Hidden nutrition(n(y)o͞oˈtriSH(ə)n): We don’t know what makes up 99 per cent of our food

We know next to nothing about the vast majority of compounds(ˈkämˌpound) in our diet. Now researchers are finding ways to study this “nutritional dark matter” – and what it could mean for our health.

By Graham Lawton

TODAY I searched my kitchen cupboards for dark matter, and found it in a packet of Korean(kəˈrēən) instant noodles. The food label ran to 38 ingredients(inˈɡrēdēənt), many of them additives(ˈadədiv). But it also listed some real foods, including soy(soi), chilli(ˈCHilē), sesame(ˈsesəmē), shrimp(SHrimp), cabbage(ˈkabij), seaweed(ˈsēˌwēd), mushroom, anchovy(ˈanˌCHōvē) and cuttlefish(ˈkədlˌfiSH). And also the one I was looking for, garlic(ˈɡärlik).

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that garlic contains actual dark matter, the 85 per cent or so of material in the universe that physicists(ˈfizəsəst) say is there but cannot observe directly. But it does contain(kənˈtān) what has been called “nutritional dark matter”: the thousands and thousands of compounds that are in food but which, until recently, were totally unknown, and which may be affecting our health. Given that eating is one of the big human universals, that’s a mind-boggling(ˈbäɡəl) oversight.

“Our understanding of how diet affects health is limited to 150 key nutritional components(kəmˈpōnənt),” says Albert-László Barabási at Harvard Medical School, who coined the term nutritional dark matter. “But these represent only a small fraction of the biochemicals(ˈˌbīōˈkeməkəl) present in our food.” It is time, he says, for nutritionists(n(y)o͞oˈtriSH(ə)nəst) to go dark-matter hunting, to massively expand our knowledge of what is on our plate(plāt) and its impact on us.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24732920-700-hidden-nutrition-we-dont-know-what-makes-up-99-per-cent-of-our-food/

Dropping the Expectations(ˌekspekˈtāSH(ə)n)

By Leo Babauta

So simple right? Now we just have to figure out how to drop those pesky(ˈpeskē) expectations.

Here’s the thing: it turns out the human mind is a powerful expectations generator. Like all the time, it’s creating expectations. Just willy(ˈwilē) nilly, without any real grounding in reality. Out of thin(THin) air.

So do we just turn off the expectations machine? Good luck. I’ve never seen anyone do that. In fact, the hope that we can just turn off the expectations is in itself an expectation.

The practice is to just notice the expectations. Bring a gentle awareness to them. Just say, “Aha! I see you, Expectation. I know you’re the reason I’m feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, behind, frustrated, inadequate(inˈadikwət).”

And it’s true, isn’t it? We feel inadequate because we have some expectation that we be more than this. We feel behind because of some made up expectations of what we should have done already. We feel discouraged because we haven’t met some expectation. We feel overwhelmed because we have an expectation that we should be able to handle all of this easily and at once. We feel frustrated because someone (us, or someone else) has failed to meet an expectation.

All of these feelings are clear-cut signs that we have an expectation. And we can simply bring awareness to the expectation.

Then we’re in a place of choice. Do I want to hold myself and everything else to this made-up ideal(īˈdē(ə)l)? Or can I let go of that and simply see things as they are? Simply do the next step.

Seeing things as they are, without expectations, is seeing the bare experience, the actual physical reality of things, without all of the ideals and fantasies(ˈfan(t)əsē) and frustrations we layer on top of reality.

This means that when we miss a day, we don’t have to get caught up in thoughts about how that sucks — we just look at the moment we’re in, and sit down on the meditation cushion(ˈko͝oSHən). Break out the writing pad. Do the next thing, with clear eyes.

So in this place of choice, we can decide whether we want to stay in this fantasy world of expectations … or drop out of it into the world as it is. Which is wide open. Ready for us to go do the next thing.

That’s the choice we can make, every time, if we are aware of our expectations in the moment.

https://zenhabits.net/simple-discipline/

Am I a ‘Karen(kəˈren)’?

By Angela Wright

I think I might be a “Karen.” My husband didn’t know what a Karen was. If you don’t know either, I’ll put it another way: an entitled(inˈtīdld) white woman who wants what she wants.

