French class fail, and nutrition news links

Work is chugging along great. We're getting ready to launch a website on sugary drinks that has been over a year in the making, so there are lots of loose ends to tie up.

In the midst of trying to remember all the little details about work, I am faced with the challenge of remembering and understanding all the little details of living in a foreign country with a foreign language. When I walk down the street on an errand, to the grocery store for example, I run through the potential conversation with the checker in my head. Or pretend to ask a stranger, in classic language classroom fashion, where is the library? where is the train station? (haha).

Little things that come so automatically in English it could not even be considered a thought. But in French, oh in French they take thought and practice. And mumbling to myself as I walk down the street. And stress in the checkout aisle that I won't understand what they say.

So when a pamphlet arrived in our mailbox announcing French classes at a very inexpensive price through our local commune (neighborhood government), I thought it would be a great opportunity to remember all those French verbs and conjugations I learned back in high school (and you all thought taking French classes instead of Spanish was going to be useless :)

I had no idea these classes were so popular, but when I showed up woefully early (per usual), there was already a line of 89 people. How do I know there were 89 people? Because I got ticket number 90. I waited and waited for nearly 2 hours before my number was called and I could take the french placement test.

As it turns out I placed in a level 2 of French, and of course because this class is something I was getting excited about, the classes are full except above level 3. In level three you need to be able to conjugate verbs in the past and future tenses, which I cannot.  Next term, I will be going to sign up on the first possible day!

I put my name on the waiting list and walked home more than a little bummed out. I had visions of speaking effortlessly with waiters, of being able to actually participate in a conversation with V's family. I was looking forward to going to class twice a week, to getting away from my computer screen and interacting with human beings. Oh well. Its time to research other options, other classes that won't like be as affordable, but that certainly will get the job done

In other news, did you hear? Bill Clinton has gone vegan. A French doctor makes the claim that soda is completely unrelated to obesity (sorry, french article...). And chocolate may be good for your heart? (Although, proceed with caution and don't eat the entire bar, as Marion Nestle so aptly explains here.)

Photo: wikimedia commons @André Karwath

Until next time, I'm off to practice French in my head :)

Lancet Obesity Series

Hi Folks.

I'm up to my ears in work this week, so just stopping by to say hi. Its grey, again, which although doldrums inducing, is very conductive to work productivity.

Before I go, want to point you in the direction of a great resource. I took a break yesterday to "leaf" (surf?) through a special series of  The Lancet (a British medical journal) dedicated to global obesity that I learned about through Marion Nestle's Blog Food Politics. The articles and commentary discuss the worldwide obesity pandemic, the challenge this poses for us down the line, and the policy and public health actions to try to turn the tide around.

Worldwide Female Obesity, 2008. Photocred: Wikimedia commons@Lokal_Profil

If you're interested in this field of work, I highly suggest checking out these articles. I haven't had the chance to read them all yet, but from what I've read, they are certianly working in the right direction.

Being of a public health mind, I prefer a broad, approach to obesity and nutrition, working to change our environment through policy and social change. But I know and understand the importance of also giving individuals the tools and support to make healthy changes in their life.

Photo cred: wikimedia commons (public domain)

I think that to slow and reverse the obesity trend we are going to have to work on both levels. But its easier to know what to do when your working with an individual person and can really dial into that individuals specific challenges. When working on a global policy level is much less clear cut, and hopefully research such as this will continue to help guide us.

ps. you will need to create a free account to read the full articles :)

I'll be back with a more involved post later in the week.

Beautiful Gent

Hello again from sunny Brussels (well, somewhat sunny...I'll take what I can get at this point :)

Yesterday I was treated to a wonderful lunch prepared by V. I snuck away for a quick run and he did the cooking. Was a lovely treat! Our lunch was meatloaf, carrots and rice all cooked by V, and eaten in this lovely setting:

 Being a Saturday lunch, wine is of course on the menu, and this lunch included a little taste of home:

Now, I'm not normally a fan of cooked carrots, but these were prepared with a bit of onion, a hint of bacon and some herbs, and were quite good. Goes to show its worth trying vegetables you think you don't like prepared in a different way. You might be surprised.

After lunch we hopped in the car and headed to Gent, a city about 45 minutes from Brussels. We took in the sites of the city, which is beautiful and vibrant.

