LOCAL FOOD: THE REAL DEAL

It is a delicious irony that an article on "Top 10 Market Pointers" was in the same issue of the Dallas Morning News as "Watermelons exploding like land mines". If this doesn't reflect two ends of the food spectrum, I can't imagine what would.

"Top 10 Market Pointers", written by Kim Pierce, is a tip list on how to shop local farmers markets, from wine to milk, and covers every subtle nuance from what to bring (small-denomination bills and change and some flexibility!) to how to know what is in season and how "local" is defined.

"Watermelons exploding..." is an AP story straight from Beijing and has a great photo of huge burst melons in a greenhouse in China. Chinese farmers gave the watermelons overdoses of growth chemicals during wet weather, "...creating what state media called fields of land mines."

The article went on to talk about widespread farming abuses in China. The "drug", as the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron is described, is not forbidden in China; it is also allowed in the U.S. on kiwi fruit and grapes. The gist of the article emphasizes that farmers in China use both legal and illegal chemicals in their fields and misuse pesticides and fertilizers.

I immediately recalled the horror many organic food shoppers felt last year when they read the back of the in-house frozen food labels at Whole Foods. Several of the products were grown in China. Not what those shoppers were expecting...or wanting on their dinner table.

So the dilemma seems to be an old one: do we believe what we wish to believe because it makes our life easier or do we take responsibility for our choices by doing the research required to be sure we are getting what we truly want. And who can you trust?

Local farmers markets have different rules, some insisting that produce be grown within a 150-mile radius while others allow vendors to mix local and imported in order to offer a wider variety of produce. Obviously, some things are impossible to grow locally, no matter where you live. And there are farms in every area that allow you to pick your own produce so you get to see exactly where your food is coming from. It's a fun way to involve your entire family and give the kids a lesson in how food ends up on the dinner table. Seeing baby lambs might necessitate some talk therapy when the Sunday rack of lamb is presented, so be prepared.

Bottom line is this: it may become increasingly more difficult to guarantee clean, organic food as more and more large companies hop on the consumer ground-swell for unprocessed, unpolluted food sources. Some education and vigilance on the part of the buyer will be required. Being healthy, as Paul Chek always says, is taking responsibility for one's choices.

In a world in which, bigger is considered better and faster is a financial no-brainer, there are always going to be companies and individuals thinking only of the bottom line. I believe that things can be done the right way, profitably, and I try to support those folks who are running their businesses within that model.

Here are some sites to help you navigate the "mine field" of good, clean food choices.

Bon Apetite!

www.westonaprice.org

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most/recent/the_truth_about_gluten?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4dbb346

http://www.healingtalks.com/activism/health-food-industry-predators/health/food/industry-overtaken-by- corporate-predators/

www.pickyourown.org/TXharvestdates.htm

dallasnews.com/farmersmarkets

(for a map of area markets)

Check out our past blogs for Clean Restaurants in Dallas...there a alot of great places to get wild, grass fed, local and delicious!

MOVEMENT: IT'S LIFE

We've all heard it: use it or lose it! While cliche, it is true. The unspoken message in that slogan is that a body has to move or perish.

Think about what the lack of movement represents in the following things:

a river, clogged by trash and debris or sediment...a motorless sail boat, on a calm and windless sea...a vascular system, its veins and vessels filled with plaque...a colon, with faulty peristalsis...sexual organs, without sexual activity...a sports team, with no offense.

Without movement, there can be no life.

As Paul Chek writes, in "How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy", movement is the path to optimal health. Of course, we think about movement as a part of an exercise or fitness program, but health and wellness cannot be achieved in a stagnate body. If the body systems are not operating effectively and as they were designed, the heart can't pump the blood, the lungs and diaphragm cannot bring fresh air to the tissues, the liver and kidneys cannot detox, the stomach cannot digest food, the colon cannot remove the waste. Neither can the mind adopt new ideas or adapt to new situations if mired in stagnate memes and thought patterns. Emotional wounds won't heal in a body that hangs on, rather than learning how to move on.

