Clipmarks | Marcariel's 'coffee' clips

How Healthy Is Bottled Water

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 03:10:43 GMT

clipped by: Marcariel
clipper's remarks: Some amazing and scary facts about bottled water and the plastics it is packaged in in the USA. The cost , the article states, is more than gasoline in the U.S.

Clip Source: healthcommentary.org

According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, every man, woman and child in the United States ingests 192 gallons of liquid a year. That translates to about 3.7 gallons per week or two liters a day. Of that amount, approximated 14 percent are alcoholic beverages. Of the rest, carbonated sodas, at 28 percent, have the lead but are dropping slightly in popularity. They are giving way, in part, to water, which now represents 11 percent of U.S. liquid consumption, about the same amount as milk consumption, and about the same amount as coffee and tea combined.

The marketing appeals for bottled water – purer, safer, healthier – are fundamentally inaccurate. The reality is that public tap water is remarkably safe

25 percent of bottled water comes right from the tap.

it cost $6.82 a gallon, more than 3,000 times the cost of regular water

one-third did not meet state or bottled water industry standards for bacteria or contaminants

we spend

$10 billion per year in the United States on bottled water

Tags: water, bottled water, plastic bottles, bacteria, heath, tap water

Caffeine Bad - Morning Sickness Good

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:25:51 GMT

clipped by: Marcariel
clipper's remarks: Not having caffeine in the first trimester is a Duh. It is a drug after all.

"Women who have morning sickness are less likely to miscarry than those who do not," ... This was a surprise. So, being sick is a good thing!

The Greek historian Hesiod wrote in 'Works and Days,' 'Observe due measure, moderation is best in all things.' ... so old becomes new again.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Too much caffeine during pregnancy may increase the risk of miscarriage

pregnant women may want to reduce their intake or cut it out entirely.

pregnant women who consume 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day — the amount in 10 ounces of coffee or 25 ounces of tea — may double their risk of miscarriage.

Pregnant women should try to give up caffeine for at least the first three or four months

“If, for whatever reason, they really can’t do it, think of cutting to one cup or switching to decaf,” Dr. Li said. “Stopping caffeine really doesn’t have any downside.”

Women who have morning sickness are less likely to miscarry than those who do not, possibly because the same hormonal changes that cause nausea and vomiting contribute to a healthy pregnancy.

smoking, chlamidial infections and increasing maternal age were stronger risk factors for miscarriage, and ones that women could do something about.

“Moderation in all things is still an excellent rule,”

Miscarriage Caused By Caffeine

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:35:55 GMT

clipped by: Marcariel
clipper's remarks: Caffeine is bad and morning sickness is good. Well the caffeine is bad is a Duh! Caffeine is a drug and you need to be very careful about drug and alcohol intake (among other things) during the first trimester of pregnancy when the fetus is forming.

Morning sickness is good was a surprise! "the same hormonal changes that cause nausea and vomiting contribute to a healthy pregnancy." If you say so ... but it sure doesn't feel healthy when you are having it!

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Too much caffeine during pregnancy may increase the risk of miscarriage

pregnant women may want to reduce their intake or cut it out entirely.

pregnant women who consume 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day — the amount in 10 ounces of coffee or 25 ounces of tea — may double their risk of miscarriage.

Pregnant women should try to give up caffeine for at least the first three or four months

“If, for whatever reason, they really can’t do it, think of cutting to one cup or switching to decaf,”

Until more is known, women should limit their caffeine intake during pregnancy.

Women who have morning sickness are less likely to miscarry than those who do not, possibly because the same hormonal changes that cause nausea and vomiting contribute to a healthy pregnancy.

smoking, chlamidial infections and increasing maternal age were stronger risk factors for miscarriage

“Moderation in all things is still an excellent rule,”

Tags: pregnancy, caffeine, miscarriage

Is There Slavery In Your Chocolate?

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:36:01 GMT

clipped by: Marcariel
clipper's remarks: This clip is for abailart. This is another even worse example of the bottom line being the driving force behind inhumane treatment of the workers who produce the things we buy every day.

This story broke back in 2001, and I'm glad to read that there has been some progress in addressing this atrocity. But as can be seen by this quote from the article there is still money talking in these decisions.

"the U.S. chocolate industry and its allies mounted an intense lobbying effort to fight off legislation that would require "slave free" labels for their products."

Unfortunately, Money Talks! Legislators have their hands tied by lobbyists and special interest groups. Sad!

Clip Source: www.foodrevolution.org

Chocolate. The very word conjures feelings of pleasure, sensuality, and the richness of life. The scientific name of the tree from whose beans we make chocolate, likewise bespeaks the depth of feeling human beings have always had for chocolate.

Chocolate has a remarkable history.

Montezuma's royal coffers were overflowing, not with gold, but with cocoa beans.

cacao, cocoa and chocolate are the richest known sources of a little-known substance called theobromine, a close chemical relative of caffeine.

