Importance of Shopping Conscientiously and Consciously!

We are living in budget "pinching" times. Many of us are pushed to the limit of our financial condition. Unemployment rates have sky rocketed as well as home foreclosures. Wages are stagnant and people are trying to cut spending. Despite our individual financial condition, many are waking up to the many "real" and growing food supply threats which we are currently facing as a country and worldwide. Our world population is broaching upon seven billion total! Many viable resources, such as water and farmland, with which to grow crops for our burgeoning world population is shrinking. Food prices, similar to gas prices, are infringing on our household budgets as we speak. In fact, food prices are intricately tied to gas prices. Cheap food production is becoming a thing of the past due to rising fuel costs. It is estimated that food prices will continue to rise as much as 40% throughout the coming decade. Not only will food prices increase, rising world hunger, currently estimated to be at approximately one billion people who are struggling to eat daily, will continue to rise as well. The "powers-that-be", a.k.a., the Department of Agriculture, lead by Tom Vilisack, believe the solution to this problem is to increase the sale and planting of G.M.O. crops to farmers within the United States as well as worldwide. I beg to differ, as I believe this is not a solution! Not only do G.M.O.'s cause infertility and diseases such as Morgellan's (a mysterious skin disease), they are not fully studied as to the totality of their immediate and future ramifications for generations to come! Many of these factors, which are  not known to the majority of most food consumers, make shopping governed by our conscience (conscientious), difficult at best! To clarify, conscientious means to be governed by conscience.
Shopping from our conscience would entail purchasing products from local producers, or if not local, from producers that value their employees and pay them a livable wage. We as a global consortium, are becoming sick from the "toxic" products we produce and purchase cheaply. It is a kind of  "catch 22" of purchasing the cheapest due to lowered wages making it hard to support a local economy! One of the most important steps, besides awareness, to make towards becoming a conscientious shopper is to ask what is important to you and what kind of world do you want to create and live in. The next step is to educate yourself. Become a label reader and familiarize yourself with who exactly produces the food you purchase and how they in fact do this. Stay aware when you do shop. I wish there was a magic solution...as I work in a food cooperative, and in order to stay competitive with the limited food dollar in the local market, this cooperative has become "lax" in the sourcing of some foods. In fact, ingredients, such as MSG, can be found in several products in the coop. All food labels and choices can be very overwhelming, no matter where one shops, so, here are some guidelines to get you started. Make small choices and continue to have an inner dialogue regarding the food you purchase.  Making these small choices will eventually lead to bigger changes which will have an impact on your health and that of the planet in general. To make more informed and conscientious food choices while shopping, consider asking yourself the following questions:
1. Is the food organically grown?
2. Was it grown locally?
3. What are the farming practices of the companies that you are supporting?
4. How far does it travel to get to you?
5. How fresh is it? When produce is picked, it begins loosing its nutritional value immediately.
6. If you are choosing meat and poultry, how is it raised and treated, what is it fed?
7. If you choose fish or seafood, is it wild caught or farm harvested with sustainable practices?
8. How much packaging surrounds the product? Remember, we do have not one, but, three plastic islands growing in our oceans!
9. This is the one I really look at...how long is the list of ingredients...can you pronounce all the words...if not, put down the package and back away slowly, as I am sure there are other products which you can buy that are healthier!

Become an educated shopper for your health and the health of your family. You can do a search on the Internet, as there are many sites with good information on food labeling. In addition, there are many good books, many of which I purchase "used" on Amazon.com. as well as movies to assist in educating you  thus inching you further your goal of becoming an aware and conscientious shopper. Here are some I recommend:
1. The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.
On video:
1. Food Matters; Fast Food Nation; Food Inc.; The Future of Food;Fresh; Home-King Corn; etc.
In summary, when it comes to purchasing your food, it is becoming more important to be conscious and aware. What you and your family does eat, affects your body, mind soul and that of Planet Earth. In a perfect world, you should plan to eat real, whole, organic and local food which is chemical and preservative free! In reality, by doing your best, you are ensuring the longevity of planet Earth.

