An orthodox Jewish rabbi is walking by a Catholic church and sees the whole congregation going in. It’s not Sunday so he wonders what’s going on. He walks in & sits down right in front and with great interest watches the solemn ceremony going on.

After the ceremony is over & the congregation is filing out, the priest stops the rabbi and asks, “Rabbi what were you doing here during this ceremony? This is a very solemn Catholic rite where the young women are being inducted into the nunnery. The vows they take here are the vows that wed them to Christ. The people here are the families of these young initiates who are devoted to Christ. What right do you have to be here?”

“Well,” says the rabbi, “I’m from the groom’s side.”

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Melancholy whispers through the dry grass of autumn, murmuring soft, almost inaudible remembrances of the summer past. A jay, far away, scolds the world, its penetrating rawk, rawk bouncing down the hillside. Cars on the distant highway provide rhythm for the quick jazz riff of a hidden sparrow’s song.

A breeze shuffles up the hill carrying on its back the first chill hint of coming winter. Dead leaves rattle across the soil, the sound as crinkled and brown as the leaves themselves.

As the sun finishes its rust colored descent towards the western mountains, the first cricket of the evening echos its chirping name. Criiiiicket, criiiiicket. A friend answers, then another and the late afternoon’s peace gives way to a cocktail party of insect talk.

I rise to race the darkness to my car. The rhythmic scrunch of my running shoes on the trail thump out the beat my descent.

 new study by the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has found a strong link between air quality and life expectancy. The researchers looked at air pollution, deaths and census data for 51 metropolitan areas between 1978 and 2001, and what they found was a direct correlation between improving air quality and extending life expectancy. People lived about 2.72 years longer over that time span and at least 15 percent of that increased life expectancy was from a decrease in air pollution.

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After three years of research, including examining 503 pieces of fluff from his own belly button, Georg Steinhauser has discovered a type of body hair that traps stray pieces of lint and draws them into the navel. Dr Steinhauser’s observations showed that “small pieces of fluff first form in the hair and then end up in the navel at the end of the day.” Chemical analysis revealed the pieces of fluff were not just made up of cotton from clothing. Wrapped up in the lint were also flecks of dead skin, fat, sweat and dust. Unfortunately, further study has failed to yield a hair or fiber that would give Dr. Steinhauser the last three years of his life back.

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Men are more likely than women to be able to resist a plate full of tempting treats, American research suggests.
In an experiment in New York, a group of 23 volunteers were asked to try to suppress their hunger.
The men seemed to do better and brain scans later revealed they had far less activity than the women in a part of the brain linked to desire for food.
The researchers say this ability to “switch off” thoughts of food may explain lower rates of obesity in men.
The complex mechanisms which control how much we eat are not fully understood.
In the experiment, chronicled in the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the volunteers did not eat for a day and were then asked to suppress all thoughts of food.
When questioned further, the male participants reported fewer hunger pangs and fewer cravings for food.

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A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences now confirms previous theories that being on the night shift is actually an occupational hazard. The findings show that circadian disruption, when a person’s circadian rhythms split off from the regular day-night cycle, cause key metabolic hormones to act crazy.

For instance: When your body’s no longer sleeping when it thinks it should be, it stops producing as much leptin, a hormone that signals a body to stop eating. It also releases more cortisol, a stress hormone that’s been linked to high blood pressure and obesity.

Life happens and it doesn’t always happen according to plan. The last few weeks have been a severe test of my intention to blog at least 5 times a week. Certainly this blog has suffered as have my others. The good news is that I have a backlog of ideas and should be able to start cranking out words again. Hang in there. More on diet and weight loss as well as some weight loss hypnosis scripts are on the way.

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All work and no play not only makes Jack or Jill dull, it also might kill them.

A Framingham Heart Study data of women aged 45-64 showing that frequent vacations cut risk of death among all women by half. Another study from the State University of New York at Oswego published in 2000 found that regular vacations lowered risk of death by almost 20 percent in 35-57 year-old men.

