Winter has been very mild this year for most of us who don’t live in Alaska. The general lack of snow and cold is attributable to unusual patterns in the Arctic and North Atlantic Oscillations, which have kept the jet stream more northerly than usual. The warmer temperatures have been a welcome relief after last winter’s heavy snowstorms but have been a cause for concern among some farmers.

Fruit trees bearing apples, stone fruit, and to a lesser degree, pears and other fruit, have a chilling requirement—a minimum time of cold temperatures needed for the trees to blossom and produce fruit. Peach farmers in Georgia and other southeastern states have been concerned about their crops because of warmer than usual weather, but by early March the outlook is better, and it appears that they’ll get the chilling hours they need for a normal crop. Around two-thirds of the U.S. peach crop is grown in California, where low chill–requirement trees are common and the crop outlook has remained stable.

Winter wheat is another cold weather dependent crop that has northern growers concerned. The wheat seeds are planted in the fall, and snow cover is important for moisture and insulation during the winter. In addition, warmer weather means pest larvae survive at much higher rates and cause more damage during the spring growing season, a problem that could affect other crops as well.

In California, the weather patterns have led to drought conditions in a La Niña year that has continued into early 2012. With an estimated 50 percent or more of the country’s fruit and vegetable crop grown in the state, drought conditions in California are always a concern. For the time being, California’s reservoirs are still close to full from last winter’s large snowfall, and the impacts for 2012 crops should be minimal. In fact, mild weather conditions have been great for the early strawberry crop in Southern California.

 Spring Bounty

What vegetables can we expect as spring rapidly approaches? Artichokes are at their peak starting in March and offer a wealth of fiber, potassium, copper, calcium, iron, and phosphorus, plus folic acid, vitamins C and K, and four of the Bs, including niacin. Artichokes help lower blood cholesterol levels through several mechanisms and are certainly worth indulging in.

Asparagus season has just begun in California, offering a great source of vitamin K, which is important for bone health. Asparagus is also rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. To keep these levels high, it is best to consume asparagus as soon as possible after picking because of its high respiration rate after cutting. Buy locally grown asparagus when possible.

Peas are a true hallmark of spring. Although frozen peas are available year-round, nothing can compare to the delicate flavor of fresh peas off the vine. They are also nutrient-packed, with a large mix of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, including one that has been shown to help reduce the risk of stomach cancer.

Other spring delicacies that have made (or will soon make) their appearance include watercress, fiddlehead ferns, celeriac, mustard greens, and Vidalia onions, among others. And these are just the first wave of flavors for this growing season. Strawberries will be in full season within a month or so.

All in all, our kitchens should not be greatly impacted by the mild winter, and the best of spring is on its way. We get to have our cake and eat it too, and even pocket the savings on our heating bills. Thank you, Mother Nature!

Sweet Sweat

“Life without sauna seems to me impossible.”
- Urho Kekkonen, former Prime Minister and longest-serving President of Finland

The Finnish sauna has been around for thousands of years but only came to the United States relatively recently. While Americans used to look upon saunas with suspicion in the 1800s, when Finnish immigrants built them on their farms, today you need only look as far as the nearest gym to find one.  When operated correctly, the sauna (pronounced sow-nah rather than saw-nah) offers a relaxing environment while your body undergoes a transformation similar to heavy exercise, prompting a sweat that leaves you clean both inside and out.

Sauna is an ancient Finnish word that refers to both the bath and the bathhouse. A sauna is generally a small, insulated room or house made of wood with an implement for creating wet or dry heat.  “Sweating rids our bodies of waste, regulates our body temperature, and keeps the skin smooth and supple,” says sweat bathing expert and author Mikkel Aaland.

The earliest saunas were pits dug in the earth that had a central fireplace where rocks were heated and then water poured on them to create steam heat. Modern saunas are simple and clean rooms where the temperature may range from 120 to more than 200 degrees Fahrenheit. You sit on wooden benches and relax until you work up a sweat.

The heat alerts your 2.3 million sweat glands to start working to excrete water onto the surface of your skin in an attempt to keep the body cool.  Although 99% of sweat is water, the remaining 1% includes excess salts in the body, lactic acid from your muscles, as well as heavy metals and other toxins.  Capillaries in the skin dilate to allow more blood to the surface in an attempt to disperse the excess heat.  This in turn causes the heart to beat faster to keep your blood pressure from falling, and the body’s internal temperature rises up to 3 degrees, mimicking a slight fever and boosting your body’s immune system.  The increased circulation helps refresh the organs (including the skin, our largest organ) and muscles through increased oxygen supply and waste removal.

