Asian Pear

What can I say about an Asian Pear that even comes close to the effect it has when you take a bite out of it? It's a little like taking a bite out of a crunchy rain cloud (without the lightning) that has been flavored with the perfect mix of sweet and tangy--a little like honey and lemon. Super clean, juicy and crunchy. Better than anything ANY pastry chef ANYWHERE in this world or any other world could ever come up with!

Your Liver: Part 2

Milk thistle is definitely right up there at the top of my Favorite Herbs list. Living in the society we have today with all the pollution and environmental toxins around, and especially if you work with artist's materials such as oil paints (like we do), we need all the help we can get to keep our livers healthy.

First, you have to understand something about your liver--it's a freaking amazing organ. It can regenerate damaged liver tissue faster than The Lizard character from SpiderMan. Seriously, you can remove a huge portion of a liver and it will just grow right back! (Probably not a good idea to try this at home, though.)

Listen to this: "The human liver is one of the few organs in the body that can regenerate from as little as 25 percent of its tissue." says Seth Karp, assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, Boston. Wait...25% from 100%...carry the 3...minus pi--that means 75% of your liver can be taken away and it will grow back!!! Weird!

And according to Dr. Andrew Weil in his fantastic book, "Natural Health, Natural Medicine", milk thistle (Silybum marianum) "is nontoxic, and European research shows that it stimulates regeneration of liver cells and protects them from toxic injury."
So you can take it regularly without side effects or toxic buildup.

But please don't think that you can take milk thistle and then chug beer and eat tubes of cadmium orange. While I realize that those activities can be crazy appealing, your liver will only forgive you for so much mistreatment before an unknown, crucial breaking point is reached and cirrhosis (basically, massive scarring of the liver) sets in and then it's...well, bad stuff. Really bad. Like death and stuff like that. And something that's coming to light now with the obesity epidemic is that Fatty Liver Disease, which comes from fat deposits and inflammation in the liver can cause cirrhosis. And, get this, you don't really have to be obese to get Fatty Liver Disease. It can also come from foods that cause general inflammation (mostly trans fats, saturated fats, refined foods, and artificial ingredients). So, yep, you can get cirrhosis from eating too much junk food even if you're not technically obese.

Of course, the best approach is to just baby that liver. Milk thistle is a great thing to take herb-wise. But mainly, clean living with whole, unrefined foods, clean water and green tea, exercise, and clean air are the best way to keep your liver dancing the happy dance.

Jumping Rope

I just got a new jump rope and I'm having so much fun with it. It's made by Bodyfit/Sports Authority and it has a little meter on the handle that keeps time, counts jumps, and calculates calories. All that for $20! And that was the most expensive jump rope they had at the store! The regular ones cost only about $6. Not bad for a serious kick-your-butt piece of exercise equipment and all around bringer-of-fun.
Can you remember when you were a kid and you actually jumped rope just for fun? Well, even if you were too busy playing Super Mario Brothers and didn't jump rope for fun, you should give it a try now. It's not just good for blasting calories to smithereens and cardiovascular fitness, it's great for brain fitness, too. The coordination required will stimulate all kinds of new synapses and dendrites, stuff like that, to form in your brain. All brains love new dendrites. Make yours happy today!

Addiction!

As if you didn't already know this, but did you know that junk food is literally addictive in precisely the same way that cocaine and heroin are addictive? Now we have solid, positive proof, thanks to researchers at Scripps Research Institute in Florida and their team of brave (now obese) little lab rats. The rats were given unlimited access to all kinds of high-fat, calorie-dense food that is commonly available in convenience stores. The rats because compulsive overeaters when pleasure pathways in their brains became less and less sensitive, causing them to gorge themselves more and more to get the same high. Even when they were subjected to a mild shock in order to have access to the junk food, they still went for it.
Then, according to Paul Kenny, an associate professor of molecular therapeutics at Scripps, "after 40 days of becoming more and more addicted (and obese), the rats were switched to a nutritious food pellet, they refused to eat anything at all, even though they were clearly starving."
The act of refining the food is what makes it so addictive. Our bodies evolved with whole foods that needed to be broken down through digestive processes before the foods' nutrients and sugars could be released. Cocaine is only addictive because of this refining process, too. The leaves, when chewed by natives, supposedly give a high similar to coffee. But, when refined, the same chemical becomes a life-consuming addiction. Same with heroin or alcohol, same with sugar, same with any refined product.
When you think about it, this principle applies just as well to experiences. Anything, really, that gives you a good feeling. Painting, music, conversation with someone you love, love itself, nature, anything.
So choose your addictions wisely! They're just another fact of life. Healthy addictions can be cultivated to your benefit and enhance your well-being.

I Can Read Your Mind!

It's true! This just occurred to me today while I was doing my cardio workout. I can read your mind, right here in this blog. "Okay," you say, "so what am I thinking?" Well, my mind reading only works IN THE FUTURE! And after you read this, my mind-reading tells me that you'll be thinking, "Ha! She can't really read my mind at all." What a great trick!

So what does this have to do with fitness? Well, you can entertain yourself with your own mind like this too whenever you do your cardio exercises. Some people think doing cardio exercises at the gym (like running on the treadmill, stationary biking, or using an elliptical machine) is boring, but I often have trouble trying to look halfway sane at the gym because I'm laughing so hard. It all depends on what you're thinking! IPods help, too. And, if you combine cardio exercises with music you enjoy or something positive going on in your mind, you'll literally flood your system with happy chemistry that will make your whole day so much fun!

Carl Sagan Day

Happy Carl Sagan Day! Today is the first annual celebration of the life and work of an amazing man who really knew how to get into crazy little corners of your mind and expand it into directions that you never knew existed.
If you haven't at least read his book, Cosmos, or seen the TV series, Cosmos, well, you're just really missing an experience that everyone should have. When I first read his essays on biology, especially the parts about our mitochondria, the information really had me so intrigued that it set off a whole new passion of discovery for me. If you're a fellow human being on Planet Earth like I am (and you probably are!), you need to know this information!

Astragalus Root

I thought it would be a good time to mention one of my favorite herbs, astragalus root. With all the talk about colds and the flu, it's helpful to know of an herb that enhances your immune system without any side effects and is a relatively inexpensive herb as well. I first read about astragalus in Dr. Andrew Weil's book, "Natural Health, Natural Medicine". It's great for use when you think you may be catching something, but since it's non-toxic, you can just use it regularly to keep your immune system strong. We use the powdered herb in capsule form and follow the directions on the bottle, but tincture or tablets are fine. If we think we're getting a cold or something, we increase the dosage temporarily to give ourselves an extra boost. You can also find astragalus root in Chinese grocery stores and some health food stores as dried, sliced root that you can simmer as tea or in soup.
Still, of course, the best thing to help you prevent getting sick is hand-washing and avoiding touching your face (especially eyes and nose). Don't you think that shaking hands should be put on temporary hold until after flu season? We can just show our palms to each other to say that we're not carrying any weapons. Maybe make a peace sign or a Vulcan sign or something.