BEING A MATERIAL GIRL – NOT I (ISSUE 152) OCTOBER 28, 2014

By Diane Gold

Being a material girl – not I. Some may say it’s because I don’t have a security blanket to fall back on that I say this and that if I did, I would think differently. But, this is how I see it.

MATERIAL POSSESSIONS

When Madonna’s song, Material Girl, came out, I was already living in a nice sized cedar house with enough land to add lush landscaping, a tennis court and a swimming pool. I had a great husband who provided for me famously, had a one month old and offered music education and music therapy to wonderful students.

I am the first to say it’s great to have a big house, my own laundry room and someone who lives in to do my laundry, rather than a shared laundry room 10 feet outside my apartment,  that I share with 8 very respectful fellow apartment dwellers to which I travel with my vegan baby wipes to clean off each laundry machine before use.

I enjoyed being able to choose mostly specimen trees rather than listen to the standard recommendations of my NY landscapers to pick one or two fancy trees as a point of focus. My land, my money, I figured. Now, the trees I planted are 30 years old, I have 2 children, my husband has passed and I live in an apartment.

I’m the first to say it’s not difficult to use an exorbitant allowance for art, toys, home improvements, collectibles, instruments, food, trinkets. I’m leaving out boutique clothing since my husband used to pick out our clothes.

MONEY IS NOT IMPORTANT UNTIL …

If you know me well, I am famous for saying,

“Money is not important until you need it and don’t have enough.”

I think it’s important for each of us to be productive in this world, to provide some new strategy, concept, philosophy, path or inspiration for others. Or maybe I think that because that is how I’m able to live. I like simple clothing, living down the block from the ocean, working on my own terms, I love my children and cherish any time I can see them or speak with them. I love my tai chi, fitness and meditation teaching, the coaching I do, the writing I do. Other work I do is ethical, part-time, kind of fun and allows me the supreme privilege of working on my own, when I want, where I want, at what I want.

WHAT I HAVE AND DO NOT HAVE

Let’s go back to being materialistic. Here are the things I do not have, physically: a tennis court, a pool, a large residence, a fancy car, a pretty bicycle, a lot of extra spending money, an airplane, a piano. The plane would be nice so I could visit the kids whenever. And my late ex-, who is with me in a big way, could not be any closer if I had more money.

Now let’s look at the things I have that nourish my spirit: my kids; my late ex- in my heart; friends; an adequate supply of organic/vegan/non-genetically modified food and super foods; a friendly and tropical place to live that is so close to the ocean I can smell the salt; knowledge of movement so I can move my organs around; knowledge of meditation and martial arts so I can rejuvenate myself and others continually; a lifetime of memories upon which I can soak up and enjoy as long as I have my memory; a great amount of health and happiness; health insurance; opportunities to dance, read, philosophize, create, listen to and play music and converse; my freedom.

When my good friend said to me, you are living in a tiny apartment and don’t have money for extra goodies; it led me to consider the material girl aspect. Although I have to plan when I go on vacation or the size of my car or residence; I have freedom with which to be creative and in which to experience my life. Within this freedom, I get to facilitate others. How cool is that!

SLAVERY VS. FREEDOM

Can we say that we are free? When I had a big house with 2 living rooms, each with 25 foot skylights, was I free? Or did I have the burden of knowing my husband had to work massive hours in order to pay for the affluent lifestyle? And the burden of knowing my personal salary did not match my lifestyle.

When I taught music in school, was I a slave to the job? People refer to the teacher’s 6-7 hour work schedule as not being a real job and always mention that we have summers off. We need the summers to cultivate back the energy we have used during the school year; the responsibility we have to be in attendance for the students is big (especially when special needs kids depend on us so), and we often use home time to develop lesson plans for our classes.

What if we are CEOs, are we not always re-purposing infrastructure?; always cultivating the next best company to absorb?; having the responsibility of managing thousands of employees? Being in charge may seem luxurious, but we are also, in some way, responsible for the lower spectrum of our employees who live their lives in poverty. Is this not being a slave to the job?

There are lots of CEOs and teachers who are content to focus on the positive influence they have over many lives. This is great. Yet, the positions themselves are part of a hierarchical system where our employment destiny is controlled by a master, outside ourselves, similar to the way of the slave. Not a way that I like to live.

CONCLUSION

Can we say that we are free? When I had a big house with 2 living rooms, each with 25 foot skylights, was I free? Or did I have the burden of knowing my husband had to work massive hours in order to pay for the affluent lifestyle? And the burden of knowing my personal salary did not match my lifestyle.

When we decide on the path of simplicity and freedom where we can be creative on our own time without being enslaved, we do take on the independent role, outside the hierarchical system, to get our money. When we choose this freedom path, we tend to live within our means, even when we make a lot of money, and the frills and baubles are more important than the freedom.

Being a material girl – not I, but I would love to know about you.

ACTION STEPS

1)   EVALUATE by making a quick list of what you have and what you don’t have, based on you and no one else. (Meaning, if you don’t have a dog but would never want a dog, leave it out. If you don’t have a Hublot Classic Fusion Haute Joaillerie but having a one million dollar watch is not important to your life, leave it out.)

2)   DECIDE whether you prefer the material life which means money and being a slave to it or a life of freedom and simplicity which can afford you riches and money.

3)   ACT upon your decision, whether you love money or the simple life, by taking an extra 30 to 60 minutes per day to create a new money strategy that facilitates your immediate freedom.

If you wish to share your story, please hit reply in your email program to be contacted.

If you need habit help, go to http://warriorsofweight.com/warriorsofweight-consulting.

FEEDBACK

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Please leave a comment below.

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Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

Aside from the family and friends in her life, she appreciates her freedom. She says,

“Material objects are fun. They can even be exhilarating. But most of them aren’t necessary. Of course, to be able to build a hospital, a school, supply musical instruments for children’s programs are all wonderful things to be able to do.

“But, to live a life of freedom is the right way for me. This freedom life does not mean I am not helping others. It does not mean I am living only for me. It does mean my work is not maneuvered by others and cannot be taken away by merger or acquisition.

“If I touch someone through my writing, I’m ecstatic. If I help someone through my coaching, that what it’s all about. If someone learns something through my interviews, that’s good. These don’t require, as George Carlin would have said, ‘more stuff.’ My lifestyle actually requires less stuff.

“I am fortunate in so many ways because I am simplifying my life. I am grateful for my good fortune, which doesn’t mean being a material girl. But, that’s just my way of doing it, and, so far, it works for me.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are so worth it!”

OUR FOOD HABIT OF NOT ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION (ISSUE 151) OCTOBER 21, 2014

By Diane Gold

Our food habit of not asking questions is pretty common. We believe our grocers would never lead us astray, that they know more than they do about the foods they supply.

Prior to the year 2000, we were not taught to take responsibility for our foods. We were taught to budget enough for a meat-and-dairy-oriented pyramid of food that recommended too much protein, not from healthy sources, not enough plant-based phytonutrients and not enough raw food.

Schools after the second millennium are, at least, offering programs where students grow food in the school garden or in pots, for lack of land or portability and are conscious of too much fat, sugar and salt.

There are documentaries such as Lunch Hour that reveal how bad meat and dairy food may be offered in school because it is government subsidized. And, to reduce the amount of this type of food would require using school money that was earmarked elsewhere.

Here are a few questions we should have been asking all along and didn’t.

1) WHY IS MY FOOD SHINY AND WHY DIDN’T I KNOW ABOUT IT?

When we went to buy tomatoes, we never thought about why they were shiny. We just thought they came that way. To this day, most people don’t know that most produce, including that which is certified organic, is sent to the finishing plant after the grower and before the retailer. It gets packaged for resale using lots of different questionably safe plastics. Plus, it often gets a coating that keeps the moisture in that we commonly refer to as vegetable or fruit wax.