A sauna can be more than relaxing.  It can be a place to cleanse body and soul, a place to nurture ourselves as we retreat from the outer world.  As Constance Malleson wrote in her 1946 travel book In the North: Autobiographical Fragments of Norway, Sweden, Finland:

The sauna… is an apotheosis of all experience:

Purgatory and paradise; earth and fire; fire and water;

sin and forgiveness. It is lyrical ecstasy. It is

resurrection from the dead. It is eternal new birth…

You are healed, you are made new.

Correct sauna operation…

Operating a sauna correctly is important for both comfort and ensuring the health benefits of sweat bathing.  The sauna temperature should be kept between 176˚F and 230˚F, measured at head level, to encourage sweating but prevent overheating the air.  The sauna should have time to heat up so that the rocks, walls, and benches are all radiating heat, rather than only having heat emanating from the stove.  Thirdly, pouring water on heated rocks is critical to keeping the air humid so that you don’t dry out the fragile mucous membranes in your nose and lungs, which can lead to increased susceptibility to colds, flu, and other air-borne viruses, as well as nose bleeds. Rocks should be placed above a sauna stove’s electrical coils. At the proper temperature, the rocks are so hot that the water evaporates before it hits the coils, providing essential humidity but not harming the stove. Do not pour water directly onto the stove’s heating coils.

An additional health benefit of pouring water on the heated rocks is the creation of negative ions, odorless, tasteless molecules given off in certain environments such as at beaches and waterfalls, and after thunderstorms. Some researchers have found that negative ions help relieve seasonal affective disorder and mild depression. The negative ions produced by water vaporized on heated sauna rocks induce a feeling of well being in users. Beware of “dry saunas” where water is not allowed in the sauna. If there are no rocks in a sauna, drape a damp washcloth over your mouth and nose to keep your respiratory system moist.

Hydrate and Shower…

Be sure to drink plenty of water during and after a sauna. Alcohol dehydrates the body, which is aggravated by a sauna, so it is best to avoid alcohol for an hour or two before, during, and after a sauna. Stay no longer than 10-15 minutes in a sauna at a time, using 10-15 minute cooling off periods between sauna sessions.  It may be traditional and refreshing to briefly jump into cold water or roll in the snow to cool off, but it is a temperature shock to the body and should only be done by people in good health.

Saunas do not elevate blood pressure and are generally fine for people with heart disease, as well as pregnant women, but check with your physician first. In the U.S., doctors warn older people to use a sauna with caution because of an increased risk of hyperthermia, when the body is unable to regulate and cool down its temperature. Consult your doctor before practicing sweat bathing.

Traditional etiquette calls for sauna bathers to maintain a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere.  Speak quietly or not at all. Ask other bathers before placing water on the rocks, to ensure no one has just done so and cooled them down.  Shower off before entering a sauna, as well as after. Sit on a towel.

As Aaland writes in his comprehensive book, Sauna & Health: Sweat Bathing and the Body, many cultures used sweat bathing in religious ceremonies.

“Many sweat bath cultures discovered that rocks could absorb the power of fire, and thereby acquired spiritual significance. The Omaha Indians, for example, referred to the rocks as Grandfather, symbol of earthly endurance, and moved them from the fire into the revered sweatlodge. When water was splashed over them, the vapor produced became another medium for the transfer of heat and another object of worship. The Finns named this vapor loyly, spirit of life. The Fox, another American Indian tribe, believed that Manitou, a friendly spirit, dwelled inside the rocks and was released through the vapor to penetrate the skins of the bathers and drive out sickness. (Science has given a new name to vapor’s healing power–negative ions.)

A bather absorbing the heat of a sweat bath was seen as re-enacting Creation, merging body and fire. Hindu mythology has several stories regarding the human absorption of heat. Pajapati created the world by heating himself to an extreme temperature through asceticism. Consequently, Hindu ascetics meditate near fire to achieve inner heat. Those who reach a communion with the Spirit are said to “burn.” Those who perform miracles are called sahib-jocks, which means to “boil” from inner heat.

The visible product of heat, or “waters born from the heated man,” is sweat.”

Ready to try a sauna? Day use saunas can be found at many spas in most cities as well as at many health clubs. (Google “sauna” and your location).  Hotels also often feature saunas, which can be used by non-guests for a supplemental fee. If you get hooked, you can even build your own. Pre-fab units are available for a relatively low cost. Aaland’s book, How to Build Your Own Sauna & Sweat, is a step-by-step guide to building your own sauna and how to use it.

Rebecca Taggart is a San Francisco yoga instructor.

By Nicole Laverty, Registered Dietician
Courtesy of mannapa.org

Record temperatures and humidity across the country has made getting cool the name of the game.  While there is always air conditioning, the pool, or the good old-fashioned fan, there are other options to stay comfortable.  What you eat and drink can make a big difference in regulating body temperature and make the difference from feeling hot and bothered to cool and comfortable.

