A Place at the Table

Last night I attended a showing of the powerful documentary A Place at the Table and left feeling sad, angry and moved to spread the word…too many people in our country are hungry.  The showing was co-sponsored by the Berkshire International Film Festival and The Nutrition Center and shown at the local high school, but you can find out how to see it here.

Why do one in four American children live without access to healthy food?  Why do politicians cut funding for programs like SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known otherwise as food stamps) while giving billions to huge corporations that grow crops to produce processed, obesity-promoting “food”?  Why is Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern almost a lone voice in the wilderness of Washington asking for fundamental change in US food policy?

Watch this film and find out.  Food is political as well as personal.  As hunger activist and actor Jeff Bridges says in the film, supporting good nutrition for our children is an act of patriotism.  “If another country was doing this to our kids, we’d be at war.”

Life Enhancement Program Reaches into Community

 If someone offered you a 12-week group program to help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure, control or prevent diabetes and increase your functional capacity – for no cost other than your time – your first question might be:  “Where do I sign up?”

Several lucky people from the Berkshires recently completed just such a program and say that their lives have been transformed. You can hear some of their moving stories captured in a promotional video on YouTube.

According to Mark Pettus, MD, Director of Wellness and Population Health at Berkshire Health Systems, the inaugural Life Enhancement Program in Pittsfield expanded wellness services into the community and looks like a huge success.

 “We’re still looking at the data but we’ve had stunning results so far,” said Dr. Pettus. ”We’ve been measuring things like changes in body weight, blood pressure, vitamin D levels, blood sugar and functional abilities like lifting weights and walking.  There were significant improvements these physical indicators of health, but also in mood, energy levels and quality of life.”

 The Life Enhancement Program is funded by the Canyon Ranch Institute, which runs several similar programs nationally. The Canyon Ranch Institute describes the program as “an evidence-based, multi-disciplinary program that transfers the best practices of Canyon Ranch to underserved communities to prevent, diagnose, and address chronic diseases.” The Institute emphasizes an integrative approach to health and health literacy.

 “I believe Berkshire County could and should be the healthiest community anywhere,” said Dr. Pettus. “Right now Berkshire County is not very healthy, despite having a first class health system and a stunning cadre of natural resources and community capital. Leveraging partnerships like the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program with Berkshire Health Systems’ existing services and clinical excellence is a huge step in bringing proven, science-based wellness models to those we serve.”

 Dr. Pettus says teaching patients to sustain a new, healthy lifestyle for months and years, including changes in diet, exercise and stress management, is the “holy grail” of wellness.

 “We want to compare the Life Enhancement groups to others in a parallel control group who get the ‘usual’ health care,” said Dr. Pettus.“We’ll be doing six month and one year follow-ups and we’re also arranging reunion evenings once a month to enable the group members stay in touch with each other.”

 The program also connects participants to community resources that may help them sustain results, such as smoking cessation programs and stress management classes.  Yoga, meditation, mindfulness and Tai Chi classes are also recommended to enhance the holistic model of the program.

 There is no hard income test for admission to the Life Enhancement Program, but the goal is to reach lower income, underserved adults.  Referrals come from primary caregivers, community leaders and word of mouth.

 “I’ve served in many different roles over my years in health care in this region,” said Dr. Pettus.  “I could not be more inspired and excited by the forces of change upon us, including the Life Enhancement Program.  The Berkshires offer us amazing resources to transform our health care system.”

A Day of Mindful Healing

I recently had the pleasure of attending a Day of Mindfulness in the hills just north of San Diego.  The sky was blue, the sun was warm and flowers were in bloom.  The setting was a retreat center built on more than 600 wild acres, including miles of hiking trails and remote canyon vistas.

I was attending at the invitation of one of my best friends and yoga buddies who lives in Encinitas. He knew several of the 40 people attending that day.  I was the “stranger” visiting from back East.  But I was Bernd’s friend – and from the moment I walked in the door of the community center, I felt welcomed and safe. 

The retreat had been organized by members of the Compassionate Heart Sangha. The group is one of many around the world devoted to the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, poet and peace activist. They were sharing this time to be present, to breathe deeply and to explore what it means to live mindfully.

The day included quiet activities like meditation and silent hiking, silly activities like three-person “art” collaborations, bonding activities like sharing bowls of “friendship soup” and centering activities like yoga. My favorite half hour was a sound meditation, laying side by side on blankets, eyes closed, feeling the vibrations of a gong, singing bowls, chimes and the unique drone of a didgeridoo. It was otherworldly and moving. The entire experience was a gift.

Mindfulness is simple to describe – a calm awareness of body, mind and emotion.  The practice has been studied for several years now and is slowly moving into the mainstream, including schools and hospitals.  Medical experts are verifying its beneficial effects on conditions like depression, high blood pressure and obesity.

