Mmmm. CANDY! Just smell the bowl full of those darling, little bars of CANDY. Just look at those chewy bites of CANDY!

Now, walk away. That’s right. Walk away and no one will get hurt.

Halloween is really one of the hardest nights to stay disciplined, to focus on staying healthy and stick to your local, organic fare and not endorse one night a year when it’s okay for kids to rot their teeth and poison their bodies with sugar and trans fats.

We get hundreds of visitors to our suburban-esque San Francisco hood and once the bell starts ringing, it tends to get frenetic. You can’t spend the evening just bobbing for organic apples but you can make some changes in your holiday routine.

Here are some good tips for staying focused for a  healthier Halloween:

1. Plan ahead pumpkin head!

Eat a really big, healthy dinner around 5 p.m. Give your kids a good dinner, too. Usually they’re too excited to eat, so just threaten them: No green stuff, no brown stuff. Growing up, we always had chili dogs on Halloween, but no one will eat that anymore. A veggie pizza is yummy and filling, and toss a massive salad for yourself and your friends. And don’t forget, many good foods stem from the pumpkins you carve, i.e. delicious and beneficial dried seeds, soups and desserts. Pumpkin is one of the super foods!

2. Pluck fruits of the vine, Frankenstein

Here’s something novel. Buy healthy treats to give away so if you have a few it won’t hurt: Organic fruit snacks, like the new ones from Amy’s,  Fair Trade organic dark chocolate squares, Z-bars. Don’t get carried away and give out toothbrushes, though. Everybody hates neighbors who give out toothbrushes. They deserve to get tee-peed.

3. Keep a Healthy Stash, Monster Mash

Keep a healthy, beat-the-blues treat aside for yourself, such as an organic dark chocolate bar, a bowl of fresh fruit or popcorn. I don’t know who made up the rule that giving away candy means you can’t snack on healthy treats throughout the night. Popcorn is high in fiber and I like to season mine with a bit of Cayenne pepper. Look out!

4. Slurp to your heart’s desire, thirsty vampire

Drink tons of water all night (from your reusable bottle, of course). Keep a water bottle by the front door, and keep sipping. Staying hydrated is a surefire way to keep up your energy throughout this high energy night, and to keep yourself from eating unhealthy foods that will just make you feel lousy in the morning  – you know, that Halloween hangover.

5. Sit on the porch and stay present

This is a great night to interact with neighbors, neighbors we are usually isolated from during the busy work week. Pull up a chair on the front steps with your bowl of healthy giveaways and haunt your old friends. It’s good for the spirit!

Top image: Doug88888

Image One: Organic Authority

Being elected into The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine. It recognizes those who’ve demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

Earlier this month the IOM announced the names of 65 new members and five foreign associates who’ve made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. What’s especially interesting is that in order to assure diversity, they required that at least one-quarter of those selected be from outside of the health professions. They were chosen from such fields as the natural, social and behavioral sciences; law, engineering and the humanities.

We think that’s very “eco”.

This year, five of those selected are from the University of Southern California:

• Deborah Grady, MD, MPH is an international expert on menopause and the risks and benefits of postmenopausal hormone therapy. Grady has trained and mentored over 40 young researchers interested in women’s health. With colleagues at UCSF, she designed and conducted the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS), a clinical trial of 2800 women with known coronary disease.

• Lawrence W. Green, DrPH specializes in population science research in cancer and other chronic diseases. In a current project, he’s looking at screening for colorectal cancer in the context of flu vaccine clinics. Once director of the Office of Health Promotion in the Carter Administration, he participated in the early development of the Healthy People Initiative, which since 1979 has continued to contribute to programs in health promotion and disease prevention. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he led international programs in tobacco control and national programs in community-based participatory research.

