Life is Healthy

I recently went to Hawai'i for the American Society of Human Genetics meeting in Waikiki, followed by a one-week vacation on Kaua'i with friends. It was my first time in Hawai'i and I really enjoyed it. The Hawai'ians I encountered were kind and generous people.

Early European explorers remarked on the beauty, strength, good nature and exellent physical development of the native Hawai'ians. The traditional Hawai'ian diet consisted mostly of taro root, sweet potatoes, yams, breadfruit, coconut, fish, occasional pork, fowl including chicken, taro leaves, seaweed and a few sweet fruits. It would have been very low (but adequate) in omega-6, because there simply isn't much of it available in this environment. Root crops and most fruit are virtually devoid of fat; seafood and coconut contain very little omega-6; and even the pork and chicken would have been low in omega-6 due to their diets. Omega-3 would have been plentiful from marine foods, and saturated fats would have come from coconut. All foods were fresh and unrefined. Abundant exercise and sunlight would have completed their salubrious lifestyle.

The traditional Hawai'ian diet was rich in easily digested starch, mainly in the form of poi, which is fermented mashed taro. I ate poi a number of times while I was on Kaua'i, and really liked it. It's mild, similar to mashed potatoes, but with a slightly sticky consistency and a purple color (due to the particular variety of taro that's traditionally used to make it).

I had the opportunity to try a number of traditional Polynesian foods while I was on Kaua'i. One plant that particularly impressed me is breadfruit. It's a big tree that makes cantaloupe-sized starchy green fruit. Breadfruit is incredibly versatile, because it can be used at different stages of ripeness for different purposes. Very young, it's like a vegetable, at full size, it's a bland starch, and fully ripe it's starchy and sweet like a sweet potato. It can be baked, boiled, fried and even dried for later use. It has a mild flavor and a texture similar to soft white bread. It's satisfying and fairly rich in micronutrients. On the right are breadfruit, coconut and sugarcane, three traditional Hawai'ian foods.

I find perennial staple crops such as breadfruit very interesting, because they're much less destructive to soil quality than annual crops, and they're a breeze to maintain. I could walk into the backyard of the apartment I was renting and pick a breadfruit, soak it, throw it in the oven and I had something nutritious to eat in just over an hour. It's like picking a bag of potatoes right off a tree. Insects and birds didn't seem to like it at all, possibly because the raw fruit exudes a bitter, rubbery sap when damaged. Unfortunatley, breadfruit is a tropical plant. Temperate starchy staples that were exploited by native North Americans include the majestic American chestnut in the Appalachians, and acorns in the West. These are both more work than breadfruit to prepare, particularly acorns which must be extensively soaked to remove bitter tannins.

Modern Hawai'i is a hunter-gatherer's dream. There are fruit trees everywhere, including papayas, wild and cultivated guavas, mangoes, avocados, passion fruit, breadfruit, bananas, citrus fruits and many others. Many of those fruits did not predate European contact however. Even pineapples were introduced to Hawai'i after European contact. Coconuts are everywhere, and we could pick one up for a drink and snack on almost any beach. The forests are full of wild chickens (such as the one at left) and pigs, both having resulted from the escape and subsequent mixing of Polynesian and European breeds. Kaua'ians frequently hunt the pigs, which are environmentally damaging due to their habit of rooting through topsoil for food. Large areas of forest on Kaua'i look like they've been ploughed due to the pigs' rooting. Humans are their only predators and their food is abundant.

While I was on Kaua'i, I ate mostly seafood (including delicious raw tuna poke), poi, breadfruit, coconut and sweet fruits-- a real Polynesian style hunter-gatherer diet! I swam every day, hiked in the lovely interior, and kayaked. It was a great trip, and I hope to return someday.

Still trying to get to grips with my photography. I recently bought a flash unit; which it too turned out to be more complex than simply attach and click.

I can see I have SO much learn. I fear I will get the better of myself and as usually run before I can walk, but what the hell that's the way I am.

I don't think I have a style to speak of, but people do seem to like the photos so far. To be honest so do I. I do wish however I at least had a grounding in photography to understand what works and why - rather than what looks good. I would then be able to take my photos from good to great.
At the moment I have covered most types of shots and keep experimenting not only with my shots and angles but also in Photoshop which helps tweak them that bit more or even change the whole feel of the photo - it's not so much about showing what I see but what I want you to see.

However rather than me being the judge I will let you, so feel free to check out KRYSALIS
and why not leave comments whilst you're there or here for that matter ;)

Here is a taste of my photos go see the rest
QUICK ADDITION: any photographers out there click HERE to see a special planned event for December 12, 2009

What a day, what a day. Here's the link to the Today Show/Joy Fit Club segment: Tinkerbell and Annette Benning's sister....(Kathy Lee's words, not mine).

Here we are after the show:

And here's me exhausted but so very happy in Central Park when it was all over:

And a random photo of two people who keep me centered - my grandkids. Luca's on my lap and Claire is figuring out how to eat Smarties. This was Saturday after trick or treating:

There's so much to tell you, but I'll need to do that in a few days. I'll get home tomorrow and sort it all out.

Thank you all so much for watching the show and especially for your kind comments. I really thought that dress was too tight and I felt pretty self-conscious, but I guess it all worked out. I didn't fall off my boots or say something too stupid except to call the bone test I had by the name of the drug my Golden Retriever is taking for his arthritis. (I said Deramax when I meant dexa scan. Duh...But I was nervous!) Anyway...again, thank you for being such thoughtful and forgiving readers.