Mindfulness is simple, not easy. To live mindfully, to be fully aware, to be present moment to moment, is truly a challenge. But the effort is worthwhile.  Life, after all, is a series of moments.  And if we are able share those moments with loving, open-hearted people, we are blessed.

 

 

How Sweet It Is

Another study confirmed it this week…too much sugar isn’t good for you.  We’ve probably all heard that warning from childhood…our Moms and our dentists seemed very sure about that, even without a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO).

But for at least a couple of decades now, many consumer health and food marketing messages have emphasized avoiding fat and cholesterol, not sugar.  “Low fat” diets were sold as the way to avoid heart disease and obesity.  But when the fat was taken out of thousands of popular processed foods, lots of sugar was added to make bread, cereal, cake, cookies and ice cream more palatable.  Sugar substitutes were also widely used, so the calorie counts on the labels were even lower and consumers could feel better about buying “low fat, low calorie” foods and treats.

But the result was not a leaner, healthier population.  Obesity, diabetes and heart disease rates kept climbing.   Recently, new studies have pointed to sugar as a cause of inflammation and disease.  According to a recent report from the CDC published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Americans who consume too much sugar are at risk for heart disease.  The authors estimate that people who get 10-25% of their calories from added sugar increase their risk of mortality from heart disease by 30%.    And that risk tripled if they consumed more than 25% of their calories from sugar.  (The study adjusted for other risk factors.) The conclusion:  there’s a direct line from sugar to serious illness. A sugary diet is no longer simply an indication of an unhealthy diet or a risk factor for obesity.

Getting off of a sugary diet can be tough, especially if you’re used to lots of processed foods.  Sugar is highly addictive.  If you want to withdraw, do it gradually.  Cut down and eventually eliminate added sugar in coffee and tea.  Avoid buying yogurt with an added 18-21 grams of sugar and opt for plain Greek yogurt instead.  If you crave chocolate, don’t keep it in the house and try small serving of dark chocolate as a special treat. Try a “cleaner” diet of whole foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you eat slowly and mindfully, you may find you are able to taste and enjoy the natural sweetness in foods like apples, berries, carrots and yams…and your body/mind will adjust.

An Encore Expert Dials Back

Judy Goggin spent 30 years becoming a nationally recognized expert in aging, lifelong learning, higher education and encore careers. But now that she’s left her position as Vice President for Encore.org, she’s living the “next stage” experience she’s studied and written about for decades.  She’s focused on slowing down.

“I’m taking at least six months to dial back,” said Judy.  “I’ve been contacted by several folks looking for help with different projects but I’m not jumping into anything new right now.  I want to be completely unwound for a while.  It’s so new to me to have time.”

Judy’s former employer, Encore.org (formerly Civic Ventures), is a think tank that encourages older Americans to use their talent and experience for the common good in second acts called “encore careers.”  For the time being, however, Judy is pursuing her own “personal good.”

“I’ve joined a peer group run by The Transition Network that’s facilitating a discussion among women who are recently retired or thinking about a new direction,” said Judy. “Everyone in the group is at very different stages.  But it’s helpful to hear each other’s stories and experiences.”

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Slowing can feel almost un-American.  From childhood, most of us are encouraged to be busy and productive.  In his book Travels with Epicurus, writer Daniel Klein traveled to a favorite Greek island in search of an authentic old age. At 73, Klein wanted to answer the question: “What is the best way to be an old man?”

In some ways, Epicurus’ prescription for happiness – to free oneself from everyday affairs – had great appeal.  The slower, family and friend-centered life of the older folks Klein met on his remote Greek island was seductive. But in modern America, would that kind of life make men and women happy?  Klein wasn’t at all sure.  His advise: cultivate mindfulness.

“Perhaps if we are as mindful as we possibly can be of where we are in life right now, the most fulfilling options of how to live these years will reveal themselves to us, not by rigorously following the prescriptions of the wise philosophers, yet by being ever mindful of their wisdom.”

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“I don’t feel any different yet,” said Judy.  “I think I have to slow down on many levels to really feel changed. But I love that I don’t constantly have a long to-do list for work. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have any projects or ambitions, but it is my own list and I can get to things in my own time.”

Judy says there’s more time for self-care, learning and creativity now that she controls her calendar. She’s added Tai Chi and somatic yoga to her exercise regime, is taking a college-level geology class with her husband and is studying the Native American flute, a long-time interest.

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Judy Goggin describes herself as a non-profit “intrapreneur,” an administrator who can take concepts and ideas and transform them into on-the-ground, working programs. She began to develop those skills when she worked on special projects for the President of a small college in Denver in 1974.  During that time, she discovered and connected with Elderhostel, a non-profit educational travel company based in Boston. She soon became their State Director for Colorado.  A few years later, she offered to help set up Elderhostel programs in ten Western states so that she could work part time from home after her second child was born.

