Happy Healthy Long Life

NFL Star Tony Gonzalez' New 80% "Veganish" Diet Book - The All-Pro Diet: Lose Fat, Build Muscle, and Live Like a Champion

"OK, this is working.  I have so much more energy when I'm out there."

-Tony Gonzalez, 80% Vegan NFL Player-

"People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease...People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease.  These results could not be ignored."

                                                     -T. Colin Campbell, The China Study-

Ever since I heard that NFL record holder Tony Gonzalez was a fan of Dr. T. Colin Campbell's The China Study--a vegan wannabe (maybe an 80%er)--and a Green Smoothie fan--I've been periodically scanning the newspapers, magazines and the net to see if he's still following his "veganish" diet. 

Until today I hadn't read anything new about Tony.  I figured he'd ditched the plant-based eating plan a year ago, and was back to pizzas & steak.

Wrong.  He's been busy writing a book on what's working for him--along with the KC Chief's Nutritionist, Mitzi Dulan.  The book--The All-Pro Diet: Lose Fat, Build Muscle, and Live Like a Champion--came out last week, but I just learned about it today.

Looks like Tony--who now plays for the Atlanta Falcons--is still on his 80% "veganish" program--and apparently it's working. 

"Now in The All-Pro Diet, Gonzalez reveals the program, low in animal protein and high in whole organic plant-based and unprocessed foods, that has given him more strength, stamina, and energy than ever before. The first-ever diet and fitness plan from an NFL player, this book will show you how to make simple lifestyle changes and dietary adjustments so you can feel stronger, healthier, and more energetic than ever before."    

"A perennial Pro-Bowler, NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez has been an unstoppable force for all of his 12 years in the NFL. But for a long time, he ate like an average American: red meat, pizza, fast food, whatever was plentiful and convenient. Concerned about his long-term, post-career health, Tony decided to change his diet. With the help of Mitzi Dulan, nutritionist for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals, Tony embarked on a revolutionary new clean-eating and exercise regimen that changed his life, elevated his physical and mental performance, and resulted in dramatic, measurable improvements on and off the field. It was this dietary change that led him to break two NFL records—most touchdowns and receptions by any tight end in NFL history—in a single season."       --book jacket description-

I had a chance to look at some excerpts of the book--and you can too!  It looks like Tony sticks to a plant-based low-fat diet for at least 2 out his 3 meals.  He limits the animal protein to mostly omega-3 rich fish, grass-fed-no-feedlot chicken and meat,  omega-3 enriched eggs, and some low-fat dairy. 

Too bad Dr. Campbell's "candidate-for-worst-food"--whey powder--is offered as an option for a protein-booster for morning smoothies.  To be fair, the book does suggest a number of plant-based protein supplements.

I don't think Dr. T. Colin Campbell is going to be using Tony Gonzalez as his China Study poster child anymore--but, frankly, Tony's book is a great first step for anyone who isn't quite ready to go "whole hog vegan", but wants to clean up their diet, and up their intake of real unprocessed foods. 

It pretty much follows the clean-eating Michael Pollan Principle of, "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.  Don't Eat Anything Your Great-Grandmother Wouldn't Recognize As Food".

Here Are Some Excerpts:

The Top 10 Best Foods

(in no particular order)

1.  Blueberries

2.  Broccoli

3.  Legumes

4.  Oats

5.  Oranges

6.  Spinach

7.  Sweet potatoes

8.  Tomatoes

9.  Walnuts

10. Wild salmon

5 All-Pro Health Tips

1. Try to incorporate at least one plant-based meal into your diet every day. Try black bean soup or quinoa as your protein source at mealtime. It's good for your health, will help you save money and the environment.

2. Eat a clean, whole foods type of diet and always read the ingredient label. Look for foods that have easy to pronounce ingredients and short or single ingredient lists.

3. Load up on fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are full of powerful disease-fighting nutrients.

4. Make the switch to whole grains nutrient rich energy. Whole grains have more protein, fiber and overall nutrients. Choose whole grain breads, brown rice, whole wheat pancakes, whole wheat pasta, etc.

5. Eat a source of protein at every meal. Protein helps to build and repair muscles, keep your immune system strong, and will keep you satisfied. Aim for protein sources like fish, chicken and beans.

All-Pro Snack Ideas

1 whole wheat pita with 2 tablespoons hummus
30 pistachios
1⁄4 cup walnuts
1⁄4 cup almonds
10 baby carrots with 3 tablespoons
hummus
Raw Revolution energy bar
LÄRABAR energy bar (the Healthy Librarian's personal fave)
CLIF Nectar bar
YouBar
Gnu Bar
PURE Bar
Prana Bar
Zing Bar
1⁄3 cup guacamole with 12 multigrain or sweet potato tortilla chips
AppleBoost energy snack tubes
1 orange
1 apple
1 cup berries
1 medium banana
1 cup fresh pineapple
2 cups watermelon
1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
2 ounces salmon, venison, or beef jerky
1⁄2 tuna sandwich
1 hard-boiled egg
Cashew butter and honey sandwich (whole wheat bread)
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (whole wheat bread)
Mini-smoothie (1 cup hemp milk with 3⁄4 frozen banana)

Mitzi's Berrylicious Smoothie - 1 serving 16 ounces

1 cup hemp milk or organic 1% cow’s milk
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 scoop protein powder (hemp or whey)
1 large handful fresh baby spinach
Blend well and enjoy!

Per Serving: 282 calories, 29 g protein, 41 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat

Check out more tips, recipes, and meal plans from Tony's book here.  Look under Publisher's Summary--Download Accompanying Reference Material.

So, Why Am I Interested in Tony Gonzalez' Diet & Eating Habits?

Long story short.

I got into this whole plant-based (aka vegan) eating thing back in March 2008 when The China Study author, Dr. T. Colin Campbell came to speak at the Wellness Grand Rounds at my medical center.  His topic?  "Can Medical Practice Tolerate Nutritional Intervention?"  Read that story, here.

My interest was piqued when Dr. Campbell said  KC Chief's NFL star Tony Gonzalez (now an Atlanta Falcon's tight-end) decided to start a vegan diet after reading only 40 pages of The China Study.

Gonzalez had learned about Campbell's research on a plane flight last Spring when his seat mate turned down a meal offered in first class. 

When Gonzalez asked him why, he told him about Dr. Campbell's research "showing that people who eat mostly plants have fewer deadly diseases than those who eat animals." 

Gonzalez started a vegan diet immediately, and according to Dr. Campbell he had his best season ever, breaking his touchdown record before mid-season, and his career reception record. 

Since I'm a nosy & skeptical librarian, I had to verify Dr. Campbell's story, and sure enough I got the full Tony Gonzalez story from a January 25, 2008 Wall Street Journal article that you can read here!   It's a great article, with a lot of supplementary nutritional advice from sports nutritionists, so I highly recommend taking a look at it.

First of all,  247 lb. Tony is the NFL's highest paid tight-end and his "biggest thing is strength."  Sports nutritionists usually recommend that athletes get lots of protein to rebuild muscles, and big doses of vitamins and minerals. The KC Chief's training table serves up 3500 calories per athlete a day, with  choices  like eggs, sausage and prime rib. Tony was going to have quite a challenge on his hands to eat vegan.  He needed lots of calories, and lots of protein.

Turns out Gonzalez quit eating meat & dairy "cold turkey", without getting advice from a nutritionist.  BIG MISTAKE! 

Three weeks later he'd lost weight & strength.  100 pound dumbbells that he could easily throw around before, now felt like lead weights.  "I was scared out of my mind", he said. 

Before quitting his vegan diet, he called up Dr. Campbell who put him in touch with Jon Hinds, a vegan and former strength coach for the LA Clippers basketball team.  His suggestion:  more plant protein, like soy, beans, or a rice/ pea protein powder of all things. 

But the Chief's nutritionist, Mitzi Dulan  (the co-author of Tony's new book) still didn't think that was enough, so she convinced Tony to add just a little bit of chicken and fish into his diet.  Read that story here.

And judging by the contents of Tony's book--he's been following Mitzi Dulan's advice ever since.  Looks like it's working just fine.

But as far as Mitzi's Smoothies are concerned--I think mine beat hers hands down--especially when it comes to high-powered nutrition.  I've been drinking these smoothies daily now for almost 1 1/2 years, and I'm a believer.

Read that story here.

After a Year of Change, a Summer of Road Trips and House Guests, I Discovered Kelly Corrigan's Transcending Words of Wisdom

Where has the summer gone?  Wondering why my posts have been so few & far between?

This has definitely been The Amazing Summer of Road Trips and House Guests.  Sandwiched in between going to work.

Since June we've clocked in 21 days on the road visiting friends and family in New York City, DC and Cincinnati--and of course, celebrating the birth of our first grandson.

Followed by 13 days of hosting New York City, DC, Cincinnati & Florida family.

Winding it all up with a 9 day road trip to Kiawah Island, SC.

 

Fourth of July in DC

A Few of Our Summer Visitors

 

Exploring Brooklyn Botanical Garden

 

The V-Spot in Park Slope Brooklyn

 

Summer in Brooklyn

Cincy Weekend with My Sis & B-I-L

 

My B-I-L's Mom Sylvia at 94.  She's Amazing!

The Mystery House Guest. The Mouse Child. Who Nibbled on the Figs?

A week ago my husband and I took off for Kiawah Island, South Carolina.  It was the perfect ending to the summer. 

