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10 Things That'll Make You Happier

01/23/2012 13:30:00

By Dr Andrew Weil

1. Exercise: Human bodies are designed for regular physical activity. The sedentary nature of much of modern life probably plays a significant role in the epidemic incidence of depression today. Many studies show that depressed patients who stick to a regimen of aerobic exercise improve as much as those treated with medication. Exercise also appears to prevent depression and improve mood in healthy people.

2. Follow an Anti-Inflammatory Diet: Normally, inflammation occurs in response to injury and attack by germs. It is marked by local heat, redness, swelling and pain, and is the body's way of getting more nourishment and more immune activity to the affected area. But inflammation also has destructive potential. We see this when the immune system mistakenly attacks normal tissues in such autoimmune diseases as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Excessive inflammation also plays a causative role in heart disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as well as other age-related disorders, including cancer. More recent research indicates that inappropriate inflammation may also underlie depression -- so controlling it is key to both physical and mental health.Perhaps the most powerful way to control inflammation is via diet. An anti-inflammatory diet consists of whole, unprocessed foods that are especially selected to reduce inappropriate inflammation, as well as provide abundant vitamins, minerals and fiber. It consists of fruits and vegetables, fatty cold-water fish, healthy whole grains, olive oil and other foods that have been shown to help keep inflammation in check.

3. Get Your Omega 3's and Vitamin D: Adequate blood levels of these nutrients has been strongly tied to emotional health. They are so necessary and deficiencies are so common in the developed world that I believe everyone, depressed or not, should take them. Take up to three grams of a quality, molecularly distilled fish oil supplement daily -- look for one that provides both EPA and DHA in a ratio of about three or four to one. Vegetarian sources of Omega 3's include Chia Seed and Flax Seed. Salmon and other cold water fish (and fish oil) are non-vegetarian sources. And get at least 15 minutes of sunshine per day for your body to make all the Vitamin D you need (the Happiness Vitamin) - if you can't get 15 minutes of sun per day, then take a supplement.

4. Take Depression-Specific Herbs: Specifically for those with mild to moderate depression, I suggest trying:

St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum): This European plant appears to work well for those affected by low mood. Look for tablets or capsules standardized to 0.3 percent hypericin that also list content of hyperforin. The usual dose is 300 milligrams three times a day. You may have to wait two months to get the full benefit of this treatment.
SAMe (S-adenosy-L-methionine): A naturally-occurring molecule found throughout the body, SAMe (pronounced "sammy") has been extensively studied as an antidepressant and treatment for the pain of osteoarthritis. Look for products that provide the butanedisulfonate form in enteric-coated tablets. The usual dosage is 400 to 1,600 milligrams a day, taken on an empty stomach. Take lower doses (under 800 milligrams) once a day, a half hour before the morning meal; split higher doses, taking the second a half hour before lunch.
Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea): A relative of the jade plant native to the high northern latitudes, it appears to improve mood and memory. Look for 100-milligram tablets or capsules containing extracts standardized to three percent rosavins and one percent salidroside. The dosage is one or two tablets or capsules a day, one in the morning or one in the morning and another in early afternoon. This can be increased to 200 milligrams up to three times a day if needed.

5. Breath Deeply:

Conscious breath control is a useful tool for achieving a relaxed, clear state of mind. Several times a day, take a breath break. Sit up straight and breath in deeply, allowing your diaphragm and belly to expand. Then exhale deeply. Repeat several times. This exercise will fill your cells full of oxygen and lift your overall mood.

6. Consume Coffee and Chocolate: Coffee causes your body to release more dopamine which enters the bloodstream every time you drink coffee -- dopamine is the natural chemical responsible for keeping us happy. Additionally, coffee speeds up neurotransmission, which raises your serotonin levels, which elevates mood. Chocolate contains anadamine, a brain chemical that helps brighten our mood. Scientists believe that other chemicals in chocolate cause anadamide to stay longer in the brain, thus enhancing its positive effect.

