Author: Jenny

I am a public health nutrition counselor with fifteen years experience in the field of prenatal and early child health and lactation education (breast feeding support). Autoimmune disease, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and genetic defects that can cause nutrient deficiencies are also research interests.
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There’s more to life than business.

Business is said to make the world go around* but family and physics are also important.

  • “Money makes the world go round.”
    – John Kander and Fred Ebb
    Line from the song Money, Money – from the musical Cabaret. (allgreatquotes.com)

I didn’t know the origin of that expression – I love the internet.

Trivia – the name of this website is based on a translation of the Tao Te Ching, Verse 41, which is slightly different than the typical English translation. The Great Integrity is the oneness of which everything is a part – transcending the physical realm is to accept that there is more to life than material things such as money or business. One section of the verse is quoted on a page on this site: Tao Te Ching, Verse 41, (transcendingsquare) a link to the book with the translation is included.

The initial theme I had envisioned for this site was a collection of images of things that are not quite square – or transcending the typical in some way.

Underneath the tip of the public view is archives of my notes and previous work. Having a notebook with a search engine attached is a modern way to transcend rectangular – a notebook with many layers.

A mini forest within a forest – life transcends square every day.

More leaf and forest images – nature can be healing, even if only in viewing images: https://www.peace-is-happy.org/blog/peace-is-a-rainbow 

Walking in the woods can be more healing but other types of regular exercise can also be beneficial for reducing stress. See “Forest Bathing” for more details and links and “Forest Bathing: for a healthy microbiome” for more images and information about the potential health benefits of a walk in the woods: (effectivecare/Glossary)

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes. Thanks.

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Science can take awhile

The progress of scientific research builds on earlier work and goes through phases of brand new discoveries that may be thought of as odd or unnecessary until more time and more work occurs. The Nobel Prize awards includes three scientific categories, Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine. The average time lag between the date of the research that recognition is being given for is often more than twenty or even thirty years. (1) The main thing they winners of the Nobel Prize in science categories may have in common is perseverance.

Osamu Shimomura is a Japanese scientist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2008 along with two others (Roger Y. Tsien, Martin Chalfie), for research that was published in 1954. The work was on green fluorescent dye that is now used regularly for cell staining techniques to make parts of the cell more visible. (2) Fifty four years for a discovery to progress through the stages of “How odd,” to “That is interesting but what is it good for?” to “What did we ever do without this wonderful technique?” Perseverance is essential in science.

My point is simply that science developments take time, time to do the original research and more time for it to be put to use by other researchers in various ways. Collaboration is also typical, teams tend to win the awards in science rather than individuals. Different perspective can add to a better understanding of a topic.

Courses I’m taking or have taken recently on neurobiology, I am learning more about myelin and how it is made and used in brain and nerve cells. I started writing about the topic earlier in the summer and found I needed more background information. If interested the courses are free or a certificate can be earned for a small sum of money but no college credits are earned.

My 50 plan? Keep learning more about preventative health care strategies and functional foods that help manage and prevent inflammation and oxidative stress, in order to protect my own nerves and brain cells. Pain hurts, numbness and paralysis is disabling, and cognitive skills are nicer to have than to not have. If I can record the information I discover for the use by others that may help others. The planet needs healthy people. Medical supplies and prescription medications can add to the pollution of the planet. Functional foods and preservation of health would be helping to reduce the pollution burden for the planet and reduce expense for individuals, businesses and governments.

The articles I’ve written about protecting myelin and who is at risk for demyelination include:

I probably won’t be around for another 54 years but I have a right to try to stay healthy for the years I do have left – the main point is that science takes time and it is collaborative. By sharing my notes, maybe some other people will be helped in their pursuit of individual health or research goals.

  • Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_ShimomuraFortunato, Santo, Growing time lag threatens Nobels, Nature, 508, page 186, (10 April 2014) https://www.nature.com/articles/508186a
  2. Osamu Shimomaru, Wikipedia,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Shimomura
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Focus on a goal – okay

I do focus on a goal – the sustainability of the food-energy-water nexus (1) for supporting life on earth. (2)

That is a short sentence representing some very big topics and issues.

  • The production and distribution of high quality food requires energy and water and fair policies.
  • The production of and distribution of energy also requires water and in the case of biofuel also requires a portion of the crop yield which diverts both water and crops from people who might need it for sustenance.
  • The treatment of freshwater for various uses and treatment of wastewater for reuse or for safe return into surface and ground water sources requires energy and includes food and sewage within the wastewater. Some types of salts, other chemicals, and decomposition bacteria are also used. Fresh water needs to be produced and distributed fairly and wastewater transported back for safe treatment and reuse or return to surface or groundwater supplies.

All three areas of production and distribution use energy and all three are needed for sustaining human life on earth. Protecting the environment while producing the food, energy, and treated water in a sustainable manner helps sustain other types of life throughout the ecosystem, from the tiny microbes at the base of the food chain up to predator species at the top of the food chain. All are important for a sustainable and healthy ecosystem. Food, energy, and water are interconnected within industrial systems and societal needs and within our bodies. Life is complex, the goal is simple – sustain life.

What can I or anyone do in their daily life to help sustain life on Earth?