(Then, there’s the paraffin wax that makes candy all sparkly and shiny. Although it’s food grade, so edible, it’s not digestible; it goes in one end and out the other, like produce wax – although some of the chemicals in the produce wax may be absorbed. Don’t we deserve to know which chemical foreign bodies are taking rides through our digestive tract, especially since some may stay in us?)

2) HOW CAN THE FDA ALLOW WAX, ANYWAY?

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for the safety of food and drugs. Unfortunately, they are given information by industry giants aka Big Food, that may force them to allow certain chemical processes whose studies were not extensive enough to show the long-term risks. The FDA cares about protecting us from pathogens, like clostridium botulinum. Big Food & Chemical companies show them expensive studies where such and such a product, be it plastic wrapping or modification of the air used in packaging and storing or transporting, are safe for the consumer; the FDA approves this “finishing” process because they have seen the studies. Too bad the studies don’t go far enough.

Many of us know that bananas are gassed with ethylene when they are close to market. This allows the grower to harvest the banana before fully ripe and get it to market before it rots. This is a method of MAP, modified atmosphere packaging.

The FDA is swayed by companies with big studies. They are not, however, so quick to rescind regulations when cases of renal failure or accelerated growth of bacteria come to pass.

Dude, That Isn’t Wax On Your Apple!

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/SafePracticesforFoodProcesses/ucm091368.htm

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: PIG JUICE ON MY PRODUCE

What both my children and I would find amusing, is that, vegans, of which I am one, work happily but hard at reducing harm to animals by not eating them. The amusing thing, if we see it that way, is that, if we are not investigative and conscientious; the veggies and fruits we use, may have cow, pig, casein and insect emulsion or laminate.

True, there is more control over knowing what wax is used on organic produce; but there is, at least, as much beeswax or lac beetle wax as vegetable grade wax on organics. So, vegans, know thy wax because it is rarely labeled.

3) WHAT’S THAT LITTLE BAG MADE OF?

We know that in some of our bags, even in the super food bags with my maca or my cacao, there are little bags of alien origin in them to absorb moisture. Why isn’t the contents of this desiccant made known to us? We have heard it’s made of silicon which is supposed to be food safe, according to the current research, but what about the covering? How many sets of fingers have been on that little bag, or how many kinds of oils were on the conveyer belt it rode down?

CONCLUSION

This is just one of the many mysteries that are part of our world of food. No one thinks to ask about it. And no manufacturer is going to volunteer to identify the product so as not to scare the consumer.

After all, what we don’t know won’t hurt us, right? Wrong. There are so many new facts that show what we thought were advances of the past 50 years that are showing to be tragic miscalculations on our part: genetically modified seeds, modification of air on produce and chemical mixtures that make up, oh, so many plastics, paints, adhesives and pesticides. The negatives for our health may, sadly, outweigh any benefits we might have thought we received.

Our food habit of not asking the right question prevails. We are asking more, though.

We may be fooled into thinking that the word “natural” has something to do with the word “organic” or the word “vegan” or the words “non-GMO.” And very often, people mistake the word “vegan” for the word “organic.” It is quite common, although not at all surprising, when I ask a grocer, by phone or in person, about a product and hear,

“Oh, this must be vegan because it says ‘all natural,'”

or

“It’s ‘certified organic,’ so it must be ‘vegan.’

Even though candles are not food, we use a food to make them. I wanted to include the following comment which refers to this food.

“These soy wax candles are so lovely; they must be good for the environment.”

Unfortunately, the major manufacturers of soy wax for candles (in the United States) are made from genetically modified soybeans.

ACTION STEPS

1) NOTICE THE CHEMICALS you are eating.

2) LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING LABELS which conscious people are beginning to request:

eco friendly, gluten-free, cruelty free, organic, paraben-free, vegan, vegetarian, fair trade, kosher, halal, chemical-free, hexane free, B corporation, bpa-free, non-GMO.

3) NOTICE WHICH SUPPLIERS ARE BEING TRANSPARENT through labeling and are beginning to realize consumers have the right to know what’s in our food, even if our food habit of not asking the right question prevails.

4) NOTICE THE TERMS “CRUELTY FREE” or “GRASS FED.” It’s great when animals are treated with kindness or without testing and with free grazing before slaughter. But slaughter is cruel and companies that slaughter are not “cruelty free.”

5) BE CONSCIOUS OF YOUR FOOD AND ITS PACKAGING.
Co-Create
In the end, the more we ask, the more we get to know. The more we teach, the more we learn. The more we team, the more we co-create. Let’s be conscientious about asking the right question so we can care for our health and our planet and our species.

If you wish to share your story, please hit reply in your email program to be contacted.

If you need habit help, go to http://warriorsofweight.com/warriorsofweight-consulting.

FEEDBACK

We value your feedback very much.

Please leave a comment.

Please LIKE us on the website

and on Facebook.

You can also follow us on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She believes we can notice our habits the more we notice ourselves. She says,

“There are so many things that go on in our lives that we do over and over again, and we don’t even question them. They may not be in our best interest. They may not mesh with our own philosophy. Until we investigate and become aware.

“It is up to each of us to take enough time to realize what consumer goods we utilize and where they come from. Do we just buy without thinking about the ethics of the company that makes the product? Do we just eat with no regard for how the food has been grown, packaged, processed?

“Each of us decides the answers to these and our comfort level with each. Some people do not have enough food to consider whether a seed is modified genetically. Others don’t care. And others buy according to their philosophy of not supporting genetic modification because it is unhealthy and impoverishes the poor farmer, in the end.

“Whichever way we think, it is important to be aware of what is going on with our food. It will serve us well.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are so worth it!”

HOW TO REPLACE A HABIT (ISSUE 150) OCTOBER 14, 2014

By Diane Gold

How to replace a habit is an age old idea with lots of answers. Having been trained in the martial arts, I see the answer as martial arts 101: be patient, be focused, be immediate and be consistent.

THE HABIT

The habit cycle I’ve mentioned often, along with Charles Duhigg, author of The Power Of Habit, Leo Babauta, the author of zenhabits.net, medical doctors and psychologists who clinically study how we are the ways we are and lots of others who know it from the inside out.

Just to review, the habit is the culmination of a repetition of the following:

The Urge

The Behavior To Satisfy The Urge

          The Reward

THE HARMLESS HABIT

Picture a nice hot summer day at the beach with friends. Someone hands out a pretty, colored spray bottle filled with water to each person. In a playful crowd, it will take little time for someone to get a playful desire (the urge) to depress the lever of the spray bottle (the action) which would result in an expulsion of water on our friends (the reward). On a hot, sunny day, this would be harmless and probably welcome.

If this group goes to the beach all the time and brings spray bottles, they could all develop the habit of seeing who could spray whom first. This is the development of a habit. Because habits remain with us, if this group does not see each other for 20 years, and they finally meet at the beach with spray bottles; it will take them all but 10 seconds to start spraying each other again.

THE UNSUPPORTIVE HABIT

Not all habits are so innocent. Some are toxic and destructive, and we want to replace them. Picture eating too much, deliberately throwing up what we eat, doing drugs and alcohol, biting nails, cutting school, eating junk food and a whole lot more.

If we continue to do any one of these behaviors over and over again, we develop a habit that does not support a responsible and healthy life. Everyone has habits. Some of us are prone to unsupportive ones. Those of us who have these unsupportive habits, very often, have multiple of them. Drugs often go with alcohol, which often goes with gambling which often goes with nurturing dependent relationships which often goes with biting nails, and so on.

THE GOOD NEWS

The fabulous news is that, no matter how many unsupportive habits are lurking around, there is a way to replace them, 1 at a time. And the replacement of 1 may positively affect the desire to act out the others.

If you need habit help, go to http://warriorsofweight.com/warriorsofweight-consulting.

ONE TAI CHI STEP AT A TIME

One of the mistakes we all make, at one time or other, is that we decide to take action to wrench something or many things out of our lives. We actually sit around dreaming about being a different being devoid of the habits that are causing us discomfort.

