Random thoughts

Watching the coterie of suck-ups and groupies on "Morning Joe" gets nauseating in about 30 seconds.  I am reminded of experiences in fifth and sixth grade with classroom gossip.  The intellectual level on this mornings program was on a par with speculation about nose picking and which girls had started wearing bras.   How anyone would waste their time watching this drek is more than I can figure out.
More interesting was a new study reported by the times food blogger which seems to conclusively prove the link between consumption of sugar and diabetes.  It seems that obesity is not the cause of diabetes, but a marker.  In other words being fat is not necessarily the cause of the disease.  Consumption of sugar is.  This should mean the FDA should regulate sugar as a toxic substance.  This will be interesting.

The Lion of Winter

Looks like March will come in like the proverbial lion.  We could get another 5-6 inches of white cement on the NCR as temps hover around the freezing mark.  Just about everyone is sick of winter and waiting to embrace spring.  Unfortunately, the forecast for the next couple of weeks is not too spring-like, so we'll just have to soldier through it and hope the weather channel forecast of above average March and April is on the mark.  I'm channeling my inner gardener.

Health and Diet

A very large study of dietary choice in Spain recently concluded that adherance to the "Mediterranean Diet"  lowers heart attack risk by up to 30% when compared to the usual modern diet.  The contrast is in the former's reliance on olive oil, fruits and vegetables.  The typical modern diet is full of processed foods, soda and red meat.  The difference in outcomes was so pronounced, the directors of the study discontinued it because it would have been unethical to continue to subject the controls to the regular diet.  It would be difficult for most Americans to follow such a diet with the constant bombardment of ads for Mickey Ds, Dunkin Donuts, etc. and the relentless schedule which mandates hurried meals without thought of nutrients.  The seven glasses of wine per week with meals would be a deal breaker for many also.  But the benefits would certainly recommend at least an attempt at what seems to be no brainer of a diet.

This and that

The celery and sage seedlings are up, so all the early crops are up and growing.  Next on the agenda are the peppers and late blooming flowers.  It's easy to get antsy and start too many different varieties which become difficult to care for with limited facilities available.  But that has never stopped me before.  After 40 years of gardening and 10 years of farming experience before that, one thing that has always impressed me is the myriad potentials for both failure and success in the growing and harvesting of garden crops.
    On the political front, the budget cuts involved with the sequester will impact the produce industry, albeit not as much as some other businesses.  Importing of fresh fruits and veg will become more time consuming as there will be fewer inspectors available.  Nationwide, there will be fewer FDA personnel available which will lead to more holdups on shipments.  Tempers will be short.
  

Seedlings are up!

The first seedlings of the season are up and growing.  Rosemary, snapdragons and celosia are out.  The celery and celeriac are lagging, but it is still too early to blame it on poor germination.  When the first seeds come up this early, I get a little nervous.  I'll probably have to transplant them and grow them on for several weeks in the basement.   Last year at this time there was virtually no frost in the ground and the cold frames were ready to go in early March.  This year I'll need a jack hammer to get the soil worked up.  Different year, different challenges.

The science and politics of fat

Apropos of yesterday's post, the NYT has an op-ed by Marc Bittman exhorting the surgeon general of the US to step up and criticize the food processing industry.  Meanwhile, he had to look up her name.  It turns out to be Regina Benjamin, who as I recall from pictures at her swearing in is somewhat challenged in the weight department.  The point of Bittman's rant is the Surgeion General has a bully pulpit, but since the time of Everret Koop, who publicized the science behind Aids and was instrumental in pushing for a cure, the nation's chief doctor has been neutralized by the anti-science zealots in Congress and successive administrations.    The few pronouncements from Dr. Benjamin's office have been more of the "blame the victim" variety.  Too many calories and too little excercise is the gist of her argument.  Forget about the constant advertising of calorie laden soft drinks and processed crap, plus the ever lager TV and gaming screens which tempt the youth of the country to vegetate in comfort.  Michelle Obama's advocacy of healthy eating and participating in aerobic activity is great, but what we really need are incentives to eat right and excercise and penalties for doing the opposite.  Taxing soft drinks and junk food is a step in that direction.  Lower insurance premiums for lower BMI (body mass index) individuals is another.  In a post industrial world where strenuous exertion is the exception in most occupations, someone or something must step in to insure the physical fitness of future generations.

Obesity and Obamacare

The latest faux outrage over Obamacare is liable to start as the wingnuts wax rhapsodic about the virtues of "freedom fries" and how Obama is going to take your fat away.  This latest example of nanny statism derives from some rules in the legislation which will allow employers and insurers to disincentivize people by either charging extra for those with excessive weight, or by providing rewards for weight loss and excercise.  The average person would probably say what's not to like about a program which mandates a healthy lifestyle.   As with all programs, governmental and otherwise, the devil is again in the details.  Who decides what dietary and excercise choices are correct and will be rewarded and which will be penalized.   As with so many other lifestyle choices we make as individuals, our place in the economic hierarchy dictates many of the outcomes, regardless of what we think.   For every Chris Christie who has every monetary and societal advantage and yet remains a somewhat unrepenetant fattie, there are probably 50  Honey Boo Boos who through an accident of birth into the lower economic strata of society will never have the opportunity to make the healthy choices which will enable them to get or stay thinner.  We as a society must have a debate about food; the quality and quantity of which is making us a sicker and less fit nation.  If Obamacare is ever going to bend the cost curve of healthcare, all of us need to be educated and enabled to eat better quality food and get enough excercise to stay healthy.  These are the issues that need to be debated.