Tuesday, April 11, 2017

6.7 Obesogenes

Utilizing the first article, discuss what is locally grown and what is currently in season in your area.
Various products are grown in the Woodland area. These include: broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, radishes, swiss chard, winter squash, sweet corn, cucumber, edamame soybeans, eggplant, green beans, hot peppers, okra, peas, radishes, summer squash, sweet peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, cantaloupes, figs, watermelons, artichokes, garlic, potatoes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, blackberries, melons, marionberries, ollalieberries, strawberries, swiss, chard, lettuce, leeks, kohlrabi, beets, and asparagus. 
Various products are in season during the Spring, these include; artichokes, arugula, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, greens, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach, blackberries, boysenberries, marionberries, ollalieberries, strawberries, spinach, and swiss chard. 
There are about 9 different farms that grow these products throughout the year. 


Discuss your thoughts on seasonal/local foods and hospital menus. 
The use of seasonal/local foods in hospital menus improves individuals health and at the same time it helps the environment. When hospitals use seasonal/local foods, the foods do not travel long distances, reducing the climate change footprint caused by the transportation of foods. Also, since foods do not travel long distances, the foods patients receive are fresh, improving their taste. Hospitals are also able to help the local economy by purchasing foods from local farmers. A good way to hospitals to do this is to create a seasonal menu that uses foods that are in season in a particular area. This allows for hospitals to plan ahead and ensure their patients needs are met. Hospitals should be setting an example and modeling behavior in order for patients to keep adapt to those behaviors once discharged. By modeling positive behaviors and promoting the benefits of using seasonal/local foods, the overall health of communities would improve. 


Harvest Calendar for Northern CA
CROP

MONTH
AsparagusMarch -April
StrawberriesApr.10 - June 30
BlackberriesJune 1 - July 30
BlueberriesMay 15 - June 30
BoysenberriesMay 10 - July 5
Cherries May 5 - June 30
ApricotsMay 10 to August 15
PeachesMay 20 - September 5
NectarinesMay 20 - September 15
OlallieberriesJune 1 to July 31
PlumsJune 1 - September 5
PearsAugust 10 - September 10
Green BeansJune 15 - September 15
PeasJune 15 - September 15
CornJune 25 - September 30
RaspberriesJuly 1 - September 15
GrapesJuly 10 - October 15
ApplesJuly 15 (early apples) - September 25
TomatoesJuly 15 - September 15
OkraJuly 15 - September 15
AlmondsAugust 20 - December. 13
FigsSeptember 05 - October 31
PersimmonsSeptember 20 - October 31
WalnutsSeptember 25 - Jan. 10
OrangesAll year round, depends on the variety.


What are your thoughts on the second article? Have you heard of obesogens before?
This is the first time I hear about obesogens. This article was an eye opener. In this semester we have studied how different chemicals have various effects on human health and knowing that these chemicals also play a role in obesity is very alarming. The article describes how the study by Paula Baillie-Hamilton showed that chemicals at low-doses were correlated to weight gain in experimental animals. A lot of the research done on the harm of chemicals are through animal exposure. When pregnant mice were exposed to TBT, their offspring were born heavier than expected. This shows that such chemicals can have a lasting event on animals. Even though mice and humans are two different species, research has shown that similar chemical exposures are seen in humans as well. We are exposed to various chemicals in our environment, and knowing that these chemicals are contributing to the obesity epidemic, is up to those federal agencies to start posing more regulations on the chemicals used in our enviroment. 


Pick one of the potential obesogens discussed in the article and using your resources from earlier modules (such as toxnet), do some research on this potential obesogen. Share what you found!

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