7. Laugh: Smiling and, especially, laughing, are potent mood boosters.

8. Limit Media Exposure: Today, many of us are choking on "data smog," a dense cloud of trivial, irrelevant, or otherwise low-value information made possible by the internet's power to disseminate vast amounts of media virtually free. The result is fractured attention spans and attenuated human relationships. Monitor the time you spend with digital media (television, the web, email, text messaging and so on) in a given week, and cut that amount at least 25 percent in the following week. Use the time you free up for outings in nature, exercise, or face-to-face communication with friends. If you like the result, keep restricting virtual life "surfing" and expanding real-life, connected, human experiences.

9. Forgive: Forgiveness is almost universally held by philosophers and saints to be a key to happiness - and modern research confirms that those who can quickly and easily forgive when appropriate enjoy better emotional health. Conversely, resentment is the fuel that feeds depressive rumination, and can quickly spiral into a self-reinforcing low mood.

10. Practice Gratitude: Author G.K. Chesterton wrote: "You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink." I suspect Chesterton didn't do this automatically. He knew that, like forgiveness, gratitude can and should be cultivated through diligent practice.

Coffee, The New Superfood

01/19/2012 13:00:00

Powerful Health Benefits

A cup of coffee is low in calories and contains more antioxidants than the same serving size of blueberries. Additionally java can help relieve headaches, boost brain power and alertness, protect the liver, protect against diabetes, reduce your chance of a stroke and aid in keeping your digestion regular, and reduce your risk from certain cancers.

Athletic Benefits

Coffee also gives you an athletic boost during your workout, via the caffeine, antioxidants, and polyphenols -- but new research has also shown coffee helps you recover post-workout as well.

Researchers found that drinking a cup of coffee one hour before working out, reduces post-exercise fatigue by 60%. Caffeine also aids in releasing stored fat into the bloodstream to get used up before carbs, reserving some of the carbs to lead to a longer more energetic workout.

And a new study shows that drinking caffeine POST-workout provides additional benefits. The American Physiological Society found that Drinking coffee with some carbs after a workout can help replenish and refuel muscles leading to a faster recovery and performance enhancement. The researchers found that athletes who ingested caffeine with carbohydrate had 66% more glycogen in their muscles four hours after finishing intense, glycogen-depleting exercise, compared to when they consumed carbohydrate alone.

Don't Negate the Positive Benefits, Choose Organic

It's very important not to negate any of these beneficial health qualities of coffee, so be sure to choose an ORGANIC coffee, like Blue Smoke, since conventionally grown coffee is the most chemically treated crop in the world and is treated with chemical pesticides that have long been banned in America, due to their known cancer causing properties and devastation to the environment -- these chemicals are however still legal in the countries where most coffee is grown -- they are very cheap and are used liberally on conventionally grown coffee.

Blue Smoke roasts 100% Organic, Shade Grown, & Fair Trade beans exclusively because we care about our customers, the coffee farmers, and the environment.

Why Blue Smoke Roasts 100% Fair Trade Beans

01/02/2012 12:14:00

Why Blue Smoke Roasts Fair Trade Beans Exclusively

A story below of farmers who are NOT paid a fair price for their beans (which is most of them) and what it means to them and their families:

Let's go right to coffee country. Let's head to the mountains of Guatemala—where they grow some of the best coffee you can drink.

When we descend the corkscrew road into the village of Santa Clara, the sun's already sinking behind a peak, and farmers are shuffling back down the steep slopes after a whole day picking beans. Some lead pack horses, which sag under the weight of burlap bags. They're mangy animals; you can count their ribs. The farmers tie the reins to trees at the edge of the village, and then they unload their harvest at the village warehouse.

But many farmers can't afford a horse. One man's staggering down the dirt path, bending forward at the waist: He's lugging more than 50 pounds of coffee on his own back. But he says that's nothing. "Sometimes [we carry] 100 pounds or more," he says, through my interpreter. "You see that mountain in front of us? When you're picking beans on those slopes, there's no way you could get a horse in there, even if you had one. So you have to carry the coffee for more than an hour. You come here sweating, really sweating."

Coffee Farmers and Families Living in Proverty:

You don't have to be an economist to see that growing non-fair trade coffee here doesn't buy much of a life.

Picture the farmers' homes on the hillsides: They're shacks. The floors are bare dirt. There's no running water or electricity. The outside walls are thin wooden planks—and it gets cold here up in the mountains.

