finally, something I can agree with.

Hello all, and happy Tuesday! I just got out of my advanced food science test... and um, I guess we will see how that one went. I never really considered how much goes into certain processes of cooking, or why adding certain things to a egg foam with affect it, until I got in this class. This particular test was over sugars, eggs, and fat. So, if you ever wanna know why an acid prevents synergesis in egg whites, just let me know. OMG... definitely didn't choose the food science profession for a reason. Anyways-- I still have 2 tests and 3 quizzes before the week ends. So, wish me luck. Also this week former Mayor Guilliani will be visiting campus. I cant wait to go see him!


So how about I stumbled across something I actually agree with... something from the FDA. Typically I write about how much some of their decisions dont really sit right with me, but this one definitely makes me happy. 


Lets rewind back to the year 1977. This was the year that the FDA began and never finished the process of banning penicillin and tetracycline, widely used antibiotics in animal feed. While these help with growth of animals, when used in such high amounts, humans consuming these animals and ultimately these antibiotics, develop a resistance. These antibiotics are prescribed with NO prescription at NO sign of sickness in these animals. Farmers were so impressed by the fatter animals that they kept adding these to feed and water. 
"Eighty percent of antibiotics bought in the United States are used in animals, not humans. Meanwhile, outbreaks of illnesses from antibiotic-resistant bacteria have grown in number and severity, killing thousands." -- NYTimes

So, now fast forward to 2012. Just two months after the Obama administration announced the restrictions on agricultural uses of cephalosporins, which treats things like strep throat and pneumonia, a federal judge ordered to open the case that the FDA left unfinished 35 years ago."In a ruling handed down Thursday, Judge Theodore Katz said the FDA must begin steps to withdraw approval of the two antibiotics for routine use in animals." Antibiotics would not be able to be immediately halted from feeds, the drug companies will need time to adress and scheldule a public hearing. "If, at the hearing, the drug sponsors fail to show that use of the drugs is safe, the FDA commissioner must issue a withdrawal order," ruled Katz, a judge in New York City."

So whats the big deal about antibiotics in feed? Right, thats the question you're asking. Read this, I'm not sure if I wrote it... that it would make the least bit sense.
"The science is clear on two points. First, by inappropriately giving antibiotics to livestock*, we promote the growth of new strains of bacteria that are resistant to existing antibiotics and can infect humans. And, second, that those antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a serious, expensive, and sometimes fatal, risk for humans. The humans at risk, by the way, are not only the humans who eat meat or work with livestock. All humans are at increased risk for infection by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including vegetarians and those who never have and never will set foot near a chicken, turkey, pig, or cow." -- Representative Louise Slaughter 

So, like I said, this makes me pretty happy. I think that the FDA is making steps in the right direction. What are your thoughts?


Have a wonderful Tuesday... and I think you should come visit me tonight at AA and Cardio Sculpt! 8 and 830 :D

Sharing a Smile

Happy Sunday and hello to all! This has just been a wonderful weekend! While I should of been inside studying because I have about 5 tests this week... I chose to procrastinate in the beautiful weather. Yes, I know Saturday was rainy, but I cant say I didn't enjoy it. I was able to get SOME work done, followed by spending the day with my roomie, Megsss :D We ventured over to the new boutique in Statesboro, Entourage, and well... fell in love. This place is awesome if you have not been! Very affordable :D 


Saturday night we got together with some friends and it was just lovely! I woke up this morning to the sun shining and beautiful weather. After I grabbed some breakfast, I headed over to Bucks, grabbed Addy, and flew out to The George L. Smith State Park. This place is pretty awesome if you have not been. You can picnic, walk the trails, canoe, ride bikes... I mean you name it and this place is ideal. Well, for the statesboro area... haha I'll take it. After about an hour of walking the trails we rented a canoe, threw Addy on, and headed out! It was so beautiful out and actually the rowing turned out to be quite the arm workout! Very satisfied with the day and I think Addy was too :D

This week is going to be hectic. Like I said, I have 5 tests/quizzes + everything else. But, I have a nice weekend to look forward to (haha its Sunday and I'm already wanting the week to be over... how sad!) Heading to Savannah area for a wedding and thanks to Entourage, I have the perfect dress!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday night and a great week! 

haha this is what I feel like... 

paleo?