Gent has rivers running through it, and some canals left over from many many years ago. It is home to a large university (60,000 students!) and has the lively feel typical of college-towns.

Right as we decided to go a boat tour of the river and canal, a sky-full of dark ominous clouds rolled in, threatening of a downpour with its thunder. We decided to take our chances, as showers had been coming in and out all day, and bought tickets for the 40 minute boat tour.

Monsoon strength rain ensued, of course. But we lucked out that the skies opened up while we were waiting for the tour to start, and when we actually got on the boat the rain, thunder and lightening had passed.

Unfortunately by this point in the day my camera battery was nearing the end of its life, so no photos from the boat :(


We finished off the day with a great dinner at Pakhuis, a brasserie in a former warehouse giving it a huge open space and beautiful glass ceiling.

We had a table over looking the bar, which made for nice entertainment during dinner. The mojito trend seems to have made its way over here, as we saw more than a couple mojitos being made down there.

After staring the meal with a fresh, slightly spicy gazpacho, I was very thankful that the restaurant was accommodating to my needs, and substituted potatoes for the pasta that was supposed to come with my main course. I was able to get a perfect (and delicious!) meal for me: salmon, spinach and potatoes. Dessert was strawberries and pistachio ice cream with a meringue (again, I lucked out here...meringues do not typically have wheat so it was a great dessert for me). All enjoyed with a crisp Argentinian sauvignon blanc, it was a wonderful meal.

There was one low point in the day: finding a McDonalds location that had taken over a beautiful building. I'm never really thrilled to see McDonalds, but even more displeased when they take over beautiful spaces.

And now its time for me to get back to my task for today: relaxing :)

Vegetables are healthy for us, it's scientifically proven!

In an editorial in the European Heart Journal, Michael Marmot (a very renowned person in the public health world) very nicely summed up why we need to eat fruits and vegetables:

"Commonly, one hears the clinical line of argument: if fruit and vegetables are protective why not isolate the protective nutrient, put it in a pill, and thereby dispense with worry about diet. That approach has not proved useful. Trials of antioxidant vitamins have not led to reductions in either cancer or cardiovascular disease. That may be because antioxidant vitamins were not the crucial protective components; or it is the foods and, indeed, dietary patterns that are important, not specific micronutrients."

Photo Cred: Wikimedia Commons (Gangulybiswarup)

This comment was made following a study in the European Heart Journal that found a 22% percent reduction in cardiovascular disease risk among people who consumed 8 portions of fruit/veg per day (640g in total; for those in the US that's roughly 1.4 lbs). Mind you, only 18% of the study participants ate this amount of fruit and veg.  8 portions per day, while an extremely laudable goal, is a lot of fruit and veg, especially considering the amount the average American eats currently (only 26% of adults in one survey consumed more than three servings per day- source).

Taking a public health perspective, cardiovascular disease is such a big killer that a 22% reduction in risk across a population could be monumental.

Sir Marmot (yes, hes that important to pubic health that he is a Sir) says this on the topic:

"There would need to be big shift in dietary patterns to achieve this healthy consumption of eight portions a day. It is worth trying to move in that direction. Reductions in cancers of several sites, in blood pressure and stroke, would add to this reduction in fatal CHD. Moving to a diet that emphasizes fruit and vegetables is of great importance to
public health."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Photo Cred: Wikimedia Commons (Arnaud 25)

People ask me all the time, "so, what should I eat?" My answer has always been very simple: vegetables, lots of them, and some fruit. I sometimes get a perplexed look after such a simple answer.  The diet companies and celebrity diet books want you to think its so complex, that you have to buy their product to succeed. You don't.

Start by eating lots of vegetables prepared in simple ways. By eating vegetables often you will not only be inundated with loads of nutrients but you will feel full (from all that fiber and water in the vegetables), thus you are likely to not need to eat as much meat and other calorie-rich foods.

I suggest aiming for 5 servings of vegetables per day, with 2-3 fruits thrown in as well. It sounds like a lot, and it is. But its not that hard to squeeze in. Add a vegetable and a simple green salad to you lunch (light on the dressing) and you've added 2 servings. Load half your plate full of veggies at dinner and you've added another 2-3. Have a piece of fruit with breakfast and one for dessert, and you've hit the mark. 

