Vegetarians Safe From Cancer?

By Marcie Barnes

I was listening to a report on my local news station tonight titled "Obesity, body fat linked to cancer", I was happy to hear a local dietitian (Patty Cepull, registered dietitian Rex Cancer Center) quoted as saying "I don't think I've ever had a person that was a vegetarian come in with cancer". That's a pretty profound statement. My diet has always leaned in the vegetarian direction, and quite frankly, the more research I do, the more I lean.

Processed meats, which I wrote about briefly here, are singled out as foods to avoid in the report. Interestingly, the CBS News report headline reads: "Obesity Nears Smoking As Cause Of Cancer" - I've been saying this since the tobacco advertising ban in the 90s: If they are going to ban Joe Camel, they should ban Ronald McDonald. In related news, Nickelodeon seems to be making an effort to align themselves with advertisers who are trying to improve the state of our childrens' diets. I am very careful about the advertising my child is exposed to. When we were buying Halloween candy this weekend, my son pointed at the bag and said "what's that?" I was proud.

Basically, we've become a nation that has fallen victim to the power of large corporations and their marketing dollars. We, for the most part, eat what they tell us to. Sure, everyone makes their own choices, but the healthy choices have become fewer and further between. And children really aren't educated enough to make good choices, they need our help most.

Feed your kids a healthy dinner tonight (and every night) and go easy on the candy. Teach them a healthy way of eating and help them live a long, happy life. Oh, and do the same for yourself! For information on feeding a vegetarian menu to your kid(s) - see here, and for some awesome vegan lunchbox recipes, check out the Vegan Lunchbox!

Great Cold Medicine Alternatives

By Marcie Barnes

It's been in the news a lot lately, some OTC children's cold medicines have been voluntarily recalled by their manufacturers. What to do? There are a lot of great natural remedies that can help your child (and you) when sick. I found a good article about it here, and here are some of my favorites:

Honey - excellent for treating a sore throat (try it!) or a cough. Also has natural antibiotic qualities, and is also excellent for wound healing. (Note: not recommended for infants, because it is not pasteurized. However, it is the raw honey that contains the most healing quality. Get some from a local beekeeper if you can for maximum quality.) There are so many sweet things about honey - including all the antioxidants - for more, check out the Honey Association.

Saline Drops - A safe, effective method of breaking up a stuffy nose. Widely available. Read more here.

Emergen-C - This powder poured into a glass of fresh water supplies more than a mega-dose of vitamin C, it also has lots of essential minerals - and I swear by it for curbing sickness in adults. I usually take at least two packets when I start to feel sick, and so far, my symptoms have never gotten worse. My dad told me about this, and it's available in lots of places including Target and WalMart. I found this kids formula here, but I usually just give my son a few swigs of mine...

More great tips are here, and don't forget preventative measures such as probiotics - try kefir as an inexpensive alternative to yogurt or pill-form probiotics.

I made "honey ice cream" for my son tonight by mixing unsweetened kefir with some fresh raw honey, freezing it for about 20 minutes - and then mixing it into a nice slush :).

Please post your favorite natural cold remedies as well!

Holy Sow! There are More Pigs in North Carolina than People!

By Marcie Barnes

No joke, folks, there are ten million hogs in NC and only nine million people (insert shocked face here). I mean, I knew there were a lot of hog farms in NC, particularly Eastern NC, but I had no clue that the pig population had surpassed the human population in my state.

As much as I agree with anyone's right to eat what they like, I say that's too much pork fat! I was enlightened to this fact by a wonderful post from Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes (photo credit goes to her as well). In this post, she visits a "traditional" farm where pigs are raised the old-fashioned way and explores the issues behind the trend of 'hog confinement' farming, and the huge benefits of "traditional" farming. There has got to be something unhealthy about eating meat that was raised in such an unhealthy manner as confinement farming, where each building holds anywhere from 1000 to 3000 pigs, crowded together, bred to eat, get fat, and be slaughtered. And these types of farms can be bad for the environment as well.

There's a lot to be said about traditional farming, which after all, is the way we ate for hundreds (if not thousands) of years - food raised in the earth and fertilized (or fed) the way the food evolved. I often disagree with non-organic produce being called "conventional" - the meaning of the word conventional reflects a traditional way of doing things, and that's what organic is. I say spend your money on organic and humanely raised food, and show the (meat) markets that you wish to spend your money on food that is healthier for you.

