level! Or, so says my rebounding instructor, the inimitable, unstoppable Joanne, to whom I dedicate this post. (That's not her in the photo, by the way. I love how completely frozen that woman is -- quite the opposite of what you'll see in a real class! Thanks for the pic, byebye-breastcancer-hello-wellness.com.)

What is rebounding, you ask? Only the most fun you can have working up a sweat in mixed company!

Imagine a roomful of adults (in my case, fellow employees at a lunchtime staff wellness class), on single-sized trampolines, jumping, jogging, twisting, stretching, and "moving fast while breathing slow."

The music is pumping and the teacher is expounding on how we are, at this very moment, rejuvenating our cells, cleansing our lymph glands, boosting our immune system and, generally, turning ourselves into superheroes. Sounds enticing, huh?

My teacher  is beyond enthusiastic about the benefits of this regime, and she is not alone. It seems that rebounding is actually a pretty awesome way to detox (although I really can't get behind the idea of letting the girls go unsupported, but I'm curious to hear your reactions on that part of the linked article).

Besides being an amazing workout, bouncing around like a monkey on the bed is a natural mood-elevator. While attempting to avoid sailing off the rebounder and smashing into the wall (I'm a little bit overly enthusiastic) or catching my yoga pants in the springs, it makes my day to see my classmates completely going for it, full-throttle, no self-consciousness. We sing along to Sonny and Cher as we bounce away the stress of the day. Sometimes I glance at a colleague, red-faced like me; like me, grinning and bobbing like a Jack-O-Lantern on a pogo stick, and I laugh so hard out of sheer delight that I almost fall off my trampoline. Which makes me laugh even more, and I hear laughing is good exercise, too!

Wanna see for yourself? In fairness, this video looks almost nothing like what happens in my life on Wednesdays at 12:15pm. These folks are in rebounding graduate school, while I am in pre-K. Still, the similarity is the smiles. You might snark, "I'd be happy, too, if you could bounce a quarter off my abs," but I assert they aren't merely being smug -- it really is impossible not to beam while you bounce!

UPDATE: I just heard from the amazing Joanne that I have led you astray! Regarding the video I posted, which was, unbeknownst to me, a different kind of rebounding from what I know and love. Joanne says, "Yes it looks harder because it is harder on your body. When you bounce down on a rebounder and pound you are not using gravity. That's the magic of rebounding -- using gravity UP... I will explain all this at my lecture at beyond Fitness 5 Summer street this coming Wednesday at 6:30 that's June 16th, in downtown Natick."  

This is a wonderful lesson that less is more and just because it hurts, that doesn't mean it's good for you! 

"Use gravity to strengthen you, not weaken you. Training in multidimensional patterns gives us the flexibility to enjoy a happier life.” Joanne Schmalenberger, BeyondFitness.net