On hot, humid days, muscles compete with the skin for blood circulation.  When the outside temperature is hot, more blood flows near the skin to help disperse body heat and cool the body down, thus keeping your body’s temperature from rising to dangerous levels.  But that can mean less blood reaches muscles, which then causes lethargy.  It is imperative to drink plenty of fluids and eat cooling foods to help hydrate your muscles and skin in order to maintain a safe internal body temperature.

Instead of focusing on cooling the air around you to cool your body, these foods will help to cool your body temperature from the inside out.  Here are some foods that can help:

Water-rich Foods
On a hot, summer day, the first thing that most people reach for is an icy glass of cold water.  Water is great at keeping the body cool and hydrated.  Maximize your intake of foods that contain high levels of water to minimize the intense heating effects of the sun.  Fresh and raw vegetables and fruits have high water content and should be incorporated into all of your meals and snacks.  Watermelon, mango, cucumbers, celery, iceberg lettuce, and tomatoes are only a few to mention.  This produce will hydrate the cells in your body and translate to a lower body temperature.

Astringent foods
The term astringency describes the drying and sometimes puckering sensation that is experienced after tasting many red wines.  Foods like lentils, beans, bananas, and grapes also contain an astringent molecule called tannin that gives these foods their “dryness.”  When you consume astringent foods, the tissues of your body contract, or shrink, and increase the water absorption by the body.  This absorption increases the water content in your cells, which, in turn, keeps your body temperature cooler.

Green, leafy vegetables
Greens are powerhouse vegetables packed with important vitamins and nutrients to keep your body healthy.  They are also a great source of one particular mineral that helps to cool your body, calcium.  Calcium works as a thermoregulator in your body which, as the term implies, helps to regulate your internal body temperature.  Your body uses the calcium in these green leafy vegetables to help send signals between your body and your brain to help regulate your temperature efficiently.

Whole grains
Almost all whole grains contain high levels of magnesium, which has the ability to relax muscles and nerve cells as well as increase the consumption of calcium in the bloodstream, thus helping your body maintain a more constant body temperature.  Besides 100% whole wheat, other whole grain sources include rye, spelt, and quinoa.

Spicy Seasonings
Can eating “hot” food keep you cool? This notion may seem like the complete opposite of what you should eat when you are already hot, but it is effective in making you feel cooler. If you look at food eaten in warmer climate countries, many of them have a good amount of spice and heat in their recipes.  When consuming spicy ingredients, your body temperature increases, your pulse accelerates, and you tend to sweat more, which makes your feel cooler.  The increase in body temperature can make you feel cooler by diminishing the difference between you and the surrounding air temperature.

Nicole Laverty is a Registered Dietician at mannapa.org, a Philadelphia-based non-profit organization that provides food and nutrition education to those in need. Re-printed with permission.

By Pia Hinckle & Rebecca Taggart

Nutrition pyramids are supposed to be graphical representations of a healthy diet. But whose? The latest guidelines issued by the U.S. government emphasize eating more fruits and vegetables and less fat, salt, and sugar, as we reported back in February.  But there are as many food pyramids out there as there are food philosophies, from Mediterranean to Paleolithic, from Vegetarian to Vegan, and from locavore Michael Pollan to natural fats promoter Weston Price.

Here we present a synopsis of a variety of eating philosophies and their pyramids (or other graphical device). Which one is yours?

USDA 1992 Food Guide Pyramid

U.S. Government Dietary Guidelines:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued joint dietary guidelines with the U.S. Department of Agriculture every five years since 1980. The 2010 version emphasizes increased physical activity, cutting back on fat, salt and added sugar, and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables.

The MyPyramid campaign was long criticized as being confusing and not terribly informational for consumers. In June, the pyramid was buried and replaced with a plate.

USDA 2011 MyPlate

The graphics have been simplified to give people a better idea of how food groups might look proportionally on your plate, however ChooseMyPlate.gov makes some of the same mistakes as mypyramid.gov, such as including “fruit cocktail,” generally processed fruit preserved in a sugar syrup, in the “fruits” group. According to the website, “Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the Fruit Group. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed.”  Research has shown that the majority of the nutritional benefits of fruits such as apples, pears, and stone fruit reside in the peel of fresh fruit. The guidelines are an improvement over past versions in keeping with newer research, for example differentiating between different fats and discouraging the consumption of processed foods.  The website also offers a number of tools to monitor your diet and exercise and to plan meals.

