Lifestyle Hub

Gingko Biloba: effective for seniors?

A major new study on the effectiveness of Gingko Biloba in reducing cognitive loss for seniors showed it was not effective. The January 6, 2010 online edition of the natural foods merchandiser [1] reported the results of the study published in the Journal of American Medicine. As with many mainstream studies, this appears to be aimed at finding alternative therapies ineffective.

Rising obesity, part 2

I reported in my December 14, 2009 blog on a recent study predicting that the effects of increasing obesity in the US are forecast to outweigh any benefits from continued reductions in smoking rates over the next decade. Now WebMD reports on this [1], saying that from 1993 to 2008, the proportion of smokers among U.S. adults declined by 18.5% while the proportion of obese adults increased 85%. Researchers say smoking had a bigger impact on deaths while obesity had a bigger effect on illness.

Oh great, new Oahu electric plant to be powered by animal fat

A Honolulu Advertiser article today (Wednesday, January 6, 2010) states, "Hawaiian Electric Co. said it has signed a contract for biodiesel produced from animal waste fat and cooking oil to power its new $137 million generating plant at Campbell Industrial Park."

He must come from the city!

Lavagirl really took exception to my blog about how to skin a cat, and laid into me, no holds bared, stating amongst other things that:

"Coming from a medical family - my father is a surgeon - I would argue with the extremist view the author purports.

Calling dissection "horrific" and "unbelievable" is easy to say from your armchair when you're not faced with some life threatening surgery coming up."

"Has the author ever had surgery? I would rather have a medical student train on a cat so s/he is better prepared to carve up MY body."

Molly Katzen becomes a “flexitarian”

I was disappointed to read that Molly Katzen, the famous vegetarian cookbook author of vegetarian bibles: The Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, has put out a new cookbook with recipes for beef!

Buy organic and save money!

It was great to see a mainstream news service promoting the consumption of organic foods today (Monday, January 4, 2010). The Honolulu Advertiser carried an article by the McClatchy-Tribune News Service extolling the virtues of organic foods.

Danish dolphin slaughter, part 2

Caitlin Rose made some great comments on my post about the dolphin slaughter in the Faroe Islands. She brought up several excellent points, the first being that the Faroese Islanders said: "… most people in the modern world have become so far removed from the harsh realities of animal food production that they have formulated unrealistic notions of how food actually gets to their tables.”

Down to Earth tries to deliver gift basket to Rush Limbaugh

Yesterday, December 31, 2009, our community outreach team tried to deliver a deluxe collection of fruits, vegetables, and other vegetarian foods to Rush Limbaugh, the leading conservative radio commentator, who had been hospitalized at Queens Medical Center in Hawaii with chest pain. The fruit basket was ordered by Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRN).

Danish Dolphin Slaughter

I received an email recently from a friend with widely circulated photos of a horrific dolphin slaughter in the Faroe Islands of Denmark. (The Faroe Islands, located about 250 miles north of Scotland, are about half way between Denmark and Iceland, in other words, they are one very inhospitable place, freezing cold, about as different from Hawaii as one can imagine.)

Boiling crabs to death; don’t be squeamish!

A couple of recent articles dated December 23, 2009 in the Taste section of the Honolulu Advertiser were truly gruesome, brutal, and stomach turning; they were about how to prepare live crabs for eating. They contained horrifyingly graphic and detailed explanations of how to kill a crab, how to cook it, how to break its legs, crack off its back, etc. These articles were shocking – the writer advises, “Boiling crabs isn't difficult. And don't be squeamish. Unless you're a vegetarian, something always dies for your dinner.”