The global pandemic has made many people more patient much of the time. It has made a few people anxious and jittery(ˈjidərē), and some people, who were self-righteous(ˈrīCHəs) to start with, have been rendered impossible.

I think my own behaviour has been quite good. Occasionally I have been lost in thought and someone on the sidewalk has had to veer(vir) away from me. I developed an unhealthy obsession(əbˈseSHən) with seeing the baby foxes in my neighbourhood but I did not resort to dog treats to lure(lo͝or) them out and I did not loiter(ˈloidər) near their den(den). But I did make a point of walking by their den twice a day until I finally go for my iPhone money shot. (In my defence(dəˈfens), the mother fox did choose to have her kits under a major walkway adjacent(əˈjās(ə)nt) to a dog park.)

I work hard to not be a “Karen.” I stand patiently in line at the grocery(ˈɡrōs(ə)rē) store, I offer my hands for the spray(sprā)-on sanitizer(ˈsanəˌtīzər) with a smile on my face. I thank the check out people profusely(prəˈfyo͞oslē) and try not to touch the fruit(fro͞ot). Sometimes I do touch the fruit. For that I am sorry.

…
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-am-i-a-karen/

The Mysterious(məˈstirēəs) Life of Birds Who Never Come Down

Swifts spend all their time in the sky. What can their journeys(ˈjərnē) tell us about the future?

By Helen Macdonald

I found a dead common swift once, a husk(həsk) of a bird under a bridge over the River Thames(temz), where sunlight from the water cast bright scribbles(ˈskribəl) on the arches(ˈärCHəz) above. I picked it up, held it in my palm(pä(l)m), saw the dust in its feathers(ˈfeT͟Hər), its wings crossed like dull(dəl) blades(blād), its eyes tightly closed, and realized(ˈrē(ə)ˌlīz) that I didn’t know what to do. This was a surprise. Encouraged by books, I’d always been the type of Gothic(ˈɡäTHik) amateur(ˈamədər, ˈaməˌtər, ˈaməCHər) naturalist(ˈnaCH(ə)rələst) who preserved interesting bits of the dead. I cleaned and polished(ˈpäliSHt) fox skulls(skəl); disarticulated(ˌdisärˈtikyəlāt), dried and kept the wings of roadkill birds. But I knew, looking at the swift, that I could not do anything like that to it. The bird was suffused(səˈfyo͞oz) with a kind of seriousness(ˈsirēəsnəs) very akin(əˈkin) to holiness(ˈhōlēnəs). I didn’t want to leave it there, so I took it home, swaddled(ˈswädl) it in a towel(ˈtou(ə)l) and tucked(tək) it in the freezer. It was in early May the next year, as soon as I saw the first returning swifts flowing down from the clouds, that I knew what I had to do. I went to the freezer, took out the swift and buried(ˈberēd) it in the garden one hand’s-width(widTH) deep in earth newly warmed by the sun.

Swifts are magical in the manner of all things that exist just a little beyond understanding. Once they were called the “Devil’s(ˈdevəl) bird,” perhaps because those screaming flocks of black crosses around churches(CHərCH) seemed pulled from darkness, not light. But to me, they are creatures of the upper air, and of their nature unintelligible(ˌənənˈteləjəb(ə)l), which makes them more akin to angels. Unlike all other birds I knew as a child, they never descended(dəˈsend) to the ground.

…
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/magazine/vesper-flights.html

You should feel pain when unclear

By Derek Sivers

Email blasts(blast) are the best training for being clear.

At my last company I had about 2 million customers.

When writing an email to everyone, if I wasn’t perfectly clear, I’d get 20,000 confused replies, which would take my staff all week to reply to, costing me at least $5000 plus lost morale(məˈral).

Even if I was very clear but took more than a few sentences to explain something, I’d get thousands of replies from people who never read past the first few sentences.

Writing that email to customers — carefully eliminating(əˈliməˌnādiNG) every unnecessary word, and reshaping(rēˈSHāp) every sentence to make sure it could not be misunderstood — would take me all day.

One unclear sentence? Immediate $5000 penalty(ˈpen(ə)ltē). Ouch(ouCH).

Unfortunately, people writing websites don’t get this kind of feedback.

Instead, if they’re not clear, they just get silence. Lots of hits but no action.

I see new websites trying to look impressive, filled with hundreds of puffy(ˈpəfē) unnecessary sentences.