Mediterranean Diet:

The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid

The Mediterranean diet is based on the diet consumed by Greeks and Italians in the 1960s, at the time when they had the lowest rates of chronic disease and highest rates of longevity in the world. Studies found that the diet’s combination of lots of fruits and vegetables, beans and nuts, seafood, little red meat, and small amounts of dairy and red wine contributed to subjects’ good health. Enjoying meals with others as well as daily moderate exercise are also vital components. This diet also focuses on fresh and in-season produce that is minimally-processed. Olive oil replaces butter and other fats and oils, fruit is the main dessert, and red wine is recommended in moderation (1-2 glasses for men per day, one glass for women).

Oldways.com, an international non-profit foundation that promotes traditional diets, sustainable agriculture, and healthy eating and drinking, showcases the Mediterranean diet as the “gold standard” of healthy eating.

World’s Healthiest Foods:

Started by health food pioneer George Mateljan, the World’s Healthiest Foods website is a great resource for in-depth nutritional profiles.  While it doesn’t have a graphic such as a pyramid, it does have a list: 130 of the world’s “healthiest foods,” including, vegetables, oils, seeds, legumes, meat, dairy, grains, and natural sweeteners. The website was launched ten years ago and is run by Mateljan’s non-profit foundation, The George Mateljan Foundation for the World’s Healthiest Foods, Mateljan’s goal is to teach people how to cook healthy meals at home using his extensive database of how-to guides, recipe generator, and meal plan.

Mateljan promotes the consumption of fresh, nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods with low calories, and a cooking style that maintains as many nutrients as possible.  His “healthy sauté” method claims to maintain maximum nutrients in vegetables by cookng with broth, instead of heated oil. The site is rife with links to scientific research and data on nutrients and food studies. There are slideshows showing step-by-step how to prepare vegetables, such as “Dicing Carrots” and  “Soaking and slicing dried Shitakes.”

Slow Food:

The “slow food” movement begun in Italy by Carlo Petrini in the late 1980s as an antidote to “fast food” and to preserve traditional Italian artisan food and the culture of meal enjoyment has spread across the globe. With more than 200 local chapters, Slow Food USA runs a variety of programs to promote local and regional foods and food traditions and safeguard biodiversity, especially the preservation of endangered heirloom foods, such as the Gravenstein Apple. Diet guidelines do not figure directly in slow food’s mission, other than taking time to enjoy food with others, which is considered as important as supporting food traditions and advocating for food and farm policies that are “good for the public, good for farmers and workers, and good for the planet.”

Vegan Diet:

Vegan Food Pyramid

Vegans, by definition, will disagree with recommendations for meat, seafood, and dairy intake. Vegans choose to avoid all animal-based produce, from meat and eggs to milk and honey, as a way to prevent exploitation of animals for food, clothing, or other products.  But they do have a pyramid that focuses on legumes, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Seeds and nuts provide omega-3 essential fatty acids while daily vegetable intake, or supplements provide Vitmain D and calcium necessary for healthy bone density. From  www.veganpeace.com.

Paleolithic Diet:

Paleolithic Diet Pyramid

In clear opposition to the vegan pyramid, the Paleolithic diet is based on the concept that human digestion has evolved fairly little since the era of the Old Stone Age hunter-gatherers some two million years ago. That diet was mostly meat, fish and seafood, some vegetables and fruit, and a little nuts and berries.

Weston Price Foundation:

The Weston A. Price Foundation for Wise Traditions in Food, Farming, and Healing Arts, promotes the consumption of nutrient-dense whole foods and healthy fats, such as butter, raw milk, cream, cheese, liver, cod liver oil, and seafood. Named for the dentist and diet researcher Weston Price whose travels in the 1930s studying native diets around the world convinced him that animal fats are essential to human health and nutrient absorbtion, the foundation challenges the USDA guidelines of low-fat, low-sodium, high veggie diets and instead promotes its “Healthy 4 Life Guidelines:

“Every day, eat high quality, whole foods to provide an abundance of nutrients, chosen from each of the following four groups:

1. Animal foods: meat and organ meats, poultry, and eggs from pastured animals; fish and shellfish; whole raw cheese, milk and other dairy products from pastured animals; and broth made from animal bones.
2. Grains, legumes and nuts: whole-grain baked goods, breakfast porridges, whole grain rice; beans and lentils; peanuts, cashews and nuts, properly prepared to improve digestibility.
3. Fruits and Vegetables: preferably fresh or frozen, preferably locally grown, either raw, cooked or in soups and stews, and also as lacto-fermented condiments.
4. Fats and Oils: unrefined saturated and monounsaturated fats including butter, lard, tallow and other animal fats; palm oil and coconut oil; olive oil; cod liver oil for vitamins A and D.

Replacing White Flour with Grains

Avoid: foods containing refined sweeteners such as candies, sodas, cookies, cakes etc.; white flour products such as pasta and white bread; processed foods; modern soy foods; polyunsaturated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and fried foods.”