If I’ve learned 1 thing from the joys of tai chi and from replacing unsupportive habits, it is that we can succeed by taking 1 step. It’s counterproductive to take more than 1 step. I know we multitask by being on the phone while driving the car while texting while having a conversation with our passenger. These actions are actually 1 swift and consecutive behavior at a time. But, adding 1 step, with no rush, is the way.

THE FOCUS

Often times, we focus on removing things from our life. As illustrated with the spray bottle example above, as well as by a myriad of scientific research studies, once we develop a habit, it is ours. It makes little sense to focus on removing it when we can replace it. That does not mean that each habit has to be front and center just because we have developed it. It means if we replace our old behavior that caused the unsupportive habit with a new behavior that supports us, we will replace our habit with a new one. Yay!

So, we focus on some new behavior, only 1, repeating this 1 behavior over and over again until this behavior is our new habit.

THE TIMING

What’s so fascinating about habits is that, to replace them, we have between 5 and 15 seconds to act. Any longer than that and we will go back to our old behavior. If we are thinking about elaborate schemes to get rid of our habit or 5 step techniques to beat the habit; we will, unfortunately be stuck in the recidivism loop. Even 2 steps splits the attention. That’s why it’s 1 step to replace a habit Timing Is Everything
But, as we say, timing is everything.

CONCLUSION

How to replace a habit is as simple as 1-2-3, in principle. I know it can feel impossible. That feeling is just a feeling. As we say in kung fu class, when we put you on your knuckles in push-up position and ask you to hang out there, with appropriate form,

“It’s only pain.”

This is another way of teaching us to take 1 action step. If we choose to look at the pain associated with the action, our concentration may falter. If we focus on taking the 1 step only, that is, for the knuckle push up, checking each part of the body while maintaining the flat back position with tight fists, flat knuckles, elbows bent, arms no wider than shoulders, heels together, toes apart; we will succeed. When we act with the pain on the side, we will complete the exercise. If the pain becomes the focus, we have lost our direction.

The same with the new action to replace our habit. If we concentrate on the pain of leaving our old behavior, it is likely we will not do our new behavior. The pain to replace a destructive habit will be there. All we have to do is do our 1 new behavior, our 1 step. Bam! Then, we do our 1 new behavior again. And again and again until it becomes the habit of choice.

The pain will get less. When? In how long? The answer to that is “when it does.” That is not important. What is important is replacing that habit.
Onward, warriors. We are stronger than we think!

ACTION STEPS

1) Know that you will feel pain, and that that is OK and normal.

2) Know that the pain will not stop you, even though it feels excruciating.

3) Know that the mind will make you look at the pain.

4) Remember to laugh that the mind is making you look at the pain.

5) Remember that we have all gone through it, and many of us continue you to go through it daily for the sake of continuing our habit replacement.

6) Remember, you can ask for help from someone who has done it at
http://warriorsofweight.com/warriorsofweight-consulting/

If you wish to share your story, please hit reply in your email program to be contacted.

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We value your feedback very much.

Please leave a comment below.

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You can also follow us on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She believes we can replace a habit with a directed mind. She says,

“One of the biggest reasons to teach meditation and tai chi at an early age is so that we learn to focus on what we are doing as opposed to focusing on our feelings, the weather, the past, the future.

“In order to change a habit, we need the ability to act without thought. If we haven’t had focus training, this is a hard command.

“From wherever we are at this point in our lives, we can focus on 1 step, bypassing our feelings. The only thing we need to do is take the 1 step. I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m saying we can do it if we just do it.

“I have faith in you and me. I have done it. You can do it.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are so worth it!”

AT PEACE WITH DIANE GOLD INTERNET RADIO SHOW

How Health & Wellness Transform Us To Create Peaceful, Ethical Solutions For Others! Tuesdays at 2 pm

From integrative health to peacemaking, from disciplines, therapies, all world medicines, from nutrition to surgery to ethics to peaceful conflict resolution; join Diane Gold every Tuesday for a fun, thoughtful and informative journey into health and peace. ONE ACTION STEP will be shared during each show.

_______  LISTEN AS DIANE GOLD INTERVIEWS CHANGEMAKERS ABOUT THEIR VISION FOR HEALTH AND PEACE. 

DIANE GOLD DOES AN AUDIO TAI CHI LESSON, TUESDAY, APRIL 14 AT 2 PM NEW YORK TIME

Diane Gold has been studying martial arts for almost 30 years. She has been teaching tai chi for over half of that. She has developed a method that is common to everyone. It is adjustable, pleasurable, meditative, powerful and healing, especially on stress. 

Diane trains people to take the first one step, whatever it is. It will change your life. Get a free consult with her here. 

Listen Online, Tuesdays at 2:00 pm, Eastern at: http://warriorsofweight.com/radio

OR BY PHONE at:
1-530-881-1212, meeting ID 144-854-164#

If you know of someone whose invention, thought, technique or influence is making a difference, please let us know by contacting us.

COMPOSTING: HOW AND WHY (ISSUE 149) OCTOBER 7, 2014

By Diane Gold

Composting, how and why discusses how easy it is for us to replenish the soil using our raw kitchen waste and why it benefits us to do it.

So, let’s define composting for those not familiar. It is a method of gathering decayed and decaying plant matter for the purpose of replenishing and fertilizing the soil so that something new has lots of nourishment from which to grow.

Nature composts through the decay of falling leaves, windblown seeds, seed casings, branches, the growth of fungi and microbes. We compost by mixing our vegetable waste with certain carbon-based products to cause the very same process.

WHY COMPOST?

According to Lynn Russell, composter, small garden enthusiast and new friend,

“The main reason to compost is to make your soil alive with all the bacteria and the fungi and beneficial microbes the plant needs and exchanges energy with into the soil. The second reason is that you are imitating nature by using your waste to go back into the soil to make something good rather than just disposing [of] it. Constant recycling… It’s the way the world works. It’s the way nature works.”

Just a note, by imitating nature, we are using waste and turning it into usable goods, nutrients for the food we grow.

WHO CAN COMPOST?

For those of us who have a garden, we probably have some land on which to place containers in which to compost. For those in suburban apartments, we might have a terrace or outside dumpster next to which to keep a container. For those in urban apartments, like Jen Doll did for 10 days last year while writing a compost article, she put hers in the freezer. She concluded that composting could reduce rats because garbage cans would no longer be overflowing, and monitoring our compostable goods in the freezer could make us more aware of how not to buy more than we can use during the week.

Some people choose to do the whole process. Many people, either through choice, lack of space or location circumstance choose to give their waste to a local farmer.

CARBON FOOTPRINT

According to a 2011 report by epa.gov on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, composting food waste rather than putting it in the land fill has a significant greenhouse gas emission reduction and is a great way to reduce each of our carbon footprints.

PREPARATION FOR PLANT-BASED MATERIALS

So how do we do it? When I asked Lynn about what materials to use, she outlined the process easily. Although I’ve heard this before, I think I got it this time because she broke down the process into the simplest of steps.

CONTAINER PROCESS

1) For those who want to complete the entire composting process starting with a bin and finishing with composted materials, we can follow Lynn’s system:

a) the 2 container system.
This consists of 2 – 20 gallon flexible
garbage cans with lids that cost around $14.

b) A $10 shovel to turn the materials.

c) AERATION

On the bottom of each garbage can, drill 8 to 10 – 5/16 inch holes.
10 inches up, drill 8 to 10 (or 1 hole every 8 inches or so) 5/16 inch holes around the circumference of the can.
10 inches up, do the same as the previous step.

2) For those who want to give food waste to a farmer or drop compost at a city or county composting site, all we need do is place the scraps in a container that belonged to some empty produce container, either a shaped plastic container from pre-cut wheatgrass or a pliable plastic bag or paper bag from market and place it in the refrigerator or the freezer. I put mine in the refrigerator. Lynn puts hers in the freezer.

THE 2 CATEGORIES OF STUFF WE USE

There are 2 types of items we use for our compost.

