British Food Is (1/3) Rubbish

A daily apple is a good thing (as we all know). Imagine an apple in your hand – think about the journey it took to get here, from tiny seed to shiny, nutrient-packed, crisp, sweet fruit, bursting with reasons to eat it. You paid good money for that proud little apple. It’s yours, and you’ve earned it.

Now imagine throwing it away.

A major study from the British government’s campaign against waste, Wrap, shows that a third of food bought by consumers in the UK ends up in the trash, accounting for a whopping 6.7 million tonnes a year hitting the landfills. Since that includes inedible waste (all those English teabags, for example), maybe that doesn’t sound so bad – except that only accounts for half of it. The rest is perfectly edible food.

Posted By: Worker Bee

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7 Tips to Beat Stress Right Now

There are hundreds of positive things you can do to help alleviate or banish stress. Here are some of our current favorites:

1. Own your stress.

Sometimes we stress about our stress. Seriously! If, like most, you’re a sensitive and thoughtful person trying to make the best choices in your life, you may have to guard against the all-too-easy habit of judging yourself and beating yourself up over the negative feelings that come with stress. I find that the judgment of a stressful situation or emotion is often more upsetting than the original issue. This can create a spiral of negativity. If you’re stressed, own it! You are allowed to experience all your feelings, including the stressful, negative ones. Accept them and find a way to channel them in a positive direction, such as outcome-based thinking. This is where you say “I don’t like this situation. I feel awful. What do I want it to be like instead? How do I want to feel instead?” rather than “I don’t like this situation. I feel awful! It’s hopeless!”. At the risk of taking us all back to the 1970s, be your own best friend; be gentle with yourself. Give yourself permission to have your feelings. And if that’s hard for you to do, no problem: I give you permission!

Posted By: Sara

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The Biggest Myth About Cancer: That It Just “Happens”

There are many persistent myths about cancer and cancer prevention, but central among them is the assumption that cancer “just happens”. This is fallacious. How you live and what you choose to put in your body has a direct – and significant – causative relationship to whether or not your risk for cancer will be elevated.

Cancer isn’t an overnight event – it develops most frequently over many years due to a range of factors. A fascinating review of over 7,000 studies (talk about thorough) finds that what you eat and how fast you grow are perhaps most significant. I’ve long said that the fuel you serve your body impacts 70% of your health (the rest is exercise and stress management). But it’s interesting, especially in light of our Primal Health explorations, to consider the role of growth – and by growth researchers are talking about hormones.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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The Burrito Diet, the Beverly Hills Diet, and the Only Diet on Earth That Actually Works

If it’s not a region – Sonoma, Hamptons, Mediterranean, South Beach, and the original locale diet, the Beverly Hills Diet – it’s a noun: Subway, Cabbage Soup, Cookie, and now the Chipotle Burrito Diet. That’s right. The latest diet is not just a single food, it’s got an adjectival spice to go with it. A man apparently lost 40 pounds in 3 months eating a single burrito daily. In terms of health, this has trouble all over it: too many calories in a serving, monotony and the consequences for metabolism, and far too many carbohydrates.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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Fire Safety Tips

In light of the emergency fire situation throughout much of Southern California, we think this is an important time to highlight fire safety tips for protecting your home and children. We recommend bookmarking this post for future reference or printing it out as a checklist.

1. Have a plan.

Have a plan for escape that your whole family has memorized. Have a safe meeting place planned should you become separated. Try to find two escapes from each room in the house, and memorize them. Run practice drills!

Posted By: Worker Bee

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