While they most pointedly do not have a pyramid, the foundation does have a plethora of articles, research, and commentary that challenges many current assumptions about what is a “healthy” diet.

Asian Diet Pyramid and Japanese Top:

Asian Diet Pyramid

Like the Mediterranean diet, the traditional Asian diet of whole grains, fresh produce, fish, and very little red meat, is a model for longevity and lack of chronic disease. Likewise the Japanese diet, but they use a spinning top, rather than a pyramid, to show it. From www.oldwayspt.org/asian-diet-pyramid.

Japanese Spinning Top Food Guide

Vitamin B is not just a vitamin, it’s a whole family of vitamins with numerous variations and all the little subscripts, such as B₃ or B₁₂.  Scientists originally thought the eight B vitamins were a single B vitamin critical for cell metabolism.  As subsequent research showed there were many related compounds, scientists labeled each discovery with a subscript.

You may recognize their names or numbers from nutrition labels: thiamine (B₁), riboflavin (B₂), niacin (B₃), pantothenic acid (B₅), pyridoxine (B₆), biotin (B₇), folic acid or folate (B₉), and cobalamin (B₁₂).  There are only eight vitamins in the Vitamin B family, (also known as ‘Vitamin B complex’), but there are actually 22 molecules labeled as B₁ through B₂₂.   In their excitement at discovering the compounds, scientists labeled many molecules as Vitamin Bs, only to find out that some were not really vitamins.

‘Vitamins’ are organic (carbon-based) compounds, which the human body cannot make, but are nonetheless required in small amounts for life and must be consumed through our diet.  It turned out that 8 of the 22 Bs were true vitamins and that the others are either already made by our bodies, or not needed, and thus not true ‘vitamins.’  That is why you will never find B₄, B₈, and the other “missing” Bs on a food nutrition or vitamin supplement label.

B vitamins are present in a large number of proteins and particularly high in turkey, tuna, liver, and red meat, as well as being present in potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers, tempeh, beans, nutritional yeast, brewer’s yeast, whole grains, and molasses.  Only B₁₂ is difficult to obtain from plant foods, and should be taken as a supplement by vegetarians.

The chart below summarizes the eight B vitamins, common food sources for each, and why we need them.

Chart sources: Wikipedia, World’s Healthiest Foods

Summer days mean beaches, barbeques, and more outdoor activities.  We all know the importance of staying hydrated on hot days—it’s our bodies’ natural response to reach for a cold drink.  But not all beverage choices are created equal.

Why not try to make this summer a soda-free summer? The cola wars are over, and it turns out everyone lost.  Soda is the number one source of sugar in the American diet. Americans spend over $56 billion annually on soft drinks, and the average U.S. teenager consumes twice as much soda as milk—750 cans per year!  If you drink a single 20-oz. soda each day for a year you could gain up to 25 pounds.

Even diet sodas are high in sodium and can make your body build up a false tolerance to sugars that deactivates your natural metabolic “kill switch” for when you’ve had enough sweets and are satiated. Even “natural” fruit juices have high concentrations of sugar, so experts recommend limiting yourself to less than one cup daily. “Sport” drinks too are full of sugar. Sugary drinks are a major contributing factor to obesity and diabetes.

How to cut back…

If you are a regular soda drinker try this: count how many you drink over a two-week period, then cut back at least one soda per week over the summer. Try to make it to zero by Labor Day. At the office, ask that the soda budget go to bottled or sparkling water and support each other’s efforts to cut back. Bring the soda free summer pledge idea home and get family and roommates to join in. For a chart to track your soda free days and other resources, go sodafreesummer.org for charts and more tips on how to cut back your sugary drink consumption.

What to drink…

Instead drink water, milk, or unsweetened iced tea. Add a wedge of lemon, orange, or lime, or a slice of cucumber to zest up your water.  It will make you feel better, lose weight, and stay hydrated!

Definition: hive [haiv] n. A large group of people buzzing about everything bee related, swapping hints and tips, rubbing elbows and listening to expert entomologists with great reverence, concern and interest for the world’s bee population.

The Fifth Annual Bee Symposium, held in March in Sebastopol, CA (Sonoma County), was a hive of activity and learning. The funds raised from the event went to various pollinator support organizations, including XERCES, the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees, and Partners for Sustainable Pollination. Present were numerous professional beekeepers, hobbyists, entomologists, and citizen scientists.

Organized by BeeKind, the Sebastopol-based bee everything store, the theme was “Medicine from the Hive.” Honey, bee pollen, propolis, and many other bee products have been used for centuries as tonics and health enhancers. Apitherapy is the medicinal use of bee products.