What a rainy Saturday! I love this though, I don't feel so bad being inside preparing for my week. Although... this week was pretty full of AWESOME weather, we needed this! This past week was surprisingly not bad at all, not many things to worry about at all. Haha, don't get me wrong, days are FULL, but not having 734856874 tests feels great. I also received this awesome reader feedback, I NEED to share it with you all. This made my day, people are so great! :D


Hey Girl,
I haven't posted on your blog yet but I just wanted to tell you that I have been keeping up with it for a month or so now and am really enjoying reading it. I appreciate how you not only provide your opinion but the scientific backing behind your stances on nutrition and pharmaceuticals as well. I also love your recipes! I've been a vegetarian now for a few months and am trying to incorporate more vegan options into my diet (as a result of reading the China study and watching too many documentaries on netflix) and your blog definitely helps! I know we haven't really talked since high school but I just wanted to drop you a line and say keep up the blogging it's great! Hope you're well!


So, will all the new hype about the new CrossFit gym here in Statesboro, I decided to research some aspects a little more. I think I am a little biased towards the workouts since I work with fitness professionals, so I have decided to share with you my thoughts on the Paleo Diet-- the recommended diet for those using CrossFit. Please remember I am not yet an RD. Aesthetically these dieters look great, but I am not so sure about their insides.

Starting off with what I can accept about this diet. I love that it asks you to cut out all processed foods while sticking to a whole foods diet. Second, I love that push fruits and veggies. For obvious reasons, this is always going to be better for you, and with the average American population not consuming close to what they need... this is fine with me! But, other than that, I must argue some things about this diet.

1. No legumes? No grains? Hmmm... I understand that legumes have lots of carbs, but compared with the amount of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein... I think legumes should be a staple in just about anyones diet. The amount of animal protein this diet asks you to consume is outrageous-- with that much (saturated) fat and protein and little fiber in our bodies, what is the meat supposed to do? Sit there in our digestive systems and take a very long time to digest. Which leads me to my next issue...
2. The amount of animal protein ingested. Compared to a plant-based diet with  NO saturated fat in it, animal products are packed with this stuff. High saturated fat intake leads to lots of things. One of the most concerning for our day and age, heart disease... the #1 killer in America. Not to mention the current meat industry. This is NOTHING like what it used to be. I guess one of the reasons I went veggie... but still... the meat we eat today is not even comparable to what is was even 50 years ago, much less 10,000. Between the hormones, antibiotics, slaughter method, and the conditions they are kept in... I think I'll pass.
3. I disagree with the current amount of carbs we as Americans take in... but we cant completely cut those out either. So if you cant eat carbs... where is the energy for your brain going to come in? Carbohydrates=glucose=brain fuel. Simple as that. 
4. >protein <carbs: Hmmm. Let me take you through a little biochemistry. 
• Protein is made up of Nitrogen compounds. While protein is INDEED necessary in our bodies, it is not required in such high amounts.
• Nitrogen converts to uric acid the body. If found in high amounts, the uric acid in our bodies can damage our kidneys, which I don't know about you... but kidneys work magic in our body. Kidney failure is no good...
• Then carbohydrate intake... which this diet says to cut out. But, if adequate carbs are not ingested, this can lead to something called Ketosis. This leads to muscle wasting... which I guess is the complete opposite of what CrossFit would want, right?
5. Dairy consumption I'm mixed on. Humans are the only mammals to consume dairy from a cow after infancy. So, yes, I guess limiting would be a better alternative than straight up CUTTING it out. 

So anyways, just some thoughts on the diet :D I know lots of people try this and see great results, but I just wonder, at what cost? Sometimes we get so caught up in what the outside looks like that we forget how much we are hurting the inside :( 

Last night Buck and I ate some sushi and edamame. This is what resulted from that outing... goober.

Today I went over to the Herb Shop and got some blueberry green tea, its so yummy! So I'm out to drink this and do my homework... yuck. Stay dry and have a wonderful weekend! :D

Spring Fever

Hello and happy back-to-school. Definitely needed that break... It was so good to be home in Atlanta with my parents and pups. Yes, back home in Atlanta. About two weeks ago my parents made the move and were back in Woodstock. I can't be any happier to be back, I have missed this house/area more than I thought... So many memories flooding my mind. I came home to our house getting me carpet laid and my mom couldn't be more thrilled! Let's just say that the tenants didn't take very good care of our house... But it's slowly coming back together!

