Friday, June 6, 2008

I Keep Saying This . . .

This morning on the Today show there was a feature on the move toward "urban food gardens" (their term). They tied the movement directly to increasing food prices -- more and more people are doing small backgard, patio, or container gardens as well as larger plots. A Home Depot garden center spokesman said that more and more people are buying vegetable and fruit transplants instead of ornamental plants. They made reference to the Victory Garden movement popular during World Wars I and II when backyard gardens took pressure off the national food supply during those wars.

I may be wrong, but I don't see price-pressures on food changing much in the future. If you're resisting beginning to grow your own food because you think this is a short-lived necessity, I would think again.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Body Mass Index

I put together some info on Body Mass Index recently for a friend -- I'll recap the highlights here. The Body Mass Index formula was complicated when it first appeared a few years ago and has been simplified into various formulas that all produce similar results. The formula I've reproduced below is from the Wikipedia article on Body Mass Index.

BMI scores are reported as a number from around 15 to 40. Here is what the numbers mean:

<16.5 = Severely underweight
16.5 - 18.5 = Underweight
18.5 - 25 = NORMAL
25 - 30 = Overweight
30 - 35 = Obese
35 - 40 = Clinically Obese
40> = Morbidly Obese

You derive the score by using this formula:

BMI = (weight x 703) ÷ (height-in-inches squared)

For example, for a person who is 6' (or 72") tall and 200 pounds we get:

(200 x 703) ÷ (72 x 72)

140,600 ÷ 5,184

= 27.12

Based on the chart above, 27.12 indicates an "Overweight" score, or BMI.

Most BMI recommendations say that "24" should be everyone's target score.

SO -- if 24 is the target BMI score, what does that translate to in weight? We use the same formula and solve it a different way using W = weight as the unknown variable:

24 = (W x 703) ÷ (72 x 72)

24 = 703W ÷ 5,184

24 x 5,184 = 703W

124,416 = 703W

124,416 ÷ 703 = W

176.97 = W (or 177 pounds, rounded up)

SO, to achieve a BMI of 24 a six-foot tall person should weigh 177 pounds (or less: remember, the "Normal" BMI range is 18.5 - 25)

NOW -- here's what this means in terms of health:

1. Diseases like cancer grow in an acidic environment.
2. Cancer is suppressed (won't grow) in an alkaline environment.
3. It is "impossible" to be overweight and have an alkaline environment. The foods that create obesity in the Standard American Diet (meat, fats, sugar, processed grains, processed foods, junk foods) are all HIGHLY acidic.
4. A plant-based diet (fruits and veggies, etc.) is almost totally alkaline. (The body's ideal pH is to be slightly alkaline.)

Therefore, when you find a person who is obese and has cancer, you can pretty much assume their inner system is highly acidic. The diet (and lack of exercise, etc.) that made them obese will also make them acidic, creating an ideal environment for cancer to grow.

On the other hand, a plant-based diet will eventually lead one to a normal weight while creating an alkaline environment at the same time, INHIBITING cancer growth.

SO, not only do you return to a normal weight on a plant-based diet (and also reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, etc.) you also create an inner system (alkaline) that inhibits cancer growth.

By consuming a plant-based diet faithfully, two things will happen:

1. You should return to a normal, healthy weight.
2. You will create an inner terrain in which cancer will have a very difficult time surviving.

Full disclosure: the BMI has been criticized in some quarters for being too conservative when "24" is made the target score. Critics say it doesn't take into account different muscular builds (healthy, but heavier due to muscle bulk) and different body shapes ("big-boned," etc.).

Truth be told, most people who react negatively to the weight at which they reach a BMI of 24 (or less) -- "I look skinny! No, gaunt!" -- are reacting to how they look compared to how they used to look (overweight) and how the rest of the population looks: 60+% overweight and 30+% obese. Twenty-four is, for most people, a healthy target.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Wheatgrass Revival

For a reason I can't now remember, I stopped growing new wheatgrass a month or so ago. When I started a new batch last week I decided to use the "industry standard" growing trays instead of the cafeteria trays that my wheatgrass mentor showed me how to use. The result is, for whatever reason, some of the best wheatgrass I've grown. (I continue to water my grass with Ocean Grown Solution.) And best of all, there are no signs of mold around the roots -- a standard headache for wheatgrass growers. Not sure what the difference is. These are two I'm aware of: deeper soil beds since these trays are deeper than cafeteria trays, and watering from the top down instead of the bottom up. If a wheatgrass expert stumbles on this post and can comment, I'd appreciate the input.