Frederique Keller, an acupuncturist, herbalist, homeopath, and beekeeper, spoke about the medicinal uses of bee products. Many people are familiar with the anti-bacterial and antioxidant powers of honey, but Frederique went into greater depth on other therapeutic agents:

• Bee Pollen:  is flower pollen collected by the bees, the colors reflecting the variety of the flowers visited, usually mostly gold and yellow grains. The pollen is picked from the male part of the flower and packed into pollen sacks on the bees’ legs. Here, the “dust” is mixed with bee enzymes, which is what sets it apart from plain flower pollen. Bee pollen is harvested at the hive by the beekeeper, who collects it in a little catch tray. If it is harvested sustainably, enough pollen is left for the bees to eat. Bee pollen is 20 percent protein and is used as an energy supplement, hormone balancer, and antioxidant. Frederique recommended that bee pollen should always be mixed with a protein, such as yogurt, to break down the enzymes and access its full benefits.

• Royal jelly is a gelatinous secretion from the glands of worker honeybees that is fed to the Queen bee. Royal jelly is all she eats and it gives her the sustenance to lay 20,000 eggs a day for 5-7 years. Humans use royal jelly as an energy tonic, for healing, and to enhance sports performance. If you decide to use royal jelly, keep in mind that it is highly perishable and should be purchased from a highly reputable source that guarantees it is harvested sustainably—royal jelly is the Queen’s food and without a queen you have no hive.

• Beebread is another ancient product that has re-emerged as a health supplement. It is made of fermented raw honey and ground bee pollen. The term “beebread” refers to the pollen stored in combs by bees.

• Propolis is a resin that bees collect from trees. When you open a hive it is the substance that looks like papery flakes of varnish. Bees use it to seal their hive. Propolis flakes are taken and made into a tincture that is used as a folk remedy for sore throats and bacterial infections. Proof of its anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties are still elusive because bees collect resin from so many different sources that controlled clinical trials are difficult to conduct.

• Bee venom therapy is the controlled use of a bee’s sting for medicinal uses. Why would you want to do that you may ask? Well, anecdotally, beekeepers do not get arthritis, so bee venom therapy developed around self-reported improvements in a number of conditions including rheumatism, chronic pain, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. The practitioner holds a bee in a tweezer, or her fingers, and then taps on it so it will sting the patient in the desired spot. Bee stingers are barbed and stick into our mammalian skin. The bee subsequently dies.  Bee venom, also called apitoxin, is a bitter, colorless liquid that contains components of Protease-inhibitors and anticoagulants. As anyone who has ever been stung can tell, you, it causes local inflammation. Patients undergoing apitherapy may receive between 2-80 stings a day and some have reported remarkable results. Clinical trials have been approved for an apitoxin drugs to treat osteoarthritis.

Apitherapy products are undergoing various studies and trials to substantiate their many health claims. At this time, neither the Food and Drug Administration or the European Food Safety Authority have not approved their use for medical purposes. These are ancient natural products and their benefits are anecdotal.

If you decide to use bee products it is prudent to check with your doctor or health care provider first; one percent of the population is allergic to bee stings and bee products contain flower components that can also cause allergic reactions.

Colony Collapse Disorder

After all the talk about what bees can do for us, University of Minnesota entomologist Dr. Marla Spivak spoke about health care for the bees. Dr. Spivak is a MacArthur Fellow and Distinguished McKnight Professor in entomology. She introduced her eye-opening research on how bees use propolis to support their own immune systems.

Current studies show that Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) may be caused by a variety of environmental stresses including:

• Poor nutrition – lack of forage and plant diversity
• Pesticides
• GMO crops – produce an insecticide Bt toxin
• Migratory beekeeping practices
• Viruses, mites, and fungi – bees are unable to fight infections and parasites if any two of the above stresses exist for the hive

Dr. Spivak studied a wild bee hive, one that had been made in an old tree, and found that feral bees (not those kept in hive boxes by beekeepers) completely shellac the inside of their hives with propolis which acts like a sealant against predators, parasites, and reduces in-hive microbes.

Bee keepers have often viewed propolis, or “bee glue,” as a bit of an annoyance since bees tend to seal anything less than a 1/8 inch wide, such as the hive lid. It was believed that they used this to control hive temperature. In Dr. Spivak’s study, hive interiors were painted with two different kinds of propolis derived from different sources, she found evidence that the quality and source of the tree resin from which the bees made their propolis was a big indicator in the hive’s survivability.

Bees are amazing insects in their organization, cooperation, sacrifice, and industriousness. If you only take one gift from the hive—say, a teaspoon of honey—know that it is the life’s work of 12 bees who travelled a five-mile radius of their hive and viewed it with compound eyes of 7,000 facets. Appreciate it and enjoy it.

