Is Breakfast Really Important?

What do people think: Does breakfast matter? Is breakfast really important?

With the seasons changing and flu season approaching I have been thinking about ways to boost my immune system, immediately, something that came to mind, which we all have complete control over, is diet. Is what I am eating really promoting a healing environment in my body? Can I maintain homeostasis by eating better?

When I do come down with a cold, chicken soup and tea are what I swear by. Tea has lots of anti-oxidants in it, which are good for the immune system. Chicken soup, from what my mother tells me, has something in the broth that helps.

But what about eating well right before I get sick, that way maybe I could skip being sick all together. Part of my personal problem is that I live on campus. Food choices are poor and the cafeteria hours are not accommodating, especially during weekends, when they close at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays.

I have never been a notably healthy eater, my friends and family always joke saying that I can justify eating the unhealthiest of foods. This is true. But, lately I have noticed that something needs to change in my diet, a piece is missing, and that piece might be breakfast.

All through high school and college I have skipped breakfast. Come to think of it, I don’t really recall there being much breakfast eating in grammar school years, as I got older and started taking care of myself in the morning.

I want to know what other people think about breakfast. Do you believe in eating breakfast? Does it “jump start” your day? Have you noticed that you get sick less often if you eat breakfast?

For the longest time, I guess I just didn’t “believe in” breakfast. I would always tell myself to just holdout until lunch. Then lunchtime would come around and I would feel all shaky and absolutely starving and I would eat and be really full and not hungry again for hours, throwing off my dinner schedule.

Upon doing some research, I discovered that not only is breakfast important, but eating the right kind of breakfast is important. Eating a good breakfast will make you less hungry during the day; therefore, since your body is not craving food so much, you will eat less.

Blood sugar plays a major role in all of this. The “shakiness” that I have/had been feeling was probably due to the fact that I had such low blood sugar levels by the time I ate lunch, which usually is around 1:30 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. Also, by this point in time, a person’s body is probably in starvation mode , which means that as soon as a person eats, his or her body immediately stores away the food as fat. Obviously this would cause an inner tug-of-war.

BBC News website stated in an article that: ‘“Breakfast can be a very good source of vitamins. Many processed cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals which people can find it difficult to get elsewhere if they are just having two meals a day.”’ It was funny to see this in writing because it is something that my mother always says. She said that breakfast cereals have lots of vitamins and minerals, such as iron . Since I became interested in this topic, and started looking into it, I learned that it was even possible to see iron in breakfast cereal by using a magnet and some other supplies (see hyperlink if interested). Without iron and other vitamins and minerals, a person can feel weak and have low energy levels.

So, yesterday I experimented with the thought of breakfast and filled up a snack bag of Raisin Bran. I ate it in the morning and stopped when I was hungry. I then ate a moderate lunch, and later on in the afternoon finished the bag as a snack. I feel that adding this to my diet, at least for that one day was beneficial. I had a lot more energy and did not need to eat as big of a lunch. Also, I felt as though I got a better night’s sleep, which contributes to a healthy immune system.

What do others think of eating breakfast? I think I may actually consider eating it on a regular basis.

Titanic Survivor Selling Artifacts to Pay for Nursing Home

The last living Titanic survivor, 96-year-old Millvina Dean, is selling artifacts from the doomed ship liner in order to pay for nursing home bills.

Dean was two months old, on her way to America with her parents and older brother. Dean's father felt the liner hit the iceberg and instructed his wife to dress the children and go on deck. Dean, her mother, and her brother boarded a life boat, but her father died when the ship sank.

Upon arriving in New York City with literally nothing, a wicker siutcase was given to Dean's mother. The suitcase was filled with clothes for the family.

That suitcase, letters to Dean's mother from the Titanic Relief Fund (which gave survivors a weekly payment), and rare paintings are being auctioned off.

I think that it's a shame that this woman has to sell such treasures in order to pay for her healthcare. It's sickening that CEO's on Wall Street that ran companies into the ground and damaged the American economy get a "golden parachute," which I see as an undeserved reward, and this poor woman has to sell important pieces of her life; artifacts that define who she is.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#27250705

A Beginning or an End?

From the Christian Science Monitor, a highly respected newspaper:
"In 2009, the Monitor will become the first nationally circulated newspaper to replace its daily print edition with its website; the 100 year-old news organization will also offer subscribers weekly print and daily e-mail editions."

