You Can Lead a Horse to Water

From an article entitled New Study Says "Food Deserts" Only Part of the Problem:

A new study confirms that being able to buy healthier food is only one part of a larger issue. According to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, improving access to fruits and vegetables does not necessarily result in better diets.

It is very difficult for healthier foods and methods of food preparation to compete with the variety, convenience, mass-marketing and ubiquity of processed foods. In a world of sound bites, immediate gratification and 15 minutes of fame, the comparatively understated simplicity of unprocessed natural foods faces a difficult uphill battle when it comes to winning over tongues and stomachs if not hearts and minds. And processed foods are, from a certain perspective, simply more palatable.

Real widespread change in people's eating habits can only come, like everything else in life, through inner change. The value of a healthy diet cannot be either imposed or instilled through fear, will, exposure or accessibility. Its appeal and its strength rest primarily in an appreciation for the sense of goodness evoked when we take care of ourselves. In other words, it's how it makes us feel on the inside, not how delicious or appealing it looks on the outside, that matters. As such, it is our relationship to how we nurture ourselves that must change if we are to be healthier.

War and Prejudice

From an Associated Press article that appeared on Yahoo last week:

Two Muslim religious leaders say they were asked to leave a commercial airliner in Memphis on Friday and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard.

Both passengers are Memphis-area residents. Rahman said he was dressed in traditional Indian clothing and his traveling companion was dressed in Arab garb, including traditional headgear.

Rahman said he and Mohamed Zaghloul, of the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis, were cleared by security agents and boarded the plane for an 8:40 a.m. departure.

The aircraft pulled away from the gate, but the pilot then announced the plane must return, Rahman said. When it did, the imams were asked to go back to the boarding gate where Rahman said they were told the pilot was refusing to accept them because some other passengers could be uncomfortable.

Rahman said Delta officials talked with the pilot for more than a half-hour, but he still refused.

As abhorrent as I find this type of profiling behavior, once I got beyond my initial outrage after reading the article, I began to think about how particularly common this kind of behavior is during times of "war". Whether the war is a military one fought on battlefields or an ideological one fought in the space of individual and public opinion (or both, as we seem to be living through at the present time), war urges us to judge and separate the bad fromt the good.

The human ego is inherently disposed to fear and be suspicious of that which is "different," which is ultimately what gives rise to bias. And superficial segregation and broad-brush stereotyping are among its most preferred tools for dealing with this kind of fear.

In this sense, profiling is not just about bias. It is also about efficiency and expediency. The broader the brush, the less the ego has to think about or ponder the limitations of its decision making process (let alone the consequences of that process) and therefore the quicker it can get back to a state of presumed security and control. A strictly black or white outlook is very effective at settling the mind,  if not the emotions. And during times of war, in our desire to feel right, safe and most of all normal, we often take whatever relief or salve we can get.

From a moral and philosophical perspective, I do not agree with, and choose not to condone, the process of profiling. Yet from a purely human ego perspective, I not only understand it but I also deeply appreciate its appeal.

My inner sense of inspiration to love more openly always seems to inevitably run into my also compelling desire to feel free of danger.

And in the midst of that conflict I find myself over and over needing to take sides and having to choose.

We all must choose...

love or fear?

Making Friends In Unusual Places

This very cute video of a group of dolphins and a cat playing together takes on a whole new meaning for me now that I have a cat!

Get Up On Your Feet

This in today, from an article in the Yahoo Health blog entitled The Most Dangerous Thing You'll Do All Day:

Scientists at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana analyzed the lifestyles of more than 17,000 men and women over about 13 years, and found that people who sit for most of the day are 54 percent more likely to die of heart attacks.

What makes this particularly interesting is that sitting appears to be a causal factor for heart attacks regardless of any other lifestyle considerations, i.e. it doesn't matter how much a person otherwise exercises or how fit they may otherwise be. Other factors such as diet and whether you smoke or not were also irrelevant. If you sit for much of the day, it is a factor.