“I moved to Boston and eventually became the Vice President of U.S. Programs,” said Judy. “I stayed with Elderhostel (now Road Scholar) until 2001, when I met Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures.”

“Marc and I connected around the concept of recognizing older Americans as an untapped resource for the country,” said Judy.  “As with other non-profits, I knew I could help Civic Ventures make many of their innovative ideas a reality.  That’s been the way my career has gone, and I guess it’s been my mission:  to attach myself to a worthwhile organization with values I share and help develop new programs, to make the vision real and concrete.”

Like many new retirees, Judy has a new mission…to live a full life at a more mindful and leisurely pace. While life is getting rebalanced, Judy’s grateful that she has more time to spend with family and friends and she’s resisting the call to do more…for now.

Where is Compassion?

I feel compelled to share a recent column from New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.  In his essay entitled “Hunger Games, USA,”  Krugman asks how the Republican majority in the House of Representatives could vote in favor of a Farm Bill that expands our multi-billion dollar crop insurance program for agri-business while eliminating funding for food stamps, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).   SNAP provides 46 million low-income Americans an average of $ 133  per month to purchase food – an estimated forty-five percent of those who benefit are children.

I share Krugman’s anger and disbelief and feel compelled to ask: Why are we so ready to help corporations and so unwilling to help people?  Why do so many of our children go undernourished and hungry?  When did we stop believing that the American people are our most important asset and that we should invest in their well-being?  When did we stop caring about the poor and the struggling middle class?

Krugman says of the House majority and their supporters:  “If you’re an American, and you’re down on your luck, these people don’t want to help; they want to give you an extra kick. I don’t fully understand it, but it’s a terrible thing to behold.”

It is a terrible and very discouraging thing to behold.  But I find it hard to believe that the American people are as heartless as these “leaders” who voted against funding for SNAP.  There is a dis-connect between Congress and the rest of us…I don’t believe voters want our neighbors who are unemployed, trying to live on stagnating wages and struggling to feed their children to go hungry.

Perhaps we’re just getting too used to this type of corporate welfare – in Washington, it’s business as usual.

What to Drink When You Give Up Soda

If – or perhaps I should say when you give up drinking soda, how will you quench your thirst?  Here are five beverages to consider for a healthy alternative:

WATER:  We’ve all no doubt heard the standard advice about drinking lots of water every day.  That advice is great and should be followed, since water flushes toxins out of our body and carries nutrients to our cells.  Many people who complain of low-grade headaches or low energy are simply dehydrated…and drinking plenty of filtered water is the simple cure.  How much?  At least eight 8- ounce glasses of fluid a day is best…but that fluid can come from sources other than just plain H2O.

GREEN TEA:  Green tea contains powerful antioxidants, called catechins, which fight free radicals that can damage DNA and may contribute to cancer and heart disease. (Grapes and berries, red wine, and dark chocolate also have potent antioxidants.)

MINT TEA:  Great to drink warm after dinner or as iced tea in the summer, mint tea helps relax your muscles, settles your stomach and aids digestion.  If you don’t add sugar, this is a zero calorie drink.

TOMATO JUICE:  Look for the low salt variety and buying organic is best, since conventional tomatoes are full of pesticides.  But tomato juice is low in calories – about 31 for each six-ounce glass – and is full of lycopene, another powerful antioxidant that will help maintain good health.

HOT CHOCOLATE:  Yes, a cup of hot chocolate can be good for you!  The secret is using Dutch-processed cocoa powder that is full of fiber combined with enriched non-fat milk  (often labeled as “Skim Plus”).  Dutch chocolate is a bit pricier than other types but is well worth it!

The Big Gulp Controversy

When I was growing up, soda came in small glass bottles of about seven ounces.  We never drank it at home – it was for special occasions only.  My sister and I got to choose between Coca Cola and Seven-Up when we spent a Sunday visiting my grandfather’s farm.  Grandpa Pete didn’t drink the stuff himself, but he knew that “tonic” was a sweet treat for us.

Today, those small glass bottles have all but disappeared.  We’ve been “supersized.”  For the past few decades, marketers have pushed “bigger is better” – double and triple burgers, mounds of French fries, bottomless cups of soda.  And all for low prices, thanks to tax subsidies for big agriculture, producers of high fructose corn syrup and suppliers to our fast food industry.

How many sodas do you consume in a day…a week…a month?  If you answered “none” or “only a couple of sodas a year,” you’re doing fine. If you down a Coke or Pepsi or other soft drink every day, you’re no doubt drinking too much.  Soda is a sugar-delivery system and too much sugar can be harmful to your health.

Experts say the average American now consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily, amounting to about 350 extra calories, much of it from soda, juices and other processed foods.