• Michael R. Harrison, MD is professor emeritus of clinical surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, and director emeritus, Fetal Treatment Center, UCSF Children’s Hospital. Harrison is internationally renowned for his expertise and innovation in pediatric and fetal surgery, and is author of more than 400 hundred peer-reviewed articles and several textbooks. He performed the first successful human fetal surgery for congenital diaphragmatic hernia and later for a number of other fetal anomalies. And he initiated the first National Institute of Health-sponsored clinical trials for fetal surgery. Harrison’s current research focuses on pediatric orphan device development.

• Sam Hawgood, MBBS is the dean and vice chancellor for medical affairs, UCSF School of Medicine. Hawgood has led the school in expanding research, fostering patient-centered care and furthering global health. He also directs a major NIH grant supporting a range of projects that seek a new understanding of lung biology and pulmonary diseases.

• Roger Nicoll, MD is a professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology and physiology. He’s renowned for his pioneering discoveries about the way the brain learns and remembers. Over several decades he’s shown that learning and memory occur when neural connections between nerve cells in the brain are strengthened. Nicoll’s research focuses on the brain’s hippocampus, which is severely damaged in Alzheimer’s disease. Understanding the chemistry of thought could enhance drug design for Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases of the brain.

Image: apdk

For good reason, Ralph Lauren is distancing himself  from this extremely altered photo of model Filippa Hamilton, who at 5′10″ and 120 pounds was allegedly fired for being too fat to wear the designer’s Town and Country fashions.

Last week, the website BoingBoing posted the image online, upsetting the Lauren team for the bad p.r. which suggests the fashion house likes its models emaciated. According to Shine, public interest prodded the company to offer an apology for the “poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body.” They said they would take every precaution to prevent such sloppy Photoshop gaffes in the future.

Lauren had threatened to sue BoingBoing over copyright infringement. To this, the website suggested, that instead:

“Copyright law doesn’t give you the right to threaten your critics for pointing out the problems with your offerings. You should know better. And every time you threaten to sue us over stuff like this, we will:

a) Reproduce the original criticism, making damned sure that all our readers get a good, long look at it, and;

b) Publish your spurious legal threat along with copious mockery, so that it becomes highly ranked in search engines where other people you threaten can find it and take heart; and

c) Offer nourishing soup and sandwiches to your models.”

Lauren won’t admit to firing Hamilton, a size 4 beauty who has been modeling for the brand since she was 15. She was reportedly let go “as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under contract,” but Hamilton argues it’s all a ruse.

“They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn’t fit in their clothes anymore,” she said. “I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face..It’s very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that.” Meantime, the model says she hasn’t gained weight, but sample sizes are getting smaller.

Hamilton isn’t the only victim of Photoshop manipulation. Singer Kelly Clarkson saw her shape drastically altered for the August cover of Self Magazine.

I’ve noticed, too, the svelte Twiggy look is back, despite all the groundwork by health advocates to change the unrealistic body images of women perpetrated on women by those who rule the industry – Anna Wintour and her cronies. Smaller models are once again in Vogue, sending the wrong messages to our daughters and all women.

According to Examiner, Cosmopolitan editor Kate White has offered Phillipa an 8-page spread in her magazine after hearing about the travesty.

Images: BoingBoing, Shine, People

The flu is already spreading like a Malibu wildfire in my Bay Area community with dozens of kids out the first few weeks of school and contaminated parents unable to play nurse.

It’s going to happen, no way of avoiding it all together, but there are some simple steps to build immunity and combat the spreading of germs at home.

Some people opt for the influenza vaccine, which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says protects against the three main flu strains causing the most illness during the season. This year’s vaccine contains three new virus strains: A/Brisbane/59/2007(H1N1)-like virus, A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like virus and B/Brisbane 60/2008-like antigens.

The government says it is believed the 2009-10 influenza vaccine can protect you from getting sick from these three viruses, or it can make your illness milder if you get a related but different influenza virus strain.

For those choosing not to get the shot, most methods of fighting and containing the enemy involve keeping your hands and surroundings clean and lying low when you know you’re not well and can infect others. The good news for the planet is that none of the hygiene practices require harmful chemicals to kill the enemy.