1) The first is GREENS which provide NITROGEN. These consist of fruits, vegetables, maybe uncooked bread with no spreadable food on it. If any food is rotted from a microorganism, Lynn has recommended to leave it out so the soil is purer. Raw food is best. It also attracts less vermin, if it is outside.

Greens from the lawn can be used if it’s our own lawn (called soft waste). We must be sure there are no pesticides on the lawn greens. Lynn suggests that it’s better to leave it out if the green clippings are sprayed with contaminants of any kind.

2) Then we have our BROWNS WHICH are CARBONS. This would consist of shredded newspaper and plain brown cardboard. (Sawdust can be used if the wood has not been treated, which is doubtful.) We have to wet the cardboard. Then we need to break it into small pieces which makes it easier for the microbes to get at it.

THE LAYERS

Now comes the good part: the layers, which do not have to be so exact, according to Lynn. She says,

“Some say use more carbon, but it can also be 50-50.”

We start with 1 garbage can which we can label as “BIN #1.”

1) We begin with a carbon layer, 6 inches high in the bottom. We just place it in there, no special way.
2) Next, we put our layer of fruit and vegetable waste, 3 to 6 inches.
3) Then, there’s another layer of newspaper and brown cardboard, if we have it.
4) If we do have more, we add another layer of 2) and then 3).
5) Now, it gets exciting. We let it sit, covered for a few days.
6) When it starts decomposing, we use the shovel to turn it.

7) Now, the interesting part. We let it sit and stir it for about 8 weeks, noticing how it changes.
8) When it looks too wet, we add carbons. When it looks too dry, we add greens.
9) When we have 3/4 of a bin full, we can either dump it out into the second bin so that we get to mix what’s on the bottom OR we can start layers in the second bin.

10) When the compost in the bin has broken down and is starting to look like soil, we stop adding to it. We just turn it, let it get dark and finished.

THE SURPRISE

Worms will make their way into the compost pile through the holes that we drilled. Their waste (called castings) is some of the best fertilizer for any soil. They also turn and aerate the soil.

CONCLUSION

I am very respectful of composters. When we have land, it’s not such a big thing to compost. When we have not much more than a terrace, I think it’s courageous. Since I don’t really have a backyard that I can monitor, I give my fruit and veggie waste to Lynn. I am grateful because I have somewhere for my greens to go, other than the garbage can. She is grateful because she can depend upon my weekly layer of greens. And, an added bonus that was not part of the deal, we are becoming friends.

ACTION STEPS

Here are some action steps that you may find rewarding.

1) Buy a tiny 8 ounce can and put holes in it for aeration.

2) Put 3 layers into the can: bottom browns (carbon), about 2 inches, middle greens, about 2 inches, top browns, about 2 inches.

3) Nurture it on the windowsill or near the garbage cans.

4) Stir regularly.

5) When it’s finished,
plant something into that soil.

6) Decide today to do one of the two: start composting regularly or give your food waste to a farmer.

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DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She believes in the power of sustainable education. She believes in educating youth so that future generations can live well. She says,

“Any time we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is good, even if we impact a small bit at a time through composting. The very act of composting shows us life cycle. Being close to this cycle makes us close to understanding. I have no doubt that being close to understanding can bring us peace.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are so worth it!”

BIG FOOD AND DRUG DONATE TO CANCER RESEARCH (ISSUE 148) SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

By Diane Gold

BIG FOOD AND DRUG DONATIONS

It’s no surprise that big food and drug donations to cancer research are common. In fact, it might be fair to say that a hefty chunk of annual fundraising revenue comes from this. Why? Well, think about this. If I give you a million dollars a year to live because I believe in your cause, you will be careful not to enrage me, if you want me to continue giving you a million dollars. In the same way, big food gives money to organizations who, in turn, go out of their way not to anger their donors.

This means that organizations who are the recipients of Big Food and Big Drug donations go out of their way not to speak poorly about the bad nutrition in that very company’s product or any new studies that might shed negative light on Big Food or Big Drug for fear of losing a donation. So these so-called advocates for a specific disease are in bondage and cannot advocate and get their funding.

HONESTY FOR HEALTH

Most of us know at this point that anyone in business who wants to stay in business is going to have a hard decision to make if she finds bad in her business. If I discover my food product is causing tired blood or fat in the arteries, I have 2 choices: be ethical and tell everyone and work on fixing my product or tell no one so that I don’t lose my house, my car, my plane and my power.

Because we never know when a food is going to be found to be medically harmful and we never know who is withholding information, we have to know we are responsible for vetting our food. The industry is responsible, in its eyes, for making money and not getting sued, not keeping us as safe and healthy as possible.

Bruce Bradley, food advocate and author, in an interview known as Confessions Of A Former Big Food Executive, says,

“Think critically. Most claims and advertising by Big Food companies are meant to manipulate you, not educate you. Read your labels and do your research.”

Having done food and label research since 1971, I know this to be true. We are at the mercy of companies that do not disclose scientific truth about their ingredients so that they can manipulate people into thinking the ingredient is harmless. They don’t label carcinogens, animal products, what’s in the natural or genetically modified products YET. Most of us are too busy to research these things themselves so depend upon transparency which is not.

PINKWASHING AND THE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

We all know the expression greenwashing. I’ve even seen it professionally in consulting for energy efficient lighting. It means everybody is using the word green to entice people to consume.

In the cancer space, there is pinkwashing. That means people are being blinded by the fact that a company produces something pink and connects to a breast cancer walk, march, DVD, pair of scissors, razor, dish, tennis ball. The connections I have just mentioned seem harmless enough. There are more, some whose parent companies produce food that is known to promote cancer.

Do we realize that the pink branding and donating to the cause may have nothing to do with health, especially when meat and dairy industries’ basic foods are known to cause vulnerabilities to cancer, chronic disease, environmental pollution through agricultural livestock?

We see a nice beautiful pink color on a pen with a breast cancer symbol, or a tennis ball. These items are not food, so there must be no evil in this. Unless the company that makes the pen is, in some way, connected to a food giant or other company that uses carcinogens or toxins.

DONOR RELATIONSHIPS

Here’s a good way to see the relationship between donations and future profits, reported by Samuel Epstein, M.D., in his report as Chairman, The Cancer Prevention Coalition, U Illinois, School of Public Health. One of the large pharmaceutical companies has made multi-million-dollar donations to the richest cancer society we have.

For its first 10 years, one of its divisions was a major producer of pesticides, known to cause cancer. Of course, the cancer society did not report this. The same drug company also makes the top breast cancer drug. Because it wants the cancer society to recommend it to its constituents, the drug company continues to donate, and the society continues to recommend the drug.

The same drug company also owns a bunch of cancer centers. Since it has given money to the society, the society recommends these centers. The millions of dollars in donations from the drug company gets the drug company hundreds of millions of dollars in return. And the society keeps getting its funding. These facts show monumental conflicts of interest, which would be happy capitalism (which I support) if it weren’t doing harm. Unfortunately, the society does not talk about nutrition as cancer preventer. The reason for this is obvious: the society does not want to speak out in any way that could jeopardize donations.

PERPETUATING THE PROBLEM

During October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we see pink cheese food products, carcinogenic, artificially colored and flavored beverages, pink baked goods companies, gmo breakfast cereal companies (which most breakfast cereals are) that are donating to the breast cancer cause. This would be wonderful if the manufacturers of these foods would, for that 1 month, remove any ingredient that was known to be or was suspected of causing the problem in the first place.

It’s no secret that a large fried chicken company donates to a breast cancer campaign. The former executive director of Breast Cancer Action said,

“They are raising money for women’s health by selling a product that’s bad for your health…it’s hypocrisy.”

THE RESEARCH

It will come as no surprise that the “research” that is done through our hard earned donated dollars and the dollars that come from the Big Food and Drug corporations very much support research to create the next best pill, rather than research on nutrition that may prevent a disease from happening at the root level from the food we eat. This is not to say that we don’t need research for pharmaceuticals. It does say that, at least, as much money, if not more research needs to be funneled to see how we can prevent or cure our ills through nutrition.