From the urban garden near my apartment: I thought it was chard when it was young, but now it is very clearly a beet :)

The reasons people don't eat lots of vegetables and fruit are widely varied and sometimes complex (price, for example). How to make vegetables affordable and accessible to everyone is a serious question, which I won't even pretend to have the answer to.

And, I prefer my vegetables and fruit to be seasonal and local, but that's a whole other topic for another day :)

Happy vegetable eating!

Thanks Sole for sending me the study :)  Eur Heart J. 2011 May;32(10):1235-43. Epub 2011 Jan 18.

A rainy, blue day...and a perfect soup for such a day.

Good morning from rainy Amsterdam.

I had all the best intentions to return to yoga this morning, but when I went to leave, it looked like this outside (hit play for the full sound effects):

Its a 20 minute bike ride to the yoga studio, and I am without proper attire for such a bike ride. I didn't really feel like showing up soaking wet to an hour and a half yoga class. Note to self: invest in a pair of rain pants and a good rain jacket!

So instead I am inside with this:

And will start doing this:

 

Hope to make it to yoga tomorrow or Thursday! A yoga podcast this afternoon may also be in order.

Its fitting, actually, this weather. I'm feeling a bit blue today, thinking a lot about a furry friend of mine back at home who is not feeling well:

Wishing I could be there to give my little Kahlua snuggles. Hoping for a speedy and full recovery -- but the vet's reported 'bad feeling about this' leaves my hopes small.  I'm sure this is the first of many moments when I will say "wish I could be there."

PS. of course, now it has stopped raining. thanks.

In other news, on Sunday (a happier, sunnier day), I made soup.  A delicious roasted cauliflower and garlic soup that I saw on the blog Tartelette. I made the soup exactly to Helene's specifications, so click the link to visit her site for the recipe.

All vegetables, roasted into delicious tenderness and pureed with some water. Couldn't be a simpler, or healthier way to start your meal. Beginning a meal with a light vegetable based soup is a weight management strategy that research has singled out over and over again. The warmth and volume of the soup are quite filling, and leave you well satisfied for very few calories before you even touch your main course.

I highly suggest this soup, and particularly on a grey rainy or blue day (granted for those of you in CA you might have to wait quite awhile for such a grey rainy day....rest assured, I'm jealous).

On My Soapbox: Fast Food in the Developing World

An occurrence that often has been a concern of mine these days is witnessing the health and nutrition mistakes we've made in the US being carried out elsewhere. It is particularly worrisome to see large corporations setting their sites on developing countries as "new expanding markets" for their unhealthy products.

Take, for instance, China. McDonald's came out last week saying they hope to open one new restaurant per day in China in order to grow their business and keep up with their biggest rival in that country: KFC. In the article by Le Figaro (thanks V for sending my way! Apologies to the rest that it is in French), they say "Le restaurant ne désemplit pas, signe du succès général des enseignes de fast-food en Chine." Translation, the restaurants are always busy, a sign of their success in China.

T

While I understand the need for businesses to succeed and make a profit, what worries me here is that developing countries are facing a double whammy. In places like China and India they are being hit with both massive malnutrition problems and a growing obesity problem. In parts of these countries, children are starving and suffering from traditional malnutrition: not enough protein, calories or nutrients in their diet to sustain vibrant life. And in other parts of these countries, adults and children alike are suffering from a different sort of malnutrition and beginning to look like their American counterparts.

Talk about a burden on government resources. Obesity will be very costly in the long run for all countries, including developing countries. Obesity costs the US approximately $168 billion per year in medical expenditures. For countries that are still trying to get clean water and consistent food supplies, adding the cost of tackling obesity to their bill is a challenge to say the least.

It also deeply saddens me to see countries, like China, who have deeply rooted food cultures and traditions, moving towards fast food. Moving away from traditional food habits got us in trouble in the US (ie. it is now completely acceptable to eat your fast food hamburger in your car while driving. try that back in the day  and your manners would have been called into question). Its happening now in Europe, where quick meals and fast food are becoming far more prevalent.

I wish I could hit the fast-forward button to show people and governments what these food changes will likely do to our health and the health of our nations. Good luck getting double digit growth from companies if the employees are all sick from an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity.

I'm not suggesting that government should mandate what people eat, but that government, and the people running it, need to take a long-term perspective, and support policies that make healthier eating more affordable and accessible. To prevent malnutrition of both types: over and under-nutrition.

Okay, hopping of my soapbox-- for now :)