The Health Hub: happy

Showing posts with label happy. Show all posts

Tuesday, 7 October 2014

It Takes HOW MUCH Water To Grow An Avocado?!

We've heard a lot about how the boom in almond and other nut production is straining California's dwindling water supplies amid the state's worst-ever drought. But what about the avocado, another trendy commodity that grows on trees and delivers all-the-rage healthy fats?

US consumers certainly love this unctuous tropical fruit. According to the US Department of Agriculture, avocado production per capita jumped from 1.1 pounds annually in 1999 to 4.5 pounds in 2011.

Avocados don't require nearly as much water per pound as almonds. But they do require significantly more than other kinds of produce, as my colleague Julia Lurie shows in this chart:

Lettuce

74.1

Avocados

42.1

Peaches

12.2

Oranges

10.8

Tomatoes

9.8

Strawberries

5.5

Lettuce

(Note that the figures in this chart, and the one later in this post, include only blue water—which comes from rivers, lakes, streams, and aquifers—and not rainfall or recycled water.)

And as in the case of almonds and so many other crops, California dominates US production, accounting for about 90 percent of the US avocado harvest. Nearly all of it takes place in Southern California, in a five-county region that straddles the coast from San Luis Obispo to San Diego.

Like the rest of the state, the southern coastal region is locked in a drought, and largely cut off from the flow of surface water from the state's big irrigation projects. The result has been strife in the avocado groves—sky-high water costsand a reliance on water pumped from underground aquifers.

But overall, California's avocado farms have a relatively light water impact. Unlike almonds and pistachios, whose acreage has expanded dramatically in recent years, land devoted to avocados has actually shrunk, from a high of 76,000 acres in 1987 to fewer than 60,000 acres in 2012 (although production has held steady, because yield increases have offset the loss of acres). Also unlike the state's nut growers, California's avocado farmers aren't taking advantage of a boom in demand from Asia. According to the USDA, US avocado exports are so small they're "negligible."

Also, avocados are a perishable, seasonal product, and the California season peaks from May through August—meaning that for the rest of the year, we rely on Mexico, Chile, and Peru to satisfy our guacamole habit. All told, the USDA reports, about 70 percent of the avocados we consume are imported.

Global average

96.8

Chile

74.1

California

71.8

USA

31.9

Mexico

28.4

Global average

And so most of the water impact from our growing appetite for avocados lands on other places. And as Eilis O'Neill recently reported in Civil Eats, satisfying our demand for off-season avocados is causing trouble in another drought-stricken region, Chile's Central Valley—which, like California's, lies between a snowcapped interior mountain range and a coastal mountain range.

In part because of demand from the United States, avocado farmers in Chile have used so much water that some towns' wells have run dry.

This valley is the epicenter of Chile's fruit-and-veg export behemoth that began in the 1980s. As this US Department of Agriculture report states, Chile's Southern Hemisphere location gives it a "counter-seasonal production schedule with the United States"—that is, Chile's summer starts around the time that ours ends. The rapid rise of Chilean produce into the US market is a big reason US consumers can expect bountiful produce aisles year-round—it "extended the availability of certain fruits in the market without direct competition with domestic production, and gave US consumers fruit choices beyond the traditional domestic winter fruits of citrus, apples, and pears," the USDA notes. Chile now supplies a fifth of US fruit, the USDA adds.

Avocados were part of that boom. As O'Neill notes, land devoted to avocados has expanded rapidly—from about 6,180 hectares (15,270 acres) in 1980 to 27,000 hectares (66,700 acres) in 2006, all the way to 36,000 hectares (88,960 acres) in 2014, according to the USDA.

And just as in California, climate change and drought have meant less surface water flowing from mountain ranges to irrigate crops—and a shift to pumping water from underground aquifers. As a result, producers have "used so much of the region's waters that small farmers with shallow wells—and some nearby towns—are left with no water," O'Neill writes, echoing reports of waterless towns in California's Central Valley.