If you want to reset your brain--de-stress--Kiawah is the place!  It's nothing but sunshine and miles of pristine uncrowded beaches and bike paths--jumping waves, boogie boarding, bike hikes, beach walks, books and board games.  No night life.  Plan on doing most of your own cooking.

It's the antidote to a go-go-got-to-see-it-all-and-do-it-all vacation.

Two days before we took off for Kiawah my neighbor Laurie left a copy of Kelly Corrigan's The Middle Place in my mailbox with a note:

"I hope you haven't left on vacation yet.  Enjoy!"

I devoured it in one delicious gulp.  I can't remember the last time I enjoyed & was uplifted by a book as much as this one.  No doubt about it--the uninterrupted time on the beach certainly helped.

So, I'm now an official Kelly Corrigan fan. This is the true story of a thirty-something mom-wife-daughter-sister-girlfriend with a gift for giving an unashamed honest voice to her life--with all her insecurities, flaws, whinings, jealousies, disappointments, slip-ups, joys, and triumphs.  She's smart, caring,  knows how to party, and is the kind of person you'd want to hang out with when life takes a turn for the worse.

Just when her life was cruising along with 2 adorable daughters and an adoring husband--oops--out-of-the-blue she finds a lump in her breast--and it's stage three.  And then her dad's cancer recurs with a vengeance. 

Make no mistake.  This isn't the usual cancer survival story.  It's so much more.  But I'll let you discover that for yourself.   

But here's my question.  How did I happen to miss even hearing about this book before it landed in my mail box two weeks ago?

And one more thing.  I fell for this book on page 3 of the prologue, when Kelly describes her Dad.  If I had it in my power to choose how I operated in the world--I'd choose to look at it like George Corrigan!

"I think people like him because his default setting is open delight.  He's prepared to be wowed--by your humor, your smarts, your white smile, even your handshake--guaranteed, something you do is going to thrill him.  Something is going to make him shake his head afterward, in disbelief, and say to me, "Lovey, what a guy!" or "Lovey, isn't she terrific?"  People walk away from him feeling like they're on their game, even if they suspect that he put them there."

Kelly wrote the following essay when she turned 40.  I'm somewhere in the "middle place" age-wise, between Kelly & her mom--the subjects of this essay.  But age doesn't matter a bit here.  I know you'll "get" exactly what Kelly is talking about in this reprint of her "post-book" essay.  Now, you have a choice here.  Watch Kelly tell her story--or read her words--or both.

Transcending: Words on Women and Strength by Kelly Corrigan  Click here to see the video

"I turned 40 a few weeks ago. I tried (twice) to make a toast about friendship but both times, I blew it. I wanted to say something about my mom and her friends, who call themselves “The Pigeons.”

There were once at least a dozen “Pigeons” (I believe the name was a self-effacing twist on Hens) but in the past few years, they lost two of the greats, Robin Burch and Mary Maroney, to cancer. On the pigeons go, though, like women do, limping one minute, carrying someone the next. They started in the 60s, in suburban Philadelphia, with bridge and tennis and chardonnay (ok, vodka) and, over time, became something like a dedicated fleet, armed ships sailing together, weather be damned.

For me and women of my generation, it started with playdates, cutting carbs and meeting on Monday mornings in workout clothes to do awkward moves with large colorful balls. And I can see exactly where it’s heading.

We’ll water each other’s plants, pick up each other’s mail, take each other’s Christmas card photos. We’ll confer about jog bras and contractors and pediatricians. We’ll gossip about babysitters, teachers, neighbors, in-laws. We’ll speculate about who had a shot of Botox, who cheats on their taxes, who cleans until midnight. We’ll implore each other to read this book or see this movie or listen to this song. We’ll persuade each other to bake, sell, recruit, fold, stuff, paint, clean and write checks for our favorite non-profits.

We’ll celebrate each other’s achievements –opening an exercise studio, a corner store, a jewelry business. We’ll celebrate our kids’ achievements – making the traveling team, singing in the choir, learning to use the potty or speak French or play the flute. We’ll borrow eggs, earrings, extra chairs, galvanized tubs for a barbeque. We’ll throw birthday parties for each other and stain the rugs and shatter the wine glasses and mark up new counters with the odd slice of lemon. We’ll worry about who seems down, who looks tired, whose drinking more and more. We’ll say things we wished we hadn’t and have to find a way to regain each other’s trust. Things will break, they always do. Many will be fixed.

We’ll fret over our children—too shy, too loud, too angry, too needy. We’ll brainstorm ways to help them become more resilient, patient, forgiving, light-hearted. We’ll protect them—fiercely—pulling little bodies from the deep end, double-latching windows, withholding car keys.

We’ll bury our mothers and our fathers—shuttling our children off for sleepovers, jumping on red eyes, telling each other stories that hurt to hear about gasping, agonal breaths, hospice nurses, scars and bruises and scabs and how skin papers shortly after a person passes. We will nod in agreement that it is as much an honor to witness a person come into the world as it is to watch a person leave it.

People will drift in and out. Book clubs will swell and thin. We’ll write someone off and they’ll reemerge later and we’ll remember both why we loved them and why we let them slip away but we’ll be softer and we’ll want them back, for nostalgia will get stronger.

We’ll admire each other for a fine crème brule, a promotion, a degree, a finished marathon. We’ll commiserate about commutes, layoffs, mortgage rates, bosses, unappreciated toys.

We’ll confide in each other about feeling anxious or angry or uninteresting or uninspired or how many pieces of Halloween candy we accidentally ate from our kids’ bags.

We’ll confess that our husbands don’t really listen to us or that we should be having more sex or that we yell at our kids every day. We’ll admit that we believe in God, Jesus Christ, Heaven and Hell, or that we don’t.

We’ll give up things together—caffeine, catalogs, Costco, social smoking. We’ll take up things too—morning walks, green tea, organic dairy, saying grace.

We’ll throw potlucks and take each other to lunch and give each other frames and soaps and bracelets. We’ll check each other’s heads for lice and examine new bumps and moles and listen to lists of symptoms. We’ll diagnose each other’s brown lawns, torn muscles, basement odors. We’ll teach each other how to set a ring tone, make a slide show, download a movie.

We will call and say “I heard the news” and whatever the news is, we will come running, probably with food. We’ll insist on taking the kids, finding second opinions, lots of rest and the best surgeon. We will face diseases, many kinds, and will—temporarily—lose our hair, our figures and our minds.

Eventually, someone whose not supposed to die will, maybe one of us, maybe a husband, God forbid a child, and all this celebrating and sharing and confessing will make certain essential comforts possible. We’ll rally around and hold each other up and it won’t be nearly enough but it will help the time pass just a hair faster than it would have otherwise. We will wait patiently and lovingly for that first laugh after the loss. When it comes, and it will come, we will cry as we howl as we clutch as we circle. We will transcend, ladies. Because we did all this, in that worst moment, we will transcend.

Anyway, that’s what I wanted to say."

Ditto!!  We get by with a little (OK-a lot) help from our friends (and family, most definitely)  Thanks for a wonderful summer and the help in the kitchen, artistically arranging my "party table", the flower arrangements, the "Classic Cookies", the shoulders to lean on, the listening ears, the understanding, the hospitality, the amazingly delicious vegan meals, the schlepping me around NY, the tours of Brooklyn, Wave Hill, DC, Cincinnati and gorgeous gardens, making caramelized onion pizza, going to see "Away We Go" when you'd rather not, foot rubs, playing "SingStar", washing dishes, the belly laughs, and just plain showing up.  I love you all!

George Washington, David Brooks, and P.M. Forni Were All In Search of Dignity - How About "Choosing Civility - The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct"?

 

"We still need to believe in something that will give us our vital daily dose of meaning and motivation.  As we grapple with the complexities of our age, I suggest that we agree on one principle:  that a crucial measure of our success in life is the way we treat one another every day of our lives....Good relationships make our lives good; bad relationships make our lives bad.  We are usually happy (or unhappy) with others."

-P.M. Forni, cofounder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project-

Two Unrelated Items Serendipitously Linked: 

1.  Last week's staff meeting left me feeling vaguely uncomfortable & uneasy.  A colleague threw out a general plea to the more senior staff for some sage advice and an experienced critique of her new project. 

Instead of enthusiasm, encouragement, and offers of one-on-one help, she got unintentional-yet-dismissive advice, "Go online and take a look at how it's done."  "There are on-line books and manuals to teach you how to do that."  Right!  Thanks, a lot!  Just what you want to hear, "Read the manual." 

2.  Right after work I happened to read the Most Popular E-Mailed Article in the New York Times for the day:  David Brooks',  In Search of Dignity.  Brooks' subject is about the downward drift of dignity in today's politicians & celebrities--the Mark Sanfords, Sarah Palins, & Michael Jacksons--and yes, all the rest of us.

Civility has hit the skids.  Manners and morals are history.  And it's all about ME these days. 

Brooks holds George Washington up as our civility maven--our country's standard bearer.  You see, George methodically worked on making himself a better person.  Trust me--this is no small feat.

"When George Washington was a young man, he copied out a list of 110 “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” ( Click here for a look at George Washington's 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior.) Some of the rules in his list dealt with the niceties of going to a dinner party or meeting somebody on the street.

They were designed to improve inner morals by shaping the outward man. Washington took them very seriously. He worked hard to follow them.  Throughout his life, he remained acutely conscious of his own rectitude. In so doing, he turned himself into a new kind of hero.

But the dignity code itself has been completely obliterated. The rules that guided Washington and generations of people after him are simply gone.