Automatic Weapons Kill

An article I found in today’s New York Times titled, “Boy, 8, Fatally Shoots Self in Head While Trying out Uzi Submachine Gun at Mass. Gun Club Show” shocked me. The article stated that an eight year-old boy was killed in Westfield, Massachusetts after learning how to shoot an Uzi automatic machine gun.

Although the boy, Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn. was with his father and a licensed instructor, it was his first time shooting a fully loaded automatic machine gun. The kickback of the gun was too strong for such a young child. The boy was said to have lost control of the overwhelming gun power as he shot himself in the head.
Sources said that gun safety experts were present at the scene of the incident and expressed concern that a child was permitted to use such a dangerous weapon. I ask myself, ‘Why didn’t these ‘experts’ who are supposed to be professionals act on the scene and attempt to stop the boy from using such a deadly weapon used in war.

A spokesperson for Stop Handgun Violence Jerry Belair said in the article, "It's easy to lose control of a weapon like that...they are used on a battleground for a very good reason.” Well, yes Jerry that is true, but it does not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. I want to know why a child would be put in a life-threatening a position such as this one.

Bizilj was just a third grader when he attended the gun show with his father and brother. His father was ten feet behind his son during the shooting and was about to snap a photo, before he saw the death of his son, according to the New York Times.

Bizilj died on Sunday only hours after he shot himself. To be just eight years old and die from accidentally shooting oneself is a crime of the man who created him; who raised him. The man who made the decision to bring his baby shooting and the man who watched his innocent son, with his whole future ahead of him, flat line in an instant: His Father.

The investigation is still taking place to find out if the father had a specific license or if the incident was illegal. Massachusetts requires firearms licenses and is one of the strictest with gun laws in the U.S. Still, the advertisement on the gun club’s website read, "It's all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!! You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control — "FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL.” Control? Maybe control over a child’s small hands and light body that is not fully developed enough to lift over 10 pounds, let alone control a powerful killing machine.

Writing an Endorsement

I have never voted before. I never paid attention to politics because from my perspective it seemed as if it was nothing but childish partisan bickering. To an extent, I think it still is. I viewed the one previous presidential election as a "lesser of two evils" proposition, rationalizing it as "neither of these men represent me, a middle-class white college kid, so why bother voting for either of them or some crackpot third party candidate?" Sometimes, I would just tell myself that I was doing the responsible thing by not voting. By not voting, I was keeping myself from making an uninformed choice based on something other than the issues that matter.

Then I was forced to research politics for this class. In all honesty, I was not happy about it. I watched the debates and could not focus on what they were saying. It was a real struggle.

Then we were told to write an endorsement. It was then I realized, I don't know what I believed. If I did manage to scrounge up the motivation do go and vote, I was slightly leaning towards voting for Senator Obama because he was younger and not a Republican. I think there are more than a few people I know who are going to vote for him simply because of that reasoning. That's irresponsible.

As cliche as they sound, the old adages are true. People died so you could have the freedom to vote. If you choose not to vote, you don't have much of a right to complain about the leadership. P. Diddy was a bit off in his Vote or Die campaign. Voting shouldn't be an ultimatum, but the point I'm trying to make is that a little bit of research goes a long way in determining who you would likely vote for.

In researching the topic of foreign policy, it came to my attention that Obama's stances on such pressing issues as Iraq, Iran, and Russia were far and away better than those of Senator McCain.
As I began to understand just what foreign policy entails and how important it was, it occurred to me that I didn't want to vote for Senator Obama, but based on what I believe, I need to vote for Senator Obama.

The bottom line is, endorsements serve a purpose. Even as I had to write a full one for myself, it became apparent that no matter what your beliefs are, whether you share mine or disagree, you really should vote on November 4th. This is your best opportunity to be represented and see the country go the way you think it should progress.

Oh Sarah Palin...

Did anyone catch Sarah Palin on SNL last night? After many many Tina Fey-operated spoofs on her, she finally showed up to challenge Tina to a smackdown. Or should have, anyways.

I mean, everyone has been waiting for Palin to show up on the show and make some kind of contact with the average world. And while Americans have been eating up Fey's impressions like painkillers, Palin's appearance has been long overdue. And what exactly were we waiting for? The fight over the Republican party's restrictions over her public speaking events has created a bubble around her- maybe we were waiting for her to break the bubble. SNL is no place for a press release, of course, but God give us something to work with here! She appeared briefly with Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg, and introduced the show... and then had to go home to make McCain's curfew?

Was I the only person thoroughly disappointed with Palin's performance or lack thereof?