Like our Golden State, Chile takes a laissez-faire approach to groundwater regulation, O’Neill reports—a legacy of the reign of General Augusto Pinochet, a free-market zealot who came to power in a US-backed coup in 1973 and remained dictator until 1990.

And large, export-minded farm operations have the wherewithal to drill larger and deeper wells, squeezing out small farms and nearby communities, O'Neill reports. Meanwhile, the profits from Chile's farm export boom remains pretty concentrated in the hands of large landowners.

Chile's avocado harvest starts in runs from August to March—making it a prime supplier during the football season guacamole blitz.

O'Neill's piece gives us something to think about as we plunge chips into that delicious dip. "When you eat an avocado that comes from [a large producer in] Chile, think about the fact that the water used to produce it is water that homes in the country's most humble communities now lack," water activist Rodrigo Mundaca tells her.

Source: Tom Philpott 'Mother Jones' Article

Saturday, 27 September 2014

Drink This Two Hours Before Bed To Sleep Better (Plus 5 Tips For Insomnia)

I've noticed in my travels and with working with clients that a large majority of people in today's fast-paced stressful world are struggling at least part of the time with falling asleep at night.

Over the years, I've also struggled on occasion with insomnia because of the stress placed on me by running a large publishing business. And I've researched and learned quite a few tips and tricks over the years to help fight insomnia and fall asleep faster.

Without diving into every single technique I've learned over the years, I'll just touch on a few really simple, but powerful tips, foods, drinks, etc that I think can help you to fall asleep easier and faster too!

Here goes:

1. The most important sleep tip to start with:

This one isn't a specific food or drink, but rather probably THE most important tip I can give you... if you don't follow this one, your chances of being able to wind down at night and fall asleep fast are unlikely...

You NEED to eliminate use of devices, computers, emails, and any other work related to your job (or other stressful things) at least 3 hours before you plan to go to sleep. Using devices or computers for casual reading at night is fine, but don't do any work that gets your mind overly activated, such as anything dealing with work or other stressful things in life. Also, even for casual reading, it's best to turn off devices at least 1 hour before bed as keeping your eyes focused on the light from devices is one thing that some researchers are saying could interfere with getting quality sleep.

An overly active mind late at night is one of the BIGGEST things keeping many people from falling asleep. As a success-driven entrepreneur myself, I used to work really late at night and then I'd find that my mind was always too active to actually be able to fall asleep, so I'd lay there for hours sometimes until I could get my mind to slow down so I could fall asleep.

This may sound weird, but one trick that's worked for me is to grab a book while I lay in bed on something that I find sort of boring and try to read the book in bed. Because the topic is "boring" to me personally, it keeps my mind away from things that I find more interesting, and it allows me to fall right to sleep. So for example, if you find health and fitness interesting (I hope you do!), but you find economics boring, try reading an economics book as you lay in bed. I bet you'll get sleepy and fall asleep much faster than if you laid in bed letting all your thoughts about daily life race through your mind.

2. No caffeine after mid-day:

You've probably heard this tip many times, so I'll keep this one short... It takes about 6 hours for caffeine to be fully processed and eliminated by your body, so make sure your last caffeinated drink of the day (coffee, black tea, mate, etc) is at LEAST 6 hours or more before your planned bedtime. And if you've been showing any adrenal fatigue from lab hormone tests, you should also consider reducing your daily caffeine intake if you currently use it.

3. Tart cherries or tart cherry juice:

Tart cherries (Montmorency) actually contain a natural form of melatonin that can help you to naturally get sleepy and more easily fall asleep. I've found frozen tart cherries a few times in specialty grocery stores and I use them for a late night smoothie occasionally.

I've also found a tart cherry concentrate in Whole Foods and other health food stores that you can add to a drink or caffeine-free tea at night to help get you that low dose natural melatonin. I use 1 spoonful of this tart cherry concentrate in a cup of chamomile or mint tea late at night. This helps immensely for calming down and falling asleep at night.