At The Legacy Center, we have a Simple as 1-2-3 Wellness Program. Step 1: start to move.

Movement can be as simple as a short walk through your neighborhood or on a city maintained walking trail. Studies show that walking is an effective means of weight loss, helps in creating and maintaining bone density (of some importance as men and women age), and actually keeps our brains young by creating new neural pathways in the hippocampus.

Exercise places stress on the body (for example, weight bearing exercises that create bone strength). In a healthy individual, this is a good thing. However, exercise should never introduce stress to your life. By that I mean, that the very thing you are trying to bring into your life to create well-being should not create mental or emotional stress and should not be a type of exercise that your body is not ready to handle without deleterious effects.

All exercise is not created equal and neither are all trainers!

In Legacy's Simple as 1-2-3 Wellness Program, our main goal is to help you implement a program to improve your health, vitality, and fitness level. An assessment allows us to create a program just for you which takes into account the time you have to devote to exercise, your level of overall fitness, any injuries you may be dealing with, and your personal objectives. You can be well (no aches or pains, no illness or disease, no Rx meds) and be so weak you can't life your sack of groceries out of the trunk. You can be strong-like-bull and have a compromised immune system or a gut lining that cannot extract nutrition from the food you lovingly shop for and prepare each day. We take all this into account as we craft your program.

There is movement to build energy, movement for cardio work, endurance, to firm and tone, for sports specific training, stretching and relaxation. To begin, pick a form of movement that gets you outside and is fun! While it may sound great to begin a boot camp type program, you will stick with something longer if it is something you really enjoy doing and if that something matches your needs and current abilities.

Flexibility exercises are designed to bring your body into balance. Energizing exercises build vitality, can be done anywhere, and include slow walking and walking meditation. Core conditioning supports internal organs, protects the spinal cord, helps with circulation and visceral health and is the foundation for movement.

Create some Simple as 1-2-3 Movement in your day and you will create vibrancy and health in your life!

WALK THIS WAY!

An article in yesterday's Dallas Morning News stated that the U.S. obesity rate is much higher than Canada's. How we eat and move factors into how healthy and fit we are.

If one is over-weight, the prospect of beginning an exercise program can be daunting. One of the best forms of exercise is one of the simplest: walking!

"Epidemiologic studies have provided strong evidence that sedentary (activities) such

as prolonged TV watching is an important risk factor for obesity and type 2 diabetes,

whereas increasing physical activity including brisk walking is associated with weight

maintenance and a lower risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes."

Diet and Physical Activity in the Prevention of Obesity

by Frank B. Hu

GET AND STAY ACTIVE. Adding a 30-minute brisk walk four days a week can almost double your rate of weight loss. You can still get benefits from exercise, even if you break it into several short sessions, such as 10 minutes, three times a day. (This is from Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource, Special Report: Weight Control) In addition, exercise is one of the most effective ways to preserve and protect your joints.

"Walking is one of your best bets for a starter aerobic exercise."

Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource, Special Report: Joint Health

EXERCISE BOOSTS BRAIN POWER, according to The Research Report, New Medical Findings, in The Wall Street Journal, 2-22-11:

"A growing body of evidence has pointed to aerobic exercise as a low-cost hedge against

neurocognitive decline."

This means that a walking program can effect the size of the hippocampus by 2% in a year, so walking improves memory!

Walking is one of the seven primal movement patterns; it is an exercise anyone can do without thinking. This allows the walker to access the mind...creating, problem solving, planning, and thinking while walking.

Walking calms the nervous system, strengthens bone density as you work against gravity (weight bearing exercise), and consumes more METs than lower-intensity activities such as Yoga.

Walking requires no fancy equipment...everyone knows how to walk...the exercise is an close as your front door...outdoor exposure to sunlight creates crucial Vitamin D supplementation...and has social benefits, if done with others.

Legacy Performance Center has a "Walk this Way!" program Wednesday evenings at 6:00 PM and Friday mornings at 10:30 AM, beginning April 6th. Join us and get healthy.

WELLNESS STARTS HERE!

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