T. Colin Campbell says, in his book, Whole,

“Rather than preventing cancer, the NIH’s (National Institute Of Health) approach actually serves as a psychological inoculation against true health. There’s no need to change your diet. You can if you want. But it’s much easier and cheaper to take a pill. And, don’t worry, we’ve practically solved the problem by identifying the liver cancer gene. Just give us a few more years, and we’ll have a cure.”

In this statement, Dr. Campbell is talking about the mega industries’ working together with governmental agencies and popular disease organizations that interact with the public and the patients. These organizations often send their donations straight to pharmaceutical companies and leave out nutrition research which he and I believe to be where the research needs to be.

Why is nutrition research left out of grant allocations? Follow the money. There is no way to make money if a company discovers that turmeric can alleviate cancer. There is no way a pharmaceutical company can make a drug from maca root. So the study money goes to the companies who gratefully take it in to research mechanisms that can outcome a hugely profitable product.

Dr. Campbell also talks about the American Society for Nutrition and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as providers of education, networking and leadership to professionals. He says,

“Their donations and PR, their awards and fundraisers just reinforce the system in which they are embedded, a system that lauds reductionist* research and ignores nutrition. The sad fact is that too many of these organizations are more likely to be found shilling for pharmaceutical companies and the food industry than advocating for patients or sharing scientific truths.”

*Reductionist refers to believing that studying 1 part of the body at a time gives the whole answer, rather than looking at how all systems work together in an integrative process.

CONCLUSION

Why do Big Food and Drug donate to cancer research and others and what’s problematic here?

As mentioned above, most people don’t have the time to study food. This coupled with the idea that food has never been taught in school on the level that is needed means that most of us are at the mercy of Big Food. This goes for Big Drug, also. We believe the commercials we have seen all our lives, even when we know they are created to sell rather than to give us knowledge. We believe our doctors about diet, even though most of them have never had but one single nutrition class in medical school.

Most of all, we trust the organizations that hand out millions of dollars to research to have our best interest in mind. We don’t question that their hands are tied from speaking about the evidence against their donors. We don’t question why the research that meat and dairy cause cancer is not pursued heavily. We don’t question that so much research money goes to screening disease rather than to educating students and consumers to prevent disease in the first place through good nutrition. We look at organizations one at a time, so we don’t see that every powerful entity is donating money to push a power agendas.

Each of us can make some effort on behalf of human health; we can all take a step to make our health matter to everyone, even more than money.

ACTION STEPS

Here are several simple action steps to effect change. It might be most practical to pick one and do it.

1) PICK ONE HEALTH CHARITY

Call them and ask them to point out their list of donors that are public. Notice which companies are involved. donations. Unfortunately, many donors remain anonymous. One might think that the call for anonymity would be because someone is humble and doesn’t want her name publicized. More often than not, anonymity protects association between donors and agendas they have just helped push.

2) CALL YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

Find out what type of ongoing nutrition program they have for children starting in pre-K through high school. Encourage the school to speak with you about it and to enhance the program if it exists or install one, if it does not. If you don’t feel comfortable calling within your local district, call another one. There’s no harm in asking questions since they plant seeds.

3) CALL YOUR MOST LOCAL MEDICAL SCHOOL

Ask whether nutrition is in the curriculum, how many hours the courses are. If there is 1 course or less, urge them to make 1 course per semester the standard during all 4 years of school.

4) ASK YOUR MOST LOCAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN WHAT
RESEARCH TOOLS S/HE HAS

Sometimes, librarians have to be pushed to help. Don’t be afraid to do so.

5) GO TO FOUNDATIONCENTER.ORG AND SEE HOW MUCH
INFORMATION THERE IS ABOUT GRANTS

Most of their information is about foundations whose information is open to the public. They do have some information for free and much information for pay about the private sector.

6) WRITE TO YOUR REP OR PRESIDENT TO CREATE A DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPARENCY FOR FOOD, PHARMA STUDIES, DONATIONS AND RESEARCH

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DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She has been researching relationships among the powerful. Today she looks at Big Food and Big Drug and Cancer Research Donations.She says,

“It’s wonderful when someone donates to much needed research, whether the research is reductionist or holistic. It is not wonderful when the research concern omits information because of its dependence on its donor.

“What I’ve been finding in every power sector is that power giants give money to create cheer leading teams. And, again, this would be OK if recipients of money, the cheerleaders, were not keeping valuable information from the public as a result.

“We may not be taught about power relationships in school because a powerful company may be giving money to the school board, before college, and to the university endowment fund of the institution we attend after secondary school.

“We may not be taught about nutritional strategies to disease because there is so much money to be made after we get sick: from surgery, procedures involving medical machinery and prescription drug therapy.

“I am not maligning donations; or surgery, medical procedures and pharmaceuticals. Hail to them all. I am asking each of us to be aware that each power sector has an agenda to complete. With open eyes, we can see it and learn how it affects transparency.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are worth it, even if we don’t feel it!”

WHAT’S ON YOUR PRODUCE? (ISSUE 147) SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

By Diane Gold

What’s on your produce is a huge question for many of us, especially if we are brought up believing what we see on our fruits and vegetables. For those of us who know full well that we are eating pesticides and wax, there are still surprises. For many, we are not aware of any of the standard ways the fruit and vegetable supply chain works. We are also confused about why organic food matters and what all this talk has to do with our health.

WHAT’S ON OR IN OUR PRODUCE

We have probably considered the fact that some of our produce has pesticides, even organic product. That’s confusing enough. Now, we have to think about wax which is the generic name for a variety of coatings that are placed on our fruits and vegetables that are put on at the finishing processor.

And if we care about eating a plant-based diet or the ethics of saving the planet, what about the animal products that are used in the soils of the nicest organic fruits and vegetables? Do we even want to consider this?

RESPIRATION AND ETHYLENE

In order to understand why we use wax, it’s important to know about plant behavior. Plants are living organisms, so they breathe or respirate. I am humbled by this fact and am working on accepting how sacred this makes plants. This happens after they are harvested at different rates for different plants.

Fruits and vegetables produce a ripening hormone called ethylene. Plants are categorized into two categories: those that ripen after harvest (climacteric species), such as avocados or peaches, and those that do not like oranges or spinach (non-climacteric plants). The ripening process produces a hormone called ethylene, commonly known, not surprisingly, as the ripening hormone. All plants off-gas this substance, but some (the climacteric plants) produce more.

There are a variety of different waxes that we put on fruits and vegetables. The most important function is to keep the plant’s moisture in so it looks good, doesn’t ripen too quickly.

JUST A NOTE ON BANANAS

Most of us have heard about artificially ripening bananas (citrus and kiwis, too, by the way). For those who have not, synthetic ethylene is used so that when bananas get to market, they are the right amount of ripe. Bananas are harvested green. Because they are not ripe yet, the process of off-gassing ethylene, which is natural, has not started yet. What companies do is once the bananas arrive at the processing plant or toward the end of their journey inside the truck that is transporting them, they are gassed. This process causes the bananas to be almost ripe upon delivery and perfectly yellow for the consumer. This process emulates the natural process with synthetics but speeds it up at will.

Go to:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5084611&acct=nosb

for the list of synthetics allowed by the National Organics Program, including ethylene. Depressing.

WAX ON PRODUCE

So, when a fruit or vegetable is harvested, it goes through a cycle of maturation, or ripening, and then begins senescence, which is its final stage of life. We might wonder about this wax and its safety, but we should be aware that it exists.

Happily, I just went in to a national retailer that typically buys from the very same producer on a regular basis. This would mean any info about the waxes on produce would be consistent since the producers stayed the same.

