Sunday Sermonette: Okay, but why?
I warned y ' all that Leviticus is generally quite boring. We ' re now about to do chapter 5 and it ' s still specifying the rules for sacrifice. (We do get a first mention of " uncleanness, " which will be a big subject soon.) So I got to wondering; why do they have this idea that God wants them to burn parts of animals? I did a little research -- okay, I read the Wikipedia article.It turns out that animal sacrifice was very widespread in ancient Europe and the Near East -- basically the Mediterranean region cultures that are the focus of the history most of us are taught. The idea was apparently tempting enough to people...
Source: Stayin' Alive - February 23, 2020 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
With a little planning, vegan diets can be a healthful choice
Recently there has been much discussion and many questions about vegan diets. Are vegan diets — which exclude meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy — healthful? Do they provide complete nutrition? Should I try one? Will it help me lose weight?
Many people around the world eat plant-based diets for a variety of reasons, some because meat is not readily available or affordable, others because of religious convictions or concerns about animal welfare. Health has become another reason people are moving to plant-based diets. And research supports the idea that plant-based diets, including vegan diets, provide health benef...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 6, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Katherine D. McManus, MS, RD, LDN Tags: Healthy Eating Source Type: blogs
How to Improve Your Health on a Budget
You're reading How to Improve Your Health on a Budget, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Are you ready to make a lifestyle change but you’re worried
about breaking the bank while trying to make healthier changes? The good news
is that you don’t have to worry about spending a ton of money to become
healthier, but rather make small lifestyle
changes that will make a big impact on your overall health. Here are a few
ways you can improve your health on a budget.
#1 Stop Eating Out
Stop eating out. Not...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - January 30, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Erin Falconer Tags: featured health and fitness money and finance budget health tips self improvement Source Type: blogs
Eating to Heal the Mind
Generations of moms and grandmothers have gone to their gardens and cupboards to heal ailments of all kinds. Herbs, medicinal recipes (including chicken soup), and vegetables are gaining the attention of doctors and scientists, who rely on controlled studies rather than anecdotal evidence to prove what works in the body reliably and safely. Today, just as throughout history, in every culture, there are foods that can be used as medicine, but can what you eat affect your mental health as well? Is it possible to treat things like anxiety and depression with food?
Research is showing the Mediterranean Diet and the DASH Diet...
Source: World of Psychology - December 26, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jan McDaniel Tags: Alternative and Nutritional Supplements Mental Health and Wellness Depression food Mood Disorder Mood Swings Source Type: blogs
Sunday Sermonette: A stink to high heaven
Before we get to today ' s reading,an interesting review in Harper ' s magazine of two books about the Bible. You get one free read per month so even if you don ' t subscribe you should be able to get access. Christopher Beha writes:Judaism has a kind of mythological founding moment that bears some resemblance to Mohammed ’s recitation—the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai—but the actual text believed to be transmitted there makes up a tiny fraction of the Hebrew Bible, which in its canonical form comprises twenty-four books arranged into three major sections—the Torah (teaching), Nevi’im (proph ets), and...
Source: Stayin' Alive - November 10, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Sunday Sermonette: Wasting food
Exodus 29 goes from the stage setting of 27 and costuming of 28 to the action of the drama: consecration of the tabernacle and establishment of the priesthood. These instructions are highly elaborate and seem largely arbitrary, but they do have the consistent quality of being very expensive. The temple is built of precious materials, the garments are set with gemstones, and now we have a ritual in which mass quantities of food are destroyed. For pastoral nomads, meeting God ' s demands must have been quite onerous. Judaism today no longer has this quality. Temples are mostly modest, as are priestly garments, sacrifice has ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - November 3, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Lifestyle changes to lower heart disease risk
Nearly half of all premature deaths may be due to unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as insufficient exercise, poor diet, and smoking. These risk factors increase the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, and stroke.
The good news is that lifestyle changes can make a difference. In a study analyzing over 55,000 people, those with favorable lifestyle habits such as not smoking, not being obese, engaging in regular physical activity, and eating a healthy diet lowered their heart disease risk by nearly 50%.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) recently published guide...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 2, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: James Yeh, MD, MPH Tags: Alcohol Diabetes Exercise and Fitness Heart Health Hypertension and Stroke Smoking cessation Source Type: blogs
Spelt Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
Mr TBTAM makes a mean sandwich. Perfect little combinations of meat and cheese, sometimes tuna salad, always topped with either fresh roasted peppers or some red pepper relish, just the right amount of mustard or mayo, and a perfectly placed lettuce slice.
