A new semester begins, with some new habits to boot

My final full semester of school begins today. I am taking four courses, all of which I am actually quite excited about.

I have research class, which hopefully despite the extra work will be more rewarding this semester with my new direction, community building.

I have a movement class which talks about how different movements affect the body/mind/spirit's health. Oooh, I can only hope that means we will be getting out of our chairs during class time.

I'll be doing an independent study on how art affects the health of an individual, a community and the world, as well as exploring different forms of art on my own (a self-study). I will also address the bigger question, "What is the purpose of art?"

My last class will be at the Cultural Wellness Center and it is called Organization for Social Change. I'm stoked for it. My biggest reason for going into my field of holistic health studies is because I believe EVERYBODY should have access to good health and there are ways we can do it without having to rely on insurance companies and medical doctors. We can take care of ourselves! Woo hoo :)

Additionally, I will be continuing with training in Beginning Yoga I and II, which will be great learning but also great self-care for the semester.

It will be busy but I am excited for some movement this cold winter.

Beyond the exciting news of the classes I am taking I wanted to come on here and be open about some goals I am trying to meet on the side of academics. I feel by sharing this news it will further my dedication to these goals.

Number One: Become a Vegetarian.
It's already been three days meat-free and I have to say I am feeling fine. I am looking forward to this challenge of eating a nutritionally balanced vegetarian diet. After basically being a flexitarian my whole life, I am making the final plunge and letting go of meat-eating for awhile. I will assess my health and see if it is a good choice for me along the way.

How I came to this decision?

1. Recent discussion with my pal who just went vegan. Thanks Ash, for the inspiration.

2. Listening to exerpts from the book, Slaughterhouse. The cruelty of animals in factory farming just killed me. There was one part where a factory worker was describing just before a pig was to be slaughtered. He said it came up to him and nudged up against the worker like a puppy. For some reason after hearing all of the horrific ways these animals are being killed and treated, hearing about this pig described as a puppy begging for forgiveness made my stomach turn. It also made me want to adopt a pig and have it as a pet. I'm working on this one with Jay.

3. My connection to Buddhism, long ago instilled a wish inside me to follow the vegetarian ways of life. It is much better on the environment, the animals and the world.

4. This decision will further my want/need to pursue gardening.

Number two: Kick the refined sugar, flour and what have you.
We'll see how this one goes. For some reason sugar has been the ultimate hardest thing for me to let go, and it is addictive as hell. While I have periods of no-sugar I have not given it up for more than a couple weeks. I'd like to at least go a month greatly reducing refined/processed foods in my life and see what happens. I figured this would be a necessary pairing with my choice to be a vegetarian because many vegetarians eat sugary, processed, white bread products to keep awake because they may lack protein.

Number three: Get back on the treadmill.
My 12 times a month to the Y have looked more like me stopping by and laying in the hot sauna for 20 minutes and then calling it a workout. I need to get my body moving. I always feel better when I do.

Number four: Take more public transportation.
I am going to try taking more PT to school (baby steps). So when I attend classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I will try my best to take PT or carpool. I talk about being environmentally conscious and I'd like to incorporate this piece more in my daily habits.

Those are the some things I am going to really work on in addition to school and life in general. While it will be challenging for me, I am excited at the prospect of feeling more energized and in line with my beliefs/principles.

Food cravings series: Gimme salt--sea salt, that is.

Why do we crave salt?

Salt is a mineral that everybody needs. Sometimes people crave salt not because they don't eat enough salty foods but because of a mineral deficiency (Rosenthal, 2008).

* Salt from the sea contains over 60 different trace minerals. However, most people who consume salty foods get their sodium in the form of table salt. Because table salt is refined and processed, it lacks many of the essential minerals that are found in naturally occurring sea salt.

* On top of this fact, because people's diets are already missing nutrients and minerals (from all of the overprocessing of our foods), people will reach for salty foods. Unfortunately because of the quality of sodium found in most processed foods, people will never attain their mineral fix and will continue to grab for those salty foods that will never nourish the body. A perpetual cycle begins where the body craves nourishment and nutrition but only feeds itself nutrient and mineral deficient foods.

What can be done?

* Reaching for foods high in minerals, like a wide variety of vegetables and leafy greens, may help curb the craving for salt (nutrition). Apparently veggies make it into yet another posting.

* Kick table salt and use sea salt instead.

Per Dr. Mercola,"natural salt is essential for life" and helps:
• allow fluids to pass in and out of your cells
• carry nutrients to your cells
• nerve cells in your brain and body to transfer information
• various metabolic reactions in your body
• regulate blood pressure

It also helps aid in mood, although, one could argue that providing minerals to a mineral deficient person may elevate mood in general.

Regardless, everyone is different; some people may need more salt than others to fulfill their bodies' needs so play around with these suggestions and see what happens.

Feel guilty about tossing out your table salt for sea salt? Don't throw it out.

Creative uses for table salt:
• Table salt can be used to get rid of ants. Just add salt to boiling water and prepare a salt solution. Now spray this salt solution in all corners of your house.
• Salt can remove kitchen odors from your hands. If your hands smell like garlic or onions, make a little paste of vinegar and salt and scrub with it (just be careful for any cuts).
• Use it in your arts and crafting; if you watercolor paint, throwing a pinch of salt can create a cool effect.
• The list continues. Just google "Uses for table salt." You will find articles like this one, among many others.

Food cravings series: What is your body trying to tell you?

Cravings are not always problems, but alert us to something that may be off in the body. People ought to pay more attention to their cravings and ask why they might be experiencing a particular craving.

This blogpost will cover one of the most basic flavors/tastes people crave: sugar.

Over the next week or so, I will post more on different types of cravings. Hopefully this information can help shed some light on what you might be craving and how you might react to the craving.

Crave something sweet?

We all need sugar to make our bodies run properly. However, in this case,if you are craving sugar it may not be because you actually need it. Did you know that at the turn of the 19th century people ingested about 5 pounds of sugar a year? Now, annually, people consume over 165 pounds of sugar on average. Wow! Think about that, if you think you maybe only consume 50 pounds a year, that means somebody else is consuming even more than 165 pounds. What do you think that increase in sugar does to our bodies? To keep it simple--let's just say not a whole lot of good.

With that statistic in mind, if you always crave sugar, chances are you have a sugar imbalance. Because if you are living in modern society and eating a western diet you are probably getting plenty of sugar.

Q: So what should we do when we crave sugar?

A: Aim to satisfy this desire with milder, sweet foods that do not contain refined white sugars. Try different fruits or vegetables that are naturally high in sugar.

Some examples of sweet vegetables are:
* corn
* carrots
* onions
* squash
* sweet potatoes
* beets

Q: And what about those sweeteners, we love so much?

A: Try using natural sweeteners instead.

The sweetness that comes from natural fructose is absorbed slowly by the body, unlike their refined counterparts which make you crash and then grab for another sweet treat. Some popular, natural alternatives to sweeteners are:
* brown rice syrup
* barley malt
* stevia
* agave nectar
* date sugar
* honey
* molasses

For more information about sugar:
A very basic, introductory video on sugar addiction
CNN's Q & A: Emotional eating, sugar addiction and depression?