Americans are the least likely workers in the industrialized world to take their full vacations, which are typically shorter than those enjoyed in other countries anyway. And it’s killing us.

Traveling with a portable latte making kit probably seems crazy,
but to those of us for whom quality caffeine consumption equals joy and functionality it’s something to consider. 

I live near Seattle and for years suffered quality coffee depravation (QCD) when traveling. Those great espresso shops that manage to survive on every block in the Northwest and the San Francisco Bay area quickly thin to nothing in other parts of the country, and except for bastions of coffee enlightenment like France and Italy may be impossible to find elsewhere in the world. Certainly, other parts of the world have long coffee traditions but their coffee is generally a different drink entirely, and alien to the palette.  

The attempt by Starbucks to spread through the known universe has made the situation somewhat easier, introducing decent coffee into many nooks and crannies, but Starbucks is not yet ubiquitous, nor is it generally available in room. 

For years my solution was to travel with quality tea. Tea can be quite good. Tea satisfies caffeine cravings. And, quality tea offers a subtle complexity that soothes the soul. However, tea is not coffee, and when I want that coffee intensity, nothing else will do.

Forget those in-room coffee makers that hotels and motels offer. The pre-packaged, weak and bitter brew they produce is nothing more than a caffeine fix. It wakes the body but brings no joy. Fine hotels generally serve quality coffee but the extra cost of the room is a high, high price to pay for a decent cup of coffee. What to do?

Fortunately, with some simple and relatively portable and inexpensive equipment, along with a microwave oven, now common in lodgings, it is possible to create a more than passable imitation of the coffee house classic. Here’s what you’ll need.

DIY Travel Coffee Tools

A portable coffee brewer. For years I used a plastic press pot also called a French press. Glass is nicer but is too fragile to travel with. That’s the simplest solution. Bring your own coffee, unfortunately pre-ground, but you can’t have everything. Zap a cup of water in the microwave and a couple of minutes later you have redemption.

The press pot has been replaced in my kit by a device called an AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker. The AeroPress looks like a hypodermic designed for a dinosaur. Instead of a needle, though, the coffee maker has a perforated flat end that holds a coffee filter. The AeroPress has one real advantage over a traditional press pot. It’s much easier and less messy to clean. And the coffee it makes is more like an espresso shot, tasting quit different from the brew the press pot produces. Both are good. They’re just different. 

The AeroPress is the better choice for making coffee for a latte. One possible down side of the AeroPress is that it takes some effort to press the plunger down. Pushing slowly helps but it may be more force than some are capable of using. It is not friendly to arthritic joints or smaller people.

Operation is simple. With filter in place, measure coffee into the tube. Place the maker over a coffee cup. Pour hot water in the tube, stir, wait 20 seconds and insert the plunger. Push it down to extract the coffee. The resulting brew is concentrated, not quite as much so as a shot of espresso but nearly so.

If you simply want a coffee, add hot water to desired strength, sweeten or lighten and enjoy. If you love lattes then you need another piece of equipment, a frother. 

The simplest way to make foam is to pour 2/3 of a cup of cold milk into a sealable and microwavable container. A hard plastic travel mug with a tight lid works great, as does a pint or half liter Nalgen bottle. When the milk, make sure that it’s cold, is sealed in, shake the thing for about 30 seconds. Remove the lid and microwave for about 20 seconds to set the foam. Either pour the foamed milk into a cup and add the coffee or pour the coffee directly into the travel mug. Instant, low-tech latte.

Non-fat milk works best but has little flavor. 2% milk is a good compromise between foam and flavor. Whole milk is not friendly to cold frothing. Again, make sure the milk is cold when you start. Warm milk won’t foam.