For more, here is the Wikipedia article that explores the topic of 'Intensive Pig Farming'. Also see my post about why I think pork (or whatever you eat a lot of) is acceptable to you.

Blog Action Day - A Short Wrap-Up

By Marcie Barnes

It's Blog Action Day and I'm a little late posting, so I thought I'd give you a rundown of some of the blog posts I found today that I enjoyed:

1) Moolanomy.com's Little things you can do to save money and our planet - This is a great list of 40 things you can do to help the environment. Surely you can find a few if not ten or more things to implement in your own life on this list!

2) Lifehack.org's You the Consumer - This is a great explanation of how we consumers truly are consuming the earth. I am fast becoming of the opinion that humans will be the cause of their own demise, and this is echoed in the quote from Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us". In addition, I think I finally found the origin of "Nothing to excess" in this article - one of my most favorite sayings.

3) Thetaoofmakingmoney.com's State Of The Nation - Check this out for a more humorous view via a video clip featuring Will Farrell aka George W. Bush.

4) Last but not Least: GAIAM.com's 5 Eco-Friendly Kids' Activities - Don't forget to get the kids involved! Getting outside in the clean air and hands in the dirt are great ways to keep healthy and happy, and can help save the Earth, too!

What Filters You? (A Perspective from the NC State Fair)

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be looking into some issues related to Web Filtering and Censorship.)

I was thinking about the concept of web filtering on a really large scale today, and it occurred to me that the Internet is really just a virtual reflection of the world. I understand that most do not have Internet access globally, but in terms of information - you can get your hands on virtually any subject out there, if you are truly "unfiltered". In the real world, perhaps this is what those who seek "enlightenment" are truly looking for, an unfiltered existence.

Let me explain: I was at the N.C. State Fair today and I was closely observing the people I saw there. it is by no means a stretch to say that more than 50% of the people I saw there were overweight or obese. With the N.C. obesity rate at 24%, I am probably not too far off. Now, it may be true that obese/overweight people are attracted to the fair because of the food there, but I think people come to the fair for other reasons than the food (I don't like it that much myself, more on that later) - I would say the attendees of the fair are a good sampling of the N.C. population, especially since many are drawn out from rural areas for the agricultural events & exhibits. What I think is, that most people have been 'filtered' via the food choices put before them to choose and enjoy things that are truly unhealthy for them (in N.C., and America at large). As a near-vegetarian, I found it extremely difficult to find anything to eat at the fair that came remotely close to my normal diet (which I enjoy, and crave, just in the same way other folks crave and enjoy unhealthy fare.)

Don't get me wrong, I can put away some Al's Fries or Funnel Cake like the best of them, but quite frankly the portion sizes are ridiculous to me. Only a few bites or so of either and I'm pretty much satisfied. I believe part of this may be genetic disposition, sure, but for the most part it's obvious that we are "bred" to like the foods around us and what are parents fed us as children. I have more recently "trained" myself to crave healthier foods as as I get older and I am sitting behind a desk more often than ever before, which means, I adjusted my filter for food.

Another thing that occurred to me while there: people in several other countries eat dogs. Why do we find this practice so disturbing? How is it any different from us eating pigs or (sacred) cows? As I watched the Painting Pig pick up a paint brush and swab the canvas I thought "My dog can't do that. Maybe we should be serving up corn dogs made of actual dog and taking the pigs home for pets." (Pigs are also utilized as drug-sniffers in some jurisdictions, for the record.) You see, our "American filter" tells us it's OK to eat pork and keep dogs as pets, while this may be disturbing to someone across the globe who has a different filter in place.

In many ways, people are stuck in the same circumstances: eating the same food, wearing the same makeup, whatever it may be. Take a look at the filters in your life, I bet it could do you good to try and circumvent some of them, look beyond them, and even apply some new ones. Our children certainly need some new filters, can you help?

Web Filtering: A Human Rights Violation?

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be looking into some issues related to Web Filtering and Censorship.)