We are all encouraged to become managers of our own brand, to do self-promoting end zone dances to broadcast our own talents. Second, there is the cult of naturalism. We are all encouraged to discard artifice and repression and to instead liberate our own feelings." 

-David Brooks-

Who doesn't need a kick in the pants to remind us about the simple rules of civility that have been around in one form or another for thousands of years, appearing in the texts of all religions, from Judaism and Christianity to Confucianism and Hinduism, from Victorian books of manners, to philosophers from Plato to Kant?  Goodness knows, I do!

But wait--P.M. Forni, started the Johns Hopkins Civility Project back in 1997 & he has made it his personal mission to compile a quintessential readable rulebook on being nice without being a doormat.

I adored this book when I first read it seven years ago, and I'm still a fan now that I've rediscovered it tucked away on my book shelf--thanks to getting a kick in the pants from David Brooks last week.

P. M. Forni's  wise-slim-witty-practical book, Choosing Civility came out in 2002.  It was adopted by cities, and schools & organizations.  But I haven't heard much about it lately.  That's too bad, because it's a gem--worth dipping back into often.

This book isn't sugar-coated fluff.  It's practical advice for just plain improving our day-to-day contact with everyone we encounter at work, at home & in our daily lives--including everyone that makes us want to scream or tear our hair out--like inconsiderate drivers, obnoxious loudmouths, and rude sales clerks.  

So, here's the Cliff's Notes version.  The bare bones.  The book is so much better!

The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct

1.  Pay Attention

"A human moment occurs anytime two or more people are together, paying attention to one another."    -Edward M. Hallowell-

"Every act of kindness is, first of all, an act of attention.  We may see a coworker in need of a word of encouragement, but it is only if we pay attention that we may do something about it."    -P.M. Forni-

"A car in trying to join the traffic flow from the parking lot to my right.  Since the traffic is bumper-to-bumper, if everybody thinks of that car as just  another car, its driver will be stuck forever.  I slow down to let him in ahead of me."    -P.M. Forni-

2.  Acknowledge Others

"Every action done in company, ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present."       -George Washington-   

"Acknowledge others' existence, their importance to you, their feelings, and the things they do for you.  Remembering someone's name--paying a thoughtful compliment--just saying hello..."  -P.M. Forni-

3.  Think the Best

"There is no doubt that thinking the best of others can boost the quality of your life.  Among other things, it will help you establish rapport with many people who otherwise would remain strangers."    -P.M. Forni-

"Look for the best in everybody.  If you wait long enough, people will surprise  & impress you."    -Randy Pausch-

4.  Listen

"Much of the conflict in our lives can be explained by one simple but unhappy fact:  We don't really listen to each other."    -Michael P. Nichols-

"What prevents us from doing a good job of listening is that instead of focusing on other people, we focus on ourselves and our needs.  This is what we do, for instance, when we interrupt."   -P.M. Forni-

5.  Be Inclusive

"The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manners for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in heaven, where there is no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another."    -George Bernard Shaw-

"Try speaking and listening to somebody you never liked."    -P.M. Forni-

"One of our strongest yearnings is to be accepted by others.  We love being welcomed by individuals, and we delight in the feeling of belonging to a group.  Thus attitudes and words that exclude rather than include are rarely funny.  In most cases they hurt."    -P.M. Forni-

6.  Speak Kindly

"A word of kindness is seldom spoken in vain, while witty sayings are as easily lost as the pearls slipping from a broken string."    -George Prentice-

"Speaking with consideration and kindness is at the heart of civil behavior.  To speak kindly you need to be aware constantly that you are speaking to living, breathing, vulnerable human beings."   -P.M. Forni-

7.  Don't Speak Ill

"Nobody ever gossips about other people's secret virtues."    -Bertrand Russell-

"Don't discount the power of your words.  The thought that they might hurt or discomfort should inform every conversation.  By speaking with kindness you improve the lives of those around you."    -P.M. Forni-

"By and large, the first, the important, the defining thing we want to know about our fellow humans is whether they are nice."    -P.M. Forni-

8.  Accept and Give Praise

"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."    -William James-

"By saying, "What you are doing is wonderful," we encourage those who are doing the wonderful thing to keep doing it.  Maybe in a small way, we become responsible for the continued existence of something wonderful."    -P.M. Forni-

9.  Respect Even a Subtle "No"

"The stranger sitting beside you on the plane is paying more attention to his or her laptop than your attempts to start a conversation--that's a No."    -P.M. Forni-

"We frequently fail to understand or choose to ignore signs of reluctance in others.  When that happens, we end up making others do what they would rather not or we force them to flat out say, "No," upsetting them in the process.  This is not civil."    -P.M. Forni-

10.  Respect Others' Opinions

"Among the most civil utterances of all time is the simple, humble, and smart question, "What do you think?"  Let's use it generously."    -P.M. Forni-

"There are at least two ways of showing disrespect for others on account of what they think.  One is by telling them that their opinions are crazy, stupid, worthless, and the like.  The other is by assuming that what we think must be what they think also."    -P.M. Forni-

11.  Mind Your Body

"The idea is to attract, not repel."    -Peggy & Peter Post-

12.  Be Agreeable

There are two fundamental abilities to cultivate in order to be agreeable in conversation: 

• The ability to consider that you might be wrong.
• The ability to admit that  you don't know.    -P.M.Forni-

13.  Keep It Down (and Rediscover Silence)

"Many people believe that constant noise is normal"    -Judith Martin-

14.  Respect Other People's Time

Punctuality is non-negotiable!    -P.M. Forni-

"Call waiting titillates the basest of impulses--greed and opportunism. It plays on our anxiety--the nasty little need to know what or who might be better than what we've got now."    -Lynne Sharon Schwartz-

15.  Respect Other People's Space

"Come not near the books or writing (or computer screen) of another so as to read them unless desired; also look not nigh when another is writing a letter (or an email)."    -George Washington-

16.  Apologize Earnestly

"Most apologies are gestures of empathy; they express regret for offending someone else's feelings or concerns.  Apologizing implies that you are aware of the feelings of another and can empathize sufficiently to regret have injured that person."    -Daniel Jankelovich-

"Apologizing is a decent thing to do, but it is not true that the more we do it the better human beings we are.  As we become more aware of the needs of others and more willing to honor them, we find ourselves apologizing less frequently."    -P.M. Forni-

17.  Assert Yourself

"Wanting to please others is a noble sentiment at the root of civility and an indispensable ingredient in happy relationships.  However, just as crucial for our happiness is the ability to establish firm personal boundaries."    -P.M. Forni-

18.  Avoid Personal Questions

"Taboo questions continue to make the rounds, kept in business by our inexhaustible curiosity about the business of others.  Religion, politics, health, money, personal relationships, and physical appearance--forget about it!"    -P.M. Forni-

19.  Care for Your Guests

"To entertain a guest is to make yourself responsible for his happiness."    -Anthelme Brillat-Savarin-

"An essential goal of playing host is that of getting to know your guests better and strengthening your mutual bonds.  To do that you only need to listen and talk from the heart."    -P.M. Forni-

20.  Be a Considerate Guest

"When invited to a dinner or a party, respect both times of arrival and departure.  Don't overstay your welcome, but don't leave too soon.  Rely on common sense and your hosts' cue.   -P.M. Forni-

21.  Think Twice Before Asking for Favors

"Don't ask for favors too casually or too often--recognize the amount of effort you're requesting.  If possible, accomplish your task in some other way...Be clearly grateful for a favor done.  Even if the task appeared easy for the person, give full credit--the person may be keeping the difficulties or unpleasantness of the effort from you."    -Janet Gallant-

22.  Refrain from Idle Complaints

"What concerns me is the continuous or recurring complaining that is an unwarranted spreading of misery.  It is the kind that bespeaks helplessness rather than assertiveness, is more interested in assigning blame than in finding solutions, and is rooted in the feeling that life is unfair."    -P.M. Forni-

23.  Accept and Give Constructive Criticism

"It's almost impossible not to enjoy the sense of validation that comes with praise, but it is criticism that makes us learn what we are unable or unwilling to learn by ourselves.  Whenever we turn our back on good criticism we do so at our own peril."    -P.M. Forni-

24.  Respect the Environment and Be Gentle to Animals

"We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."    -Native American saying-

25.  Don't Shift Responsibility and Blame

"I simply cannot conceive of any circumstance in our daily lives when it would be appropriate or advantageous to be rude or boorish.  The powerful combination of self-respect and respect for others should make it almost impossible for us to choose incivility, if we manage to remain clearheaded even in challenging situations."    -P.M.Forni-

The Most Unlikely Book Club to Love Kevin Roose's "Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University"

"When I got to Liberty for the first day of orientation week, I expected to be completely unhappy, mostly because Liberty's 46-page code of conduct – which prohibits drinking, smoking, R-rated movies, cursing, and dancing – wiped out basically 95% of my daily life. After I got used to the rules, though, I actually found that the rigid discipline was actually sort of refreshing. It gave me an incredible amount of structure in my life, and I felt happy and productive there."

Kevin Roose, author of "Unlikey Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University"

Here's the pitch

Roose grew up in Oberlin, Ohio, "the product of the ultimate, secular, liberal upbringing", with next to no contact with conservative Christian culture.  He was raised a Quaker & rarely went to church. He's smart, savvy, liberal & open-minded. His parents even worked for Ralph Nader in their twenties.  He goes to ultra-liberal free-spirited Ivy League Brown University--the polar opposite of a school like Liberty University. 