He is quite proud of these sandwiches, so proud that he will often stop his lunch preparations to find me so he can show me the freshly cut edge of the masterpiece he is taking to work tomorrow morning. At this point I am required to ooh and aah and if I am lucky, he will make me a sandwich as well.
As much as he loves my thick sourdough boules, I know what Mr TB...
Source: The Blog That Ate Manhattan - October 27, 2019 Category: Primary Care Authors: Margaret Polaneczky, MD Tags: Bread Ancient grains Artisan Loaf marrow Sandwich SOurdough sourdough bread Spelt Source Type: blogs
It ’s World Mental Health Day today: Let’s review how a healthy diet can promote mental well-being
_______________
Should you eat an apple—or a bag of Oreos? Go to McDonald’s—or the vegetarian restaurant on the corner?
When we make these everyday food choices, many of us think first of our physical health and appearance. But there’s another factor we may want to consider in picking foods: their impact on our mental health.
A growing body of research is discovering that food doesn’t just affect our waistline but also our moods, emotions, and even longer-term conditions like depression. Which makes sense, after all. Our brains are physical entities, running on the energy that we put into our bodies, affected by ...
Source: SharpBrains - October 10, 2019 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Greater Good Magazine Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Health & Wellness evidence mental health Nutrition well-being Source Type: blogs
10 foods that may impact your risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes
Could just 10 foods substantially impact your risk of dying from a cardiometabolic disease (CMD) like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or stroke? Maybe.
A study published in JAMA provides some insight into the degree to which 10 specific foods and nutrients affect the risk of dying from CMD. The study found that in 2012, eating suboptimal levels of 10 foods or nutrients — too much of some and not enough of others — was associated with more than 45% of deaths due to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
10 foods associated with nearly half of CMD deaths
The researchers developed a risk assessment model that combine...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 7, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Katherine D. McManus, MS, RD, LDN Tags: Diabetes Health Healthy Eating Heart Health Hypertension and Stroke Nutrition Source Type: blogs
Sunday Sermonette: Not so tasteful design
In Exodus 25, God starts to get, well, extremely anal. He lays out precise instructions for building himself a home in extremely garish taste -- kind of Trumpian, actually. I must warn you that this goes on for a long time -- several more chapters. It ' s unbelievably tedious and there isn ' t really much to say about it except that this guy is a self-indulgent megalomaniac. As the Skeptic ' s Annotated Bible puts it, " God wastes most of the last 16 chapters of Exodus on instructions for making tables, curtains, candlesticks, snuffers, girdles, bonnets, perfumes, etc. This stuff is so important that it much of it is rep...
Source: Stayin' Alive - October 6, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Want a sharp mind, strong memory? Ramp up activities
We all want to keep our minds sharp and our memories strong as we get older. So, what can we do right now to prevent cognitive decline in later years? Engaging in regular aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, probably has the biggest effect on people of many ages (see here and here). Convincing evidence also suggests that a Mediterranean-style diet of fish, olive oil, avocados, fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and whole grains is beneficial. But what about social and mental activities — do they help at all?
Social activities, a positive attitude, and learning new things
Previous research convi...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - August 8, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Andrew E. Budson, MD Tags: Healthy Aging Memory Men's Health Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Ottolenghi Hummus
This hummus recipe from Yoman Ottolenghi and Sami Tamini’s Jerusalem cookbook is hands down the best, creamiest hummus I’ve ever made or eaten.
The recipe uses dried chickpeas – which require an overnight soak – so you’ll need to plan ahead, probably the only downside to this amazing recipe. Lest you try to shortcut it, know that I’ve made this recipe with both canned and cooked chickpeas, and can attest that starting with dried chickpeas makes a superior hummus. It’s a lighter color and flavor, much softer and just plain better.
You can tweak the recipe to your taste by ma...
Source: The Blog That Ate Manhattan - August 8, 2019 Category: Primary Care Authors: Margaret Polaneczky, MD Tags: Uncategorized Chickpeas hummus Source Type: blogs
