Wellness Journalism: Slick and sick

On April 20, 2011, an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the Gulf Coast claimed the lives of eleven people and cost thousands more their livelihood. Sadly, the worst impact of this accident on the environment has yet to be fully felt: we cut an artery and spilled the earth’s blood, disrupting and damaging the workings of the natural world. The sheer quantity of oil released into the atmosphere and burned off as gasses (in the so-called cleaning process) has a deep and lasting impact on the balance of our ecosystem.




"We're sorry for the massive disruption it's caused their lives. There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back." —BP CEO Tony Hayward

Oil dependency finally blows up in our face. But is it going to be like every other Oopsie, where we slap on the band-aid and move forward without learning the lesson? Do we, like Tony Howard, just want our lives back?

Rather than taking our lives back, let’s take our lives forward. Don’t return to busines as usual if we can do better business. We are living in a changing time.

But life on earth aside, some are more worried about the financial security of our country, for which BP is a nice plushy cushion. The fear is that U.S. energy security will suffer if BP goes under or is significantly reduced in size. Even Obama recognized as much when he said that “BP is a strong and viable company, and it is in all of our interests that it remain so.”

Yes, the company’s demise would be disruptive to the American oil industry, given that BP is the largest oil and gas producer in the U.S., with about 1 million barrels per day of production. But it no longer seems to be in our best interest to put profit ahead of preservation. In the best long-term interest of not only the U.S. but every other country, it is time to put our welfare ahead of our wallets. Put the horse before the cart. No more digging into the earth’s plumbing system to harvest costly fuel when there is wind and solar power available to all. Prospects of U.S. energy security are better sought in sustainable and renewable energy sources.

It can be overwhelming to consider the complete overhaul of our habits, when we are so dependent on fossil fuels. There is a great deal of inertia behind our gas-guzzling lifestyles. The key is to make one change at a time. It comes down to the next decision. Carpool. Walk. Re-use. Recycle. Don’t buy it. Eat this instead. Every time something large scale happens, it serves as a reminder to adjust our small scales.

In this climate of crisis and critical mass, we are more sensitive to disasters, and their impact. It galvanizes our communities, and brings us forward towards a common goal. These are the wake up calls. Ooopsies. Mother Nature will do what it takes to push us out of the nest, so to speak, drawing our attention to the effect of our greedy open mouths…So that we can learn to fly for ourselves.

Wellness Journalism: Sugar...not so sweet!

Cookies and frozen yogurt and soda and cake and chocolate and cereal are delicious. But is the taste worth the trouble?

Over the last 20 years we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. from 26 lbs. to 13 lbs. of sugar, per person, per year! Highly refined sugars are being processed into so many foods. And not just the obvious desserts—sugar hides in many places. Some brands of ketchup have more sugar per ounce than ice cream. Many salad dressings have three times the sugar content of cola drinks. Some non-dairy creamers have more sugar than a chocolate bar. The labeling is often misleading; manufacturers avoid listing sugar as the first ingredient by dividing it into different terminologies like dextrose, corn syrup solids, malt powder, etc. If you add these ingredients together, sugar would become the first ingredient on the product list.



Just a spoonful of sugar…slows your immune system down. Glucose and vitamin C have similar chemical structures, so when sugar levels go up, they compete for one another upon entering the cells. If there is more glucose around, there is going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell. But suppressing the immune system is just the beginning. Sugar upsets the body's mineral balance, contributes to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness, produces a significant rise in triglycerides, reduces helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs), promotes an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs), causes hypoglycemia, diabetes, hypertension, and a weakened defense against bacterial infection, causes kidney damage, increases the risk of coronary heart disease, increases fasting levels of blood glucose, promotes tooth decay, produces an acidic stomach, speeds the aging process, contributes to weight gain and obesity, increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, contributes to osteoporosis, decreases glucose tolerance, causes food allergies, causes free radical formation in the bloodstream, overstresses the pancreas, increases the amount of fat in the liver, increases the body's fluid retention, causes hormonal imbalance, and gives you headaches.

Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Sweet & Low, Equal are notorious for wreaking even more havoc. The chemical structure of Splenda (sucralose), for example, has more in common with pesticides than it does with food.

Some like it sweet! For those who, like myself, harbor a bonafide sweet tooth, the most promising option on the plate is stevia. Stevia can be used for anything you might use sugar in, including baking…and it is naturally low in carbohydrates. Known in South America as the “sweet herb,” stevia has been used in other cultures for centuries without ill effect. It’s 200–300 times sweeter than sugar, so just a small portion of stevia will sweeten even a strong cup of tea. We’ve known about stevia in the US since 1918, but pressure from the sugar import trade blocked its use as a commodity. Now you can buy it at most health food stores and on the web.