No semester study-abroad in Italy or Prague for Roose.  He decides to really broaden his cultural education.  He enrolls for a semester at Jerry Falwell's evangelical Christian Liberty University in Lynchberg, Virginia--"a bastion of Christian purity--sort of the anti-animal house."

This is a self-described "Bible Boot Camp" for evangelicals--Falwell's training ground for the next generation of America's Religious Right.   

Most parents are nervous about sending their college-age kids off to a foreign country--Kevin's parents were scared to death to send Kevin off to Liberty University, fearing some sort of subtle conversion.

His semester turns out to be nothing like he expected. 

With a course load that included Old Testament, New Testament, Evangelism 101, and The History of Life--Liberty's Creation Biology, he had to work hard to get even mediocre grades.

It Was My Turn To Select a Book for Book Club

It was April 15th, and our book club was meeting on May 30th. It was our turn to come up with the next book & my husband & I had finally settled on 2 possible books for the group. 

I was about to send out the email for a vote when I read Gretchen Rubin's interview with Kevin Roose on her blog and my email suddenly changed.  This book sounded terrific.  I quickly added "Unlikely Disciple" to my list of book choices for the group and within hours everyone agreed that they wanted to read Kevin's book.

So Why Would This Book Club Be Unlikely Fans of "Unlikely Disciple"?

Because this book club--made up of couples in their 40s & 50s--are practically like Kevin's parents--remember, they were not too happy about his transfer to Liberty U.

Our book club has been meeting for almost 17 years.  Half of the group are doctors, who value science, and don't exactly understand the teaching of creationist biology in a university.  None of us are Christian, and our politics wouldn't be described as staunchly conservative--for the majority of us, that is.

WE UNANIMOUSLY LOVED THIS BOOK!!!  In the almost 17 years we've been meeting this is only the 2nd book that everyone has loved, hands down.  The other one was:  The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen. The other-almost-favorite was Captain Corelli's Mandolin, written by Louis de Bernieres.

Why We Loved the "Unlikely Disciple"

1. It's wise, funny, compassionate, balanced, hopeful, well-written and entertaining. There's nothing snarky, mean-spirited, cynical or condescending about it--which is a welcome relief.

2. Kevin experiences everything at Liberty: a spring-break evangelical mission to Daytona Beach; one-on-one spiritual counseling with Pastor Seth; dating the old-fashioned way; singing in the famous Thomas Road Church choir; participating in a self-help group that helps student's dial-down their sexual thoughts; and good old-fashioned single-sex dorm camaraderie.

3.  As strict as the rules are at Liberty, on balance, there's a lot to recommend it--and it mostly works.  The students are engaged, healthy, and happy--especially compared to those at many secular colleges.

4.  The book has a lot to say about the danger of stereotyping individuals by their group affiliation--and the value of getting to know people before making judgments.  The students Kevin met were nothing like his preconceived notions--and the same could be said for Jerry Falwell.  Get to know people, and opinions change.

5.  We all got a kick out of Kevin's amazement at how easy it was to awaken in the morning--clear-headed & full of energy--with the help of an enforced curfew and rules barring alcohol.  And he even lost weight minus the alcohol.

Some of My Favorite Quotes

Kevin on Pastor Seth, his spiritual advisor:

"It comes back, I guess, to the difference between the form and content of Liberty's religious system.  I love the way Pastor Seth's faith motivates him to help me in my struggles.  I admire his compassion and selflessness.  I just wish he were calling to see whether I was returning my mom's phone calls, or whether I had left good tips at restaurants, or whether I had been nice to everyone I met today.  Working on masturbation when I have so many other flaws seems like putting fuzzy dice in a car whose transmission is falling apart.  I suppose it's better than nothing, but it doesn't feel like a particularly good use of anyone's time."

On learning the value of prayer--something Kevin has continued to practice since returning to Brown:

"Prayer may not always be entirely about G-d," Pastor Seth said. 
Here, Pastor Seth quoted the famous Christian author Oswald Chambers, who wrote: "It is not so true that prayer changes things as that prayer changes me and I change things."

From his interview with Gretchen Rubin:

"When I was living at Liberty, I had to learn how to pray.  I'm back at secular college now, but I still pray almost every day. Don't get me wrong:   I'm not an evangelical Christian, and I don't believe that G-d sits on his throne in heaven watching our requests flood into his cosmic inbox.  But I do think there's value in focusing on the needs of my friends and family members, trying to empathize with them for ten or twenty minutes a day.  It forces me to be aware of how lucky I am, and I really do think it motivates me to be more compassionate."

On trying to make sense of why certain moral values get higher priority than others at Liberty:

"(I feel) frustration with a religious system that gives issues of personal sexuality higher spiritual priority than helping the poor or living a life of service."

My favorite comment on the NPR story about Kevin:

"Through the whole piece I got the sense that NPR was surprised Mr. Roose found the folks at Liberty likable and even non-judgmental. When I was his age, in college, lol many years ago, I was religious but suspicious of Baptists, Pentecostals and other evangelicals. I volunteered in a Model City neighborhood teaching math skills. The people I kept running into were from evangelical Christian churches. They took very seriously the admonition to care for all God's children. Going back to the dorm where drunks were vomiting or passed out from binge drinking, I wondered which was a better way to live. I never became an Evangelical due to differences on dogma, but there saner, sober life of service seemed more rational (and safe).

Finally, there have been a rash of deaths in MN due to alcohol toxicity or impairment. Where would you want you kid to go to school. A place where, while conservative, was safe or a place that your kid lived a risky life due to the binge drinking?"  Bill Rowe   Sun May 31 09:5615 2009

If you are looking for a book for your book club that has something discussable--this is it!!  There's religion, the appeal of the group religious experience, sexual attitudes, morals, politics, humor, ethics, friendship, deception, as well as what constitutes a well-rounded university education.

We all agreed that this book was just plain good fun to read--all of us looked forward to reading it--and we all really liked Kevin Roose.  What could be better?

To Read More:

Gretchen Rubin's interview with Kevin Roose

NPR's Excerpt from the "Unlikely Disciple"

NPR's segment, "Undercover at an Evangelical University"

It's Official Baby Watch Time! Ricki Lake & Abby Epstein's "Business of Being Born" and "Your Best Birth"

Business of Being Born

Right now my family is on what I call "Baby Watch".   Our first grandchild was expected 3 days ago, on May 28th--so it's sure to arrive any day now.

Sometime mid-pregnancy, back in January, my daughter-in-law decided to make the switch from regular OB to midwife--from labor room to birthing room--from no support to using a doula--who is there to coach, guide, and comfort her from the earliest start of labor on through breastfeeding. 

With 1 out of 3 births ending up as C-sections, she wanted to up her odds for a normal delivery.

Soon after that, my son & daughter-in-law rented Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein's documentary about giving birth in the U.S., The Business of Being Born. That's when they knew they had made the best possible decision. 

But, babies & births are unpredictable.  If they should need a C-section or a specialist, it's all one floor down--or up--or down the hall.

I got caught up in their enthusiasm, rented the film, and found myself aghast at how much labor & delivery had changed, even from when I gave birth almost 30 years ago--which was natural, without monitors or anesthesia. And I felt downright elated when seeing the experiences of moms who chose the midwife route. The film is a must-see for anyone thinking about pregnancy.

So, What Is the Typical Hospital Birth Today?

1.  67% of women give birth laying down (the lithotomy position), their feet in stirrups, which slows down labor, closes the pelvis by 25-30%, and eliminates the ability of gravity to work in their favor.

2.  Squatting is less stressful for the mom--puts gravity to work--but it's inconvenient for the doctor--who wants to stand up & have a clear view of the birth canal.

3.  Almost 1/3 of U.S. women now have C-sections.  40-45% of women in New York's Suffolk & Westchester counties end up having C-sections.

4.  C-sections should only be performed when needed to guarantee the well-being of the mother and infant--never out of convenience. It should not be the first choice for healthy mothers.  C-sections are major surgery--increasing risks to mother & baby.

5.  Normal labor clears liquid from the infant's lungs, preparing the baby to breathe outside the womb--Cesarean's impede this process.  Studies have shown that a vaginal birth “primes” a baby’s immune system by exposing it to various bacteria as it moves through the birth canal.  In one large study babies born by C-section were 80% more likely to develop asthma.

6.  Pitocin, the drug used to stimulate labor, can cause painful contractions, which then assures the use of an epidural to relieve pain--which then slows down the contractions--can lead to more drugs--or fetal distress--and may increase the doctor's recommendation for a Cesarean.  Pitocin sets a mother up for  "cascade of medical interventions".

7.  Normal labor is slow, unpredictable & unprofitable.  Compare 12 hours of normal labor with the possible 20 minutes for a Cesarean--complete with an anesthesiologist.

8.  Interesting that C-Sections seem to increase at 4 o'clock in the afternoon & 10 o'clock at night.

9.  Attendance at Lamaze classes (natural childbirth) has dropped 14% between 2000-2005.

10.  Obstetricians have surgical training.  Normal deliveries are just "so boring".  Hospitals thrive on a high turnover.  Speeding labor helps to fill & empty beds more quickly.

11.  80% of women have epidurals today.  In years past the epidural was not given until the mother was 5 centimeters dilated--to insure that labor would not slow down.  If you were too far along--you were encouraged to "just tough it out".  All that has changed.  Now mom can have an epidural as soon as she's admitted to the hospital, if she wants one.