In a rush and feel thirsty or low on energy? One (unhealthy) solution is to pop into a convenience store and grab a soda to go.  According to the 7-Eleven website, for example, their Gulps (20 ounces) Big Gulps (30 ounces), Super Big Gulps (40 ounces) and Double Gulps (50 ounces) are “genetically engineered to quench even the most diabolical thirst.”

But think twice before downing a huge sugary drink. A Double Gulp filled with Coca-Cola, for instance, has about 600 calories — almost 25 percent of the recommended calories for a 30-year-old, 160-pound man who exercises regularly.

Scientists are calling on the Food and Drug Administration to take action.

“As currently formulated, Coke, Pepsi, and other sugar-based drinks are unsafe for regular human consumption,” said Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson. “Like a slow-acting but ruthlessly efficient bio-weapon, sugar drinks cause obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. The FDA should require the beverage industry to re-engineer their sugary products over several years, making them safer for people to consume, and less conducive to disease.”

According to the CSPI, obesity costs our country $147 billion a year in medical expenditures. The Center estimates that half of those costs are paid through Medicare and Medicaid and suggest that taxing soft drinks is an effective approach for cash-strapped federal and state governments to fund health care and disease-prevention programs.

Officials in New York City agree.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Health Commissioner Thomas Farley tried to pass a tax on soda, but the State Legislature in Albany defeated their proposal. They’ve also tried to prohibit the use of food stamps to buy soda but were rebuffed by the Department of Agriculture.  (According to the New York Times, food stamps are currently used to purchase $4 billion worth of soda a year.  Times food commentator Mark Bittman calls that “a nice subsidy for soda and commodity corn producers, as well as for makers of insulin.”)

Enter the “Big Gulp” controversy. In September 2012, the New York City Board of Health successfully passed a proposal to set a maximum size for sugary drinks of no more than 16-ounces. The vote by the eight-member Board was unanimous.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a big supporter of the policy, has been taking the heat for backing smaller soft drinks ever since.  The beverage industry and other business owners spent millions fighting the limits and early in March, the soda law was struck down in court.  Justice Milton A. Tingling of State Supreme Court in Manhattan called the limits “arbitrary and capricious.”  The Mayor has vowed to appeal the ruling.

“I’ve got to defend my children, and yours, and do what’s right to save lives,” the mayor said. “Obesity kills. There’s no question it kills.”

He added, “We believe that the judge’s decision was clearly in error, and we believe we will win on appeal.”

The Mayor and the Board of Health see the fight against “big sugar” as this century’s equivalent to recent battles against “big tobacco.” The board has taken action against other threats to the public health in the past, including banning the use of lead in paint, preventing brain damage in tens or hundreds of thousands of children, and by establishing the need for window guards in apartments where toddlers live.

Opponents to government efforts to limit soda sizes say the law may be a “slippery slope,” one that will lead to defining which foods are nutritious and which aren’t. But many healthy nutrition advocates – and I count myself among them – think the time has come for government to take a more comprehensive approach to food policy.  Perhaps tax dollars could be used to subsidize food that offers real nutrition, rather than supporting suppliers of high fructose corn syrup.

A Walk in the Park

This just in from the New York Times:  a study from Scotland has scientifically concluded that a walk in the park is good for you…especially for your brain.  If you live in an urban area filled with traffic, noise and too many people, you probably “get” this right away.  Walking in a quiet, leafy space of grass, green trees, plants and flowers has a soothing effect,  a natural treatment for a condition known as “brain fatigue.”

My friend Bill, a talented photographer, gets away from his computer-induced brain fatigue by walking in the historic cemetery near his home in Lynn, Massachusetts.  I thought I’d share Bill’s beautiful video portrait of his typical walk, as winter gives way to spring and as we go through a week of Easter, Passover and other rituals of rebirth and renewal.

Reiki for Self Healing

I recently attended a Reiki Level Two workshop at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health.  Reiki is an ancient Japanese hands-on healing technique that is both simple and effective.  I wanted to add this particular style of energy work to my holistic practice and planned to offer it to family, friends and clients.  What has surprised me is how much I am using it to enhance my own health and well-being.

Reiki is powerful self-healing. The word “reiki” means the same as “prana” – the universal life force or healing energy that’s available to all of us. I find Reiki particularly useful as a stress management tool…it brings deep relaxation and facilitates a good night’s sleep.  If I wake up in the middle of the night with a restless “monkey mind”, a Reiki session never fails to put me back into a deep slumber. Others use it to relieve pain and promote healing, or simply to facilitate personal growth.

I studied with Libby Barnett, MSW, who has been teaching Reiki to yogis, massage therapists, doctors, nurses, patients and folks seeking inner peace for more than 30 years.  I highly recommend her – she’s a skillful teacher with a kind heart and wonderful sense of humor.