Ultimately, there is never debate over the sweetest things to eat: fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains!

Wellness Journaslim: Boogie on the Brain

There is a West African saying: “If you can talk, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance.” Personally, I would debate this. I suspect that a person who can’t talk might still be able to sing, and a person who can’t walk might still be able to dance, because singing and dancing engage different pathways in the brain. The point is, however, that every person has a unique song and dance.



Walking might get you from point A to point B, but dancing takes you into another dimension. I’m not talking about the dancing you do (or don’t do) when you are trying to impress somebody across the room. I am talking about the dancing you do when you are being yourself, attention focused solely on music and movement and your own precious mind-body connection. Hopping, skipping, sliding, wiggling, leaping, swinging, shaking, kicking. The creative nature of dance is profound; it is a body language, a basic form of authentic communication. It puts you in touch with yourself.

As such, dance is an especially effective medium for therapy. Based in the belief that body, mind and spirit are interconnected, dance therapy is defined as "the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process that furthers the emotional, cognitive, social and physical integration of the individual" by the American Dance Therapy Association. Dancing goes back to primitive times, and magical powers have been attributed to it. The shaman dances to exorcise evil spirits from a sick person. During the Middle Ages people even danced to avoid the plague. The Tarantella of Italy is believed to have originated after a poisonous spider’s bite caused tarantism, and the cure for it was a jumping dance.

I recently “invented” a dance called Happy Fingers. It works well if you are in the car, at work or school, or anyplace that isn’t condusive to jigging feet. The idea is that you allow your hands and fingers to move to the music, as little representatives of your entire body. Your hands and fingers have incredible powers of expression!

So you think you can’t dance? It’s a travesty that a person would voluntarily carry a belief that blocks booty bumping. Neither judge nor jury has real power over your groove; it’s completely up to you. Make your move.

Showing the Love: 8 Days a Week!

8 Ways to Love Yourself:

1. Treat your taste buds: Whether it’s fresh veggies from the farmer’s market or a pint of frozen yogurt, a happy mouth is an instant face-lift.

2. Move your body: Take a walk or run, go for a swim or hike, do a little dance or perhaps some yoga. Stretch and circulate your limbs!

3. Read for pleasure: It can be a source of entertainment, a way to catch up on current events, or an educational tool.

4. Take a day off: Shut off your cell phone and your laptop. Spend some time with yourself “au naturel.”

5. Laugh out loud: This isn’t just an internet acronym spelled out—it’s an action that will do your body good.

6. Spend time with your family: Whether it’s a pet or partner, spouse or sibling, quality time is a must-have in nurturing relationships.

7. Listen to positive music: Music is a universal language and an excellent way to celebrate. Identify some personal theme songs and play them in the morning while you get dressed.

8. Develop a creative outlet: Have a vehicle to express daily stress and frustrations constructively; it will drive you forward even on the bumpiest roads. Cook, paint, sing, write, knit, build, draw, explore!

Wellness Journalism: Explore the Horizon

Let’s say you happen to see a special on The Discovery Channel that captures your interest, so you take it a step further. It’s easy to do these days; there is so much information available right at your fingertips—you can Google anything in the world. You can explore databases and libraries and ask questions on social networking sites and chats. One thing leads to another, and before you know it you are blazing a trail of research and knowledge. It’s a scavenger hunt, an adventure, exciting and inspiring! The wild part is when you encounter connections and parallels that you never would have expected, and you begin to see concepts in a new light, by your own illumination.

Compare this to sitting around and stewing in the knowledge you already have, not bothering to look into anything new. Boo.

If something strikes you, find out why. Your interests are clues to your passions and purpose. Explore them! You have nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain, from new friends and experiences to hobbies and careers. When you expand your intellectual horizons, your world literally becomes a bigger place: fuller, rounder, and more colorful!

Just for kicks, here are a few of the fascinations I have found in the world:

Quantum physics, experimental mathematics, early child development, symbology, mythology, cognitive psychology, the history of disease, telepathy and telekinesis, astronomy, sustainability and green development, ancient civilizations, geology, world religion, social paradigms such as the romantic period, the renaissance, and “the dark ages,” folklore, alternative and holistic healing, archeology, and neuroscience, and natural disasters...

What’s on your list?