12.  Once you have an epidural you're going to be closely monitored.  Labor slows--pelvic muscles slacken--you have to watch a monitor to even know when to push--you increase your chances for a C-section or a forceps delivery or vacuum extraction.  In 1/5 of women, blood pressure drops--which can cut off oxygen to the baby--another reason for a C-section.

13.  Midwives & lactation specialists see differences in the babies whose moms had epidurals.  They are more sluggish, may be harder to soothe, and frequently have trouble latching onto the breast.

My recommendations: 

 

Check out Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein's brand-new book:  Your Best Birth.  Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience.  New York:  Wellness Central, 2009.

Favorite quote from the film:

"Yes there's bliss and there's pain & you cannot have bliss without pain.  It's one of those days when you know you're alive.  If I can do that--I can do anything!!"

Watch the documentary, "The Business of Being Born"
Click here if you don't see the trailer.

Is It Time to Reconsider Hormone Replacement Therapy? Winnifred Cutler's "Hormones and Your Health: The Smart Woman's Guide to Hormonal and Alternative Therapies for Menopause"

"Unfortunately....one large study (the Woman's Health Initiative - WHI) sent us back into the Middle Ages, because its data were misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misreported...But keep in mind that the majority of postmenopausal women who do not use hormonal-replacement therapy will not merely experience unpleasant symptoms; they will risk diseases brought about by loss of bone, loss of blood vessel elasticity, and decreased protection from cardiovascular disease."

Winnifred Cutler, PhD.

"Most experts say women should take hormones for only a few years after menopause, and only if their symptoms are severe. Now, in a new book, biologist Winnifred Cutler claims that Hormone Therapy is safe for long-term use and highly beneficial -- as long as you do it right. Here, she makes her case."

Stephanie Young, "The Other SIde of the Hormone Controversy. A New Argument for Hormones"

Oh Boy.  This book is sure to be controversial.  Ever since the WHI was halted in 2002 the "standard recommendation" has been:  Only go on hormones if your menopausal symptoms are intolerable, and then go on the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time! 

Dr. Cutler believes  this is not only unwise, it's an incorrect assumption.  "Panic trumped good science."

I happen to have a very savvy physician who is a national expert on menopause and women's health.  We've discussed at length the whole hormone issue and how the results of the WHI (the Women's Health Initiative) were misinterpreted, which basically brought the use of hormone replacement therapy to a screeching halt.

I read the results and the interpretations of the WHI study in the medical journals for myself, and together with my doctor's advice I made the completely radical & unorthodox decision to start hormone replacement therapy even though I didn't have any "intolerable" menopausal symptoms--which post-WHI, is the only reason to start HRT.

Full Disclosure Here:  I decided to take HRT for prevention--and because I knew from the literature, and the WHI, that if one wanted to receive any of the benefits of hormone replacement--like prevention of osteoporosis, urogenital health, possible brain health & flexible blood vessels--there is just a small window of opportunity when you can begin HRT.  If you wait too long after menopause to start, once blood vessels start to stiffen, you could put yourself at risk for adverse cardiovascular effects.

But I wasn't about to take Premarin, the equine-derived estrogen or a synthetic progestin like Provero or the combination of the two, called Prempro.  Let's just say, these are the synthetic hormones that were probably responsible for some of the adverse results of the WHI.

Together, we decided upon a regimen that closely duplicates a woman's natural cycle; the daily use of a bio-identical topical estrogen (estradiol-17 beta) cream called Estrasorb; and for 12 days a month--a bio-identical pill form of progesterone, called Prometrium.  As time went by--the doses of both of these have been cut in half.

Books and articles cross my desk constantly, but last week when I spotted Hormones and Your Health: The Smart Woman's Guide to Hormonal and Alternative Therapies for Menopause by Winnifred Cutler, I scooped it up and couldn't put it down.

What a find!  Finally, a book written in plain language by a biologist who has studied and written extensively about hormones and has reviewed many of the studies on the subject. Cutler studied over 3,000 peer-reviewed articles--and she cites 880 of them in her book.  

I've reserved a copy at my local library and I can't wait to read the entire book.  Dr. Cutler certainly has the credentials and background to write such a book, and she has no vested interest in selling hormones, no pharmaceutical research funding, or hidden agenda.

Be sure to read Stephanie Young's interview with Dr. Winnifred Cutler, "The Other Side of the Hormone Controver--A New Argument for Hormones" in More magazine, April, 2009.   Click here.

A Study You Should Know About But May Not:  KEEPS is an ongoing study--"Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study"--which aims to study what the WHI did not.  Can HRT prevent  cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis in particular) in women, if it's given early--immediately after menopause.  Unlike the WHI, it's comparing a bio-identical estrogen/progesterone combo with the synthetic Premarin.  Many researchers feel that bio-identical hormones given transdermally & right after menopause will make all the difference. For more click here.

In other words--it's the study that's answering the questions that the WHI did not.

Here are a few highlights from "Hormones for Your Health":

1.  How hormones got a bad name from the WHI study

• One result cannot be applied to all.  Dr. Fred Naftolin, an eminent biomedical scholar at Yale has said the "WHI has been inappropriately used to create guidelines (for physicians) that are incorrect for any group other than the overweight, average-seventeen-years-postmenopausal population on which the particular regimen (synthetic Premarin, Provera or Prempro) was tested."
• The study participants weren't particularly "healthy".  "The WHI participants ranged in weight from simply overweight to frankly obese, with an unusually high incidence of arterial hypertension and a high prescription drug use to control other conditions.  Nearly 50% of the study population started out with several serious cardiovascular risk factors."
• The WHI was not a preventive study.  The WHI, contrary to its claims, wasn't designed to study "primary prevention"--which is preventing disease in an already healthy population.  You can't study "primary prevention" in healthy women when the majority of the women  enrolled either already have cardiovascular disease or are at a high risk for getting cardiovascular disease, because they were overweight, well past menopause, & hypertensive.
• Not all progestins and estrogens are alike.  Synthetic progestins (medroxyprogesterone acetate-generic Provero) affect the body differently than bio-identical progesterone.  Research has long shown adverse cardiovascular effects from the synthetic form. The bio-identical variety is also dosed in a cycle that is similar to a woman's natural cycle--taken only 12 days a month.  Transdermal (topical) estrogen has a more favorable and safer effect than oral forms.

2.   Postmenopausal hormone deficiencies can lead to:

• Decline in bone quality
• Diminished cardiovascular health
• Urogenital atrophy--atrophy of the urogenital tissues in up to 47% of women.
• Wrinkled skin
• Blood vessel thickening and atherosclerosis
• Cognitive decline
• Increase in fat, decrease in muscle.

3.   Benefits of Hormonal Therapies--The Well-Known & Lesser-Known

• Skin benefits with increased thickness, greater blood flow, faster wound healthing, greater water-holding capacity, less wrinkling
• Healthier vaginal tissues.  Responsible for higher acidity which prevents infections; less dryness, less atrophy, less thinning, less urinary tract infections
• Less hot flashes & night sweats
• The nose benefits from estrogen & progesterone.  Without hormones the nose is drier, feels stuffier, produces less mucus.  Since the nose is the first line of defense against airborne infections, hormone therapy helps the body to fend off colds & flu.
• Estrogen and your voice.  There are estrogen receptors in the voice box--women taking HRT had fewer voice complaints, hoarseness, vocal cord dystrophy.
• Estrogen and your teeth.  More estrogen--less tooth loss.
• Estrogen and progesterone and your eyes.  Hormone users had better vision and fewer eye conditions.
• Estrogen and progesterone and sleep quality.  Hormone users had superior sleep quality compared to non-users.
• Estrogen as an antioxidant--lessening the damage of oxygen free radicals that attack the cell membranes of blood vessels.
• Estrogen and gut/intestinal function.  Helps the absorption of key minerals, like calcium,  and helps to maintain the healthy functioning of the gut
• Estrogen, more positive profile for maintaining stable blood sugar, and preventing type II diabetes.

4.  The Big Scare: The Hormone Breast Cancer Question

• Cutler devotes an entire chapter to explaining the entire controversy--how to understand in real numbers the actual risks; why the type of hormones; the kind of dosing & regimen (mimicking a natural cycle); and the method of delivery (oral vs. transdermal) are important to understanding this controversy.
• Breast cancer rates with statin therapy are comparable to breast cancer rates with HRT.
• "Even in the WHI study, the risk of breast cancer on an individual basis was low. In the WHI, of the 8,506 women taking Prempro, 166 cases of invasive breast cancer occurred; in the 8,102 assigned to placebo, 124 cases were detected, that is, 1.95 percent versus 1.53 percent, or a difference of 0.42 percent. So 99 percent of women will not be at increased risk of breast cancer regardless of which hormones they take."

  "And remarkably, most studies show that postmenopausal women who develop breast cancer when they are on hormones are less likely to die from it than postmenopausal women who have breast cancer and are not on hormone therapy. This points to the complexity of the relationship between hormones and breast health."

5.  Choose Hormones Wisely - What Should You Take?

• Estradiol-17 beta taken transdermally (patch, cream, gel).  This mode will not increase triglycerides, and it will enhance heart rate variability.
• Bio-identical progesterone like Prometrium taken on a natural cycle of 12 days a month.  A sequential regimen lowers the risk of breast cancer, builds better bones, better mental function and a healthier cardiovascular system.
• For urogenital health, consider the ESTring which delivers a very low dose of estrogen  (estradiol) at a steady rate locally, not systemically.  It's a small flexible ring inserted vaginally.  It's an option for women who aren't able to take hormones.