Here’s how gardeners can encourage forage and habitat for honey and native bees this spring:

• Plant native plants. Visit your local native plant nursery or check the Pollinator Partnership’s guide for a regional selection of suggested plants.
• To encourage wildlife and a variety of pollinators, leave out some old wood or install a Mason Beenesting box.
• Leave open ground. Gardeners know the importance of mulching plants to conserve water and suppress weeds; it also benefits native bees to leave some open ground.

If you are not a gardener, you can still help bees by doing the following:

• Save swarms: don’t call an exterminator, call a beekeeper.
• Support organic farming and agriculture that doesn’t use herbicides.
• Support local beekeepers by buying local honey and hive products that are sustainably harvested.

The Pedigree of Honey
Does not concern the Bee –
A Clover, any time, to him,
Is Aristocracy
- Emily Dickinson

Note: this article should not be construed as medical advice. Always consult your doctor or health care provider before introducing a new health or fitness regime.

Last Friday Farm Shop participated in SpringFest, a program of HeartBeets at San Francisco General Hospital. HeartBeets is a superb example of a program working to unite good nutrition, social justice, local food and the medical community.

Launched in 2009, the HeartBeets program is dedicated to increasing patient, staff, and community consumption of locally, naturally grown foods. HeartBeets volunteers collaborate with people and programs throughout the city to foster connections around healthy eating.

Friday’s SpringFest event included speakers, program tables, giveaways, and film screenings. A focal point of much of the activity was the delicious food local chefs created from ingredients grown at the hospital roof- top garden and at Alemany Farm. Much of the produce was also from Capay Valley Farm Shop, thanks to the generous donations made by members last fall.

Among the presenters at the event were teen members of the program Moms Mentoring Moms, a support network for young mothers at Hilltop High School in the Mission. The young women gathered to share what they’ve learned in cooking classes with local chefs. One SFSU intern remarked on how inspiring the mothers’ commitment is to their own health and that of their children.

Also in attendance was Alice Carruthers from Alemany Farm, who highlighted the role community gardens can play in encouraging people to eat more local fruits and vegetables. Alumni from the Medical Respite and Sobering Center South of Market shared healthy eating tips for homeless and marginally housed people who’ve recently been discharged from the hospital. Representatives from the Chinatown Public Health Center and Potrero Hill Health Center were present as well, and shared their strategies for engaging clients in nutrition projects and local gardens.

All in all, the event was a great success, bringing together patients and hospital employees alike in a festive atmosphere to promote healthy, local food.

This summer the HeartBeets Wellness Team will produce the hospital’s first SummerFest, emphasizing the benefits of exercise and enjoying San Francisco’s great outdoors. The FallFest will celebrate the harvest with a focus on how people with chronic diseases promote healing through food and the Wellness team will take the lead again next winter, emphasizing the importance of slowing down to renew and reflect.

For me, the word ergonomics has always called to mind carpal tunnel syndrome and back pain.  But what does it mean exactly? The science of ergonomics finds the best fit between a person and the equipment she or he uses to maintain health and promote productivity.  When it comes to our desks and computers, ergonomics tells us how we should be sitting and where to place our computer so that we don’t cause injury to ourselves while at work or perusing our private e-mail.

The odds are your current arrangement is, like in my family, less than ideal.  My daughter often uses her high school-issued laptop sitting on the floor in a contorted position.  She makes me cringe, but try convincing a teenager to change her ways. I’m a bit better off sitting at my desk, although I used a straight-back chair for years although I knew it made my back hurt.  My husband has a fancy, expensive ergonomic chair, but has never bothered to figure out the ideal position for his computer. Your office may have a similar mix of attitudes and habits.

Not Sitting Pretty…
We tend to think of sitting as relaxing, but it is not something our backs do well, having evolved to support us in a standing position.  When we sit, the pressure increases on the discs that cushion the lumbar, or lower back, vertebrae. It is therefore important to make sure that your chair distributes your weight properly to minimize that pressure.  The ideal chair provides lumbar support by sticking out 5 centimeters to fit the spine’s natural curvature. With the lumbar supported, you will find that your body’s angle (between the thighs and abdomen) is open more than 90 degrees if you rest your shoulders against the backrest.   Some people sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair. Balancing on the ball forces the abdominal muscles to engage to support the back and it is easy to roll and change positions.

Sitting is also hard on your legs and feet, because gravity causes blood to pool there and the heart has a harder time pumping it back up.  During long airline flights, we are warned to move around, but most of us forget this when we sit engrossed at our desks, often for hours at a time. Stand up or otherwise change your position regularly, every 15-20 minutes. Set a timer on your computer or cell phone to remind you. If you work on a laptop, try placing it on a high counter or table so you can stand and work for a change of pace.  If you are lucky enough to have an adjustable desk, change the height and work standing for part of the day (see Standing Can Improve Office Health). Ergotron, a ergonomic device maker, has an online tool to calculate how many more calories you would burn each day if you worked standing at a desk instead of sitting in a chair.