Buying Fair Trade coffee means these farmers can afford for their kids to go to school rather than work on the coffee farm.

Investment Speculators Benefit from Non-Fair Trade Coffee:

The world's coffee prices go up and down, depending partly on supply and demand and speculation by international investors. But these farmers are stuck in poverty. They sell their beans to local businessmen whom they derisively call "coyotes," and the coyotes pay them less than 50 cents per pound. At that price, the farmers can barely make a few hundred dollars a year. "To produce coffee, it's expensive," one farmer says. "It's a lot of work, and sometimes we can't even cover our costs."

PLEASE BUY FAIR TRADE COFFEE

PS: AND I'M HONORED IF YOU CHOOSE BLUE SMOKE

Wildlife Benefits in 2011 from Blue Smoke's Support

11/23/2011 12:01:00

Defenders of Wildlife, one of the non-profits supported through the donation of 5% of all sales of Blue Smoke, achieved the following wins for wildlife. Thanks to all you Blue Smokers, this wouldn't be possible without you:

Defeat of the "Extinction Rider" in Congress

This terrible provision would have gutted the landmark Endangered Species Act -- the lifeline for wildlife spiraling toward extinction.

Victories for Polar Bears

Upholding the federal ban on the importation of trophy-hunted polar bear parts into the U.S. and winning a court ruling against a rule that exempted regulation of greenhouse gasses and other pollutants that harm polar bears and their habitat.

Victory Barring Use of Toxic Rozol to Kill Prairie Dogs

In Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota, helping to keep the American plains a safer place for prairie dogs -- and rare black-footed ferrets that depend on them so survive.

Nature is Important to Mental Health

11/20/2011 12:26:00

By: Madison Kahn, Outside Magazine

Cognitive scientists are only just beginning to understand what being in nature does for our mental health. But—big surprise!—the evidence is promising. Here are five smart reasons to go wild.

Increased Attention Span

A 2008 study by University of Michigan psychologists found that walking outside or even just looking at pictures of natural settings improves directed attention, the ability to concentrate on a task. Put another way: nature restores our ability to focus.

Better Memory

The same study supported previous experiments showing that being in nature improves memory—by 20 percent when it came to recalling a series of numbers.

Reduced Stress

Office workers with views of trees and flowers reported lower stress levels, higher job satisfaction, and fewer physical ailments than colleagues with views of buildings, according to a 1989 study by the University of Michigan.

Improved Mood

In a 1991 study by Texas A&M psychologists, subjects who viewed scenes of water or trees reported a much quicker return to a positive mood after a stressful event than those who viewed urban scenes.

Greater Creativity

In a pilot study this March, psychologists found that students in an Outward Bound course showed a 40 percent boost in frontal-lobe activity—which is linked to creativity—after four days in the backcountry.

Journey of the Monarch

08/19/2011 23:22:00

100 Million Fly South

Monarchs are the only butterflies that migrate between a summer and winter habitat. Scientists believe the changes in daylight and temperature at the end of summer signal to monarchs that it is time to begin their migration. 100 million monarchs begin their journey to their winter habitats starting in September through November.

Gliding & Rest Stops, You Can Help Them On Their Journey

Along the way, they seek out thermal columns of warm air, that give them a lift and help them glide using less energy. They stop frequently to feed on nectar and to drink water. You can help them along their journey by planting your garden with flowers they feed on. Monarchs drink nectar from milkweed, goldenrod, clover, thistle, purple coneflower, sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, and my personal favorite Pineapple Sage.

So, Where Are They Going?

Many people don't realize that even though of the exact same species, western and eastern monarchs over-winter in completely different areas.

Monarchs west of the Rockies migrate to California to spend the winter, where they take shelter in eucalyptus, pine, and cypress trees. While monarchs east of the Rockies have a much further journey - these monarchs fly over 2,000 miles to get to their winter habitat in Michoacán, Mexico, where they take shelter in oyamel firs and cypress trees.

A single tree will shelter thousands of butterflies on it. These sites are under threat as they are being deforested at an alarming rate, putting the future of the monarch in jeopardy.

