Maria Recommends

Better Bacon

Better Bacon

by guest blogger Coach Mark Smallwood. We do love our bacon. When the rumor of an “unavoidable bacon shortage” hit the airways late last month, American citizens went what can only be described as hog wild. There isn’t really a bacon shortage, but the cost of pork will most certainly be rising globally in 2013. But two small changes to how we look at production and consumption could make a big difference in our food future.

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I Ran My First 5K!

I Ran My First 5K!

Excuses, excuses, excuses. I’ve had them—and good ones, too. But perhaps it was the specter of turning 50 that made me want to start running for my life. I’ve written before about how I started running and about my magic running shoes. And slowly but surely, I’ve gotten a little bit stronger every run—which only occurred weekly if I was lucky.

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6 Ways to Beat a Food Addiction

6 Ways to Beat a Food Addiction

by guest blogger Pam Peeke, MD. Food addiction is real; it affects more people than you know, and manufacturers actually design food products so that they are as addicting as possible. Yes, that perfect combination of salty, sweet, and savory was created to make sure you keep reaching for more. That’s why I wrote The Hunger Fix, because I want to change the game that is rigged against you. Here are 6 ways to beat food addiction:

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I Was a Reluctant Poet

I Was a Reluctant Poet

I sat up in bed to write a blog
And this poem
Came out
Instead.

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The Sexiest Scent of All

The Sexiest Scent of All

by guest blogger Maya Rodale. I used to have a signature scent: It was Chanel No. 22 (the younger, lighter version of Chanel No. 5, whose ads now feature Brad Pitt). My daily spritz of perfume was such a part of moi that on the one day I forgot it, I popped into Sephora on my way to work for a free spritz, lest I feel incomplete. These days, I only use unscented products, but I still spend a lot of time thinking about scent.

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Imagine a World without Cancer

Imagine a World without Cancer

I just finished a new book (published by Rodale!) by Margaret I. Cuomo, MD, called A World without Cancer, and I highly recommend it. As a doctor, Cuomo is able to explain cancer—its origins in the body, its treatments, its potential cures, and the challenges of finding solutions—with a clarity that is refreshing and highly informative. While we’ve spent billions in research, and people have donated time and money, run races, and sold lemonade, it’s actually shocking and disturbing how little progress we’ve made.

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Polluting our Backyard to Feed China

Polluting our Backyard to Feed China

By guest blogger Andrew Gunther. As our domestic demand for intensively produced meat continues to drop dramatically, we are about to let the meat industry continue to pollute our environment and make our families sick in order to profit from China’s appetite for meat. And the meat industry’s clever marketing hides the fact that the real cost of the meat we eat is extraordinarily high when we account for its environmental costs and its costs to human health and animal welfare.

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What Saved This Conventional Farm?

What Saved This Conventional Farm?

by guest blogger Alberto Gonzalez. James Burkholder’s family has been farming forever. They moved from Switzerland to the U.S. in the 1700s and dedicated themselves to cultivating the land. But during a crisis in 2009, when milk prices tanked, James was at risk of losing his family’s legacy and livelihood. He needed to find a way to save their farm because farming was all they knew how to do. So, James decided to look into organic farming practices.

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