The shake and bake method makes foam but it isn’t the micro-bubble foam you’d get from an espresso machine. That may be good enough for you. If it’s not, never fear, there are portable frothers that do a better job than many home espresso makers and are light and small enough to pack. The most traveler friendly ones are battery powered mixers. Aerolatte makes a couple of models that come with hard plastic travel cases and run on two AA batteries.

Again, start with cold milk. Insert the frother and mix until you get a good foam. You will need a container with at least twice the volume of the milk you initially pour in. For hot foam, make sure that it is microwavable. No stainless allowed. Once you have whipped your foam into shape, microwave for 10 – 20 seconds, depending on how hot you want your drink. Be careful to not overheat the milk as that will collapse the bubbles. Combine the foamed milk with the coffee. Enjoy.

The motorized frother will actually make stiff enough foam to do a decent cappuccino, while the shake and bake method is only suitable for lattes.

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Recent studies by Finnish and Swedish researchers have shown that drinking moderate amounts of coffee can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in people. The reason for this is as yet unknown, although it has been hypothesized that the high levels of antioxidants found in coffee may play a role in preventing dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Other studies have shown that coffee can protect nerves, which may help prevent Alzheimer’s, and may also help to protect against diabetes, another disease, which has been shown to have links to Alzheimer’s disease. However, researchers warn against drinking too much coffee, as 3 cups or more may cause hallucinations.

Fat has gotten a bad reputation. Read an article about how bad a particular food is for you and you will most likely see a reference to how many grams of fat it contains. Read dietary guidelines from any number of reputable sources and you will be told to lower your fat and calorie intake. There’s just enough truth in the low fat concept to be confusing.

The problem started when the University of Minnesota published a study in 1970 titled Seven Countries Study that found that the typical American diet, rich in red meats, cheese and margarine had a much higher incidence of heart disease than countries that featured diets rich in whole grains, fish, fruits, beans and vegetables.

The, not unreasonable, conclusion the researchers came to was that it was fat in the American diet that was the culprit in the higher heart disease rate. That conclusion was not unreasonable but unfortunately wrong. And that error has informed over 30 years of dietary guidelines.

Yes, the Asian diets were low in fat, however, it turns out that the Mediterranean diet, which has gained a great deal of credibility with both heart specialists and weight loss experts is not a low fat diet. It’s just low in bad fats. It does contain a healthy dose of good ones.

What researchers are now realizing is that total fat content is not the problem but the kinds of fat we consume. Put simply, there are good fats and bad fats. We all know the problems with bad fat, increased risk of heart attack and strokes as well as weight gain. Eaten in moderate amounts, the good fats actually reverse many of these problems.

Good fats include monounsaturated fats and those containing Omega 3 oils.

Bad fats are hydrogenated oils, which are trans fats. They were a mainstay of the American diet during the study period, and are only now being phased out if processed foods.

Semi-bad fats include saturate fats derived from animal products like red meat and cheese. Cheese is a mainstay in most Mediterranean countries and it appears that consumed in small amounts is not harmful.

Neutral fats include other non-hydrogenated vegetable oils and eggs. A recent analysis of recent cholesterol published by Nutrition & Dietetics: The Journal of the DietitiansAssociation of Australia has shown that daily consumption of eggs does no raise risk of heart attack.

If the nutritional label on a food item says 0 Trans Fats, then hydrogenate oils have been replace by healthier ones.

What is a Trans Fat?

Basically, trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil – a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats.

Trans fat can be found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils. Unlike other fats, the majority of trans fat is formed when food manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats like shortening and hard margarine. A small amount of trans fat is found naturally, primarily in some animal-based foods.

Trans fat, like saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, raises the LDL cholesterol that increases your risk for coronary heard disease (CHD). Americans consume on average 4 to 5 times as much saturated fat as trans fat in their diets. Source is the FDA

So, we know that some kinds of fats are unhealthy. What does this have to do with weight loss? It turns out that consumption of trans fats causes selective weight gain around the belly, which is associated with coronary risk factors.

