Tags: allergies, dietician, healthy
Dieticians Don’t Have All The Answers Posted on March 27th, 2012
Recently I was asked to comment on a “healthy recipe” by an Arizona dietician. I find dietician and Cordon-Bleu educated chef, Michelle Dudash way off base with her recipe in the Arizona Republic: Oven-Baked Cheese Sticks with Marinara Sauce. Dieticians don’t have all the answers as is clearly revealed in this recipe. My mother was a dietitian. I grew up on home-made whole-wheat bread, yogurt and lots of cheese. I suffered horribly for years from constipation, respiratory problems and recurrent ear infections. If my mother had known about common food allergies as well as her wealth of knowledge about good nutrition, I would have been a much healthier child. Many people consult with nutritionists and dietitians. These people can be very knowledgeable about fat grams, calories, dietary requirements of vitamins and minerals as well as a wealth of important information but, they are still missing the “food allergy” piece. Common food allergies are: dairy, wheat, soy, corn and yeast – all foods which comprise the bulk of the American diet. No wonder we have so many health related problems! If I wanted to convert this recipe, I would have used “gluten free” bread sticks and tangy pecorino or sheep Romano cheese grated on the top – then go ahead and dip in the marinara sauce!
http://bit.ly/yhHCKM
Tags: baby, married, out of wedlock, unwed mother
Unwed Mothers – Now a Majority Posted on March 21st, 2012
When I was a teenager in the 1950’s, the stigma attached to being an “unwed mother” was something to be avoided at all costs. The very notion of bringing a baby into the world without a father, or face the prospect of a “shotgun wedding” was considered a fate worse than death, and a young, secretly sexually-active female’s deepest fear. I remember Mildred (not her real name) disappearing mysteriously from school one day, supposedly being shipped off to a “home for unwed mothers.” This all seems like the mores of a bygone era – my grandchildren call it “the olden days.” Now, in the eyes of the world, there is nothing wrong with having a baby out of wedlock, in fact – it appears to be the norm, in women before the age of 30. Fifty years ago, as many as a third of American marriages were precipitated by a pregnancy. Now, after steadily rising for five decades, the share of children born to unmarried women has crossed an important threshold: more than half the births to American women under the age of 30 occur outside marriage. The fastest growth in the last two decades has occurred among white women in their 20’s with some college education. Liberal analysts argue that shrinking paychecks have thinned the ranks of marriageable men, while conservatives argue that the sexual revolution has reduced the incentive to wed. There is also a rise in births among couples who are living together but not married. “Women used to rely on men, but we don’t need them anymore,” said Teresa Fragoso a single mother in Lorain, Ohio. We support ourselves, we support our kids.” It has been my experience and observation as a health consultant, in a line of 50 women seeking assistance with health issues, there will be a number, who in their mid-thirties, have not yet made the decision to have children or not. I counsel them to have that discussion with the inner most part of their being. Do not tarry, do not wait. Father or no father, there is no longer a stigma attached to bringing a child into the world and raising it alone. Probably not ideal, but worse would be wanting a child, and not having one at all. If a woman wants to be a mother, this new evidence shows a growing trend in that direction.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/for-women-under-30-most-births-occur-outside-marriage.html?pagewanted=all
Tags: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Moneyball, Oakland A's
Moneyball – Is Good Posted on March 12th, 2012
I have never been a baseball fan. In fact, baseball was my nemesis as a kid growing up. Every morning in spring, before the school bell rang, there would be a scrub baseball (softball) game on the hardscrabble grounds of the school yard. I got picked last. I couldn’t throw, I couldn’t catch. I was dismal as a baseball player. I have never been a fan of Brad Pitt. A lot of people get excited about him. Not me. But Pitt redeems himself in Moneyball as the nonchalant, gum chewing, cup spitting GM of the Oakland A’s who through some unfathomable computer-generated analysis for picking players, takes the A’s to a winning streak. But GM Billy Beane’s foil is really his side kick, techno-wizard and math genius, Peter Brand played by Jonah Hill. The two play off each other with a kind of magic that is entrancing even to a non-baseball fan. Moneyball is based on a true story, a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Moneyball – worth the watch!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/
People V. The State of Illusion Posted on March 1st, 2012
On the subject of films, look out for an intriguing independent film by Austin Vickers. Vickers began his career as a trial lawyer for one of the largest law firms in the world. He later went in-house with a Fortune 100 company where he served as General Counsel for one of their European divisions. In 2000, he resigned from his position to pursue his passion for changing lives. For the last decade, Vickers has been teaching personal leadership, and the science and power of imagination, to top organizations and individuals across the “state of Illusion,” as a way of illustrating the trial of life that each of us must go through. Austin Vickers debut film, People V. The State of Illusion, is woven around a frightening legal case, which provides the backdrop for personal self-examination. Colorful, and at times disturbing characters in the film, showcase our own view of reality, and how little of actual reality we are even capable of becoming aware. According to Vickers, who narrates the film, this limited view is what leads to our illusions and helps create limitations in our life. People V. The State of Illusion is being shown in independent theatres across the country. A must see!
http://www.thestateofillusion.com/