I feel bad that the people behind those sites haven’t felt the pain of trying to email that text to thousands of people, to directly see how misunderstood or ignored it is.

https://sivers.org/unclear

Our Little Ghost

By Louisa May Alcott

OFT(ôft), in the silence of the night,
When the lonely moon rides(rīd) high,
When wintry(ˈwint(ə)rē) winds are whistling(ˈ(h)wisəl),
And we hear the owl’s(oul) shrill(SHril) cry,
In the quiet, dusky(ˈdəskē) chamber(ˈCHāmbər),
By the flickering(ˈflikəriNG) firelight,
Rising up between two sleepers,
Comes a spirit all in white.

A winsome(ˈwinsəm) little ghost it is,
Rosy(ˈrōzē)-cheeked(CHēk), and bright of eye;
With yellow curls(kərl) all breaking loose(lo͞os)
From the small cap pushed awry(əˈrī).
Up it climbs among the pillows(ˈpilō),
For the “big dark” brings no dread,
And a baby’s boundless fancy(ˈfansē)
Makes a kingdom of a bed.

A fearless little ghost it is;
Safe the night seems as the day;
The moon is but a gentle face,
And the sighing winds are gay(ɡā).
The solitude is full of friends,
And the hour brings no regrets(rəˈɡret);
For, in this happy little soul,
Shines a sun that never sets.

A merry(ˈmerē) little ghost it is,
Dancing gayly by itself,
On the flowery(ˈflou(ə)rē) counterpane(ˈkoun(t)ərˌpān),
Like a tricksy(ˈtriksē) household elf(elf);
Nodding to the fitful shadows,
As they flicker on the wall;
Talking to familiar(fəˈmilyər) pictures,
Mimicking(ˈmimik) the owl’s shrill call.

A thoughtful little ghost it is;
And, when lonely gambols(ˈɡambəl) tire,
With chubby(ˈCHəbē) hands on chubby knees,
It sits winking at the fire.
Fancies(ˈfansē) innocent(ˈinəsənt) and lovely
Shine before those baby-eyes, –
Endless fields of dandelions(ˈdandlˌīən),
Brooks, and birds, and butterflies.

A loving little ghost it is:
When crept(krept) into its nest,
Its hand on father’s shoulder laid,
Its head on mother’s breast(brest),
It watches each familiar face,
With a tranquil(ˈtraNGkwəl), trusting eye;
And, like a sleepy little bird,
Sings its own soft lullaby(ˈlələˌbī).

Then those who feigned(fānd) to sleep before,
Lest(lest) baby play till dawn,
Wake and watch their folded flower –
Little rose without a thorn(THôrn).
And, in the silence of the night,
The hearts that love it most
Pray tenderly(ˈtendərlē) above its sleep,
“God bless our little ghost!”

https://americanliterature.com/author/louisa-may-alcott/poem/our-little-ghost

The inflatable(inˈflādəb(ə)l) pool is the official(əˈfiSHəl) symbol of America’s lost summer

By Maura Judkis

On a hot summer day, Trent Theiler loves nothing more than going to his apartment’s rooftop(ˈro͞ofˌtäp) with a cold(kōld) beverage and lowering himself into the pool.

Or, at least the parts of him that fit in it.

Theiler is a 6-foot-2-inch, 33-year-old man. The pool is an inflatable frog-shaped children’s wading(wād) pool that holds about four inches of water. It is smaller than his torso(ˈtôrsō). The water soaks(sōk) his backside and little else, but Thieler has to take relief(rəˈlēf) where he can get it.

Such is life in America, in July(jəˈlī), in a pandemic.

Two of his friends bought matching frog kiddie(ˈkidē) pools, and, most weekends, the three of them sit in their separate(ˈsep(ə)rət) pools together. The group has started calling their pool cluster the “Ribbit(ˈribit) Rooftop Cantina(kanˈtēnə).” A few feet away is their D.C. apartment building’s actual swimming pool, which is covered and closed for the season because of the novel(ˈnävəl) coronavirus.

“I thought it would be a little bit bigger just from the picture,” Theiler said of his kiddie-sized replacement. “You know, it was kind of a bummer(ˈbəmər). But, I mean, a little bit of water is better than nothing.”