The store had a list of what produce had what wax. I was shocked, and I was doing a happy dance that they even bothered. I’ve been contacting producers, retailers, manufacturers since the 1970s, and this is the first time a list existed without my having had to have them create it. Wax information is now visible to consumers.

Score 1 for transparency.

IS IT PLANT-BASED WAX?

Lots of my food gathering revolves around discerning whether the food I am going to eat has harmed an animal in the process of cultivating it or manufacturing it if I get a packaged good like rice pasta, whether it be in a package (like rice pasta) or grown (like carrots). What the great list (above) that the retailer had compiled did not specifically say whether some of the waxes were vegan. When the list said lac or beeswax, I knew one was from the lac beetle, and the other was from bees. Very helpful in making an informed decision to use or not to use animals in this way. When the list said the word “yes” delineating that wax was used, it was not helpful.

Fortunately, a very ambitious associate at the store is going to do research further. I have never had an employee or company be this cooperative on an issue that should be commonly displayed, as I see it.

IS THE WAX ORGANIC?

Again, referring to the list referenced above, many synthetic products or combinations, unfortunately, are permitted to be used as listed. This means they are man-made and NOT ORGANIC, although they may be Certified USDA Organic products.

WHAT ABOUT THE SEEDS?

Where did the seeds come from?

Are the seeds genetically modified? If the produce is organic, the seeds are supposed not to have been modified. The soil is supposed to have a history of three years after the last synthetic pesticides were used.

But what if the farm next door uses GM seeds? Well, this is debatable and is problematic.

WHAT’S IN THE SOIL?

As those of us who are gardeners may have realized, farmers use various things to make the soil richer. Nitrogen (protein) is one of the biggest things.

What I didn’t realize was that 25% of the nitrogen used in the soil of US farms comes from Trinidad & Tobago, and the toxicity from the island facilities as well as those in the United States is huge.

Organic farmers don’t use nitrogen which is synthesized in ammonia plants using natural gas or gasified coal. They do use fish from restaurant left over pieces or prepared foods markets throw aways. This means that all my vegan fruits and vegetables, save a few, are not vegan.

There is no label for the soil additives, including for urea which is used a lot. And lots of farms use manure which supports the animal industry.

There are a few vegan farms to whom I raise my glass.

WHAT ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT?

So, there are toxic chemicals being off-gassed from the fertilizer industry which is used on fruits and vegetables that don’t call themselves organic. There’s lots of methane from using cow waste in the soil and from cow waste that sits stagnantly.

Some of the waxes (palm and carnauba) used on fruit and vegetables use oil palm trees, which are cultivated by biomass burning to clear the land which emits CO2. According to a report by Mark Jacobson in Journal Of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, oil palm deforestation accounts for premature deaths as well as 18% of greenhouse gas emissions of CO2.

OUR HEALTH

Is what’s on your produce and what’s on my produce healthy? Although something may be deemed not to cause a disease, it may do harm. We all need to do our own research. How good could wax be for us anyway? And how great can the soil used for farming be if areas that house petrochemical plants are named Cancer Belts due to higher rates of cancer?

The wax on the fruit or vegetable has not been found to cause a body malfunction, but that may be because it would be hard to isolate which factor is causing which problem of the many.

CONCLUSION

To find out what’s on my produce and your produce is very much a maze. If we are not professional growers, we don’t actually know about many of the items mentioned above. To find out the information is usually no one’s job but our own.

Here’s hoping the ideas in this article make us think so that we can better eat what’s healthy and know that believing what we see is not always prudent.

ACTION STEPS

If you buy at a local large store, go to the produce department and ask what kind of wax is on your favorite fruits and vegetables. Be persistent since the grocer, most likely, will not know and will say she has no way to find out that information. To cut the process down for you, get the phone number to the store’s regional warehouse. There, ask for the produce buyer. This will start the process of someone’s doing some research for you.

Once you get your answer about the wax, ask the local store produce manager whether she can post the information publicly so that everyone knows what kind of wax there is.

If you get your food from a local market, ask the same way. The process will probably be shorter, since the owner may have a more personal relationship with a grower.

Good luck. May we, together, make a more transparent supply chain, which will lead to purer, safer and more delicious food.

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DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She has been researching what we don’t always consider with fruits and vegetables: wax, seed origin, soil contents, fertilizer, global warming from the soil. She says,

“What if we really measured the negative impact we had on others and on the land? What if we didn’t settle for mysterious wax, unknown seed origin, undisclosed soil composition on our produce? What if we all asked our grocers to start putting up wax signs?

“We each impact each other and the earth in so many ways, constantly. We think we can “cheat” being responsible, but we can’t. It’s important to see the big picture.

I am the first to say,

‘Go relax, and take a break. And I will say this to every person every day,’

“But there’s no way to relax ethics. There’s no way to be half ethical. You know what comes next. That’s like being half pregnant. It’s not possible.

“So, let’s be diligent about increasing wax awareness, reading about what chemicals we might be eating. And let’s improve our health and have fun doing it.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are worth it, even if we don’t feel it!”

NUTRIENT COMPOSITION, AS PER T. COLIN CAMPBELL (ISSUE 146) SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

By Diane Gold

Nutrient composition, as per T. Colin Campbell, is far more important than looking at the amount of one nutrient quantity alone. The amount of calories we ingest is not as important as what type of calorie we take in.

When I was preparing to interview Dr. Campbell, the author of The China Study, Whole, grand researcher of 58 years and father of plant-based nutrition; I asked about his own diet, using the word “vegan.” He very astutely answered me in a way that gave me a much fuller understanding of how we eat and what is the right way for us to eat, the crux of this article. He said,

“Average dietary fat [when speaking about vegans and vegetarians as one group] is about 30% of total calories—not very different from omnivores—and 90% of vegetarians still use dairy and have relatively high fat diets. Therefore, the nutrient composition of the ‘V’ diets is not that different from the average American diet; and

“it is nutrient composition that is the best estimate of the health value of foods.

“The WFPB [whole food plant-based] diet is more like 10-10-80 (fat:protein:carbohydrate) and is all whole food and is plant-based. This is a very big difference from most vegan and vegetarian diets.”

According to the National Academy of Science, Food and Nutrition Board, which is used by the US Department of Agriculture for statistics, the ratio is 20-35/10-35/45-65 (fat:protein:carbohydrate). This is quite different from the words of this great researcher whose words and studies I trust and respect.

MACRONUTRIENTS

As has been mentioned in http://warriorsofweight.com/food-labels-the-next-generation-in-nutritional-data, macronutrients refer to the large divisions of food including fats (including an additional breakdown for saturated fats), proteins and carbohydrates.

MACROMINERALS

There are certain minerals that we need in large quantities for our bodies to function well, build bones, make hormones, etc. In humans, these are sodium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and chloride.

Although the FDA Food Labeling Guide 14, Appendix F, January, 2013, shows that we need 3500 mg of potassium; the Institute of Medicine, 2011 Dietary Reference Intakes summary indicates that the optimum amount is 4700 mg per day.

Just for fun, and because I really wanted to know; I added up my intake for the day which was only 3063. I think I will add a head of broccoli or a double serving of spinach to my selection of other plants. That will put me around 4700.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm064928.htm

FACTORS THAT CHANGE OUR NEEDS

The following factors can change the amount of a macronutrient (like a carb), a micronutrient (like vitamin A), a macromineral (like calcium), a micromineral (like copper), a phytochemical (like quercetin) that we need on a particular day. When just 1 change occurs in our lives, the body goes through the domino effect, where every system’s connection to every other system in the grand infrastructure we call the human body is affected.

Hopefully, we take care of ourselves so that we have a functioning immune system that can protect these changes.

1) over use or under use of a particular organ

2) body size

3) amount of physical activity

4) emotional state

5) compromising organism (bacteria, virus, fungus, cancer cell), diagnosed or not

6) the weather and our a change in altitude

7) hydration and nutritional changes

CONCLUSION

To date, we are not “yet” teaching nutrition throughout our school systems. The fact that we are left to nourish our bodies by trial and error is ludicrous. The fact that we don’t “yet” teach a full course in nutrition to everyone who passes through the doors of medical school is ridiculous. We are technical geniuses, artistic geniuses. Where’s our common sense?

