HFCS - High Fructose Corn Syrup

This has been something I've thought dangerous for years - a super processed, unnatural derivative from corn that is adding to our waistlines.

I try to avoid foods that contain it, but some slip it in, much to my dismay.
Surprising, I found it in items I never thought would contain it: Ghirardelli Chocolates, Thomas' English Muffins, Snapple beverages, to name a few.

A recent article in Organic Style brings the issue to the forefront: The Facts About High Fructose Corn Syrup. The reason it's a concern is because American's waistlines are growing like an elastic waistband. Is there a connection between the obesity epidemic and HFCS? I think so. The body doesn't process HFCS like it would sugar. Leptin is a hormone that tells us "stop eating, your full" and HFCS doesn't trigger that hormone - because its not sugar. Read the article, it's quite fascinating.

National energy policy

Interesting reading: May 2001

I went on a search after receiving an email from my sister regarding Where to Buy Oil.

may i suggest the best dishwashing liquid

Seventh Generation Lavender Dish Liquid is the best. Smells wonderful, good for the environment and you don't need much to clean even the greasiest dishes. plus, there's no film like what one might get from those super-concentrated versions.

Cold no more

so this is a follow-up to my last post regarding the potential Cold that I could feel coming on.
the day i started to feel the scratchy throat, exhausted, run down, and light-headed, i went home and slept. i drank fluids that help ward off these crazy illnesses that overwhelm our society this time of year.

my regimen:
miso soup - warm, tasty and wonderful, available as freeze-dried or from the local japanese restaurant. high in soy nutrients.

emer'gen-c - high levels of vitamin C (1000mg/serving) in great flavors like tangerine or raspberry

green tea in the morning - known for its health improvement qualities, Green Tea and Human Health. it also has a good amount of caffiene

clementine oranges, fruits, vegetables - what can i say, eating crates of them will word off a multitude of health problems. eat lots of fruits and vegetables closer to raw form.

echinacea - yes, i've found it works quite well "when used at the first sign of a cold or flu". i wouldn't recommend it after one has the cold as it does seem to prolong it in my experience. i have a tablet formula from a german apothecary, which i'm sure one can find in the states. don't get the dried version, go with the white tablet. and take it in the morning, first thing. it's recommeneded that you not take it with vitamin C, nor to take it regularly when you're not sick. it is an immune system booster and that needs to be considered.

rest - early to bed, early to bed, early to bed. sleep and rest really will help one overcome quite a bit

wash your hands when coworkers or friends are sick, or after you come in from a public place. mom was right on this one!

that's it. nothing ground-breaking but it definitely works!

waiting for the Cold

not the temperature, but the onslaught of what will be me missing days of productivity, feeling like a smear on the landscape, one coughing, hacking, sneezing, mess of mucuous. yes, i can feel the Cold that everyone around me the past few days has attempted to give me. not that they intend to, it's just the nature of the Cold & Flu season.

take for instance, my hairdresser, whom i spent about 1.5 hours with on friday, who coughing, though directed away from me, kept wiping her nose, then was touching my hair ... no she wasn't TRYING to give anyone her Cold, but she should have postponed my appointment and spared me and any other customers the issue of getting needlessly sick.

or the home inspector, who called us 15 mins. before we were to meet, to tell us that he was feeling the Flu coming on but insisted that he "was up to it", and with the way home inspections need to be completed within 14 days of the bid being accepted, we were needless to say in a jam with his busy schedule.

nor was the loan originator whom we met with just before the home inspector TRYING to give us the Cold - she had been out sick with it all week.

not to mention my coworkers - it think i'm the only one left in our 5 person office to be tempted by this fate.

don't you wish those who are sick would just stay home?

so here i sit, feeling the oncoming Cold, but I will not accept the usual fate. i am fighting it tooth and nail, with Echinacea, Liquids and plenty of Sleep. i can feel, this is going to be quite a fight.

Gardening thoughts in February

Today i dreamt of the Garden I would have this Summer.
all the possibilities for Flowers and Vegetables are being considered. Obviously I will plant only a select few. i found two sites very helpful in providing me with good gardening advice and when to start seeds indoors:

• Cornell's online database of flowers and vegetables
  
• The Old Farmer's Almanac

all good for a mid-February midsummer's day-dream...

Oversized SUV owners, manufacturers, need to pay

They need to pay more for insurance. The companies that make them should be charged a 'oversized unneccessary vehicle' fee. And the people who drive them should be tested for their ability to drive them and be charged that ol' gas guzzler tax of the 60-70s.

Sure, this is America and we can drive anything we want. No problem. But when the idiot-driver of a company-owned Ford Expedition (who needs such a large vehicle if you're not hauling stuff?) stopped for no reason in the middle of a street in our downtown and decided to back up, again for no apparent reason, and crush the front end of my husband's car, I can tell you there are some serious issues to consider here in the land of the free-of-choice, home of the brave. For one, a driver of such a large vehicle should be held **highly responsible** for their actions and how they effect others. They choose to drive a death machine, they should pay thru the nose. Can you tell I'm pissed? You bet.

For one, my husband has been inconvenienced by not having a car until the offender's insurance company figures it out. 4 days have passed since the accident.
Though the tax loop hole for large SUV purchases has closed somewhat, apparently it has not been tightened enough around the appropriate necks.

Same day this transpired, I heard on NPR a news story about Ford Motor Company paying over $27 million for an ad campaign directed to "the dangers of driving too fast, of overloading SUVs, and of not wearing seatbelts. The ads are directed at young men from 18 to 34." And the person who smashed my husband's car - aged 34.


Quote of the day: "You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." Marie Curie