My last post got me thinking more about all the web filters out there and the debate as to whether they are constitutional. A lot of companies use web filtering software to limit what their employees have access to, it is common for parents to filter the web for their children, and even public libraries keep certain kinds of sites off-limits. This article from PC Magazine explains web filters well (but turns into sort of a product review towards the end.) And this piece from C|Net gives a good explanation of web filters and your children.

I found a blog that focuses on "protecting yourself against human predators roaming the Internet", and this post which nicely summarizes the debate - which basically involves how much filtering the government should be doing (in the case of children). I don't have as much of a problem with companies filtering the Internet, because I think it's fair for them to ask their employees to stay on work-related sites while at work. As for the library, that's a tough call. In theory, I would want the library to provide the Internet unfiltered, but since people of all ages use the library, I don't have a problem with porn filters. But what about blocking social websites such as myspace? Is that limiting access or simply preventing virtual socializing in the library? The government has weighed in on this already. What do you think?

Google: Too Much Power?

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be looking into some issues related to Web Filtering and Censorship.)

This week in class we have been discussing the concepts of web filtering and censorship. Censorship has always been a topic of interest to me. As much as I agree with any company's right to include or exclude whatever products or services they choose, I do think there is an ethical consideration for any business to consider carefully to whom they market and how. As I have mentioned previously, a great deal of motivation behind my creating this blog comes from the firm belief that a lot of companies are sorely lacking in ethical considerations when it comes to marketing claims and the audiences to which they market.

When looking at a company like Google, which has not only become the leading search engine in the world but is also rapidly adding services to their menu and has become the place of choice for a variety of web services (including the platform this blog is written on, Blogger), I can't help but think: is it right for one single company to effectively hold the torch for such a huge and impactful phenomena such as the Internet?

Apparently I am not the only one with this question in mind. One well-known site, GoogleWatch.org, chronicles other publications questioning Google's authority such as Is Google God? And this past spring, Microsoft itself was trying to take a stance against a Google-opoly, as it has been called. (Oh the irony).

I also had some personal experiences recently that bolstered my concern. I launched a pay-per-click campaign with Google, and after awhile many of the keywords I included (I decide what keywords would trigger my ad to view, or so I thought) were suspended. The reason given was that Google's logarithm (used to determine relevance) was suspending them. Alternatively, I had the option to give them (in some cases) three times more money and they would turn my keywords back on. Pfft.

Also, last year's decision by Google to comply with the Chinese Government's Internet blocking campaign by setting up a filtered search engine for China has met with much criticism from the human rights arena.

I don't dispute the usefulness of Google and their services, and undoubtedly the talent of the people working there, I just worry anytime one company has such a hold on such a new and powerful technology, and the power to dictate the direction of it.

Fun Facts on Teenwire.com?

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be posting articles about things I read on my classmates' blogs, and talking about how they relate to health, if possible!)

I was perusing my classmate Tragi Griggs blog, Save It today and was somewhat amused by her 'worst pick' from October 8: Planned Parenthood’s teen web site Teenwire. I say 'amused' because of the articles from the site that she cited: "what is the proper way to feel my girlfriends boobs" and “Does swallowing sperm make you fat?” Hm, interesting reading, sure, but I wonder if their website may benefit from sectioning some of the content to age-appropriate readers? I actually thought the site had a lot of useful information for teens, and granted the two above referenced articles were based on questions submitted by readers, but as a parent I would like to see this site control the readership by age, perhaps?

I realize that kids have a lot of questions and they are best left answered by knowledgeable adults than from "the grapevine", and of course it would be nice if more knowledgeable adults were involved with kids to answer such questions, I just have a hard time with the younger teens being exposed to these kinds of articles (and not really being mature enough to handle the information). Teens run the range from 12ish to 20ish (and beyond, perhaps) - there is such a huge gap in the maturity level to consider, here.

Another striking tidbit from Traci's post: "Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider. (Stats from Concerned Women For America.)" - wow. Although I largely agree with any human's right to make their own choices, I am disturbed by the numbers, and I wonder how much quality education in this arena is really lacking. Traci is clearly trying to affect change through education.

Have I made a hot topic yet? What do you think?

Cool Global Breast Cancer Graphic

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be posting articles about things I read on my classmates' blogs, and talking about how they relate to health, if possible!)