Understanding nutrient composition is crucial to our lives. Shouldn’t we give ourselves, our children and our grandchildren their best chance at having healthy lives? As T. Colin Campbell says,

“It’s never too late to start eating well.”

ACTION STEP

Since not all of us are going to run right out and get interested in the nutrient composition of our diets, here is a 3-stage action step that will suit many different interest levels.

STAGE 1)

Pick up a chart that tells the difference between a fat, a protein and a carbohydrate so that you become familiar which of your foods is which.

STAGE 2)

After completing STAGE 1), estimate how much of your food is in each of those categories.

STAGE 3)

After completing STAGE 2), specifically write down how many grams of each of fat, protein and carbohydrates you eat on an average day. Add up the grams, making sure not to confuse grams, milligrams and
Micrograms (that funny symbol) micrograms.

If you wish to share your story, please hit reply in your email program to be contacted.

FEEDBACK

We value your feedback very much.

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can also follow us on Twitter: @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She has been experimenting with plant-based food for only about 5 years. Prior to that, she included dairy. As she evolved in understanding the importance of the plant-based diet, she made more recipes of her own. She says,

“It’s pretty interesting to realize all the wonderful ways we can combine nutrients and to realize how vast the overview of nutrition is.

“I have never looked at the percentages of macronutrients that make up my food. But now I am determined to match the nutrient ratios that Dr. Campbell mentions for optimal health in my own diet. And to tell people about this conclusion by one of the world’s medical nutritional greats.

“I’m very excited to have this nutrient composition formula to go by and will start to use it to maximize my life.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are worth it, even if we don’t feel it!”

9 WAYS CACAO CAN IMPROVE OUR HEALTH (ISSUE 145) SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

By Diane Gold

Cacao can improve your health in, oh, so many ways. Because of its positive effects, it has been used as a drink since between 1100 and 1400 B.C.E., according to a pottery residue discovery at Puerto Escondido in Honduras, written up in Fall, 2001, by Cornell U. Anthropologist John S. Henderson and UC-Berkeley Professor, Rosemary A. Joyce,
both of whom were at the ground breaking (pun intended) excavation of the pottery.

It’s also been cited by U. Penn Museum’s Patrick McGovern as an alcohol infused drink in Latin America whose residue his lab was able to detect repeatedly from ancient vats.

1)   AS A MOOD STABILIZER

Cacao stimulates the release of several neurotransmitters. It stimulates the release of serotonin which gives us a sense of well-being. It stimulates release of endorphins which make us feel high and happy. It also releases phenylethylamine and anandamide which are known to promote happy mood.

2)   HIGH IN MAGNESIUM

Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones and helps normalize heartbeat and blood pressure. According to the nutritional facts of Sunfood’s cacao powder product, which I use every day, 1 tablespoon of certified organic cacao powder has 17.5% of our daily  magnesium recommended intake (17.5% would be 56 mg for an adult older woman, which only fluctuates a little for younger adult women and is about 25% higher for men).
The single tablespoon is half the recommended amount. So, even with that, cacao has highest magnesium.

3)   HIGH IN SULFUR

Nails and hair grow strong with sulfur. Cacao is rich in this substance. Sulfur is also good for liver detox and happy pancreas.

4)   HIGH IN COPPER

The cacao powder that goes into my smoothie is about 25% of my daily copper intake.

GET ORGANIC CACAO NOW!

Now that you know some of the benefits of this amazing super food, make sure that you go get some for you. Then we can really share the cacao powder experience together.

GO NOW!

5)   HIGH IN MANGANESE

The cacao powder that goes into my smoothie daily is about 25% of my daily copper intake.

6)   HIGH IN POTASSIUM, ZINC, IRON, SELENIUM

Little old cacao is chock full of potassium, zinc, iron and selenium, too. It even has some calcium.

7)   AS AN ANTIOXIDANT

Cacao is a powerful antioxidant, a substance that slows oxidation and prevents oxygen from ravaging our cells.

There is a 2010 ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) from the US Department of Agriculture, 2010. Unfortunately, the USDA has pulled their list because of abuse by marketers attempting to sell products by falsifying ORAC scores and for, what they say, is lack of concrete in vivo (in our body as opposed to in vitro (test tubes) evidence of effectiveness.

In the USDA 2010 list is cacao powder, listed as cocoa, unsweetened at 80,933. In the same list is blueberry juice at 2906. (I also saw an outside statistic of cacao’s ORAC score, in powder form, as 95,500 per 100g compared to that of blueberries, 2,400, as tested by Brunswick Labs in Southborough, Massachusetts.)

We have helped cancer patients and the many with some type of inflammatory disease by using the list and the ORAC score, so I will keep using it as a reference.

8)   HEART HEALTHY FROM GOOD FAT

We know that not all fats are bad. The oleic acid that is a mono-saturated fat in cacao is good for us, similar to the fat in olive oil. It may raise good cholesterol.

9)   AS INSTANT AROMATHERAPY

The smell of organic cacao powder is wonderful, only topped by organic maca powder. I think it’s pretty incredible that the most amazing smelling plants I have encountered so far has history together. The people on the bottom of the Andes Mountains (in the Tierra Caliente, mountain zone 1) used to trade with the people at the near top of the Andes (in the Tierra Fria Zone): cacao for maca and maca for cacao. (This is called vertical trading which provides for all 4 Andean mountain zones.)

CONCLUSION

Who knew about cacao? It’s taken me almost 65 years to make cacao part of my daily routine. Until now, I have not really known how spectacular it is for me. It can have caffeine content (which is, at least, 1/20th as much as a cup of coffee) that does not affect me (or others) the way it does in coffee or tea.

This luscious super food comes from Latin America (possibly originating in Ecuador), Malaysia, Indonesia and West Africa, for the most part. It needs shade and warm temperatures and shielding from wind. Cacao grows around the equator, plus or minus 20 degrees, needs an even amount of rainfall and temperature.

Cacao contains numerous nutrients and has many benefits for our heart, liver and mood. It has also been used to help regulate appetite. It is considered a super food because it has so many advantages to health in one single serving, which is 1 or 2 tablespoons.

Best eaten in its purest state, cacao in both powder and tiny pieces (called nibs) carry all the nutrition mentioned in the above message. As with most foods, cooking can destroy the vitamins and minerals and the addition of other ingredients may take away from the super health associated with cacao.

ACTION STEPS

1)   COLD CACAO DRINK

Mix a tablespoon of organic cacao powder with 8 ounces of flax milk (or almond or soy milk) and stir. See how you like it cold.

2)   GET ORGANIC CACAO POWDER HERE!

3)   WARM TRADITIONAL DOMINICAN CACAO DRINK

Use this recipe for warm cacao drink by Josefina from the Dominican Republic.

I had the privilege of being invited to watch Josefina, a best friend’s mama, visiting from her home country, make this traditional preparation.

INGREDIENTS

a)   Pinch of cloves
b)   Pinch of nutmeg
c)   1 TBS. organic cacao powder
d)   8 ounces of flax milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1)   Add the dry ingredients to the flax milk in a saucepan
2)   Bring the mixture to almost a boil on medium high
3)   Immediately lower the heat to low-medium, and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes.
4)   Take off the heat, and let it sit for 2 minutes.
5)   Pour into a cup and let it cool as needed.
6)   Enjoy!

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Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She believes in keeping her eyes, ears and mind open. We might think we know about a subject, but, chances are, we can learn more. She says,

“Whatever we resist, we should examine. If we are set in a certain way, it might be time to change the setting. Whether it’s about nutrition or politics, any time may present a tipping point.

“So true with nutrition. One day, we don’t know the benefits of cacao, so it is not part of our diet. The next day, we have new (to us) information. We can use the new knowledge as we see fit.