Lovely Bones

There is a lot of misinformation regarding nutrition in general being disseminated, however, one area in particular takes the trophy, that being skeletal or bone health. Statistics show that women are 68% more likely to suffer from osteoporosis and its predecessor, osteopenia, than men. Studies have shown that the potential loss of bone density is a threat for approximately 50% of females and 25% of males. Our skeletons are in a continual process of old bone resorption and new bone formation. Bone density peaks at 30 for most. Peak bone mass loss occurs immediately after menopause and will continue into the postmenopausal years. Everyone will experience some bone loss in their lives and some risk factors, such as body frame size can not be changed, however, there are a number of ways to build bone density. One of these ways is not to take the pharmaceutical Fosamax, which has actually been shown to cause a necrotic loss of bone in the alveolar bone in the jaw after two years of usage!
I work in the Wellness department of a food cooperative and see many female customers daily. Many of whom are very concerned with the health or lack of health of their skeletons. Many worry for good reason, as many times after an elderly person breaks a hip, they begin on the slippery slope to extinction and poor quality of life until that time. Many of these female customers are in the search for the perfect Calcium supplement in order to stave off this disease. I proceed to tell them that while Calcium is important, it is not the most important nutrient to consume in order to fend off this nasty disease. They are also misinformed regarding which foods to eat in their daily diet in order to absorb optimum levels of  Calcium. They always think that dairy products are the top product to eat to obtain all of their dietary Calcium. I promptly inform them that because dairy products are high in protein and acid, they are not good at all for the skeleton. In fact, if consumed in excess, they will leach Calcium from the bones in order to buffer the acid! The best foods regarding Calcium content are: sardines with the bones in, sesame seeds, dark green leafy vegetables, almonds, etc. I have never been a huge dairy consumer and had a DEXA Scan about five years ago and was told that my bones are like the Rocky Mountains! These scans are a valuable tool to utilize in order to know where one's skeletal mass is at, unfortunately, they are very expensive. I was lucky enough to be part of a University of Minnesota study and got the test done for free. In lieu of a full DEXA Scan, one can always have a heel scan done at a health expo or local pharmacy, this will tell you where you are at and you can take it from there. I recommend knowing where your status is regarding your bone density. It is as important or more so than all the other numbers one has to know, such as; cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. It is best to obtain at least half of the daily requirement of Calcium per age group from diet and to supplement as well to insure that you are getting enough.  Adult Calcium requirements vary but do remain the same for approximately two decades for individuals in the age ranges of 19-50. The daily requirement is 1,000 Mg's. Calcium can not however, form bone cells without other minerals, called co-factors, of which, Magnesium is the most important. In fact when a Magnesium deficiency exists, the prospect is great that a person will see an imbalance within the cell between levels of Calcium and Magnesium. A good Calcium supplement will also contain Vitamin D, Boron, Phosphorus, etc. The type of Calcium is also very important. Calcium Hydroxyapetite is the most absorbable followed by Calcium Citrate. Many people are under the false impression that Calcium Carbonate, the type of Calcium found in Tums/Rolaids, is a good form, when in reality, it is very bad for the body and can deposit along artery walls as well as in joints mimicking joint and arthritic conditions. Tums and Rolaids not only do not provide the co-factors needed for absorption, but the alkalizing component deters absorption further as an acid environment is needed for absorption to occur. Since Tums type products destroy the stomach acid, they help to set one up for eventual bone loss as well!
One other key component to bone strength is regular weight bearing exercise. Preferable frequency of six to seven times per week is the best for sessions of at least 30 minutes. Weight lifting is very important for both men and women as it helps to prevent what is called Sarcopenia, or decreased muscle mass in the elderly. Smoking and excess alcohol consumption also adversely affect bone health (no brainer) as well as lack of sunlight. So, go "rattle dem bones" before you lose them!