Before I made the journey home, I was able to spend 3 days with my SOAR team in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina. We hopped on a bus for 5 hours and finally made it to UNCC for SROW 2012. I don't think I have ever been so tired in my life from everything we were doing. Cheering, dancing, Stepping, oh and learning :D there was never a moment where we weren't cheering... Representing Georgia Southern! We have been working a little over two months on different committees and I am happy to say that out of almost 2000 people at this conference, we came home with some awards :) 1st and 2nd in education (we lost to ourselves!!) and 3rd in service! I couldn't be any prouder of my team and of course Georgia Southern.


My mom and I took a couple 'girls days' and went on a few adventures. One of my favs was our trip to Kennesaw Mountain with the pups. Murphy was loving every second of it... he was up and down the trails like he had never seen the daylight before. We ended the day with a nice picnic :D Second adventure was to the Georgia Aquarium! I haven't been in years and it made me feel like a little kid again. Aside from every child in the state of Georgia being there (happy furlough day)... mom and I were able to get through the crowds to see all the little fishes! Overall, it was a wonderul break, wish it was longer, but got finish this semester up!

So, over the break my parents and I went to one of our favorite burger places in town. Of course I had the black bean burger, but my dad made a comment on why he chose to get chicken that night (AT A BURGER PLACE?) He said that after reading my blog on the 'pink goo' and seeing a clip on the news, he was skeptical about it in all beef. Me not really having an answer decided to search for the answer... and well here you go.


T H E PINK G O O.
According the NPRs The Salt blog, about 70% of your ground beef supply has "lean bits of meat derived from muscle and connective tissue." Otherwise known as : Lean Finely Textured Beef.   "It's not required to be labeled," explains Don Schaffner, a food scientist at Rutgers University. There is a chance you will find either EColi or Salmonella in these trimmings and because the industry recognizes this issue, they treat it with Ammonium Hydroxide to kill the pathogens. This could cause even more problems though. The American Meat Institute defends the practice. "This is not the same ammonia you'd use in cleaning supplies," explainsBetsy Booren of the AMI Foundation. "It's a gas, it's a different compound, and it's a well-established processing intervention that has a long history of success."


Here, ABC did a 'taste test' on the slime... take a look. Reporting that, "But this burger is more chewy in a sort of gristly sort of way. You feel like you’re chewing on something that really shouldn’t be there.”


Off to class now, then work (pilates @530--join me!!), and finally going to end the night with a birthday dinner for Miss. Becca Ashe. Happy birthday sweet girl!

Rhodiola Rosea

The week before a much-needed break. With 4 tests, 2 quizzes, 1 presentation, work, AND SOAR... life has been nothing short of hectic. I hate that I couldn't write for such a long time! But in the meantime... I have been doing lots and lots! So, remember when I wrote about the newly re-opened Pickle Barrel on campus? Well, I have finally had the chance to visit and meet with our new nutrition service director, Brittany. I am SO STOKED that Georgia Southern opened this back up and of course I am thrilled that they hired a GSU graduate to run the nutrition services. I mean just take a look at what they have to offer! Oranges, pineapple, baking potatoes, mango, grapefruit, cantaloupe, peanuts, apple, pear, lemon, lime, banana, kiwi, strawberries, grapes, carrots, tangerines, cucumber, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, tomato, green pepper, red pepper, corn, navel oranges, red and yellow onions, sweet potato, avocado, jalapeno pepper, cabbage, collard greens, portobello mushrooms, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, yellow squash, zucchini, blueberries, blackberries, papaya, garlic, basil, chives, mint, cilantro, almonds, dried apricots, dried pineapple, dried green beans, dried okra, dried mixed vegetables (taro, green beans, squash & sweet potato), dried banana. I think this is such a wonderful time to be at Georgia Southern. So many great things happening!

Today I had 2 tests and a presentation on Alternative Cancer Treatments. I partnered with Kat (whom I have mentioned before-- fellow holistic-loving and nutrition guru) to present this to our Sociology of Health care class.  I must say, I was a little scared considering most people are very close-minded about cancer and treatments specifically. Happy to say, it was a hit. I have never seen a class SO interested in a student presentation much less alternative methods. Numerous classmates told Kat and I that our presentation was going to be hard to follow (ahhh yay!). But, I think I speak for both Kat and I when I say-- Spreading the word about such an awesome topic was greeeeat! :D

Okay, so back to my bloggggin. Came across this today on FoxNews. Ever heard of Rhodiola rosea? Yeah, me either. Well meet one of natures antidepressants.