1. Hand Washing

Discovered only 150 years ago, frequent hand washing is the most effective way to keep germs from making you sick and spreading to your pals. According to Every Day Health, it doesn’t matter what kind of soap is used as long as the water is warm and the soap lathers and spreads over the hands sufficiently to trap the germs. Soap and water works best (meaning you don’t have to use a chemical-doused sanitizer that can actually lead to worse viruses). Here are the steps recommended by the CDC:

- Wet your hands with clean water – warm, if available – and apply soap.
- Lather by rubbing hands together; be sure to cover all surfaces.
- Continue rubbing hands together for 15 to 20 seconds – sing “Happy Birthday” twice in your head.
- Thoroughly rinse hands under running water to ensure removal of residual germs.
- Use paper towels or an air dryer to dry hands and then, if possible, use a paper towel to turn off the faucet.

2. Sponge Duty

Sponges used to wash dishes and wipe down counters harbor massive amounts of bacteria, at times even salmonella.  While we are urged to replace them often to keep our kitchens clean, many sponges are made from plastics which means even more petroleum waste in our environment.

According to Living Green, the added environmental danger with many synthetic sponges is that they often contain Triclosan, an antibacterial and antifungal agent banned by Canada in household products this past August. Even though it’s registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being a pesticide, it is frequently used in many antibacterial soaps, deodorants, toothpastes and cosmetics. The chemical is linked to health problems and harms fragile aquatic ecosystems and waterways.

While replacing sponges regularly is a good hygienic practice, stick to buying ones made from cellulose fiber (cellulose is sourced from plantation forests or recycled). Read the label carefully as some cellulose sponges are impregnated with polyester, a form of plastic. Keep your green cellulose sponge as dry as possible between uses, to avoid bacteria.  Sterilize them by soaking for a few minutes in boiled water, or try a dilute bleach/hydrogen peroxide solution.

The U.S. Dept of Agriculture also recommends killing bacteria and mold by microwaving a damp sponge or dishwashing a sponge with a drying cycle (the method my family uses).

3. Stay Home When you are Sick

Take cover when you are sick (just like covering your cough) by keeping away from other students, workers and friends. State health departments urge employees to stay home when they are infected for good reason. It’s the right thing to do for you and your community. Ask a friend or a loved one to make a nice pot of organic chicken soup, crank up the vitamins and heal thyself. Work can added undue stress that undermines a quick recovery. Work can wait.

4. Resist Sharing Personal Items

You don’t share brushes to avoid lice. And you don’t share eating utensils, drinking glasses, towels or other personal items if you want to avoid flu and colds. While sharing is a good gesture, there is a big exception when it comes to hygiene.

5. Love Yourself More

An excellent reference guide by Our Home Remedies follows the non-nonsense Farmer’s Almanac approach of boosting your immune system with rest, healthy foods like fresh leafy veggies and organic fruit, Vitamin C, garlic and thyme, and beneficial teas. We know when we are not loving ourselves because we don’t sleep and become run down, dehydrated and tend to reach for high sugar foods to revive us, rather than what we really need.

Image: hlkljgk

This is a new SIGG water bottle with a Keith Haring lady liberty design, part of a limited edition series celebrating America, land of the free, home of  thirsty. Perhaps you could score one of these cool designs for free by getting rid of an old SIGG bottle that contains poison, and you can enjoy the benefits without having to worry about exposing your body to a synthetic drug known to disrupt normal endocrine function.

I simply won’t stand for that in a water bottle. How about you?

If you bought a metal SIGG bottle before August of 2008, you have until Halloween to trade it in for a bottle with the new and improved EcoCare liner free of bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic sex hormone chemical linked to cancer and neurological problems. In other words, switch that trick for a treat.