6.  Hormones and the Brain

• Estrogen increases the electrical activity of the regions of the brain responsible for verbal and spatial working memory.
• Hormone users perform better in tests of executive function, except when using the synthetic form of progestin (medroxyprogesterone acetate, Provera)
• The brain is receptive to estradiol-17 beta--accept no substitutes.
• Conjugated equine estrogens like Premarin, Prempro or their generic equivalents do not produce the same benefits as the bioidentical estrogen and Cutler believes they may be actually detrimental.  Steer clear of synthetic progestins, like Provera or the generic medroxyprogesterone acetate.

7.  Hormones and the Heart

• Women who start hormone therapy before age 60 have a significantly better likelihood of enjoying good cardiovascular health.
• The best scores of heart health in the Nurses Health Study were in women using hormones, and who had their uteruses & ovaries intact.
• Once women stopped taking hormones they lost their advantage over "never-users".
• A Swedish study found hormone users had lower triglycerides, lower LDL cholesterol, less obesity, less type-II diabetes, less carotid atherosclerosis and lower risk of developing calcium deposits in the coronary artery.

Click here for an excerpt, the Table of Contents & the Index.

Obviously, hormone replacement therapy isn't for everyone.  It's a decision for both you & your doctor.   We're all different, with different risk factors and family histories.  Cutler's book advises us to not get so easily scared by the WHI--to not dismiss the hormone option out-of-hand.  Read the book--and then make a decision.  But remember, there's only a small window of opportunity to start--should you choose to take the HRT route.

Good health isn't found in isolation--with just a pill, a patch or a cream--it must include exercise, a healthy diet, stress reduction, and a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. David Kessler, Former FDA Commissioner's New Book: The End of Overeating - Why A Chocolate Chip Cookie Has So Much Power Over Us - Fat, Sugar, Salt and the Brain

T. G. I. Friday's Parmesan-Crusted Sicilian Quesadilla

(sauteed chicken, sausage, bruschetta marinara, bacon, oozing with Monterey Jack cheese--coated with parmesan and pan fried to a crispy golden brown, then drizzled with a balsamic glaze--fat, salt & sugar)

"We used to think of food as something we ate to fill us up.  But in fact, much of the food we're eating--this trifecta of fat, sugar, and salt--stimulates us.  And we now see from the science--this highly palatable food is excessively activating the neural circuitry of our brains.  We now know...the reason we keep on eating is because of this sustained stimulation."                            

  -Dr. David Kessler, pediatrician, former FDA commissioner, former dean of the Yale & UCSF medical schools-

Dr. David Kessler is on a mission.  In his new book, "The End of Overeating",  he says sugar, fat, & salt change the brain.  That's why we can't stop eating even when we're full.  Chocolate-covered pretzels.  McDonald's french fries.  Sweet and Salty Chex Mix.  And the food industry, just like the tobacco industry, know this--and runs with it!

He wanted to figure out why it is so hard to control our eating?  Whether we're a healthy weight or over-weight--we all think a lot about food--and according to Kessler, controlling this urge is often hardest for those with a healthy weight.  You can skip right to this 4 minute video of Kessler for the whole fascinating explanation.

I stopped eating sugar/fat foods on January 1st, 2009.  My aim was to ditch my addiction to chocolate and to the fat mixed with sugar mixed with white flour desserts I loved--like chocolate-chip cookies-- and yes, I know, deep dark chocolate is good for us.  But, I could never take just one bite and stop.

Except for maybe 5 slip-ups over the past  4 1/2 months I've avoided sugar--and the longer I've stayed away, the less I craved it.  According to Kessler, I made a wise decision.  Sugar is the main driver of the addiction.  Then if you layer it with fat, it becomes even more addictive.

But food is love.  And when it comes to showing love, we all think fat, sugar & salt. 

• Dee brought a cake frosted with shortening & sugar into work yesterday to celebrate the signing of her new house and to thank us all for filling in for her during her extended house-closing-process.
• Yesterday, my son was coming home for a 2 week visit and I filled my grocery cart with fat-sugar-salt just for him (I'm off the stuff).  Sweet & Salty Chex Mix, Asiago Pepperoni bread, 2 pints of Graeter's ice cream & 10 home-baked M & M cookies.  What was I thinking?  These were his favorites as a teenager.  Now he's 25 years old.  What kind of a mother does that?
• Sara's out-of-town sister shipped her a super-gourmet cheesecake last month, just to show how much she cares. And yes, Sara is trying to eat healthy & control her weight.

We all know this fat-sugar-salt trifecta is killing us.  Why do we love it so much?  Why is it so hard to stop eating?  How can we avoid it?

Dr. David Kessler--the FDA commissioner under George H.W. Bush & Bill Clinton and the former dean of Yale and UC San Francisco Medical Schools

First it's evolution--we're already programmed with an attraction to sugar & fat.  Then it's neuroscience. Food that contains fat, sugar & salt changes the neuro-circuitry of our brains, and keep us addicted to this trio.  The first step to ditching the stuff is to understand how it messes with our minds--how it turns off the brain's satiation meter--and keeps us coming back for more.  Once you know this--it changes forever how you look at something like General Tsao's Chicken.

Food manufacturers know we can't resist the taste of fat-salt-sugar--which is exactly why they put it in our processed & restaurant food. 

Thanks to Kessler's FDA stint, grocery food is labeled for fat-salt-sugar content & if we look carefully at the labels, at least we know what we're buying at the grocery store.

The last hold-out is restaurants.  They don't have to label a thing.  And they know that the more fat-sugar-salt that goes into their menu, the more we will like it and the more we will eat.

Here's how Kessler says we can put the brakes on the fat-sugar-salt trio.  How we can limit this undo brain stimulation

• Take the bread away in a restaurant.  Reduce the desire for butter or olive oil.  Ditch the cue for fat.
• Structure your eating.  Set rules for yourself.  "I don't want this now.  I'm going to want something better later"
• Eat out less. You set the rules for what ingredients go into your food.  You'll avoid the restaurant chicken breast that's injected with a marinade of sugar & fat: ie orange juice, sweet & sour mix, citric acid, soybean oil, artificial colorings, triple sec, canola oil, tequila & salt.  Oy vay!
• Be aware that restaurant food is loaded with fat, sugar & salt on purpose!
• Change your food perceptions.  Change your food stimulus-reward response. When you see a huge plate of french fries, don't think, "Wow, that's great!  Think, "That's just fat on sugar on fat.  Yuck!"
• Worry about the children!  Kids from ages 3-5 are eating constantly, all day.  Fat, sugar, salt.  "Once you lay down the neural circuitry that gets activated by highly palatable food--that stays down for life."

Want to hear or read more about Kessler and "The End of Overeating"?

To hear him on Terry Gross' NPR show Fresh Air, click here.

To hear him on Diane Rehm's NPR show, click here--Kessler is the 11:00 am segment.

To read the Huffington Post's interview with Kessler (learn about "eatertainment") click here.

Read the complete transcript of Kessler's interview with Terry Gross, click here.

Some Q & A From The Esselstyn Father & Son Team: The Plant Strong Fireman & The Plant Perfect Doctor

"For too long we have been accustomed, taste-wise, to animal foods or foods and supplements derived from the wrong parts of plants, like their sugars, their oils (some of which we solidify and convert to trans fats!), and their refined flours without their outer bran layers.  Then we add salt to produce unhealthy products that find their way to store shelves as convenience foods."

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry, Cornell University, & author of the China Study in the foreward to the Engine 2 Diet.

When my friend Barb called to see if I wanted to go to Rip Esselstyn's local book signing on Wednesday night I said, "Sure."

But then I changed my mind.  I was already working late 2 nights this week--I don't need a signed copy of a book and besides, I figured I already knew everything he was going to say.  "What more is there to know?"  Wrong!

I changed my mind again when Ann Esselstyn called me at work--she wanted me to meet her son.  How could I say no?  I'm so glad I went!

This wasn't just a "book signing".  Rip is one terrific speaker.  He's funny, articulate, motivating & knows his stuff!  He had slides and video and he talked and answered questions for over an hour to an overflow crowd.  His dad, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn was close at hand when questions turned medical.

I didn't take notes--I stood the entire time--but believe me I learned a lot.  And talk about getting motivated.  In the audience were patients of Dr. E's whose health was given back to them by simply changing their diet--and there were also just regular folks, young & old who were following Rip's plan and have seen their weight drop, their cholesterol levels & blood pressures drop, and their energy surge.

So here's what I remember from the Q & A after Rip's talk.  Sorry--I checked most of the stats, facts & cholesterol numbers that I could--except for those of the husband/wife team at the end of this post!  Next time I'm taking notes.

What about olive oil?  My wife & I use it on our toast now.  I thought that was supposed to be good for you?

Oils are the most concentrated source of calories on the planet.  Yes, they're plant-based, but they're also just extracted calories.  Olive oil is 120 calories per tablespoon--14 grams of fat, 10-17% of it saturated.  It will make you fat & promote heart disease!  According to Dr. E, EVOO will inflame the endothelial cells of your blood vessels--which is bad news.  For the complete explanation read, "I'm going to miss my olive oil.  Who knew it wasn't so healthy after all?  Drs. Esselstyn, Ornish, Vogel & Rudel Did."

What's wrong with dairy products?  How are you supposed to get your calcium to prevent osteoporosis?

