The excitement of cooking across two cultures keeps the kitchen vibrant, What you eat is who you were and are. When you cook the food you love most, you land at home. (Frances Mayes, from A Place in the World)
A growing share of Americans are opting to start parenthood later in life, having their first children in their late 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. In 2021 close to 1 of 5 pregnancies in America were among people 35 and older, along with almost 12 % of first pregnancies. Women are increasingly choosing to prioritize their careers, wanting to establish themselves professionally and financially before having a child. Owning a home, earning a certain amount of money, paying off outstanding debts are also considerations. These changes indicate strides toward greater gender equity, but health care hasn’t necessarily kept up. Pregnancies after age 35 present challenges in a medical system that was already besieged by poor health outcomes for pregnancies. The disappearance of federal abortion protections has added a new layer of complexity for Americans getting pregnant at any age, but especially for those pursuing parenthood later in life. Pregnancy over age 35 faces higher chances of miscarriage and still birth, as well as greater risks of complications that could threaten the health of the mother to be or the fetus. As women age it is unclear that the U.S. is prepared to care for its growing cohort of older first time parents. ” The fact that it is more possible for women to have births when they want to have births seems to me to be an unambiguously good shift,” said Lucie Schmidt, an economist at Smith College who focuses on economics of the family. “But there are implications we haven’t grappled with as a society.” (from: As Americans get pregnant later in life, can health care keep up? https://19thnews.org/2023/12/pregnancy-older-parents-health-care?i…) Bring pro active may be a huge key to successful outcomes. It is really a do it yourself project, with advice. Choose your advisors well. Remember that 50% of your advisors graduated in the bottom half of their class. We have top of the class info for you or someone you know. You have to ask and give us permission to share. Otherwise it doesn’t work. We are here. this is what we have a passion for doing…
What’s one my mind Dr. Google?– how about eating meals early in the day could reduce cardiovascular risk. Now, having just finished dinner at 9p.m. and hungry again, or, still, this hit me between the eyes, sort of. Like Holy Moly Batman!!! We know that heart disease is the leading cause of death world wide. Of the 18.6 million annual deaths in 2019, pre c’d 19, about 7.9 mil are attributable to diet. Many people eat late and many skip breakfast. Time of eating sets our circadian rhythms of various organs influencing things like blood pressure. Having the first meal of the day is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with a 6% increase in risk per hour delay. For example, a person who eats for the first time at 9 a.m. is 6% more likely to develop CVD than someone who eats at 8 a.m.. I had breakfast around 4p.m. today. I don’t want to do the math. Here is the kicker: Eating late, after 9 p.m. is associated with a 28% increase in the risk of CVD such as stroke compared with eating before 8 p.m., particularly in women. Finally, a longer duration of night time fasting-the time between the last meal of the day and the first meal of the next day- is associated with a reduced risk of CVD, supporting the idea of eating one’s first and last meals earlier in the day. This could be intermittent fasting, if done correctly. I have recommendations for that and suggest not using the info rampant on the internet. Correctly done you will probably end the need for snacking, which is another pitfall of our dietary habits. Retrieved from: https://medicalexpress.com/news/2023-12-meals-early-cardiovascular.html See: Dietary circadian rhythms and cardiovascular disease risk in the prospective NutriNet-Sante cohort, Nature Communications (2023)
Several people commented about yesterday’s post on the health and well being of pregnant and post pregnant women in this country per research I cited. My current thoughts on that and from 3 more related articles:
The demographics cover a lot of territory from ethnicity, income, location, mental health-a huge issue including post partum depression, high suicide rates, Covid. The Covid paper is outspoken about the gov view and the actual view. I can’t give all the details given n these papers due to their length. The damage is large, and largely ignored. From my work in psyche, emergency med and nutrition I am thinking that we have a lot to offer to make this story completely different, in a healthy way. An optimally nourished brain will be more able to cope with stressors. There are tools to learn and use to counter balance stress, such as Positive Intelligence. The stressors are an equal opportunity problem for all, perhaps more seen in stressed communities than in highly educated and high income earning people, although it is alive and kicking there also. This is not a new phenomenon, just recently turbocharged. Why do we persist in so many aspects of our government lack of action, citizen laissez faire, status quo, and since it is not me I do not have to do anything to fix it mindset? My specialty is nutrition. We have some excellent tools. Ask me…
Today’s tidbit is an interesting and startling report about millennial women facing bigger health threats with adverse health outcomes and mortality rates. These increased risks to their health are proving to be fatal too often. The maternal mortality rate is surging for young Millennial women ages 25 to 34, up from 19.2 deaths per 100,000 to 30.4 deaths per every 100,000 live births in 2019-2021. Pregnant and recently pregnant women are more at risk for both homicide and suicide in addition to maternal mortality. Self harm accounts for 20% of all deaths among pregnant and recently pregnant women. Fourteen parameters were measured, however none were nutritionally oriented, my passionate interest. “We can’t point to any one factor that causes this gap between women’s efforts and their health and safety outcomes, but signs point to a combination of social, structural, and policy driven influences…” This is a very abbreviated summary of this important documentation by the Population Reference Bureau, Population Bulletin vol. 77, NO. 1.2023. Losing more Ground, by Srygley, et al. I am working in the field of Prenatal Nutrition and the first 1000 days of baby’s growth with the top rated program in the country. I am intentionally letting you know because I would love to work with people to assist them in having optimum outcomes to help avoid the adverse situations outlined in this report. There are other reports related to this, as well. If you are open to learning more about our Prenatal/Postnatal program I will be honored to share it with you. Bruce
Mindful eating, pg. 2: The pylorus–a valve that connects the stomach and small intestine–allows three to five tablespoons of liquefied food (chyme) to exit the stomach at a time. If the food is not adequately chewed, it lingers until the acid and enzymes in the stomach can break it down more. Nothing leaves the stomach until it reaches a body temperature of 98.6F degrees, This is why consuming cold liquids and foods during meals will slow down this process. Consider enjoying a cup of tea or warm water with lemon to prepare the stomach environment.. In Weell Being Journal, vol32, Summer 2023, from The Biodynamics of the Immune System, by Michael J Shea. 2022.