A side benefit is that tart cherry also contains powerful antioxidants that fight joint pain, gout, and other inflammation related problems.

4. DON'T overdose on melatonin supplements (most contain TOO MUCH)

Did you know that MOST people overdose on melatonin supplements. Most melatonin supplements come in either 3 mg or even 5 mg doses. However, according to some researchers, anything more than 1 mg might be too high of a dose, which can disrupt your sleep cycle the following day, making it hard to wake up in the morning, and harder to fall asleep the following night, disrupting your overall sleep cycle.

The proper dose seems to be something less than 1 mg from most experts on this topic (this was even discussed on the Dr Oz show too), which is why I choose to NEVER use melatonin supplements, and only get the small natural quantities found in tart cherries or tart cherry juice.

5. Night time teas:

Try "night time teas" that have relaxing qualities such as chamomile tea, mint tea, lemongrass tea, or all of them mixed. A side benefit of chamomile tea, and another reason that I try to include it in my weekly night tea repertoire is that chamomile tea contains unique phytonutrients that can help fight estrogenic overload from all of the xenoestrogens that we are exposed to from chemicals, pesticides, etc in today's chemical laden world.

Also remember that you can add a spoonful of the tart cherry concentrate and you'll get a double-whammy of sleep aid! This works well about 1-2 hours before bedtime to help your body and mind relax.

One more tip...

If you still have troubles falling asleep even after implementing all of these tips, make sure to pay attention to fixing any hormonal issues you might have, including any possible adrenal fatigue, since being overly stressed out during the day can cause imbalances in your natural cortisol cycle which can make you more awake at night and more tired in the morning (obviously the opposite of what you want).

Eliminate any stressors from your life that you can, and also trying other relaxation techniques including meditation as a way to deal with stress if you still feel that you're too stressed out each day.

I hope today's topic gave you some immediately useful tips that you can use to start falling asleep easier and faster and feeling more rested and energetic when you wake up in the morning!

Make sure to pay attention to ALL of the tips above (especially #1) as they can all combine into a powerful regimen that relaxes you to sleep each night without any more insomnia, leaving you more energetic and ready to be productive when you wake up each day!

Source: Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist

Thursday, 18 September 2014

10 Portable Beauty Essentials To Stock Up On Now!

I used to travel for a living. Not kidding—for two very recent years of my life, I traveled to a different city in North America every day, living out of hotel rooms and getting on a plane at least three times a week, sometimes more than five times a week.

There are good sides and bad sides to all that travel. The good: racking up insane frequent flier mileage, having a new hotel room to mess up every night, seeing new places, and casually dropping in on an old friend who now lives in Tucson. The bad: never, ever getting to cook a real meal, cancelled flights, navigating a rental car through a blizzard in Fishkill, New York, and living out of a suitcase. Permanently.

But you know what living out of a suitcase made me super insanely good at? Packing. I’m a militant monster when it comes to traveling light, and keeping a makeup flight kit always packed and ready can save you a ton of time, not to mention stress. You know—a little bag, stocked with essentials, that you can throw into a bigger bag whenever—whether for an overnight at your boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s place, a weekend getaway, or a full-on vacay. It’s ultimately up to you what you put in your flight bag, but these ten must-haves are seriously handy. Grab everything you need and let’s blow this joint!

1: The bag itself: It’s always a good idea to just go with what’s universally approved at the airport: a plastic, 1-quart zip-close plastic baggie. All those gift-with-purchase quilted satin bags from the makeup counter are nice to look at, but guess what else they are? Opaque. We’re going for efficiency, ease, and speed, and you need something you can see through that’s also spill-and-leak-proof. Airport security does not need to open and examine a regulation-size plastic bag full of toiletries—they can immediately tell: it’s just toiletries. (Editor’s note: Sonia Kashuk makes small bags in tons of cute patterns that open up to two TSA-friendly zippered clear compartments, which keep toiletries organized and easy to see through security.)

