Apples are not only delicious and an easy snack, but also very healthy in numerous ways. What are the main benefits of eating apples? What are some great apple recipes?
Apples are a great source of dietary fiber. As a result, they are believed to reduce the risk of some cancers, they improve the functioning of the intestines, eliminate cholesterol from the digestive tract, cleanse the lungs and colon, and help to prevent and potentially cure appendicitis.
Apples are linked toa reduced risk of prostate cancer, stroke, asthma and Type 2 diabetes. Moreover, as Healing with Whole Foods reports, due to all the pectin apples contain, they can help to reduce blood cholesterol and remove toxic metals from the body such as lead and mercury. In addition, apples are also found to play a very beneficial role in cleansing the liver.
I love to eat apples with peanut butter. It’s one of my favorite breakfast combinations. But here are a couple of interesting apple recipes that go beyond my apple and peanut butter dish. Enjoy a rice casserole with apples or apple noodle pasta for lunch or dinner sometime!
Swimming in pools treated with chlorine can increase kids’ asthma risk according to a recent study published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Belgium researchers also found that kids who swam in indoor and outdoor chlorine-treated pools had a higher risk of other allergies including hay fever and allergic rhinitis.
The study compared chlorine pools with a healthier and more eco-friendly option, pools sanitized with copper and silver. Researchers suggest that the chlorine causes changes in the airway, promoting the development of allergic diseases. While more research is still needed, 20% of Olympic swimmers have asthma. Interesting, right?
Renowned researcher Michael Kramer, who has advised the World Health Organization and Unicef, said that he was misquoted after being interviewed regarding supposed benefits of breastmilk.
In the same Times article, Dr. Michael Kramer was “grossly misrepresented”. He said that the Times completely misquoted him and that he still very much believes in the benefits of breastmilk. He is quite angry at being put on the other side of what he sees as part of his life work. From the Independent:
There really isn’t any controversy about which mode of feeding is more beneficial for the baby and the mother, but when you read the article in The Times it sounds like there is. I’m not aware of any studies that have observed any health benefits of formula feeding. That’s important, and any mother weighing the benefits of breastfeeding vs formula feeding needs to know that.
Power plants play a huge role in emitting pollutants that make up the ozone. This pollution browns and blackens our horizons. We call it smog. Smog has been linked to premature deaths, thousands of emergency room visits, and tens of thousands of asthma attacks each year. Pollution in the ozone is particularly dangerous to small children and the elderly, who are often warned to stay indoors on days with poor air quality due to pollutants.
Editor’s Note: This was a multi-party contribution involving Kim Komenich (photos) Kwan Booth (text) NewsDesk.org (editing) Spot.Us (financial support). This is part of a series that we’ll be posting over the next week.
Tuesday night saw the end of two years of negotiations between the Port of Oakland, environmentalists, truckers and West Oakland residents, with a vote to reduce toxic emissions from trucks serving the busy shipping center.
The Comprehensive Truck Management Plan aims to reduce the levels of diesel particulates in the air around the port, by banning diesel trucks built before 1994 — as well as newer trucks that lack air filters.
The plan also authorized a registration system for all trucks doing business with the port, and $3 million for independent truckers who need to upgrade their vehicles.
Editor’s Note: This was a multi-party contribution involving Kim Komenich (photos) Kwan Booth (text) NewsDesk.org (editing) Spot.Us (financial support). This is part of a series that we’ll be posting over the next week.
West Oakland is pinned between the Bay Area’s largest, busiest port and two major commuter freeways, and is home to decades of legacy pollution, making this marginalized but determined community a hotspot for childhood asthma and other illnesses.
Editor’s Note: This was a multi-party contribution involving Kim Komenich (photos) Kwan Booth (text) NewsDesk.org (editing) Spot.Us (financial support). This is part of a series that we’ll be posting over the next week.
Talking to Dr. Washington Burns the other day I learned some pretty shocking information: 37 percent of the adults and 20 percent of the kids living in West Oakland have asthma and children living in this community are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for breathing related illness than any other children in California.
And Alameda County as a whole is no prize, with one of the highest overall hospitalization rates among 5-17 year old youth.
Editor’s Note: This was a multi-party contribution involving Kim Komenich (photos) Kwan Booth (text) NewsDesk.org (editing) Spot.Us (financial support). This is part of a series that we’ll be posting over the next week.
Just about any long-term West Oakland resident can rattle off a list of health issues effecting their community: toxins from cargo ships docking at the nearby Port of Oakland, diesel smoke from Port-bound trucks, pollution from the two freeways that border the neighborhood, illegal dumping, and lack of accessible health care.
It’s hard to watch television, read the paper, or go online without coming across facts about global warming prevention. You may already feel like you’ve got the basics down. Some of the more interesting global warming facts may have escaped your attention, though, as they don’t get quite as much coverage. The more time you spend digging into global warming causes and effects, the more you’ll realize that climate change goes beyond some of the most catastrophic (and newsworthy) problems associated with it. Global warming will transform your life at basic levels that we’re just beginning to understand.
Global warming causes you may not have known about
You’re likely aware that many of your daily activities — driving your car, cooling and heating your home, operating electronic devices — produce greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide. You may not, however, be aware of some other major global warming causes that you encounter regularly. For instance,
The meat on your plate:Deforestation, especially of tropical rainforests, is one of the major causes of global warming, and residents of countries such as Brazil and Costa Rica often destroy these forests to create grazing space for cattle. Choosing to eat less meat, and purchasing the meat you do eat from local sources, should be a part of your plan to lighten your own carbon footprint.
The food and yard wastes you throw away: When you send food wastes, grass clippings, and other organic materials to the landfill, they’re much more likely to end up producing methane because they’ll decompose in an anaerobic (or oxygen-free) environment. Composting those wastes, whether by sending them to a large-scale operation, or adding them to your own compost pile or bin, will allow for oxygen-rich decomposition… which prevents methane emissions, and “closes the loop” by creating material you can use for garden and plant fertilizer.
A Mayo Clinic study shows that kids who got the flu shot–especially those with asthma– are 3 times as likely to require hospitalization as those who did not receive the shot.
All kids in the study had lab-confirmed influenza, but the ones who got the shot ended up at the hospital more. And not because they had better health insurance, either.
As you may know, the CDC now recommends that all children, up to age 18, receive the flu vaccine. Because, as a Harvard study showed last year, kids carry germs. Adults who live in a population more concentrated with kids are more likely to get sick.
While everyone is waiting impatiently (or quite patiently, in my case) for the swine flu vaccine, there is something y’all should know: the seasonal flu vaccine isn’t all that effective. And for kids, it just might increase the chances that you get a bonus trip to the hospital.
A Swedish study found that the rate of autism is higher for children in houses that have PVC vinyl flooring. The children in the study were apparently affected by the phthalates that are emitted from the material.
Infants and toddlers who had vinyl floors in their rooms were twice as likely to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than those with wood or aluminum floors.