Thanks to my classmate Amanda Toler for blogging about a really interesting interactive breast cancer map from Time Magazine. As important as the written word is, I really appreciate the time and effort gone into a visual like this, which lets the reader truly dive into the global picture of an issue (in this case breast cancer) in a wonderfully interactive way. This kind of information posed, say in a spreadsheet, is not as nearly as impactful for the reader. Instead, the reader can easily get a true global view of the places where breast cancer is most prevalent, quickly.

Also of note is the cover image, pictured to the right. I really love the image in its ability to convey the curiosity factor in order to lead the reader into the lead story (and, additionally, into buying the magazine.)

I can't help but to notice the apparent saturation of breast cancer in western civilization. My (brief) opinion on this matter is further discussed here, and for more on breast cancer see the Komen Foundation website or click here directly to make a contribution.

What is Facebook Suicide?

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be posting articles about things I read on my classmates' blogs, and talking about how they relate to health, if possible!)

I was perusing my classmate Joe's blog: Joereco’s Weblog and found this entry on Facebook Suicide. I have never been to facebook, and I am now keenly aware that I need to stay away! I am no stranger to Internet addiction and the dangers of forming bonds with people in an online forum. Although this seems to be the wave of the future, the article referenced in Joe's post from Fox news does a great job of giving an example of how online addiction can be harmful to your most important real-life relationships.

I am proud of Stephanie, who as the article describes, recognized the pain and betrayal her boyfriend felt by her relationships with virtual people (some from her real past) and deactivated her facebook account. Addicts can easily become so engrossed in the endorphins and other "feel good" aspects of their drug of choice that they completely deny the pain they are causing people who love them. If it's hurting someone else, stop.

(For more information on Internet Addiction here's a resource: http://psychcentral.com/netaddiction/)

Best and Worst Nutrition Sites: Part Five

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be posting the best and worst websites I find on nutritional information related to my research project, as described here: http://feedingblackmail.blogspot.com/2007/09/cheap-food-or-expensive-organic-is.html.)

Today's Best

The Soil Association (UK)'s Get the Facts Page

After quite a lot of researching the topic of whether organic produce is more nutritious than conventional, I found a wonderful resource for the latest research on this subject. The page starts right in with the facts - organic produce is shown to have more minerals and more vitamin C as well as more protective antioxidants (phytonutrients). These statements are backed up with further explanation about the nutrients and links to the research itself. Great stuff!

Today's Worst

Health-and-Fitness Blog

Basically, I spent a lot of time on this blog trying to figure out how to navigate. There is only one post on the homepage and in order to find more I had to look in the archive or use a menu that seems to include the five most recent posts. I also was turned off by the Google ads being presented to me at the very top of the page. There is, however, a really cool tool in the navigation that translates the blog into different languages, I'll have to check that out!

Best and Worst Nutrition Sites: Part Four

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be posting the best and worst websites I find on nutritional information related to my research project, as described here http://feedingblackmail.blogspot.com/2007/09/cheap-food-or-expensive-organic-is.html.)

Today's Best

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

I have been using this very extensive database for years, since my pregnancy when I was obsessive about getting lots of good nutrition. I recently found out that this is the same resource used by the Department of Food Science at North Carolina State University - and therefore probably a lot of other higher education institutions around the country (and world.) This is a very large database which finely details the nutritional content of virtually any food, to include some brand name products and processed foods. I have never seen this site down, it has always been very responsive, and I trust that the data is accurate.

Today's Worst

MedJournal Watch Blog

All I can tell about this Blog's author is that he is a "free-lance medical writer." I was kind of hoping to give him a break because English is his second language, or something :/ I have been following this blog via an RSS feed for the past week, and there have been two headlines that I quite frankly did not understand at all: "Yet pregnant women target of weight loss hysteria" and "Painstaking characters less struck by Alzheimer's" - huh? After reading the articles themselves I was able to ascertain what he was trying to convey - but overall, confusion! I do like the overall content of the blog though.

Best and Worst Nutrition Sites : Part Three

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be posting the best and worst websites I find on nutritional information related to my research project, as described here http://feedingblackmail.blogspot.com/2007/09/cheap-food-or-expensive-organic-is.html.)

Today's Best

Wikipedia's Article on Organic Food

Although many Wikipedia entries are controversial in their objectivity, I find this one to be thorough, well thought out and concise. It gives a very well-rounded explanation of what organic food is, including how organic farming benefits the environment, legal definitions, and nutritional value. There are also criticisms of organic foods which are discussed in an intelligent way here, which is important to giving a well-rounded scope.

