We are what we eat.
Big news! The British medical journal The Lancet reports that consumption of the artificial food coloring and other additives (sodium benzoate in particular) found in soft drinks helps create hyperactivity in kids. What’s more, these studies don’t even take into account the 12 teaspoons of sugar found in each 16 ounce serving of Coke, Dr Pepper or 7-Up.
And it’s not just hyperactivity that’s an issue when excessive amounts of soft drinks are consumed. Consider the comments of nutritionist Judith Valentine, PhD, CNA, CNC:
We as practitioners and advocates of a healthy life-style recognize that consuming even as little as one or two sodas per day is undeniably connected to a myriad of pathologies. The most commonly associated health risks are obesity, diabetes and other blood sugar disorders, tooth decay, osteoporosis and bone fractures, nutritional deficiencies, heart disease, food addictions and eating disorders, neurotransmitter dysfunction from chemical sweeteners, and neurological and adrenal disorders from excessive caffeine.
Since 1978, the consumption of soft drinks in the U.S. has tripled for boys and doubled for girls. And get this: Males aged 12 through 29 consume over 160 gallons per year, nearly two quarts a day.
The soft drink industry spends billions in advertising annually and manufactures enough of its sugary products to provide more than 52 gallons to every man, woman and child in the United States. And most of us evidently don’t have the discernment or self-restraint to refrain from gulping down our share.
There is a perilous experiment taking place in the U.S. right now. How are our bodies, minds and spirits ultimately going to react to the junk food and additive-laden cocktails we’re fueling ourselves with?
The Lancet results are merely a harbinger of what’s to come.
Resources for healthy eating
Saturday, September 8th, 2007Molly and Jack’s annual summer visit
Grandkids Molly (11) and Jack (8) were with Shonnie and me for about a week for their annual summer visit while their mom (my daughter), Lilla, attended a conference in Florida.
One of the first things we did when they arrived in Asheville was talk about all the things we wanted to do together. The list was pretty long and included in no particular order:
- Hike to a waterfall
- Swim at Sliding Rock
- Go whitewater rafting
- Go camping
- Visit Ma (my Mom)
- See the new Harry Potter movie
- Have a tickle war
- Read more adventures of Captain Underpants
- Talk only in pig Latin (Ancay ouyay alktay inyay igpay atinlay?
Come on in, the water’s fine!
I’m happy to report that we accomplished everything on this list except camping. Our trip to Sliding Rock took place on a day when the temperature in Western North Carolina was an exceptionally high 90+ degrees. So even though the water in the pool at the bottom was frigid as usual, we all warmed up pretty quickly once we were back on shore.
As it turns out, Jack wasn’t up for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so while Shonnie and Molly did that, Jack and I went to the bookstore. We sat on the floor in the kid’s section and shared books about pirates, Daniel Radcliffe and, of course, Captain Underpants.
At most schools, the teachers try to emphasize “the three Rs” (Reading, ’Riting, and ’Rithmetic). But George and Harold’s teacher Ms. Ribble was more concerned with enforcing what she called “the three Ss” (Sit down, Shut your pie holes, and Stop driving me crazy!).
–Dav Pilkey, Captain Underpants & the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman
Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick
Each night after dinner we played Clue, and as fate would have it, Jack won the first game, Shonnie the second, I won the third and on the final night Molly came through. One
requirement of the winner was a victory dance, which we all performed with great enthusiasm.
Rafting on the Pigeon River
Our rafting trip took place on the upper Pigeon River (fun, fast, bouncy Class II-IV whitewater mixed with calm stretches) at the north end of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We all had a great time as the photo certainly attests (Molly in right front, me left middle, Jack behind me and Shonnie, the rafting pro, behind Jack).
My old hometown
Then on to my old hometown, Tullahoma, Tennessee, where we visited my mom, Sue, met back up with Lilla and went on a family picnic at Rutledge Falls organized by my sister Nancy. Nancy’s son, Mark, joined us as did Lilla, my niece, Annie, her husband, Chris, and two of their boys, Copeland and Grayson. A great finale to a fun-filled week.
My daughter Lilla turns 39 today
When my daughter Lilla was born on this date in 1968, I was 25 years old, still in my “don’t trust anyone over 30″ phase. And today she celebrates her 39th birthday, just one away from the big 40.
On this day I’m filled with sweet memories of my “little girl.” I remember the day she was born, tiny and beautiful, cuddled in her mother, Shannon’s, arms. I remember her, still in diapers, grazing in the family garden and
coming back to the house with tomato juice running down her little belly. I remember her hanging out with and sleeping with her “sister,” Langdon, her trusty black Lab, in Bear Hollow. I remember when being with her could help reconnect me with the gentler part of myself. I remember her volleyball exploits at West High School in Knoxville, TN and at the College of Charleston. And I remember her marrying Brandon and bringing Molly and Jack into the world.