A plant-based diet, with lots of leafy greens, like kale, collard, spinach & Swiss chard, is one of the best sources of calcium.  Truth be told, the calcium in the leafy greens is more bio-available to the body than the calcium from dairy, and you'll need less of it.  We can only absorb about 20% of the calcium from dairy products.  And the counter-intuitive fact is:  animal protein (dairy & meat) acidifies the blood & causes calcium to leach out of the bones to neutralize it.  It's hard to believe, but true.  The rates of osteoporosis are highest in countries with the highest dairy consumption.  For a more complete explanation read, "Osteoporosis prevention.  A diet higher in fruits & vegetables & low in animal protein & grains."

Do you recommend any vitamins or supplements?

Ideally, we should all be getting our vitamins & minerals from whole real foods--vegetables, fruits & grains.  Study after study has shown disappointing results from "extracted" vitamins, like E, C, betacarotene, & selenium.  Spend your money on real food.

However, Dr. E recommends that everyone take 1000 IUs of vitamin D3 & 1000 mg of calcium daily, and a multivitamin to insure adequate amounts of B6, folic acid & B12.  Vegans need to make sure they are getting enough B12.  Rip takes 500 mcg of B12 a day--best if it's chewed or dissolved in the mouth.  It's also found in nutritional yeast, fortified soy milk, & fortified cereals. 

What about fish or fish oil capsules?  Don't we need our omega 3's?

Fish oil isn't a panacea and it can raise total and LDL cholesterol levels, increase your chance for hemorrhagic stroke, and suppress your immune system.  If the fish oil is rancid it releases disease-causing free radicals. Better to rely on ground flaxseed meal, walnuts, soybeans, and green leafy vegetables.  There are vegetarian forms of omega 3's, like the all important DHA (a must for pregnant women, babies & brains)--click here for more info.  And bottom line:  Where do the fish get their omega 3's?  From feeding off of plankton--microscopic plants.

What about the famous Okinawan Diet or the Mediterranean Diet?  Those diets all use oils and the people in those countries live the longest.

Those diets are very high in fruits, vegetables & whole grains compared to the typical American diet!  It's not the oil that keeps the Okinawans healthy, it's everything else they're eating.  And as for studies of the Mediterranean Diet--it is better than the standard American diet and the American Heart Association diet--but bottom line: added oil doesn't improve your health--it contributes to cardiovascular disease.

Do you recommend eating only organic fruits & vegetables?

Surprisingly, Rip eats mostly conventional produce.  According to him, given the economy & high cost of organics, it's just not an option for many of us.  Better to spend your limited resources on high quality produce than to get too hung up on organic vs. conventional.  Dr. T. Colin Campbell says, a plant-based diet trumps environmental carcinogens every time when it comes to disease prevention--maybe that's one way to look at it.  But if you're able to buy organic, here's the Environmental Working Group's ranked list of produce with the most pesticides.

Is a plant-based diet OK for young children?

Rip's son eats plant-based and his wife Jill ate plant-based throughout her pregnancy.  Their son weighed in at a healthy 8 lb., 7 oz.  The latest edition of the best-selling classic, "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care" recommends a plant-based diet for children age 2 and over.  As Rip says, "If you start them young, your kids will develop a palate that appreciates the subtleties of the plant foods."

What kind of weight-loss & cholesterol drops did you see with the Engine 2 Diet?

Average weight loss after 28 days was 14 pounds for men, 6-8 pounds for women.  But, Rip says keeping a food log is crucial, otherwise you tend to cheat.  Average cholesterol drops were a 40% drop for LDL (the bad stuff) & 30% for total cholesterol.  So what's it going to be?  Prescription drugs with potential side effects or a plant-based diet with benefits galore?

What about restaurant eating?  What about traveling and airport food?

Plan ahead--and don't be afraid to ask the restaurant to prepare foods without oil.  One of Dr. E's patients offered this fabulous advice:  Tell the waiter that you are "Highly allergic to oil of any kind--that the chef must leave it out!"  He has even used this subterfuge at The Cheesecake Factory of all places, and it worked. 

One man in the audience even brings his own uncooked whole wheat pasta to his favorite restaurant & the chef gladly cooks it for him!  When traveling, Rip is a fan of bringing along Larabars, Barbara's Wheat-free Fig Bars, nuts, whole grain pretzels, fruit, & Odwalla bars. My personal travel favorite is Dr. McDougall's breakfast cups.
For a terrific guide to help you find healthy airport restaurants check out this 2008 survey from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine.

What about soy products? Soy cheeses?

Soy in its most unprocessed states--that's fine--like edamame, tofu & tempeh.  Stay away from soy cheeses--most use casein, which is the main protein found in dairy products & has been shown to be cancer & tumor producing.  Also, steer clear of the processed soy products with long lists of unnatural ingredients--like soy hot dogs & buffalo wings.

What's the difference between Rip Esselstyn's book, "The Engine 2 Diet" & Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn's book, "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease"?

Rip's book is written for the average guy or gal.  He calls it, "The red-neck firemen guide to good health".  It's a quick read, easy to understand, and aimed at folks who are used to eating a typical American diet.  It's got the kind of recipes to appeal to the 20-30-40 somethings.  Dr. E's book is the more scholarly medical explanation of plant-based prevention--aimed at people who are staring heart disease in the face. But there's no way my 20-something kids would read it.  They would read Rip's book!  Personally, I like them both.  They're the perfect package.

What's the difference between Rip's diet & Dr. E's?

Rip calls his diet "Plant Strong" & his dad's diet "Plant Perfect".  Rip includes nuts, seeds, & nut butters in his meal plan--Dr. E--the purist--does not.  As Rip says, "Even though nuts are nutrient dense, they are also dense in fat--almost 80%--and are little calorie bombs.  Therefore, limit your nut intake to half a handful a day if you're trying to lose weight or drop your cholesterol."

Remember, Dr. E's audience is middle-aged or older--all of whom have some degree of heart disease--whether they know it or not!

I'm mostly vegetarian, eat a little bit of cheese & I'm a runner.  What would this diet do for me?

I met a fifty-something husband & wife at the book signing.  The husband had diagnosed heart disease & type-2 diabetes.  They have been seeing Dr. E for 2 months now and they are eating plant-based.  I'm sketchy on the particulars here for the husband, but he said he was taking diabetes medication twice a day and since switching his diet to plant-based he's dropped the dose to once a day & is taking only 5% of what he originally took.  His weight & cholesterol have both dropped considerably & he expects to eventually be off of all of his diabetes medication.

As for his wife, who was already slim, eating right & exercising--she dropped all added fats & cheese from her diet & went plant-based.  With just that little change, within 2 months she is at her slimmest (she looked great-not anorexic slim), and her pesky cholesterol that had climbed to over 200 from hormone replacement therapy & age is now down to 150.  Her previously elevated blood pressure is now in the low range without medication.  She's a true believer.

And this couple was just one of many who stood up to tell their success stories of weight loss, cholesterol, triglyceride & blood pressure drops from just switching to plant-based.

Time for some oatmeal with hazelnut milk, flaxseed meal, walnuts & dried cranberries for breakfast!  Followed up by my Green Smoothie mid-morning snack awaiting in the fridge.

If you get a chance to hear Rip Esselstyn speak, don't hesitate--just go!

The Secret To Success: Do Something You Love, Practice A Lot, Pay Attention & Get Feedback

"Pardon me sir, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?"
 "Practice, practice, practice!"

Arthur Rubinstein, Pianist

Want to get really good at something?  Want your kids to be successful?  No need to be a genius.  No need to have the perfect genes.  You don't even have to have talent.  All you need are 4 things.  At least that's according to 3 new books and a lot of research studies. 

1.  You need to find something you really enjoy doing.  Something that really interests you.

2.  You need to put your nose to the grindstone and practice for 10,000 hours.  That means, if you can only spare 2 hours a day, it's going to take you 13.75 years to get really good at something. 

3.  You need to practice with your head in gear--consciously, deliberately and methodically.  You need to break down each and every technique--think about what you are doing, to prevent your brain from going into its favorite mode, "sloppy automatic pilot".

4.  You need to find a knowledgeable mentor who will give you constant feedback, point out your tiniest errors, and push you to take on tougher challenges.  Simple, huh?

Oops!  So that explains why I'm not a a smashing success at anything.  I never liked to practice.  I love to take shortcuts.  And except for a couple of elementary school teachers I never had a mentor who pointed out my tiniest errors.

But, when I think about this prescription for success, it's absolutely right on the money. 

What are we best at?  The things we love to do.  The things we do everyday.  Violin, art, foreign languages, crafts, gardening, team sports?  Forget about it!  I was awful to mediocre.  Digging into books, looking for information or trying out new recipes?  Now that I could do everyday.

And for me, I know that I only improve when I do something consciously--methodically--analyzing carefully--thinking about how something works--figuring out what's working, what's not.  And that takes a lot of time.

The hardest thing to come by is feedback.  Let's face it--we rarely give honest constructive feedback to each other.  And we share the positive more than the negative.

Last week I heard our brand new division head at work introduce himself at a "town hall" sort of meeting.  Here's what he said--remember he's a scientist,  "I'm a feedback kinda guy.  I thrive on feedback.  Please let me know how I am doing, and how how you think we can do our jobs better."   So, I decided to send him a short "thumbs up"  feedback email about his talk. 

I love his reply:  "tx. feedback is a gift!"  So true.  We need to gift each other more often.


What Are The Three Books That Are Bursting The Genius Bubble?


Malcolm Gladwell.  The Outliers: The Story of Success.  Little, Brown, Nov. 2008.

Daniel Coyle.  The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born.  It's Grown.  Here's How.   Bantam, Apr. 2009

Geoff Colvin. Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everyone Else.  Portfolio, Oct. 2008.