What is the trick in the SIGG exchange program? Last week, Steve Wasik, chief executive officer of SIGG Switzerland, shocked the reusable water world by admitting that the liners were made with an epoxy resin that contains BPA. As Elaine Shannon of the Huffington Post pointed out, this was an about-face from his previous posture that the bottles simply didn’t leech the harmful chemical and were totally safe.

“He decided on his authority, consumers didn’t want or need to know more,” Shannon observes, adding it is difficult to see Wasik’s stance as anything but cynical.

Wasik’s posting on the SIGG website explained that the BPA debate has heated up dramatically in the last 12 months with the conversation progressing from a focus on leeching to the mere presence of BPA in products. He stresses that this dialogue has evolved to the extent that “some states are considering legislation.”

In fact, last May, Chicago was one of the first U.S. cities to ban the sale of baby bottles and sippy cups containing the chemical and the Food and Drug Administration recently announced it would undertake a new BPA review. In 2008, the FDA resisted recommending retailers discontinue using products that contain BPA until it had completed its risk assessment process. “However, concerned consumers should know that several alternatives to polycarbonate baby bottles exist, including glass baby bottles,” the feds said.

Meantime, you have to follow your own instincts and decide if you want to exchange your SIGG or simply find another aluminum or other bottle brand.

In terms of determining if you have the old kind of bottle, SIGG has provided the best kind of crisis PR fact sheet on its site with visuals that show the difference between the bad and good liners.

The EcoCare liner has a dull, pale yellow appearance while the former liner has a shiny copper bronze appearance.

For details on the exchange program and other issues pertaining to the safety of these bottles, go to the My SIGG website.

And we’re not talking about that kind of sleeping together. The couple that snoozes together, loses together. Or rather, the couple that sleeps together, doesn’t.

That’s the latest finding from British scientist Neil Stanley. While American science reporting tends to focus on banishing the endemic muffin top, our friends across the pond have a none-too-wee fixation with la difference. If it’s not a breakthrough study finding that those helpless men are distracted by breasts or are just distracted in general, it’s the juicy promise of death by nuptial that keeps the html dot uk flowing.

Marriage is depressing. Marriage is expensive. Marriage not only ruins your waking life, your night life and your sex life, it also ruins the part of your life you’re not even consciously participating in. Oh, for heaven’s sake, is there no rest for the wedded weary?

The study reports that if you’re shacked up and sharing a bed, you experience 50% more sleep troubles than singletons. Sleeping together is downright unhealthy. So weird – I’m not married for this exact reason! Strategic brilliance from Ost, yet again.

My properly chilled Scandinavian grandparents may have been onto something with their separate sleeping arrangements. As a child, I remember thinking it was sort of weird that Grandpa and Grandma had a bedroom like Lucy and Ricky’s since we weren’t living in black and white anymore, but then being glad for it because it made jumping on the bed(s) twice as fun!

Just ponder the upside of hitting the hay in different stables. You’re fast asleep when a handsome stranger steals into your bed and has his way with you (so it’s actually your hubs and he has a spare tire, but work with me here). Absence makes the heart grow hornier, as it were. Sleeping apart makes sleeping together an extra special thing. Also, you get the eternal thrill of doing it in someone else’s room. Aside from making sex just like college all over again, there’s the benefit of never again having to argue over how many pillows ought to be embellishing the duvet. Oh, and the health thing.

Image: j9

Osteoporosis is a big deal for women. But there’s more involved in keeping your bones strong and healthy than just eating plenty of calcium. Weight-bearing activity (exercise on your feet that works your bones and muscles against gravity) is crucial to building and maintaining optimal bone mass. Here’s why:

Bone density refers to your reserve of stored calcium. This is what determines the strength and health of your bones.
Bones are living tissue and need to be used to be strengthened.
The best time to start doing weight-bearing activities is during the teen and early adult years when bones are still growing. But it’s never too late to start!
The more bone density you have, the less negative impact there will be after menopause, when bone density begins to thin out with the loss of estrogen.
Higher bone density means stronger bones that are less susceptible to fracture or breakage.