…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-inflatable-pool-is-the-official-symbol-americas-lost-summer/2020/07/17/4d80fcfa-c542-11ea-b037-f9711f89ee46_story.html

Fun Is a Personal Standard

By Steve Pavlina

Whatever you’re currently doing to earn money, is it fun for you?

Would you still enjoy your income-generating activities even if they paid half as much?

Still fun with less pay? Or does the fun depend on the money?

Earning money can be fun. Spending money can be fun too.

But what if earning money isn’t fun? Then to earn more, you have to push yourself to do even more work that isn’t fun. Your reward is very mixed then – more money perhaps but also less fun. That creates a drag that will likely cause your income – and your ambition(amˈbiSH(ə)n) – to stagnate(ˈstaɡˌnāt).

A lot of the world’s offers for income generation aren’t particularly fun. In fact, many of them seriously suck. Do this boring-as-hell work for a paycheck. That’s a crappy(ˈkrapē) ass(as) offer. Who’d be desperate(ˈdesp(ə)rət) enough to say yes to that? Lots of people apparently since most people don’t like their jobs – don’t become one of them.

You don’t have to accept a crappy ass offer that isn’t fun. You can either keep looking till you find a fun and inspiring offer, or better yet, create your own offer.

Safe Isn’t Fun

To bring some fun into this picture, I think it helps to choose income generation strategies that challenge you to grow. If you make it too easy, you’ll be bored.

A fun game is at least semi(ˈsemī)-challenging. Challenge alone won’t make the experience fun, but it will surely help.

Many people look to their past hobbies and strengths for income ideas. That tends to be a relatively weak approach that can easily lead to boredom. What if instead you develop income ideas based around what you’d like to explore and experience? Why rehash the past that you’ve already explored when you could lean into something new and adventurous?

What new challenges fascinate(ˈfasəˌnāt) you? What seems a bit out of reach?

https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/06/fun-is-a-personal-standard

Moleskine(ˈmōlˌskin): About Us

The Moleskine notebook is the heir(er) and successor(səkˈsesər) to the legendary(ˈlejənˌderē) notebook used by artists and thinkers over the past two centuries: among them Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso(pəˈkäsō), Ernest Hemingway(ˈhemiNGɡwā) and Bruce Chatwin.

Today Moleskine offers an eco-system of objects which inspires imaginations and fuels(ˈfyo͞o(ə)l) creative practice, versatile(ˈvərsədl) tools for both everyday and extraordinary(ikˈstrôrd(ə)nˌerē) journeys(ˈjərnē): notebooks, journals, bags, luggage(ˈləɡij), apps, writing instruments and reading accessories(əkˈses(ə)rē) which complement each other in form and function, becoming an integral(ˈin(t)əɡrəl) part of our personalities.

Moleskine is a platform which celebrates talent(ˈtalənt), champions(ˈCHampēən) originality(əˌrijəˈnalədē) and cherishes(ˈCHeriSH) long-term thinking.

The company began life as Modo&Modo, a small Milanese(ˌmiləˈnēz) publisher that, in 1997, brought the original notebook back to life and established the Moleskine® trademark(ˈtrādˌmärk). Moleskine was listed on the Italian(iˈtalyən) Stock Exchange in 2013. The brand was acquired and delisted(dēˈlist) by D’Ieteren(deˌdə’rēn) at the end of 2016.

Today, the Moleskine company has around 500 employees and a vast network of partners.

TURN PAPER DIGITAL

We believe in the infinite(ˈinfənət) potential for continuity(ˌkäntəˈn(y)o͞oədē) and connection between analog(ˈanlˌôɡ) and digital tools. This bridging(ˈbrijiNG) of page and screen is essential(əˈsen(t)SHəl) to fulfil our users’ needs.

Moleskine+ is an ecosystem of smart tools and services designed to simplify the creative and productive process, allowing an idea to evolve(ēˈvälv) naturally on paper before being edited and shared digitally.

https://us.moleskine.com/en/about-us

Together, You Can Redeem(rəˈdēm) the Soul of Our Nation

Though I am gone, I urge(ərj) you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.

By John Lewis

While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race(rās), class, age, language and nationality(ˌnaSHəˈnalədē) to demand respect for human dignity(ˈdiɡnədē).

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza(ˈplazə) in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

…

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence(nänˈvīələns) is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed(ˈtrīəmf) over violence, aggression(əˈɡreSHən) and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html