Simple exercises at your desk can help your blood to flow, such as stretching your arms to the ceiling and twisting to each side of your chair. (See our Office Yoga story for simple desk poses.) Be sure your feet rest flat on the floor, so that some of your weight transfers to the floor.  Ensure your thighs are parallel to the floor and knees are in line with your hips.  Keep the back of your knees a few inches away from the front edge of your chair.

Eye Level…
Next, consider the placement of your computer screen and keyboard.  There is no ideal desk height, but your arms should rest on the edge of your desk so the forearms are roughly parallel to the floor and you can relax your shoulders down away from your ears.  Your monitor or screen should be at eye level, and tilted 10-20 degrees away from you.  The keyboard should be at a height so that the wrists do not have to flex up or down, and the forearms stay parallel to the floor.  Use a lap desk to hold your keyboard and mouse so your wrists are neutral. Minimize glare to help prevent eyestrain by placing your screen at a 90-degree angle to any windows.  If you have glare from overhead lighting glare, balance a piece of stiff paper or cardboard an inch or two over the top of your monitor.

Don’t Break the Bank…
You don’t need to break the bank for an expensive chair or desk to improve your ergonomic situation.  If you already have a comfortable chair, add lumbar support by using a rolled towel, small pillow, or purchasing a lumbar support pillow.   To improve my home office chair, I bought a great dining room chair and added my own lumbar support, all for a small fraction of the cost of my husband’s ergonomic chair.  If your feet do not reach the floor, you can place a phonebook under them.  If your monitor is not at eye level, place it on a phonebook or other object to raise it.  If your desk is too high, get a higher chair or sit on a cushion. Buy an inexpensive lap desk and place your keyboard on it. If you frequently use a mouse, make sure it has a mouse board attached.

The placement of laptops can be troublesome because you cannot separate the keyboard from the screen, so the screen ends up too low for the eyes, or the keyboard is too high for the arms.  Compensate by tilting the screen farther back.  If you use your laptop at a desk for long hours, consider investing in a remote keyboard and or wireless mouse.  You can then raise the laptop up to eye level, but keep your arms and wrists in proper alignment on the desk.  Since laptops are made to travel, take a moment before you plop down at the café or in the airport to consider whether any of the available seating places you in a better ergonomic position.

The National Institute of Health Division of Occupational Health and Safety has great resources on how to assess your computer ergonomic setup. Remember that these simple ergonomic adjustments are about preventing problems.  Don’t wait until something is already bothering you before you make changes!

Rebecca Taggart is a San Francisco-based writer and yoga instructor.

Last month we wrote about plastics and the potential health hazards some can present for food preparation and storage because of the inclusion of the chemicals biphenyl-A (BPA) and phthalates. Here we show you ways to identify plastics to help determine which are safe and resources on popular brands of food storage products.

Look for the Triangle

Look for the recycle triangle on the bottom of plastic containers, lids, and other plastic items that come into contact with food.  Inside the recycle triangle is a number.  Only numbers 3, 6, and sometimes 7 contain BPA, which research has shown may be a cause for health concerns, especially for infants and children.  Numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5 have no known health issues. For more information about plastic designations, recycle codes, and the types of products made with each plastic resin, visit the Plastic Packaging Resins identification chart at the American Chemistry Council website.

Considered Safe:

Plastic Codes 1, 2, 4, 5

It is recommended to not microwave any kind of plastic and to wash them by hand instead of in the dishwasher.

Food Storage Products

Most company websites provide information about what plastics and resins their products’ contain. Many well-known brands have begun to produce BPA-free and/or phthalate-free food storage products.

Glad’s website states that none of its food storage containers and cling wraps contain BPA or phthalates, according to a 2008 declaration.

SC Johnson also states on its Ziplock.com and SaranBrands.com websites that their bags, wraps, and containers do not contain BPA or dioxins.  The sites do not mention phthalates content.

Rubbermaid has a page on their website to help consumers identify which containers contain BPA.  They are introducing a “BPA-free” logo on the bottom of new products that do not contain the chemical.  The website claims all products made from January, 2010 onwards are BPA-free, and do not contain dioxins or phthalates.

Tupperware claims that less than 10% of their products contain BPA, and that they traditionally have not included the recycle triangle because their products come with lifetime guarantees. According to their website, they are going to add the triangle to future products and are finding alternatives for the BPA-containing plastics they have used in the past.  They offer a 2010 guide to the types of plastic materials used in their products. The website does not mention phthalates.