Most of us, though, aren't all that concerned with the history or chemistry of chocolate. When it comes down to it, frankly, we are content so long as the market shelves remain well stocked with affordable tins of cocoa and bars of chocolate candy.

that's how it was in the United States until the summer of 2001

According to the BBC, hundreds of thousands of children are being purchased from their parents

shipped to the Ivory Coast, where they are sold as slaves to cocoa farms.

Educate yourself

Tags: chocolate, slavery, child-labor, history, caffeine, coffee

Doing Paris Like A Local

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:59:40 GMT

clipped by: Marcariel
clipper's remarks: I would love to visit Paris. I know we Americans are not that welcome there ... but I am not the typical tourist. Being le flâneur, (one who strolls or loiters, usually without a destination in mind) sounds like it's my way to see the sights!

Clip Source: www.fodors.com

To appreciate the City of Light as locals do, you can start by learning some of the daily rituals of Paris life. These simple pleasures will get you into the swing of being Parisian.

Shop Like a Parisian
Parisians prefer the boisterous atmosphere of bustling street markets to the drab supermarchés. We do too. Among our favorites is Le Marché d'Aligre, just off the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine beyond the Opéra Bastille. Open Tuesday through Sunday, the market has fruit, veggies, cheese, meat, fish, and poultry, as well as a host of other products. The best selection is on the weekend.

Eat Pastries Like a Parisian

Another traditional pastry is the mont-blanc, a mini-mountain of chestnut purée capped with whipped cream, best rendered by Jean-Paul Hévin (3 rue Vavin, 6th , 01-43-54-09-85). And those really in the know watch for anything from the Tokyo-born Sadaharu Aoki (35 rue Vaugirard, 6th, 01-45-44-48-90). His green-tea madeleines and black sesame éclairs are heavenly.

Tags: paris, eating, drinking, shopping, coffee

"Cocaine" Pulled from Store Shelves

Fri, 11 May 2007 15:54:53 GMT

clipped by: Marcariel
clipper's remarks: Coffee is enough for me ... and sometimes too much! This would probably put a healthy person in the hospital.

Clip Source: blog.healthpolitics.org

Thank you, FDA! After going to the Redux Beverages Web site and viewing its marketing for the high-caffeine "energy drink" Cocaine, the FDA spoke up.

Self-defined as "Speed in a Can" and "Liquid Cocaine," this beverage had already been bulled off shelves in various chains in several states and is now being pulled from all shelves in all states. Redux partner Clegg Ivey's solution to outrage over the product? “Change the name."

But the problem goes way beyond that to the whole class of "energy drinks" from Red Bull to this absurd concoction. If you're reading this, and you drink the stuff or have a kid who does, make sure you click on this link or send it to your kids (http://www.healthpolitics.org/archives.asp?previous=energy_drinks_bad).

Energy drinks have no place in healthy homes or healthy communities! Anyone out there challenging this one on a community wide/school level?

Tags: cocaine, fda, energy drinks

Wonder cancer herb found in Mabira forest reserve in Uganda

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 03:48:47 GMT

clipped by: gingembre
clipper's remarks: " The director for Research -Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Laboratory at the Ministry of health Grace Nambatya Kyeyune on Wednesday that the bark of the plant can also be used as an afrodisiac for men who suffer partial impotence. " It is also known to boost the human immune system and can be used as painkiller," Dr Nambatya said."

"The high demand for the plant on the international market is threatening its existence in Africa and Uganda is lucky to have it even if it's in protected areas according to NFA."

" Prunus africana is just one of the species of flora in Mabira central forests reserve, a medium altitude moist semi-deciduous forest and the biggest single natural forest block remaining in the central region of Uganda is endowed with."

"Mr Mapesa revealed that, "Mabira central forest reserve also has wild robusta coffee, dioscoria tubers, yams and other plants whose economic importance is still under investigation and must therefore not be lost".

Clip Source: www.monitor.co.ug

Wonder cancer herb found in Mabira

MABIRA forest reserve has trees- Prunus africana from which herbs can be obtained to treat prostate cancer

Prunus africana also occurs in other protected areas including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Kibaale, Rwenzori and Mt Elgon National Parks

The plant is known to contain three groups of active components: Phytosterols (beta-sitosterol), pentacyclic triterpenoids (ursolic and oleanic acids) and ferulic esters of fatty alcohols. These are particularly the ferulic esters of docosanol and tetracosanol all of which are important for manufacturing different kinds of medicines.

Pharmaceutical companies in the United States and the European Union use the bark of the plant for manufacturing medicines such as Male balance, Male 40, Tadenan, prostatonic and progen.

According to the Uganda Cancer institute, the medicines are then used in treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia disease, which is often a big problem for men world over.

Tags: cancer, medicine, africa, uganda, tree bark, pharmaceuticals, prunus africana