For a long time, I have thought about the possibility of incorporating a standing desk into my work routine, mostly because of the negative impact of sitting for long periods on posture and back health. Looks like there's another good reason to start checking out some standing desks.

If you don't know what they are, just google "standing desk" to find lots of resources about them. You can also find one person's informative account of her experience switching to a standing desk here.

A Statistic About Cancer Worth Remembering

It is estimated that about 1/3 of the most common cancers can be avoided simply through changes in behavior, diet and exercise. (See here.) Among the recommended changes are avoiding sugary drinks, being physically active for at least 30 minutes a day and eating a larger variety of fruits, vegetables and WHOLE grains. It is never too late to start making changes, and you don't have to change everything at once. Any change, no matter how small, is change for the better. In fact, baby steps are encouraged...  you just need to keep making them.

Flying the Coop in the Wrong Direction

Flamingos usually conjure images of lush, tropical paradises. But in this case, these flamingos ended up in Siberia when they flew North instead of South. And apparently it is not the first time it has happened -- flamingos were were also reported to have made their way to Siberia about 100 years ago. Here is an interesting story entitled Flamingos Drop From Siberian Sky: Locals Mystified about how birds are apparently known to sometimes get their wires crossed and fly in the opposite direction of their normal migration route.

Almost as interesting as the story of the flamingos itself is the tale of how Siberian locals took the birds in and cared for them until they were eventually relocated to zoos.

So, next time you're feeling all "turned around," just remember that it is natural and happens to the best of us… even flamingos!

Just Take A Pill

From The New York Times today comes an article entitled Talk Doesn't Pay, So Psychiatry Turns to Drug Therapy.

It takes a look at current trends in the psychiatric profession that have led psychiatrists to forego talk therapy altogether and rely solely on drugs to treat their patients.

Here's the understatement of the week:

Medicine is rapidly changing in the United States from a cottage industry to one dominated by large hospital groups and corporations, but the new efficiencies can be accompanied by a telling loss of intimacy between doctors and patients. And no specialty has suffered this loss more profoundly than psychiatry.

It is sad that not only are they giving up on the potential to actually heal rather than treat patients, but that it is probably indicative of the direction in which the practice of medicine is moving as a whole.

The Snow Is Deeper On The Other Side

With all of the snow, ice and rain we have been having this winter season, it is hard not to feel at least a bit singled out and put upon by Mother Nature. So just in case you've been feeling a little "under the snow," take a look at these pictures from Gizmodo of the island of Honshu, Japan to see just how bad it can get.

Makes our precipitation look like a covering of fairy dust!

Smoking Ban In Spain

A recent blurb in BBC Mobile News Europe discusses a new anti-smoking law that has gone into effect in Spain. Given the continuing popularity of smoking in Europe in general, and in Spain in particular, this is no small feat:

The ban - one of the strictest in Europe - outlaws smoking in all bars and restaurants. Smokers will also be prohibited on television broadcasts, near hospitals or in school playgrounds.  The law tightens anti-smoking restrictions introduced in 2006.

Spain has a strong cafe culture and the owners of bars and cafes have complained the law will hurt business.

The anti-smoking rules introduced in 2006 outlawed smoking in the workplace, but it let bar and restaurant owners choose whether or not to allow it. Most chose not to impose any ban.  Only large restaurants and bars were obliged to provide a smoke-free area.

Hotel, restaurant and bar owners have said they could face a 10% drop in trade with the new rules. The industry has already seen a sharp fall in sales due to Spain's economic problems.  But doctors argue the new legislation will help smokers give up.

It is interesting that Spanish merchants tried to use the same argument of financial harm caused by such laws that merchants in other jurisdictions have also used to influence public opinion against such smoking bans -- even though such negative financial impacts have generally never come to pass.

I was also amazed to realize that it has already been (or "only been," depending on your outlook) a little over 7 years since New York City passed its own anti-smoking laws back in 2003.