So ladies, listen up: here are some activities you can incorporate into your lives to build up bone mass and stay strong.

For starters, lift things! No need to go overboard, but carry your groceries to the car and don’t be shy about picking up boxes. Just make sure you protect your back and do it safely.
Jogging is good for building bone, and so is walking uphill, but a regular walk around the block won’t do much for you.
Vigorous gardening and housecleaning – move a lot, stretch and lift heavy things!
Skip the elevator and climb stairs instead.
On your walks and hikes, wear a backpack. Fill it with water bottles and other things to add some weight, as this helps build bone.
Weightlifting is very good for your bones. There are weightlifting techniques that help build lean muscle mass, and plenty of bone while you’re at it. Here are tips to lift weights without bulking up.
For more active types, try jumping rope, team sports (basketball, hockey, soccer), and high impact aerobics.

Image: glitter feet

As hungry workers nationwide kiss moral-boosting bonuses and office parties goodbye, at least one Minnesota employer is adding rather than subtracting a perk for his people: an organic vegetable garden for enjoying the fruits of their labor.

The Dude Ranch in Delano, Minn. (30 minutes outside downtown Minneapolis) is the brainchild of Fred and Sarah Haberman, Co-Founders of Haberman Public Relations. Based on a community-supported agriculture (CSA) model, the plot is a working garden that has replaced the water cooler as the employee gathering place. But instead of spreading gossip, salaried locavores are spreading seeds, hoeing, raking and fertilizing fresh tomatoes, onions, potatoes, peppers, peas, green beans, herbs, broccoli, cabbage and beets.

“At the end of the day, it’s an experiment but one that is reaping incredible rewards,” a passionate Haberman tells me. “People are coming out to the farm, relaxing, learning where their food comes from and what it looks like when it is in the earth.”

Among the staff nurturing greener pastures are urban apartment dwellers in downtown Minneapolis who have never done any gardening or spent time in the country. This includes public relations executives representing Haberman clients like Organic Valley, Annie’s Homegrown, Country Choice Organics, NCGA (National Coop Grocers Assoc), and the Organic Trade Association, to name a sustainable few.

“It’s our mission to tell the stories of food pioneers in the organic and sustainable agriculture realm and working the garden lets us learn as much as possible about what our clients go through as they grow food so we can walk our talk, so to speak,” says Haberman.

That talk naturally includes corporate speak, such as “team-building opportunities” and “economic incentives” which are motivators for Haberman in landing this back-to-nature account for his underlings.

In terms of the big picture, he’d  like to inspire other businesses to adopt his farm model and replace health care memberships and other perks with a field of dreamy crops. Hey, if the White House can do it, why not Pepsi?

“The idea of creating a movement, getting other companies to adopt this new employee benefit really excited me because so many good things happen,” he says. ” You create an opportunity for people to buy foods without pesticides; you get families meeting each other in a calm rural setting; and allow more conscious food choices.”

Haberman staffers, aided by a few experienced gardeners, will spend the summer and fall planting, tending and harvesting their own produce. Minneapolis is known for its big chills and strong weather patterns, and Haberman says he and the staff have been learning more about how that effects the crops as they play farmer on days off.

“The ground in the beginning of this year was so dry it was like concrete, three inches below the surface,” Haberman remembers. “Today it rained and all I could think was ‘thank God!’ You open your eyes and snap out of your urban bubble and understand what small farmers are going through. Their income is largely based upon the weather.”

But what if it turns out to be like Green Acres and the city folks decide to leave their concrete jungle for the rural paradise?

“I guess we’ll just have to change our business model,” jokes Haberman, who adds he many workers are now heading out to the garden without his directing the activities. “I put something in motion and it’s exciting as it takes hold.”

Meantime, the company is planning its first Dude Stock at the ranch this fall, a party to celebrate the harvest. Haberman put the concept on the web and the community is responding enthusiastically, including a chef from the organic restaurant, Corner Table, who has offered to come cook at the event.