Today's Worst

Nubella.com's Balanced Eating Blog

This blog was disappointing to me because it was more of a diary of the author and the foods she ate from day to day, rather than a source of information (I was led to this blog by the title - Balanced Eating). There are lots of recipes and interesting experiences written about here, but not enough true information on healthy eating for me. I would like to see the author interject more of an opinion, balanced with other points of view on the subject of nutrition. The diary approach is fine, for a more limited readership.

Best and Worst Nutrition Sites: Part Two

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be posting the best and worst websites I find on nutritional information related to my research project, as described here: http://feedingblackmail.blogspot.com/2007/09/cheap-food-or-expensive-organic-is.html.)

Today's Best

Medical News Today's: Organic foods in relation to nutrition and health key facts

This article is found on Medical News Today – described as “The number one ranked (Google and Yahoo!) website for medical news. Independent, authoritative and unbiased news from thousands of sources around the globe, divided into over 100 therapy areas (disease/condition categories).” - I had never heard of this resource before, even after doing a voluminous amount of 'medical research' during my pregnancy. If this article is representative of the rest of the site, I am very impressed. It spells out the nine reasons why organic food is more nutritious and healthy, and cites over 60 additional articles and studies to bolster the opinion.

Today's Worst

About.com's Nutrition Entry

Part of the about.com network, About's sitelet on Nutrition has a blog-style setup on the front page, which I was not expecting. In addition, many of the articles contain polls which are set up in a strange format - a bulleted list of choices for me to click on to vote. I had to click on one in order to confirm that it was truly a poll. Typically, about.com pages can be a useful source of information when looking for references, but this makes it appear to be just another place to read articles about the subject. I did find after a while that if I click through in the navigation, I was taken to the familiar bulleted lists of resources on different topics, as I was looking for. But I honestly had to visit the page twice to figure that out! As much as I like blogs, I don't like the confusing combination offered here.

Best and Worst Nutrition Sites: Part One

By Marcie Barnes

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Global Impact of New Communication Technologies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will be posting the best and worst websites I find on nutritional information related to my research project, as described here.)

Today's Best

Consumer Reports' Section on Organic

Titled When it pays to buy organic. This sitelet is extremely useful and objective, and comes from a very trusted source, Consumer Reports. I think because they are funded by their readerships and not by advertisers, they are easily the most unbiased source of reliable information for consumers. In the organic report, there is a plethora of useful information including why organic is better for your health (and the controversy surrounding that claim), how to pick and choose which organic foods to buy, how to educate yourself on food labeling in the organic arena, and an interactive quiz on Organic I.Q.

Today's Worst

Thatsfit.com

Part of the AOL network, That's Fit is a blog I still read almost on a daily basis - but I have to serve up some honest criticism of the disorder that is often apparent to me. This blog has a total of 18 authors contributing posts, and it seems to me that some of them could use some editorial assistance, or even a simple spell-check! Often, I notice that two different bloggers will blog about the same subject, and I've never seen one of the authors respond to any comments on any post. Not that this is a requirement, but it's annoying when the post ends with a question - doesn't that indicate a dialogue is forthcoming? In addition, one of the features I was following, Recipe Rehab was supposed to be a weekly feature that has not been updated since a Fourth of July post. Anyway, there are some great redeeming qualities to this blog, including my favorite feature, Life Fit With Laura Lewis.

Help Me Build A School!

By Marcie Barnes

As part of Tim Ferriss’ new initiative to raise $1,000,000 for education around the world, I have set up a fundraising web page here: http://www.firstgiving.com/helpmarciehelpkids - my goal is to raise $15,000 in order to build a school in Nepal.

You can help! By directing as many people as possible to my page: http://www.firstgiving.com/helpmarciehelpkids and asking them to do the same, you can help create a viral effect of donations towards actually building a school in Nepal. My fellow bloggers, please write a short story about this initiative and post it to your blog!

But it’s not all about me. Although I really really really want to go to the VIP Party (part of an awesome list of prizes for fundraisers), if you can also take a small amount of time out of your day to set up a fundraising page as well, that would be great!

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