Staying Alive During The Winter - Harder Than You Think

During the winter the main job of the monarchs is to stay alive. Which isn't as easy as you might think, especially for the eastern monarchs. Considering they fly so far south, you'd think they'd be enjoying balmy, sunny winters. However, the spot they choose in Michoacán, Mexico happens to get pretty chilly at night (below freezing at night). The monarchs huddle together in thousands for protection from the weather. The cool temperatures slow down the monarchs’ body processes and help them use less water and energy. They live off the fat and water stored in their abdomens.

Plant a Monarch Garden - Get a Free Packet of Seeds

The number of Monarchs has declined sharply in the last 30 years due loss of habitat. Milkweed is the only plant that Monarch's lay their eggs on (although adult butterflies feed on the nectar from a variety of plants). However, Milkweed is crucial to reproduction. The amount of Milkweed in the United States is in decline due too pesticides and herbicides used on corn & soybean fields. Scientist are encouraging people to plant Monarch gardens to help support the monarch and reduce their decline. You can get a FREE packet of seeds that support Monarchs via this link: http://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds.htm

Excellent Video on the Monarch's Migration:

You need Flash Player in order to view this.

The Long Journey Home

Donald G. McNeil Jr. visits a monarch butterfly tagging operation in Kansas and describes the creatures' impressive migratory habits.

Coffee Is Good For Your Brain

07/16/2011 23:55:00

Coffee might help protect against Alzheimer’s disease—as long as it’s the caffeine-loaded kind. When researchers at the University of South Florida gave mice that were bred to imitate Alzheimer’s disease either caffeinated coffee, decaf, or straight caffeine, they found that the regular coffee increased the levels of a brain-boosting hormone—which reduced symptoms of the disease. This hormone, granulocyte colony stimulating factor, spurs the production of new neurons and creates connections between existing ones, says Gary Arendash, Ph.D., professor at the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and co-author of the study. Alzheimer’s patients are known to have low levels of the hormone.

Decaf won’t cut it. “The link was only found in caffeinated coffee, not in decaf,” says Arendash. “There seems to be a mystery component of coffee that mixes with the caffeine to protect against Alzheimer’s, but we haven’t figured out the details,” he adds. Researchers believe that drinking caffeinated coffee daily can help protect against the disease, or at least delay its onset.

Four Cups A Day - Arendash says the key is the amount of coffee you take in, and recommends four cups of drip coffee each day—spread out until about 4 p.m. to avoid a caffeine crash. He cautions that only drip coffee was studied and that another form like instant might lead to different results—even taking away the benefits altogether. But remember, everyone reacts differently to caffeine, so listen to how your body reacts and drink less if you need to. “If it causes heart palpitations, muscle tremors, or sleep problems, then you should cut back,” says Kathryn Wilson, an epidemiology research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.plain ol’ black - Coffee on its own has almost no calories. But drinking regular coffee with just one packet of sugar or a splash of milk (even whole milk or cream) still isn’t bad.

We Can't Expect Poor Coffee Farmers in the Developing World to Subsidize A Healthier Planet For Us

06/10/2011 16:00:00

10% of organic coffee farmers in Latin America, where 70% of the world's organic coffee is grown, have given up and returned to growing coffee with cancer causing chemicals. Why? Because despite increasing demand for organic coffee, the price the consumer is willing to pay for organic versus conventional is not enough to cover the added cost of organic production.

Conventionally grown coffee requires 300 pounds of chemical pesticides per acre and another 250 pounds of chemical fertilizer per acre and this poison is cheap. Many of these chemicals have been banned in America because they've been proven to cause cancer and are detrimental for the environment. Yet you're getting a dose of these cancer causing chemicals every time you drink a cup of conventional coffee.

Not only are organic farming methods more expensive, but organically grown coffee plants yield fewer beans (more flavorful & higher quality, but fewer beans per plant). It's a much more time & expense intensive farming method and if we're truly committed to organics, we must to be willing to pay the premium or prices will go up even more as farmers abandon organic coffee farming and the supply shrinks. We can't expect poor coffee farmers in the developing world to subsidize a healthier world for us.