Man, how time flies. As Lilla approaches the halfway point of her years in this mortal form, I enter the last decades of mine.
Looking back, Shannon and I endeavored to give Lilla just enough rope so that she didn’t hang herself. We raised her to be able to take care of herself, to work through issues with others on her own and to think and act independently. I’m proud of the strong and compassionate woman Lilla has become, and the family she has created with Brandon. And we excitedly await the annual summer visit of grandkids Molly and Jack in early August.
Happy birthday, girl! Shonnie and I both send you our love on your special day and hope that all your birthday wishes come true.
Monday, June 11th, 2007“Our grandchildren are counting on us,” says Al Gore
As Al Gore prepared to testify before Congress yesterday, he had with him 519,414 of our signatures on a message to Congress demanding immediate action to solve the climate crisis. You can send your own message by clicking here. Watch some of his passionate testimony below:
Even after Al Gore’s clarion call to Congress, our so-called political leaders are likely to busy themselves rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while the human race moves ever closer to becoming the first species to create its own extinction. If we really want to stop global warming, we must each take personal responsibility and do it ourselves. And we must continue to support Al Gore in his quest to awaken our fellow citizens to the gravity of this matter and the need to take immediate action.
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007Collateral damage
From the New York Times via Tom Tomorrow at This Modern World, a story of “collateral damage” in Iraq.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — A U.S. soldier broke down in tears in court as he described his role in the gang rape and slaying of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.
Paul E. Cortez, 24, wept Wednesday as he became the second U.S. soldier to plead guilty to charges in a case considered among the worst atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq.
By pleading guilty to rape and four counts of felony murder, Cortez was spared the possibility of a death sentence and must testify against the three other soldiers charged in the case.
Is it any wonder that 71 percent of Iraqis consider our forces to be occupiers, and 57 percent want all foreign troops out of their country?
To read the entire story of the trial of the U.S. soldiers involved in this atrocity in the New York Times, click here.
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007Mr. Rogers offered kids genuine acceptance and a unique model of manhood
I like you just the way you are.
In a world in which men are seen as superheroes, testosterone-poisoned oafs, new-age sissies or simply clowns, Fred was the embodiment of a different image: a man who used his immense talent and commitment to his craft in service to humankind. He reached out to toddlers with unconditional love that seemed to well up from an inexhaustible source. Our lives are richer for his work, and for his example. He was a true man.
Last week we lost a compassionate and authentic man. Mr. Rogers, born Fred McFeely Rogers, died at the age of seventy-four.
“Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” was first broadcast in 1968 and became the longest running program on public television. Rogers “retired” in 2001 but continued working on projects for children. (more…)
Thursday, May 8th, 2003Our educational system flunks the test, yet some dedicated teachers prevail
Almost every child, on the first day he sets foot in a school building, is smarter, more curious, less afraid of what he doesn’t know, better at finding and figuring things out, more confident, resourceful, persistent, and independent than he will ever be again in his schooling—or, unless he is very unusual and very lucky, for the rest of his life.
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
I have been a student, a teacher, and a parent of a school-aged child. And out of my experience, I believe that public schools fail our children.
We originally designed our public schools to prepare students to graduate into factory work. We taught them to stand in line, sit still, memorize and regurgitate their lessons, and color within the lines. Now we’re teaching our kids to take standardized tests and to compete for the highest scores. Where is the room in this for our children to explore, to discover, to create? When students are uptight and afraid of failure, how can they discern who they really are and what kind of life they want to live? We may not be training our kids to take their place on the assembly line, but I believe we are constricting their natural authenticity and vitality and replacing these with our agreed-upon beliefs about who they should be and how they should live. (more…)
Saturday, August 19th, 2000Violent youth merely following our example
Contrary to what clergymen and policemen believe, gentleness is biological and aggression is cultural.
~Stefan Themerson
While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.
~St. Francis of Assisi
“No, no, no,” I grumbled disgustedly as I tossed aside a December 7, 1999 newspaper editorial entitled “Latest school shooting should redouble efforts for solutions.” Written in response to the latest youth-initiated gun play, the editorial trotted out the usual remedies—school uniforms, school resource officers (i.e., armed guards), teaching courses in values, et cetera.
Look, it’s not that difficult; we have the solution readily available. And it’s not school uniforms, metal detectors, or armed guards at our schools. It’s not even increased training and vigilance for school and law enforcement officials as proposed in the previously mentioned editorial. It’s not teaching values and principles in our schools. It’s not posting the Ten Commandments on school walls. And it’s not stronger gun control laws, though making guns less accessible certainly couldn’t hurt anything.What must happen for our children to become less violent and more loving is for us, each of us, to become less violent and more loving. It’s as easy as that. (more…)
Wednesday, December 15th, 1999