Excerpts From David Brooks, NYT's article, "Genius:  The Modern View"

"What Mozart had, we now believe, was the same thing Tiger Woods had--the ability to focus for long periods of time and a father intent on improving his skills.  Mozart played a lot of piano at a very young age, so he got his 10,000 hours of practice in early and then he built from there."

"It's not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms of chess.  Instead, it's deliberate practice.  Top performers spend more hours (many more hours) rigorously practicing their craft."

"Her practice would be slow, painstakingly and error-focused....By practicing this way, performers delay the automatizing process.  The mind wants to turn deliberate, newly learned skills into unconscious, automatically performed skills.  But the mind is sloppy and will settle for good enough.  By practicing slowly, by breaking down into tiny parts and repeating, the strenuous student forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance."

"The primary trait...is not some mysterious genius.  It's the ability to develop a deliberate, strenuous and boring practice routine."

According to Coyle, (not Hoyle) "It's not who you are, it's what you do."

Malcolm Gladwell's Five Steps to Success

1.  Find meaning and inspiration in your work.

2.  Work hard.

3.  Discover the relationship between effort and reward.

4.  Seek out complex work to avoid boredom and repetition.

5. Be autonomous and control your own destiny as much as possible.

To read an interview with Gladwell click here.

According to actuary tables, at 59 I have at best 23 years left, which means I have maybe enough time to pick 1 & 3/4 things to get really good at--the 10,000 practice hours, remember?  What's it going to be?  I think maybe I'm going to choose YOGA!

My New Inspiration (thanks to my niece Tarah, the yoga instructor!) Yoga Granny Bette Calman, age 83

According to Calman, "You're never too old.  The body is a remarkable instrument."

"It can stretch and stretch, and get better all the time.  Forget age!"

"I'm proof that if you keep at it, you'll get there.  I can do more now than I could 50 years ago!"

Mrs. Calman teaches up to 11 classes a week with no sign of stopping and she keeps the 'corpse' posture strictly for her classes.

To read her more click here.

Meet You At Carnegie Hall!

Longevity Lessons: It's Not Just Exercise & Diet - It's Friends, Empathy, Cooperation & A Laid-Back Attitude

I know a few secrets now.  When I see my daughters struggling with friends, I can reassure them that the conflicts can be resolved.  If you find friends you can hold onto forever, that's a great gift!

Jeffrey Zaslow, author of "The Girls From Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship"

Yesterday from behind her office cubicle I overheard my friend Suze hang up her phone, giggle and say out loud to herself, "I just love my friends."

I smiled to myself, & thought, "Me too!"  I had just finished reading a round robin of emails from college friends who had just read Tara Parker-Pope's article in the New York Times, "What Are Friends For?  A Longer Life"

Follow that up with yesterday's Time Magazine article, "Is There a Longevity Personality?" and we've got ourselves a prescription for a Happy Healthy Long Life. 

Good Friends, Empathy, Cooperation, & A Laid-Back Attitude

Dan Buettner traveled all over the world for National Geographic in search of the secrets to a long healthy life.  A strong social circle (a.k.a. friends) was one of the key ingredients responsible for the longevity of the top four long-lived population groups: the Okinawans, the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Sardinians, and the folks living on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica.  Check out his book:  The Blue Zone: lessons for living longer from the people who've lived the longest.

"Of the centenarians interviewed, there wasn't a grump in the bunch.  Dr. Nobuyoshi Hirose, one of Japan's  preeminent longevity experts, had a similar observation.  Likable old people are more likely to have a social network, frequent visitors, and de facto caregivers. They seem to experience less stress and live purposeful lives."

As Buettner learned, building strong friendships takes time and effort and you need to plan regular times to get together.

Getting By With A Little Help From Our Friends

In "What Are Friends For?  A Longer Life",  Tara Parker-Pope wonders why people overlook one of key roads to good health---friends.

"In the quest for better health, many people turn to doctors, self-help books or herbal supplements.  But they overlook a powerful weapon that could help them fight illness and depression, speed recovery, slow aging and prolong life:  THEIR FRIENDS."

Friends Can Trump Family

• Psychological well-being. Friendship has a bigger impact on our psychological well-being than family relationships, according to Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
• Support & understanding. Just take a look at the 11 women chronicled in Zaslow's book. They've been friends for over 40 years, even though they are now scattered over 8 states.  When two of the women were recently diagnosed with cancer, they immediately turned to their friends.  "It was instant that the love poured in from all of them."  As Kelly Zwagerman said, "We go so far back that these women will talk about anything."
• Breast cancer mortality.  In a 2006 study of 3,000 nurses with breast cancer--those without close friends were 4 times more likely to die from the disease than women with 10 or more friends.  And it didn't matter how far away they lived or how often they were able to see their friends.  The surprising point:  having a spouse wasn't associated with better survival--but friends were.
• Overall health. "Friendship has an even greater effect on health than a spouse or a family member," according to Bella DePaulo, a psychology professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
• Coronary heart disease. Friendships benefit men as well.  A Swedish study of middle-aged men found that "attachment" to one person didn't affect their risk of a heart attack as much as having a large social network did.  In fact, lack of friends was second only to smoking as a risk factor for coronary heart disease.  Something to think about guys.

Easing the Burden, Boosting the Brain & Cutting Down on Colds

• Lightening the load. Have you ever noticed how work is easier when you share it with a friend?  I love this study!  University of Virginia students were asked to walk up a steep hill carrying a heavy backpack.  Some walked up the hill with friends--some walked alone.  The ones who walked up the hill with a friend had lower estimates of the hill's steepness than those who walked up the hill by themselves.  And the longer the friends had known each other--the less steep the hill seemed.
• Brain health. A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that having a strong network of friends helped to preserve one's memory while aging.
• Colds be gone!  Strong friendships correlated with getting fewer colds--possibly because of less stress.

What's The Longevity Personality?

• In the April 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society researchers looked at the personality traits of 246 children of centenarians.  Why did they look at the children, not the centenarians?  It was easier to follow the children over time--the 100 year olds weren't going to live much longer--and research has shown that the children of centenarians are likely to live longer than normal, and share the personality traits of their long-lived parents.
• Those who live the longest are more outgoing, more active, and more laid-back (the study defines this as less neurotic, less emotionally reactive, less distressed) than those who live a normal life span.  Translation:  they have more friends!
• The women who live the longest are more cooperative, more empathetic, &  more agreeable than those living a normal life span.  Translation:  they have more friends.
• The surprise finding to the study?  Longevity had nothing to do with how self-disciplined one is or how open to new ideas or experiences one is.  Hmm.
• What does this all mean?  The researchers  think that the less neurotic one is, (emotionally reactive & distressed) the easier it is to get through life's stressful situations.  And the out-going extroverted personality is associated with a greater sense of well-being & vitality. 
• Bottom Line: Chill out, don't-worry-be-happy, make-new-friends-but-keep-the-old, be a tad more understanding, and give up the control-thing---but if you need a little help just skip to the next section!

Twenty Ways to a Happy Healthy Long Life (collected by Time Magazine, June 7, 2007)

1.  Count Your Blessings--but not everyday.  Do it too much & it will lose its freshness & meaning.

2.  Hear the Music--it activates parts of the brain that can trigger happiness & release endorphins.  My friends Les & Tess drove around on Saturday with the top down--blaring Creedence Clearwater Revival & feeling about 18 years old.

3.  Snog. Canoodle.  Get It On--it's all about those endorphins and oxytocin, the "hormone of love".

4.  Nurture Your Spirituality--study after study link strong religious faith (of any kind) with greater happiness.

5.  Move Your Body--physical movement, exercise, sport or dance will lift your mood, release endorphins & keeps you healthy.

6.  Laugh Big--it's socially bonding, reduces stress  & strengthens the immune system--besides it just feels so darn good!

7.  Do Something Nice for Someone Else--it makes the "doer" happy & doing 5 nice things in one day will make you feel better than spreading them out over one week. 

8.  Make More Money Than Your Peers--this is according to a Penn State Study.  I'd change that to: Hang out with people who make about the same amount as you do--or who at least aren't bigger spenders than you.

9.  Seek Positive Emotion as a Path to Success--happiness can lead to success, rather than the other way around. 

10.  Identify With Your Heritage--appreciating one's culture creates & strengthens bonds with others who share that culture & will help you to appreciate cultural differences.

11.  Use a Happy Memory as a Guide--remember what makes you happiest & do more of it.

12.  Play the Part of an Optimist--straighten up your body posture, take big steps, and walk quickly with your shoulder back & your head up!  Change your tone of voice--make it cheerful & full of energy.  Use upbeat positive words!  Voila--you'll feel optimistic!

13.  Try New Things--the more things you try, the greater the chance for positive emotions.

14.  Tell Your Story to Someone--talk about the good stuff & the bad stuff & to a variety of people.

15.  Balance Work and Home--establishing work-home boundaries strengthens your family connections & keeps you sane.

16.  Be Like the Danes:  Keep Expectations Realistic--the higher one's expectations, the further they can fall.

17.  Make Time--Cut to the chase & spend more time on those things you'd like to spend time on.

18.  Visualize Happiness--positive thoughts have an impact on the brain's biochemistry.

19.  Smile--it's contagious & people end up feeling the emotion they are acting at the moment.

20.  Marry Happy--if you are married to someone who is happy, then your are happy too.

Friendship Rules!

So, what do you think?  Does this make sense to you?