Blue Smoke Coffee roasts ONLY organic, fair trade, & shade grown beans. My green beans cost twice as much as the beans of my peers, who roast all/mostly conventional beans. But I could roast nothing else for my customers with a clear conscience, because I know the chemicals used in conventional coffee farming are extremely dangerous to humans & the environment.

Organic coffee roasting is also much less profitable than conventional roasting, that is why there are very few 100% organic roasters like Blue Smoke in the industry. If I was motivated purely by money, I wouldn't be roasting organic coffee. Because most of my peers are conventional roasters, I must price Blue Smoke at a similar price as the conventional stuff, or just slightly higher - however in some cases, like in Chattanooga, Blue Smoke is actually cheaper than the conventional coffee offered by the largest roaster in Chattanooga.

So please choose organic coffee, but not just the cheapest organic coffee you can find, like what you may find on the shelves at WalMart - because this 'cheap' organic coffee is offered by large roasters who are a major part of the problem in driving down the price organic farmers are being paid, which is driving them out of organic farming. It's a down-ward spiral you are supporting when you shop based purely on price.

Blue Smoke is still 100% committed to organic, fair trade & shade grown coffee & hope y'all are as well because I want to see more coffee farmers getting into organic farming, not less.

Now, go pour yourself another cup of organic Blue Smoke Coffee & feel great that you've made a decision to buy a product not based on price alone, but based on the value organic coffee has on your health and the health of our planet. Oh and organic, shade grown coffee, like Blue Smoke, also tastes better because shade grown plants are heirloom plants that produce richer, more flavorful tasting beans.

Thank you for very much for reading this and thank you for supporting organic coffee,

Kevin - Owner/Roaster

Blue Smoke Coffee

Coffee With A Soul

http://www.BlueSmokeCoffee.com/ (free shipping)

Trees - Detrimental or Beneficial During Tornadoes?

05/23/2011 22:05:00

After last months outbreak of tornadoes across the south - the largest number of tornadoes in a single outbreak in US history -- 304 according to NOAA -- many folks are talking about not replacing downed trees and/or cutting down the surviving trees as they see them as a danger. However, according to research, that would be a big mistake as it would actually give tornadoes a huge advantage and put human life at even greater risk.

Similar to wetlands' beneficial quality of absorbing a hurricanes energy and reducing it's impact on areas further inland, forests have a similar affect on absorbing the energy of tornadoes.

Also, an urban forest creates evaporative cooling which reduces the urban heat island affect - energy that feeds a supercell.

And if the increase & severity of tornadoes has anything to do with climate change, then forests ability to store carbon are beneficial from that perspective as well. A win, win, win.

A tornado is literally just the tail-end of a huge supercell, swirling monster of a storm that soars up to 50,000 feet into the sky -- what we see on the ground is the tip of the iceberg.

When a funnel cloud on the ground encounters a densely forested area, the energy of the funnel cloud is often actually dissipated by the forests, enough to break up the funnel.

Humans have an amazing ability to manipulate the environment to our benefit, however sometimes what we think is a good thing - in this case, cutting down 'dangerous' trees, we are actually creating an environment that feeds supercells storms even more energy, via increased urban heat islands -- and eliminating a natural wall of defense against the energy of tornadoes.

Therefore, we must not only be replacing the trees downed by the recent storms but we must also build up dense forests within and surrounding our communities to help blunt the energy impact of tornado outbreaks on us and on future generations.

So get out this weekend and plant some trees, and support the great organizations around the nation and region that work hard to buildup our forest canopy - National Arbor Day Foundation, American Forests, and Trees Atlanta & for a list of other non-profit tree planting organizations around the country, click here.

Blue Smoke Coffee donates to American Forests to offset our carbon footprint -- American Forests plants a tree for every dollar donated. To date, an estimated 500 trees have been planted as a result of Blue Smoke's donations.

And in when purchased in Atlanta, Blue Smoke's Canopy blend benefits Trees Atlanta, which has been working for 25 years to protect & restore Atlanta's forest Canopy -- Blue Smoke can be purchased in Atlanta at these fine, locally owned stores: Candler Park Market, Savi Urban Market, & Return to Eden.

Treehugger.com Features Blue Smoke Tea as Top of 10 best Fair Trade Tea Brands

04/14/2011 21:18:00