This could be looked at in two ways:
Kudos to Palin for being "good-humored" enough to face the ridiculing of SNL; while alot of celebrities often find themselves in the show's hot seat, the staff shows no qualms in being brutally honest in their opinions and representations.

And,
Why did Palin even bother showing up to SNL? She was on for ten minutes to introduce the show while people were wondering where did Tina Fey go? Will this encourage people to vote for her? I don't think that statistics are needed to say that the people who watch SNL are only a very small percentage of the people who are going to be voting this election.

Nice try Palin, but you're nowhere near as informative or funny as Tina Fey.

The Day-Eat the smoke or lose the Job?

Atlantic Casinos previously enforced a smoking ban to protect the health of their employees from second hand smoking, but now that the economy is in such a bad shape casino operators are afraid to go on with the plan.

According to an article in The Dayhttp://www.theday.com, a New England Newspaper, Casino management complained that revenues may drop about 30 percent if the smoking ban is enforced during a time when the economy is not doing well. They feel that enforcing a smoking ban would only draw away customers.

The ban will be in effect for seven days for legal requirements, and then held off for another year.

It is sad that workers have to put up with smoke filled rooms, but it is either that or the risk of getting laid off.

I support Connecticut's Gov.,Jodi Rell; she will be meeting with tribal leaders in order to enforce the smoking ban at Fox Woods for the sake of the employees.

Is Keeping a job worth the risk of an individuals health? Without decent health no one can hold a steady job, but if someone gets laid off they have the option of getting a new job.

We only have but one life to live; jobs are replaceable.

Bad Navy

I was watching Dateline NBC the other evening and was startled by an investigation the station was pursuing: Navy sonar has been proven as the reason whales have been beaching themselves. That enraged me as all animal cruelty news does, and so i felt the need to look up more on the issue. The NRDC website aka THE NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL had an article that really broke down clearly how the sonar is hurting the animals of are seas. According to the site: The Navy's mid frequency and low range- low frequency sonar were scientifically proven in 2000 to be the reason whales and many dolphins were found dead on beaches in and around the Bahamas.The extreme decibels put through the ocean cause bleeding of the ears and tissues of the whales and are even suspected to alter the swim/diving patterns of the whales. Whales use sound to follow migratory routes, communicate with one another and to care and locate one another. At least four different species have been found dead and now environmentalists are concerned for the endangered whales that they are finding more and more of on the shores.

The military doesn't hide the fact that even hundreds of miles away from the sources of the sonar waves they can be as strong as over a hundred decibels. That is crazy to think about. Luckily the Supreme Court as of this year has taken steps to protect the marine life by not allowing the Navy to conduct tests in California without having safety measures in tact. For example turning the sonar off if an endangered mammal is seen in the nearby waters, to not test near feeding areas or diving routes etc. The White House tried to appeal saying that the Navy should be excluded from having to be restricted in the waters. I think the Navy needs to get over itself and realize it can do its job and still do the testing it needs to do without harming endangered animals in the process. Seriously! If the Navy is supposed to be protecting our waters why the hell is it killing the living creatures in them in the process?

being a nude model for an art class, is it equal to stripping?

I have a friend who is very opinionated and thinks that it is wrong for women to strip, but he posed nude for an art class and got 200 dollars which he says he really needed at the time.

When I found that out, I told him that he could never make a judgment about a woman stripping and his argument is that it is not the same.

Well lets brake down the facts: His situation compared to an episode of MTV: True life about a stripper

1. They both were in need of money (she had no parents to help her and she was responsible for her brothers and sisters and he was just flat out broke)
2. They both were pleasing an audience whether it is a group who enjoys art or a group that enjoys sexuality
3. They both were NUDE
4. Both of them SOLD their bodies
5. Neither one of them felt that it was morally right, but they did it because they needed to make some money

You can argue that a strip club is a completely different environment than the class, but who is to say that stripping is not a form of art?

Real Solutions Here?

Yay- something local and fitting.

The NY times isn't my assigned newspaper, but I was looking through and found a pretty useful unsigned editorial that speaks to the concerns about tree hugging. In summary, it commends the Town of Westport, Conn. for their ban on plastic bags, ex. the ones used around grocery, retail convenience stores. It's really an effort to keep things out of precious landfill space. 

The problem is that this only really concerns a few people here and there who actually care about the environment. I do like that he agrees with Europe, specifically Ireland - they have been carting around their groceries efficiently, like, forever - and offers a state-wide tax instead of small town-by-town bans on these things. Self-awareness of the environmental impact of our daily routines is great, but it sometimes doesn't reach that far. Money, however, does.