2: Teeny-tiny bar of face soap. Or a small refillable squeeze bottle of your face cleanser.

3: Small facial moisturizer. I like Indie Lee Squalane Facial Cream for its easy-to-pack 1-ounce jar and skin-brightening benefits.

4: Travel-size shampoo and conditioner. Beautylish writer Jorie Larsen suggests swiping the free ones during a hotel stay to use for future travels. And who hasn’t done that?!

5: Concealer/foundation product. Two-in-one! Traveling is made for multiple-function products, like Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer.

6: Basic translucent powder. Check out ILIA’s Translucent Powder in Fade Into You. It comes with an attached brush in a refillable base.

7: Multi-tasking eye, lip, and cheek stick. The majority of the makeup you’ll need in one single product? Yes! I like ILIA Multi-Stick in All of Me.

8: Palette with room for shadow, liner, and a super-bright lipstick. The four SquareInglot Cosmetics Freedom System Palette is so ideal for a to-go kit, and you can customize exactly what you want in it.

9: Tiiiiiny travel-sized mascara. Mascara tubes can take up a surprising amount of space in your quart bag—go small! Look for a mini version of your fave (Benefit Cosmetics makes its beloved They’re Real Mascara in a 0.14 oz. tube, for instance).

10: Travel-size atomizer of your favorite perfume, because you fancy, huh? I’m obsessed with my Travalo, a mini perfume atomizer. You attach it to any full-sized perfume and pump to fill it up.

Source: Krista Burton; www.beautylish.com

Tuesday, 9 September 2014

The Nail Polish That's Raising Awareness About Sexual Asssaults

Could nail polish actually be used as a tool to prevent sexual assaults? That’s what one group of students at North Carolina State University is hoping with their in-development chemistry project Undercover Colors. The idea is pretty simple: you wear it like any other nail polish, swirl your finger in that cocktail that guy down the bar bought you, and if the polish changes color…trash the drink and call the cops, because you’ve possibly been roofied.

“While date rape drugs are often used to facilitate sexual assault, very little science exists for their detection. Our goal is to invent technologies that empower women to protect themselves from this heinous and quietly pervasive crime,” reads a statement from the company.

A beauty product for that also serves as a personal safety function sounds like a pretty cool idea to us, so we were left scratching our heads with the wave of controversy that made rounds in the media last week. A number of outlets shunned the idea saying that such products put the responsibility on the victim to avoid rape and take the focus off the criminals themselves. Others said this type of detection wouldn’t work—at least not reliably—because there are so many date-rape drugs out there beyond GHB (including anti-anxiety meds and sleeping pills) that it’d be impossible to test for all of them.

We wholeheartedly agree that we should, as a culture, continue to educate the masses and raise awareness that rape is never okay—and that it is never on the victim to avoid assault. But we still see this as a step in the right direction, and another precaution women can take (along with walking each other home at night and carrying mace) to protect themselves. Call it a necessary evil, even. Like a can of mace stowed in your handbag, wearing a drug-detecting nail polish would never thwart all potential attackers, all the time. Yet while the world figures itself out, what harm is there in a nail polish that could help stop an attack before it starts?

“We hope this future product will be able to shift the fear from the victims to the perpetrators, creating a risk that they might actually start to get caught,” wrote co-founder Tyler Confrey-Maloney on Undercover Colors’ Facebook page. The team is still undergoing testing, and early in the R&D stage, according to Confrey-Maloney. Maybe there’s hope that the team can continue to advance the formula, but that may even be beside the point. In any case, what they’re doing has started a wider discussion about sexual assault. And it’s that exposure, of all the news within these last couple of weeks, that’s most important.

There are plenty of supporters, too, including investors who have tallied around $100,000 in seed money even before news of Undercover Colors went public. They’re still raising funds to meet their financial goal, so that they can devote even more funds to research and development.

By Selena Fragassi