A New 2012

As the year closes, I want to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a bright turn to the new year that is upon us.  I look forward to what lies ahead, and hope that you and your loved ones are filled with faith and hope.

“The future has several names.
For the weak, it is impossible.
For the fainthearted, it is unknown.
For the thoughtful and valiant, it is ideal.” – Victor Hugo

Wifi and Fertility

Laptops, IPhones, IPads keep us constantly connected (and distracted), but there may be an impact on the body that we cannot immediately see. Wifi connected devices may adversely impact fertility, especially when close to the body.  I still remember reading articles years ago about the impact of cell phone radiation and how it was very bad for children because the radius of the radiation exceed the size of their heads.  Although this context is for adults, wifi might be a similar story.

Argentinian scientists in a study published in a medical journal Fertility and Sterility, describe how they got semen samples from 29 healthy men, placed a few drops under a laptop connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi and then hit download.  Four hours later, a quarter of the sperm were no longer swimming around, compared to just 14 percent from semen samples stored at the same temperature away from the computer.  Nine percent of the sperm showed DNA damage, three-fold more than the comparison samples.

Technology is in its infancy and scientific studies have just begun on its impact on our health.  For me, I would be more cautious than not.  Female reproductive organs are not far away either if using a laptop on the lap or abdomen area.  A separate test with a laptop that was on, but not wirelessly connected, found negligible electromagnetic radiation from the machine alone.  But still, using a laptop on the lap raises the temperature in the reproductive area for both women and men, but is especially harmful for sperm.

What to do?  It is best not to use a laptop connected via wifi on your lap or on any part of the body.  Smartphone wifi and IPad wifi are likely the same, although the electromagnetic radiation is probably less.  We love our smartphones, but maybe play with it on a table instead of directly in the hand.  Especially when playing with it 24/7.  You should definitely not have the phone on you around the clock.  Don't sleep with your phone.  I would set it in another room during sleeping hours.

Also, for men, just because you don't use wifi on your lap doesn't mean you will have healthy sperm.  Staying lean, eating healthy foods, exercising, not taking drugs and not smoking are also very important, if not even more.
 

Source: foxnews.com/health/
Picture Source: Amazon.com

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!  Hope you partake in some wonderful food and love this holiday.  Thanks for reading and being part of my 'food and love' journey!

Picture source: ilikebigbows.blogspot.com

You Are What You Eat

We have heard of old time "You are what you eat." Recently, I read an article that actually takes this down to the gene level.  At Nanjing University in China, a study testing for the presence of microRNAs (building blocks of genetic material that prevent specific genes from giving rise to the proteins they encode) from corp plants, such as rice, wheat, potatoes and cabbage in blood samples of 21 volunteers.

The different microRNAs from commonly eaten plants were found in the subjects' bloodstream.  They also found that a rice microRNA could control of activity of receptors controlling removal of LDL ("bad" cholesterol).  The findings support co-evolution, a process in which genetic changes in one species trigger changes in another. 

This leads me to question, if genetic changes of plants show up in people's bloodstreams, then genetically modifying foods cannot be an isolated event.  These genetic changes to plants will show up in those who eat them.  Could this contribute to more genetic problems that we pass down to the next generation including allergies, diseases, cancer, you name it?  Cancer existed 50 years ago, but was just not as prevalent as it is today.

One thing to do that combats genetically modified food is to have your own garden.  And, to make sure that the seeds you use to grow your food are non GMO (not genetically modified).  The more non GMO we use, the more chance there is that these good seeds will be preserved and really bring what we need to fight disease and improve wellness of life for the people we love.


More on genetically modified foods, previous post: Someone Wants to Control Your Food
Source: Scientific American

Worth Your Butter

It was during Thanksgiving that I went to the grocery store, buying the ingredients for the big non-turkey roast that we did...Non-turkey because our family is not the biggest fan of turkey in general, and as a result, turkey leftovers may stay in the freezer for a year!  So, we did duck instead, which turned out great. But, in my grocery hunt, I came across pasture-fed butter by Kerrygold.  I know that pasture-fed anything (or I should say, any animal that should feed on grass) is always a better choice.  In general, I don't eat a lot of butter, and have never tried pasture-fed butter.  I decided to give it a whirl.

Boy oh boy, have I been missing out!  It is a similar experience to when I first tried grass-fed milk, the taste was out of this world different!  There was actual aroma to the taste of the milk.  You can read more on my previous post: Got Milk?.  This butter from pasture-fed cows in Ireland was so aromatic.  In my opinion, worth its double in price, especially when you want to spread it on bread or use it for dipping.  Baking, not so much.

We decided to go big one night and bought a couple of lobsters.  Steamed the lobsters, and I used the grass-fed butter for the dipping sauce with garlic and lemon.  I went bonkers.  Lobster and pasture-fed butter, an incredible combination.


Picture source: Kerrygold

Pom Power

If you haven't seen, right now is pomegranate season.  The pomegranates are so juicy, so sweet, ruby red, and plump.  The fruit is shiny and, in many ways, just tantalizing.  I know that many western books depict the apple as the fruit of temptation in the Garden of Eden.  But, seriously, I think it was the pomegranate.  Have you ever eaten one that is in season?  It's ruby red, jewel-like parcels contain 100% juice.  They burst in your mouth with their refreshing sweet flavor, and the seeds have fiber.

I have been eating so many of these delicious fruits, that the other fruits can't keep my attention like a perfectly ripe pomegranate.  If it were really the pomegranate in the Garden, Eve, I don't blame you.

Pomegranates are packed with antioxidants.  "Pomegranate juice contains the highest antioxidant capacity compared to other juices, red wine, and green tea," said Professor Michael Aviram at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.  There was one study presented in San Antonio at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting in which 48 men who had been treated for prostate cancer drank 8 ounces of pomegranate juice daily.  Drinking the juice lengthened the time it took for the disease to develop.  Doesn't stop disease, but the results indicated there may be chemicals in the juice that have cancer-fighting benefits.

Pomegranate juice also has been shown to inhibit the oxidation of LDL ("bad" cholesterol).  And at least five studies have demonstrated a beneficial effect of pomegranate juice on cardiovascular health.

A study published in the Journal of Urology examined the long-term intake of pomegranate juice on erectile dysfunction (in an animal model).  Results suggest that free radicals (oxidative stress) are a contribution factor in erectile dysfunction.  In response, antioxidants protect your cells from free radicals, and is an important part of the daily diet.  It may be time to get your pomegranate on!

Our collection of pomegranates:

Source: 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Jonny Bowden