Many people for many years have used cacao: for medicine, for monetary exchange since it was so highly valued, for feeling good and energetic. And, that smell is so good.

“Be diligent when getting it. There are so many ways that companies will include one fraction of a processed ingredient just to use the name “cacao.” It’s best to buy it pure, from a company that has an ethical philosophy.

“Hope you all enjoy it as I do.

“If you’re tempted, get some cacao!

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are worth it, even if we don’t feel it!”

RECOGNIZING 9 EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF DEPRESSION (ISSUE 144) SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

By Diane Gold

Recognizing 9 early warning signs of depression may sound like a thoughtless, insensitive question, uttered by someone who does not understand or is not experiencing depression. Let’s just say immediately that it takes extreme courage and focus to see ourselves, in general, and to see what is happening to us, in specific, while it is happening.

The reason it is monumentally difficult to see early signs of depression is because the small changes in our behavior that started out as subtle itches and repetitions of certain behaviors over and over again are now normal every day events. Once behaviors become habitual, meaning they are second nature, it takes pure focus and understanding to see and the will power of a saint (which we all have) to do something to replace it.

THE HABIT CYCLE

When we get a cue or urge, it triggers a behavior. When we execute the behavior, this leads to some sort of comfort or reward, negative or positive. When we repeat this cycle over and over, we develop a habit, which gets more ingrained with time.

According to Deepak Chopra, MD and spiritual author,

“Once it [a behavior] turns into a habit, depressed people no longer need an outside trigger.”

What this means is that, when depressed, we don’t have to have an outside event like a car accident, a bad mark on our exam or a relationship breakup to trigger behavior that makes us depressed. We are already there. And this reality is not exclusive to depression.

PERSPECTIVE

When we are in a depression, we are not looking at it because we are busy experiencing it. We can think of living in a valley (a depression in the land) in much the same way. We are not looking at our lives from the perspective of mountain dwellers since we don’t live in the upland. Our perspective is from the point where we are, living in the lowlands, the valley.
When it comes to living with depression, people who have experienced it know how it feels. And, in most cases, depression did not appear immediately. And that’s what this article is about: noticing the ever so small changes that contribute on a daily basis to what results as depression.

So, I ask each of us to be diligent. Many of us will say,

“Oh, I am fine. I could never have such a problem,”

or

“Don’t worry. My friend is fine. She’s just going through something right now.”

The truth is we are all capable of great sadness. When something happens, we react. Because feelings are subjective, there is no measure for what emotional reaction is right or wrong. The measure comes from whether we can adjust and bounce back and live well.

THE SIGNS

1) SOCIAL WITHDRAWAL

Little by little, we might see that we are spending more time at home, missing a little work here and there, having difficulty getting dressed to go out to socialize, going to lonely places. As with all actions, when we repeat them, they become more comfortable to do again. Kind of like tying a shoe or brushing our teeth.

2) NOT LIKING OURSELVES

If we find that we are continually deriding ourselves, blaming ourselves for situations that exist in our minds or in our physical circumstance; it’s time to take notice. This could be a sign.

3) FEELING SAD OR HOPELESS ON A REGULAR BASIS

No matter who we are, we can feel sad, hopeless, listless. We may have a billion dollars and be responsible for philanthropy that is responsible for health giving sanitation to a whole country and still be sad. We may be stuck in a CEO or a janitorial position and feel trapped. We may not make ends meet for our family. We may not make ends meet for our family and then find out we have a life threatening disease. We may win the lottery and get depressed over that occurrence. Although we are all connected as sisters and brothers of humanity, we are all affected in different ways.

We may be comedians, making everybody laugh – which increases the lifespan of every laugher, and still be sad. It is, after all a great burden, to be the one commissioned to make everyone laugh. Much like the model or the beautiful actor is expected to be as perfect on camera as off, in case a photo is snapped at an off hour; so the comedian is expected to have a 24/7 smile. We may be parents with kids who sometimes hide our feelings so that we don’t burden the family with our doom.

It’s important to notice whether this is happening and tell someone if it might be, even as a joke over beer. This type of feeling creeps in, most of the time. What was one little bad day may progress gradually until it ends up as far away from where we thought we were in no time at all.

The best crisis phone resource I have seen to date for any crisis is to text the word ANSWER to 839863. It’s text support that responds almost instantaneously. (This resource will be repeated in action steps.)

4) THROUGH 9) CHANGES IN WEIGHT, EATING, SLEEPING, ENERGY, BATHROOM HABITS

Usually when we are depressed, we feel it. However, it can sneak up by body changes. Our weight, eating, sleeping, energy, bathroom habits may change. These, alone, signal any number of things. Together, with any of the other signs, may be the early warning signs of depression we are referencing.

CONCLUSION

The more we know ourselves, the more we will be able to recognize the early warning signs is a false statement. Noticing has nothing to do with how high we have elevated ourselves. The signs are so subtle that the result may hit us like a ton of bricks.

Think of a one-inch square made up of 72 red squares, kind of like a crossword puzzle. And every day, for the next 72 days, one of those red squares turns light red. All of a sudden, in 72 days, the entire square is light red, and we may not have noticed it. That’s the subtle change.

It is the responsibility of all of us to watch out for these signs in our co-workers, our family, our friends. Of course, we can work to see them in ourselves, but we may not want to see them, we may not feel it’s important to see them because we aren’t going to share them with anyone anyway or we may figure we’ll go to sleep today and get back to recognizing tomorrow.

ACTION STEPS

Here are a set of action steps that may be of some help, even if we read them once.

1) TEXTING

Know that you can text a number and get a response: dial ANSWER to 839863. And, if you forget 839863, it’s TEXTME.

I am thankful this exists and can service anyone with a cell phone in the United States, free of charge.

2) BEING WATCHFUL FOR OTHERS

Since most of us will not reach out when we are in dire straits, because we are too depressed to do so, decide to be on the lookout on behalf of others. All of us have the responsibility.

3) RATE YOUR HAPPINESS LEVEL COMPARED WITH THE WEEK BEFORE -1 TO 10

Even if it’s through a social media site on which you really don’t know anyone personally, express how you feel on a scale of 1 to 10, once a week. If you don’t use computers or phones, give yourself a rating and tell it to someone. This is a protective layer so that if the number keeps dropping in your own mind, you will know something is up.

4) RUN TO THE LOCAL STORE OR CAFE TO HAVE HUMAN CONTACT

Being around others, just having human contact, can change our perspective drastically. It can help us start to heal, or it can put us into a tailspin, depending how close we are to that tailspin. More times than not, having 1 or 2 words with a stranger can help us cope.

5) CALL THE LIBRARY

If you really have no one with whom to converse, and you are determined not to go out; call the local library. This seems silly, but talking about a book gets you out of yourself and connecting with a person. This double connection may lead to stepping out in public.
___

This article is dedicated to anyone who suffers from or who has suffered from depression, including Robin Williams. It’s also dedicated to my late ex-, Jaren Levitt, who is in my heart, whom, some said, Robin looked like.

Let us be our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers as well as our own.

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FEEDBACK

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Please leave a comment below.

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Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She believes we are connected to each other. She believes we are our sister’s and brother’s keeper. And that it is not righteous to leave them to suffer. She says,

“Depression is subtle, and we may not know it’s creeping in. But, our family might see it; if we have any friends or work associates, they might see it.

“It’s hard to catch it ourselves until it is a full blown depression. But, once it shows up, whether someone told us about it or we are able to see it,; one immediate step can make a difference. I know this sounds callous, but, if we take one of the suggested action steps immediately, we might be able to pull ourselves up.

“If we are in despair and we don’t have the ability to move, hopefully someone else can see it, can guide us or keep an eye out for us. We are not alone. We are part of an entire world. It is true, even if it hurts to think it.

“In our movements throughout our day, maybe we can be a bit more observant. It could save someone else, or we might even save ourselves.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are worth it, even if we don’t feel it!”