Christina's blog

Yes, really.

According to a study published in BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal), frequent consumption of fried foods can lead to a serious outcome: early death. Yup; you read right…early death.

Researchers looked at data from 100,000 women followed since the mid 1990’s. Now between the ages of 50-79, these women’s data has revealed some not so surprising results.

Those who said they consumed 1 serving of fried food each day had an 8% higher chance of early death compared with women who ate little or no fried food.

My husband, who I adore, loves Time magazine. Yup, good old fashioned Time magazine.

I’m not such a big fan but every now and then, I see an article that piques my interest and inspires me to write. This week I read such an article.

The first line of the article reads, “If you want to eat something for better health, make it fiber.” I turned to the front cover to be sure I wasn’t reading a vintage magazine from the ‘90’s…’80’s or ‘70’s since fiber has been touted as an essential building block of wellness for decades.

I grew up in a wild, passionate Italian and Irish family. Food was the glue that bonded us and quality of ingredients reigned supreme. My Irish father worked as a butcher (with an artist’s soul) to support the family, juggling positions at three different shops to make ends meet. He worked two jobs during the week and one on weekends. He was rarely home and when he was, he was napping, eating, fixing something around the house, drawing charcoal portraits or enjoying his children.

When was the last time you sat down to a meal and really enjoyed it? Without pondering calories, carbs, protein grams. Without second-guessing your choices and their impact on your waistline or wellness.

If you can’t remember, maybe it’s time to eat by intuition and stop eating by the “rules.”

I am continually stunned at how out of touch so many of us are when it comes to our impact on our fragile planet. Even when we think we are living more consciously; often…if we really look, we are consuming at an alarming rate. Each and every one of us takes and takes from the planet that gives us life with barely a passing thought as to our impact on her…me included sometimes.

Backache,headache, sore knees, whatever ails you, pain is a game-changer and we are impatient to be rid of it once it parks itself on our doorstep.

Before reaching for a toxic (and possibly addicting) pain killer, remember that the plant kingdom can have a strong and effective analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect on the body. Researchers are looking seriously at natural pain relief and discovering that Mother Nature once again has our backs…and heads…and joints…and tummies…and…

Joint and Muscle Aches

The more I get to know myself (seems to take a lifetime), the more I recognize what works for my system and what doesn’t; and I don’t just mean food. It has made my choices crystal clear.

If I wouldn’t eat hot dogs, because well, they’re not even food, why would I stress my body with other kinds of toxins?

As I…mature…I am always looking for ways to keep my skin supple and vibrant, naturally. I had been hearing about this ancient skin massage called “gua sha” and decided to check it out. Let me warn you right here. Do not search “gua sha” unless you want to scare yourself silly with photos of an aggressive ancient body massage method that leaves the skin beet red from a method known as “scraping.” Intended to help stimulate blood flow and drain the lymphatic system, this therapy pre-dates acupuncture.

My dear friend and food writer extraordinaire, Jason loves the movie “Love, Actually” so I named this article for him. It was through him that I had the chance to travel to Naples on a whirlwind food tour. Our mission? Pasta. And what a delicious mission it was.

Every holiday season I struggle. I struggle with gift giving. Do I simply make a large donation to a worthy cause in all my loved ones’ names? Do I make gifts, like jams, breads, cookies or pickles? Do I make watercolor paintings or drawings?