Here is the link from last night’s Weekly Update on Mindful Eating:
An over used word/concept methinks, and here is a tidbit anyway… “A simple axiom for healthy digestion is to remember to ‘drink your foods and chew your liquids’. This is especially important for those who are following the recent trend of ingesting more liquid based foods such as juices and smoothies. These constitute a meal and need to be consumed slowly (mindfully)–over a period of thirty to forty five minutes if possible. If the liquids are not sufficiently mixed with the saliva, there is a loss of mechanical signaling that chewing provides along with the loss of chemical signaling from the saliva (enzymes, et al). The result is typically a sense of bloating and discomfort in the belly, especially if the fluids are cold. In fact, it is advisable to drink them at room temperature or warmer.” Michael J. Shea, PhD in The Biodynamics of the Immune System. Quoted in Well Being Journal, vol 32, Summer 2023 My thought concerns the microbiome/biota as related to pulverized fiber vs. whole food fiber, and possible inadequate amount of fiber. More from Michael tomorrow, and info from another source along with a link to a great session I watched today. The topic also being Mindful Eating. Bruce
One in eight adults over age 50 eats enough fruits and vegetables to meet the FDA’s recommended amounts, 1.5-2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day. And that is a modest proposal. More is better. You can’t cheat with pills or powders. You have to chew and swallow. With or without, your gut knows, the microbiome/biota changes accordingly. It also works to your advantage or disadvantage accordingly as well. Mange, mange…
I am pessimistic about the human race because it is too ingenious for its own good. Our approach is to beat it into submission. We would stand a better chance of survival if we accommodated ourselves to this planet and viewed it appreciatively instead of skeptically and dictatorially. Rachel Carson in Silent Spring. An intro to “Nutritional value and flavor are frequently sacrificed in favor of the bottom line. Overall, Americans lack the information they need to make healthy food choices. Rather than take the time to educate ourselves, we seem to prefer to ignore the problems created by our current methods of food production. Additionally, we have grown accustomed to getting exactly the foods we want year-round, and farmers around the world are happy to meet our market demand; as a nation, we can afford it. Our planet cannot. Cooper Holmes in Bitter Harvest.
You’ll notice we’ve got self-care on our Habit Tracker. It’s not there just for fluff! It’s an important way to support your well-being so that you have more to give. It helps you enjoy time with others more, too. 🌸💖 Ok, but what is self-care, exactly? It’s simple! Self-care is whatever YOU need the most to feel your best. · Do you need a little peace and quiet? Some downtime? · Does your body need some TLC? Or nourishing food? · Could you use a little more joy? Something that lifts your spirits or makes you laugh? · Does your body need more fresh air or movement? 🤔Ask yourself these questions often! Here’s a self-care list to inspire you. ✨SELF CARE ACTIVITIES✨ Walk in the fresh air Do breathing exercises Get a massage Make a cup of your favorite tea Meditate Have a phone date with your best friend Relax with your pets Do some yoga poses Take a nap Journal Read for fun Watch your favorite movie or show Get a pedicure or manicure Do a creative activity Take a hot bath Play a sport or go for a run Do a puzzle Take a dance break Try this time-tested simple breathing technique to help you relax, focus on you, and get present. What’s your favorite thing from this list?! 💬 Lately my favorite is playing with my dog. (from Sue B in our Making Spirits Bright group) I like the journal, especially if you write about Joy and Gratitude. It is life changing. My appreciation today is meeting with a cook book entrepreneur who was having a giant sale of books, many she had a hand in getting together and published for well known authors. We had great conversations, I got special attention from her. She asked each customer about their likes and interests. I came home with six and will love exploring many new recipes. Now I have almost 900 cookbooks, she has 7000+