“A lot of us are cooking what we are growing, but this guy is head and shoulders above the rest.”

Images: Haberman Modern Storytellers

Stay away from processed meats like bacon, hot dogs and sausage. Sodium nitrate accounts for their appetizing red hue, but this additive can also cause the formation of nitrosamines in your system, which can lead to cancer.

Stick to low-mercury fish like American-farmed tilapia instead of swordfish or tuna. Overexposure can cause memory problems, fatigue and other health issues, and besides, most wild fish stocks are threatened these days. (Looking for an alternative? There’s branzini, the fish you’ve never heard of.)

Reduce the amount of canned food you consume. Cans are commonly lined with bisphenol-A, an organic compound that, according to the Lang study, may be associated with diabetes and heart disease.

Cut back on meat and dairy products. These animal products may contain trace amounts of harmful contaminants like polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyl and dioxins. Although many of these toxins have been banned, they are still present in the soil. Reducing your intake of animal products is also more friendly to the environment.

Skip the diet soda and artificial sweeteners. Prolonged exposure to aspartame, a neurotoxic chemical additive in these products, can lead to nerve cell damage, dizziness and headaches. Besides, anything that gives rats brain tumors is worth avoiding in my book.

Choose the farmed fish carefully. Studies show that farm-raised fish contain more polychlorinated biphenyl and over 10 times the amount of dioxin.

Opt for organic chicken. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy discovered traces of arsenic in non-organic chickens. Exposure to this dangerous chemical can lead to cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Another study also found numerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria in conventional poultry.

Only drink milk that says “no rBGH” on the carton because recombinant bovine growth hormone has been linked with breast cancer. Better yet, opt for responsibly-produced, unsweetened soy, nut or rice milk.

Avoid manufactured snacks. Hydrogenated oils are used to lengthen the shelf life of products like crackers and cookies, but they are also associated with diabetes and heart disease. Another reason to stay away from the middle aisles: snack foods are generally loaded with salt, corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients.

Stay away from artificially-colored foods like candy, maraschino cherries and gelatin. Mice and rats exposed to blue 1 and 2, red 3 and yellow 6 suffered from brain, adrenal gland, thyroid and kidney tumors.

Always buy organic produce. This one’s a no-brainer, but the list wouldn’t be complete without it. Lingering pesticides can lead to nervous and reproductive system damage, not to mention cancer.

Use stainless steel or cast iron cookware to prepare your meals. The Teflon used to create nonstick surfaces can release noxious gases when exposed to high temperatures, which puts you at risk for heart disease.

Never microwave food in plastic bowls, containers or dishes. Exposure to heat causes the bisphenol-A found in plastics to break down and potentially contaminate your food. Also, make sure to hand wash them.

For more information, check out 12 Dangerous Food Additives and the 7 Most Dangerous Ingredients in Conventional Foods.

Image: Mzelle Biscotte

Slowly but surely, Eastern medicine is gaining acceptance in the world of Western academia. Most recently, a study by the University of Rochester Medical Center has shown the powerful anti-nausea effects of ginger, the ubiquitous root that has played a significant role in Asian and Indian medicine since the 16^th century, on cancer patients. (The results were published in the American Society of Clinical Oncology.)

“Nausea is a major problem for people who undergo chemotherapy and it’s been a challenge for scientists and doctors to understand how to control it,” said Julie L. Ryan, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Dermatology and Radiation Oncology at Rochester’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, and a member of Rochester’s Community Clinical Oncology Program Research Base.

The study, which was funded by the National Cancer Institute, showed that patients can reduce post-chemotherapy nausea by 40 percent using ginger supplements along with standard anti-vomiting drugs before undergoing treatment. The Phase II/III placebo-controlled, double-blind study included 644 cancer patients who would receive at least three chemotherapy treatments.

More common uses for the wonder root include nausea and vomiting following surgery, during pregnancy, and motion sickness. For recommended doses, visit the University of Maryland Medical Center website.

Image: Crystl