  • Use less energy intensive crops and buy food in bulk or with more biodegradable or recyclable forms of food packaging. 
  • For example – potatoes and sugar beets are less energy intensive to grow than sunflower seeds or wheat. Chickens and pigs, poultry and pork are less energy intensive meats to raise as farm animal products than to raise cows for beef. See Figures 2.3 and 2.4 (3).
  • Crops also vary in how water intensive they are to grow, wheat and sunflower seeds require more water than beans, peas, barley, millet, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, sugar beets, and melons for example. See Table 5 for seasonal total water needs for a number of crops: (4).

What can local government and industry do? or neighboring countries or states? – work together to devise more efficient use of the available water supplies for energy or food production and plan methods for treating and reusing wastewater from agriculture or urban areas. Urban areas use water and create wastewater within their local area but food and energy is generally produced elsewhere and is transported to the urban location. Currently some progress has been made to treat and recycle wastewater for fertilizer use and to produce some energy (methane is produced during decomposition of food and sewage treatment).

For the sustainable production of crops, within just 40 years, human civilization needs to shift to primarily using recycled fertilizer because there is a dwindling supply of phosphorus available in a form that is bioactive for use as a fertilizer. Recycling wastewater also retains nitrogen and both phosphorus and nitrogen can cause disruption of coastal waters when it enters the water supply within run-off from agricultural or lawn treatments.

Many example case studies from around the world describe ways that communities have worked together to make processes that maximize food and energy production and preserve water by planning the best use of resources for the region. See: Implementation and Case Studies, Nexus – The Water, Energy, and Food Security Platform, (water-energy-food.org).

Some of the ideas I have been working on focus on increasing use of foods or food waste that actually has significant health benefit but which might not seem as appealing as more familiar foods. Reducing food waste directly increases the nutritional value from the energy and water that was used to grow the crop and reduces the amount of food waste that would be entering the waste stream. 

Some foods with significant health benefits that are being under-utilized or currently are being thrown away:

  • Pomegranate peel is being discarded when it could be helping prevent or treat cancer and inflammatory disease and other conditions. (more about pomegranate peel extract)
  • Sassafras leaves were the second largest export from the American colonies in the 1700’s because they have healing benefits and are a natural food thickener and emulsifier when dried and powdered. (more about sassafras leaves/Gumbo File/Choctaw Spice)
  • Fennel seeds are used commonly in India as a crunchy snack or similar to an after dinner mint as a digestive aid/breath freshener/dessert. Fennel seed powder is less crunchy but has the health benefits and could be used in baked goods or as a thickener in sauces or soups. (more about Fennel seeds/Fennel powder in baking).

What can we do to sustain life? My answer: Everything we can think of, soon.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

For more information on water management and food-energy-water nexus implementation strategies check to see if another session becomes available of a United Nations free course on developing local water sources to help meet future water needs, Local Water Solutions for Global Challenges, (GaiaEducation.org).

  1. Leck, Hayley, Conway, Declan, Bradshaw, Michael J. and Rees, Judith. (2015) Tracing the water-energy-food nexus : description, theory and practice. Geography Compass, 9 (8). pp.
    445-460. gec3.12222.   http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/79533/1/WRAP_Leck_et_al-2015-Geography_Compass.pdf
  2. Graham Turner, Cathy Alexander, Limits to Growth was right.New research shows we’re nearing collapse. Sept. 1, 2014, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/02/limits-to-growth-was-right-new-research-shows-were-nearing-collapse
  3. F. Monforti-Ferrario and I. Pinedo Pascua editors & contributors, et al., Energy use in the EU food sector: State of play and opportunities for
    improvement, JRC Science and Policy Report, 2015, http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC96121/ldna27247enn.pdf
  4. C. Brouwer, M. Heibloem, Chapter 2: Crop Water Needs, from Irrigation Water Management: Irrigation Water Needs, Training Manual Number 3, (1986) FAO.org http://www.fao.org/docrep/s2022e/s2022e02.htm
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Tips for Changing Habits

Habits are the daily routines that we don’t even think about. It saves energy and stress for the brain to have routine patterns to our lives. The more decisions we have to make about little things, the less energy we may have to focus on work or for important decisions.     

Planning routine actions in advance can help by having already made the decisions about the actions before being in a rush to get to work or school on time. Having an outfit clean and ready the night before an early day; lunch ready to go in the refrigerator; and a quick morning routine for getting dressed, having breakfast, and getting out the door, can leave you relaxed and on time for the early appointment.      

New habits can be easier to stick with when you add the new behavior to a current routine – need to take a medication or vitamin daily?  Try leaving the bottle next to your toothbrush and always take it in the morning after brushing your teeth.  Substituting a new action for a habit that you want to stop may make it easier to change the routine than focusing only on stopping an old habit – want to quit smoking? Substitute going for a very short walk instead.     

Writing down a goal with an action plan and timeline can help and then tallying the goal behavior on a daily checklist for a month or two can help reinforce the new habit long

  • More information about changing old habits or making new ones is available here: The 3 R’s of Habit Change: How to Start New Habits that Really Stick, jamesclear.com.   
  • Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.