Fortunately, the news here is good. As more and more governments follow the lead of New York City and California in banning trans fats, and as people learn about the health risks of trans fats that problem should eventually become minimal.

For now, you can look for products in the grocery store that display 0 trans fats or no hydrogenated oils on the label.

Healthy Fats

Monounsaturated Fats

Just as there are fats that are bad for us, there are also fats that are good. Olive and canola oils, can lower cholesterol. Both are monounsaturated fats, a category that includes some nuts, olives, dark chocolate, and avocados. Make sure that you get cold or expeller pressed canola oil and extra-virgin olive oils to avoid the trans fat problems. Simply adding monounsaturated fats to your diet doesn’t seem to help. You will need to replace the polyunsaturated and saturated fats in your diet to benefit.

Prevention Magazine has published a book, titled the Belly Fat Diet that outlines how eating monounsaturated fats with every meal and limiting calorie intake can selectively speed up weight loss of belly fat.

Omega 3 Fats

Another category of fats that are good for us are Omega 3 fats, or fatty acids, which are essential to health and cannot be manufactured by the body. Omega-3 fatty acids are not one single nutrient, but a collection of several, including eicosapentaenic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA). Both are found in greatest abundance in coldwater fish. In addition to the cholesterol benefits gained from monounsaturated fats, omega 3 fats also offer other substantial health benefits. The benefits of omega-3s include reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, as well as certain skin ailments. Some research has even shown that omega-3s can boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer’s disease.

Possible sources for Omega 3 fats include fish and krill oils as flax seed oils. Some manufacturers are including Omega 3 fats in butter substitute spreads.

So, some fats are bad for us and some are good. But, what do fats have to do with weight loss?

The Low Fat Myth

There are a couple of problems associated with fats that have to be considered in any weight loss program. But fats themselves are not evil.

Fats are Calorie Dense

There are problems associated with high fat diets. Fats are over twice as calorie dense and proteins and carbohydrates. So a one ounce slice of cheese will have twice the calories of a one ounce slice of bread.

But there seems to be some kind of magical thinking that many people associated with weight loss fall victim to. Fats do not automatically pass from your mouth to your belly or hips. They are digested and are subject to a complex series of chemical processes that break them down before they enter the blood system. Only unused calories from fat get deposited in our bodies as fat again. So the problem with fats in the diet is not that fat itself is bad but that fat has more calories than other food types.

If your total caloric intake is less than what your body burns then fats are not a problem.

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The National Safety Council recently released a recommendation that all cell phone use in cars be banned. Yes, we’ve all done it and rationalized that our driving was safe. Apparently not. Here are some sobering statistics from the NSC website:

• Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a crash while using a cell phone. (1997 New England Journal of Medicine examination of hospital records and 2005 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study linking crashes to cell phone records).
• There is no difference in the cognitive distraction between hand-held and hands-free devices. (Simulator studies at the U. of Utah.)
• Cell phone use contributes to an estimated 6 percent of all crashes, which equates to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths each year. (Harvard Center of Risk Analysis).
• The annual cost of crashes caused by cell phone use is estimated to be $43 billion (Harvard Center for Risk Analysis)

According to research carried out at the University of Utah, laboratory experiments using simulators, real-world road studies and accident statistics all tell the same story: drivers talking on a cellphone are four times as likely to have an accident as drivers who are not. That’s the same level of risk posed by a driver who is legally drunk.

Why cellphone use behind the wheel is so risky isn’t entirely clear, but studies suggest several factors. No matter what the device, phone conversations appear to take a significant toll on attention and visual processing skills.

It may be that talking on the phone generates mental images that conflict with the spatial processing needed for safe driving. Eye-tracking studies show that while drivers continually look side to side, cellphone users tend to stare straight ahead.

They may also be distracted to the point that their engaged brains no longer process much of the information that falls on their retinas, which leads to slower reaction times and other driving problems.

Whatever the problem is, my phone is staying in my jacket pocket from now on.

Read more at the New York Times.

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