My older son and I were both sick last week and are bouncing back rather nicely. The experience taught me a few things, though:

1- The illness varies in its intensity. We both ended up with fairly mild cases.

2- My doctor is extremely efficient and her office is very well organized. This ended up making a very big difference for us.

3- Tamiflu, if administered within the first 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, can greatly alleviate those symptoms.

4- Oral Tamiflu can make you feel very, very queasy.

5- You don't always get a fever when you have the illness.

6- If you have any of the symptoms, you should assume you have the illness.

7- You will not get tested for H1N1 unless you land in the hospital.

8- Even if you think you've had swine flu, you should still get the vaccine, unless it was confirmed with a test.

9- The hysteria around this is getting to be a little overwhelming. Remember: Most folks who get H1N1 do not get seriously ill.

10- If you are having trouble breathing, you should go your hospital's emergency room.

11- If you have been running a fever for more than 48 hours, you should see your doctor.

12- Judging by the line-ups in Ottawa, there are a lot of people who live here who fall into high risk groups.

13- My six year old knows how to come through in the crunch. He stood in line for 5 and a half hours. He was patient and good humoured the whole time (my spouse was with him). And then he got a needle at the end. The only thing he asked (at regular intervals) was if he could go to St. Hubert when they were done.

Even though it was well past his bed time, T. took him there when they were finished (I forgot to ask him if he had beer with his chicken). And since St-Hubert now has nut free desserts, he topped off the meal with a brownie and ice cream.

And then we bought him a new game for his DS.

14- If you leave me a link saying that the vaccine is poisonous or that I am a dupe of the pharmaceutical industry, I will not be impressed. Chemotherapy is poison, too and it has saved my life. There really is such a thing as a "necessary evil."

I won't add my rant about how this pandemic is being mis-managed by all levels of government because I wouldn't be able to stop.

I will share Rick Mercer's rant with you, though.

This is not just vitamin C this is 1,667% of the recommended daily dose(1000mg). Its not just an orange, its a treatment and a safeguard.

For example this dose is an antioxidant, it delays ageing and prevents age-related disease from arthritis to parkinson's disease. It will alleviate allergies such as asthma, and will eliminate toxins from the body.


The chief function of vitamin C, in doses of this size is the production of collagen, as such it hastens the healing of wounds. It also strengthens capillaries and blood vessels, preventing heart attacks and strokes. It is also a powerful booster of the immune system and has the ability to increase resistance to infection and disease.

Scientific studies have confirmed that megadoses of vitamin c can reduce the risk of a wide range of cancers, and also inhibit tumous and much more including lowering cholesterol levels.

Twenty effevescent tablets for £2.49 including packaging and postage( UK only), please contact me for worldwide postage costs.

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Remember how I said I was swearing off chocolate? Well, that was before I went to the Lindt Chocolate store on 5th Avenue, just around the corner from my hotel. In a word: Yummy! No, it deserves four words: Oh-my-god-yummy.

And speaking of yummy, Manhattan is full of yummy healthy stuff. I put together this salad in Rockefeller Plaza and ate it next to the skating rink. I saved the Greek yogurt for later. I had a bite of Larry’s pretzel, and tonight for dinner, I had a little more onion roll than I would normally have had, but it was too delish to pass up. Heck, I walked for hours today!

Of course, my walking was nothing compared to the New York City marathoners. Holy crap. I admire anyone who can run 26.1 miles. Wait, admire is too weak. Training to run a marathon is beyond my comprehension. Losing weight is one thing. Conditioning your entire body to move at high speed for 3-4 hours is a whole other ball game.

It was much chillier here than the Weather Channel anticipated when I was planning this trip. I didn’t pack a jacket and so had to duck into H&M and buy a scarf and gloves.

The first time I was in NYC in 1991, we stayed at the Marriot Marquis in Times Square. It was the week before Christmas and New Year’s and our room was on the 42nd floor. This did not bode well for me, who is really afraid of heights. It also didn’t help that the elevator was glass. Oh yeah. Hell on cables. Anyway, I’d like to come back to NY (and not stay on a floor above 15 or so) and see the play “White Christmas,” one of my favorite Bing Crosby movies.

In anticipation of the Today Show tomorrow, I packed a LOT of stuff. In fact, an entirely separate suitcase filled with clothes that I no longer feel are appropriate. Why, you ask? I spent the day among beautiful women walking around in gorgeous clothes and fabulous boots and I feel incredibly intimidated that I packed a dress, a sweater, some jeans and ONE pair of boots – boots that I didn’t actually buy but wore on Oprah TWO years ago. They’re so, well, not what I saw on the streets today. Am I that out of the fashion loop? Sadly, yes I am. I like comfy pants and soft cotton shirts. No logos, no midriffs. Nothing that makes a statement except “I can breathe and have no panty lines because my pants aren’t skin tight.”

I realize this sounds paranoid, but more than a few of you will be watching tomorrow and I am – bottom line – nervous. I’ll be OK once tonight is over and I’m at 30 Rock in the morning getting prepped and getting used to my surroundings, but right now, anticipation, as Carly Simon sang, is making me late, it’s keeping me waiting.

The journey continues. I’ll be in touch.

By Brandon Frazier

Shopping for insurance in this case has been made easy, knowing too well that insurance is almost a requirement that many classes of people cannot do without, especially motorists. As such, if you find yourself pressed against time in a hard way, and you have not time to call insurance providers, relax, as you can do this from the comfort of your home. If you have an internet