Besides being healthful, wheatgrass has to be one of the most beautiful in-house "plants" to look at:

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Here's a picture of the root area just after cutting this morning showing no signs of mold:

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I put the bird/squirrel seeds in a tray hoping to keep the wind from spreading them into the garden beds. So far I haven't seen a single bird at the tray -- the new color/shape may be making them wary. The squirrels, of course, could care less about the container:

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Finally, the glorious sunflower had his face turned full toward the sun this morning. I now count nine buds on this one plant. It's amazing how the botanical parts of God's creation turn to the sun every morning to soak in the life-giving energy:

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Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Get the Garlic and Lime

I have buried scores of avocado pits (seeds) in the soil in my front garden beds in recent years. Since they break down much more slowly than veggie and fruit scraps, I am continually unearthing them as I bury new scraps. Of late, I have found several pits that have split and sprouted. Knowing that avocados are not native to North Carolina and might not survive, I've been trying to baby these along the last few days to see what happens.

This one is a bit out of focus -- it's the brown vertical stem with the green at the top:

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This one is a bit fuzzy also -- the stem has already sent out a shoot off to the side:

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This one is a bit harder to see -- look for the green stem leaning to the left. To the right you can actually see the pit that has cracked open allowing the root and stem to emerge. I didn't even notice the seed was lying above ground until I saw these pictures. I'll cover it up tomorrow:

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I'm not rushing out to buy chips just yet.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Relax and Smell Healthy

The current issue of Bicycling magazine (July 2008, p. 76) notes that "British researchers found that smelling lemon oil reduced anxiety in dementia patients by 35 percent." A New York University study showed that surgery patients whose oxygen masks were treated with lavender oil required less post-op pain medication than patients who didn't inhale the lavender.

You can get all-natural soaps with lemon, lavender, and other oils made by Frederick Breeden at JustSoap.com. He even mixes his soap concoctions with a bicycle-powered mixing machine! The soaps are made with all-natural oils with no artificial coloring or chemicals, and are animal-free (ingredients and testing). And they are reasonably priced.

If you want the oils themselves, I have ordered from Candace Newman ("The Oil Lady"). She's been selling all-natural aromatherapy oil products, gathered from all over the world, more than 15 years. The "Deep Rub Gel" I used when I had tendonitis in my foot really seemed to help.

Two Cannibals Are Eating a Comedian . . .

Two cannibals are eating a comedian and one says to the other, "Does this taste funny to you?"

(Thanks to Dustin Hoffman on the Today show this morning.)

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Ready for Rain

Got the rain barrel rigged this afternoon with some flexible downspout extensions and concrete blocks from Home Depot. Hopefully, the blocks will raise it up enough to provide adequate gravity flow through the hose for watering the garden. The only thing I didn't do was drill an overflow hole near the top. The lid on the barrel fits loosely enough that, for the moment, overflow can just run out underneath the lid and down the sides of the barrel. We'll see what happens. Next will be to install another barrel next to it with a small hose connecting the two so as to capture 100+ gallons instead of 50+.

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Here's a view of the front of the house with the barrel on the left end of the porch. Doesn't appear to be too obtrusive:

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I stopped filling the bird feeders because of the "weed" problem they were causing in the flower garden below. The birds spill over so many of the "junk" seeds that commercial bird feed has in it that they all sprout in the soil below the feeders which creates a huge job keeping the "weeds" (don't know what they are) pulled. However, a couple of sunflower seeds sprouted so I have left those:

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Most sunflowers I have seen before have one large flower at the top of the thick trunk. This one has eight flower pods getting ready to bloom. Is this normal? When I had sunflowers as part of my backyard garden, it was fun to watch small birds fly up and grasp the rough face of a sunflower with their feet and start digging sunflower seeds out of the face with their bills while the sunflower head swung to and fro with the weight of their activity. I have no idea what variety of sunflower was in the bird feeder, but this is going to be a pretty cool sunflower when all eight heads are blooming:

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Instead of putting seeds in the bird feeders I sprinkled a pile on the sidewalk. No surprise as to who was Johnny-on-the-spot:

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The finches wait patiently for their turn until Squire Squirrel has his fill:

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When the Guard Lizard gives the birds the "All clear" from his position on the downspout . . .

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. . . they come down to get their share:

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The simple pleasures of living on .27 acres in lovely Union County, North Carolina.

The Humble Spud

Read Dr. John McDougall's tribute to the humble potato and you'll be inclined to eat more of them. If you'd rather watch than read, here's an excellent short video on the lowly tuber (2008 is the United Nations International Year of the Potato):