"Rhodiola rosea, also known as Golden Root or Arctic Root, derives from Siberia and Northwestern China. I have studied the herb in both places, have seen it harvested in the wild, and  have also taken an extract of this herb regularly for years, to ward off fatigue from a heavy travel schedule.  Found on the training tables of athletes across northern Asia, Rhodiola rosea is considered an adaptogen – an agent that allows a person to adapt to both physical and mental stress, while improving energy, endurance and stamina." Studies have shown that this dates all the way back to ancient Chinese medicine, where even they new of the stimulating effects. A study conducted in Sweden on stressed-out and tired subjects found an anti-fatigue effect, increased mental performance, decreased the stress hormone cortisol in the blood, and reduced stress overall. Pretty sweet huh? Want more proof?

Meet Juliette.Surviving both attacks of the World Trade Center (1993, 2001), Juliette has suffered from PTSD and depression since those terrifying days. Like most Americans suffering from these very same symptoms, she was put on a little pill. A little pill that would "cure" her, or at least make her feel better most of the time... right? Nope. Lets try gaining over 35 pounds and never finding that 'happy place' again. In search for an alternative method, she met with Dr. Patrica Gerbarg and Dr. Richard Brown, two psychiatrists practicing in New York City.

 The prescription: A Siberian Herb--Rhodiola rosea. "She went from fatigued to energized, and her depression lifted, just from taking daily doses of the safe, non-toxic herb. This type of result is common with Rhodiola, whose popularity grows steadily year after year, as people experience its significant vitality-enhancing effects."

Over 300 human studies have been done on this herb which have proven there are no negative side effects. Just awesome stuff! The normal antidepressant meds will give you sleep disorders, digestive upset, sexual dysfunction and a variety of mood disorders. Hmm... pass.

With an increasing demand for this herb as more and more people find out about it, why aren't doctors prescribing this natural remedy? Well FoxNews says that its becuase 'Doctors don't know about it". If you wanna know my opinion, I think its because legally the huge pharmaceutical giants could never profit off this. But, that another story for a different blog.

So what do you think? Is this awesome or no? If you want more info, check out Fox News.

Have a wonderful night! Stay happy and healthy :D

Brianna

Don't Skimp with Me Today

And there goes another week! These weeks literally fly by and I have NO IDEA where the time goes!! Speaking of time, today I got advised for the beginning of my senior year. HMM when did I become a senior in COLLEGE? I remember moving into my dorms, taking FYE, and realizing I wasn't at home anymore... Soon enough you will be reading about my internship frets and grad school dreams. I had to update my resume just the other day and I can honestly say that for the first time in a while, I was really proud of myself. All the stress and tears is starting to pull together right here at the end. Receiving a letter to join a honors leadership society topped off my day even more.

Then, today I was reflecting on my resolutions I made in January. While I cant say I have been running as much as I would like, most of my other resolutions are going strong in MARCH! :D I feel better than ever and I want to share this feeling with everyone! SOAR is going amazing and I can not say how happy I am to have such wonderful people in my life! Spring break is also coming up in about a week, which I cant be more stoked for this...! Another side note to my recent happiness... my world lit class. I know this may come as a shocker, but that class is so refreshing. We are currently studying the romantic period-- a time filled with imagination, dreams, and beauty in nature. This is one of my favorites so far-- A poem from Indian poet, Ghalib. A little 'carpe diem' :D

Dont Skimp with Me Today

Ghalib

For tomorrows sake, don't skimp with me on wine today.

A stingy portion implies a suspicion of heaven abundance.

The horse of life is galloping; we'll never know the stopping place.

Our hands are not touching the reins, nor our feet the stirrups.

I keep a certain distance from the reality of things.

Its the same distance between me and utter confusion

The scene, the one looking, and the ability to see are all the same.

If that is so, why am I confused about what is in front of me?

The greatness of a river depends on it magnificent face.

If we break it into bubbles and drops waves, we are lost.

She is not free from her ways to increase her beauty

The mirror she sees is on the inside of her veil.

What we think is obvious is so far beyond our comprehension.

We are still dreaming even when were awake.

From the smell of my friends friend I get the smell of my friend.

Listen, Ghalib, you are busy worshiping Gods friend.

I hope everyone is having a great week and have an even better weekend :D I know this weather is crazy and everyone is getting sick... so read up on this article I found! STAY HAPPY AND HEALTHY! btw, happy national nutrition month! go eat some fruits and veggies!