Packing your Christmas away with the R-Word

Recycle your cards with the Woodland Trust.It's the 1st of January, the beginning of New Year's Day and and the start of a whole new decade. And if you're anything like me, you'll be packing away all your decorations and other Christmas gubbins before the day is out.So as you can see, with lots to do today, I won't have much time to spend on this blog, so I'm attempting to deliver this blog post in the style of Gordon Ramsay and The F-Word, fast and at breakneck speed but without the swearing.So off we go! Let's kick off with the New Year's Day special of The R-Word, helping you get rid of your Christmas stuff without creating much waste. ...

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Happy New Year - It's party time!

Photo credit: Flickr's Martin PettittSo, this is is it! The last day of 2009 and indeed the last few hours of a time period that will go down in history as "The Noughties". Yep, it's New Year's Eve, and amongst the celebrations it's the traditional time to reflect on the past as well as take a moment to welcome in the new year that lies ahead.And as we get prepared to celebrate the dawn of a new decade, I would love you indulge me for a moment as I take a brief trip down memory lane on a topic that's very close to my heart and allow me to elaborate on why I am so passionate about the role that recycling has to our future.I can't believe how...

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Avoiding rubbish at the sales...

(Photo Credit: Flickr's DavidDMuir) ... and using the sales to avoid rubbish!So the winter discount season is officially in full swing, with high street stores and online sites already reporting bumper sales activity.But what's good for the till might not be so great for the bins. With every sale comes a whole sackful of potential rubbish - and I'm not criticising the quality of the goods purchased, it's the consequences of the sales that concern me. When the UK is out shopping, the bins naturally get fuller, whether it's on the high-street or when we return home with all our brand new goods.Take a look at a typical shopping scenario, and you'll...

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Making the most of that unwanted present

Now how many times have you opened a present only to think "What the heck am I going to do with that?"Of course it's the thought that counts. Someone you hold dear has spent time thinking of you this Christmas and that's wonderful. But it doesn't mean that you have to keep the slippers that don't fit or the ornament that doesn't go with the decor and carry the burden that goes with it.For someone to have spent good money on buying a gift, simply for it to be kept in a cupboard would be a real waste, even if it isn't going straight to landfill. So what can you do about it?Here are a few easy-to-follow steps, that might help.1. SHOW GRATITUDE....

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There are more ways than one to avoid food waste

Christmas is a time when food waste can sneak up from behind faster than can you can say boo to the cooked goose on your festive table.Yesterday, I discussed how we've handled our leftovers this year and I'm pleased to add that apart from a few vegetables, there is now nothing left from our Christmas dinner and with the time on my hands I even managed to make a crumble from the plums that have been sitting in our fridge since autumn.If you're looking for other ideas on what to do with all the gubbings in your fridge, as well as the the LoveFoodHateWaste recipes, I can recommend a visit to Mrs Green over at MyZeroWaste who has some fantastic suggestions...

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Christmas leftovers. It's just the beginning.

Beef Wellington made by Mr A for some special guests. Welcome back to The Rubbish Diet, following the recent festive celebrations. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.Despite spraining my neck building a snowman, being hit by a "knock-me-off-my-feet" kind of cold, being inconvenienced by a broken washing machine, non-functioning Christmas lights and a permanent error appearing on my digital camera, we've actually had a lovely time. I can only put it down to a sense of humour from all parties involved as well as my conviction to ditch all attempts at a perfect Christmas weeks ago.Mr A was happy. The kids were happy. And despite becoming a one-woman...

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Growth hormone: The fountain of youth

Growth hormone, also known as human growth hormone, seems to be implicated in a number of metabolic conditions associated with aging, and, more generally, poor health.In adults, growth hormone deficiency is associated with: decreased calcium retention and osteoporosis, loss of muscle mass, increased fat deposition, decreased protein synthesis, and immunodeficiency. In children, growth hormone deficiency is associated with stunted growth.Levels of growth hormones decline with age, and their decrease is believed to contribute to the aging process. Abdominal obesity is associated with low levels of growth hormone, and is also associated with...

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Half-hearted Atkins diet and cardiovascular disease

I would like to comment on a recent article comparing the Atkins, Ornish and South Beach diets (Miller et al., 2009; full reference at the end of this posting), which has been causing quite a lot of commotion among bloggers recently. Especially low carb. bloggers.An excellent post by Michael Eades clarifies a number of issues with the study, including what one could argue is the study's main flaw. Apparently the study compared a half-hearted Atkins diet, with probably equally half-hearted Ornish and South Beach diets.I refer to the study's Atkins diet as half-hearted because it seems to rely on a daily consumption of between 120 and 180 grams of carbohydrates. This is unlikely to lead to ketosis, the cornerstone of the Atkins diet, where the body uses ketone bodies...

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STOP PRESS:Ouch! I fell off the wagon!

It's been roughly 1 year, 10 months, 29 days, 16 hours, 27 minutes and 11 seconds since I discovered that I don't need cling film. Well that's what the man who took that photo of me with the bin bags told me almost two years ago.(copyright: St Edmundsbury District Council)You might think I'm smiling, but that facial expression is actually a grimace. In that brain beneath what was an exceedingly long mop of hair, the cogs were cranking away, pondering every single convenience I was going to have to give up for the zero waste challenge.And I couldn't believe my ears when the photographer who was taking the publicity shots for the council suggested...

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Total cholesterol and cardiovascular disease: A U-curve relationship

The hypothesis that blood cholesterol levels are positively correlated with heart disease (the lipid hypothesis) dates back to Rudolph Virchow in the mid-1800s.One famous study that supported this hypothesis was Ancel Keys's Seven Countries Study, conducted between the 1950s and 1970s. This study eventually served as the foundation on which much of the advice that we receive today from doctors is based, even though several other studies have been published since that provide little support for the lipid hypothesis.The graph below (source: canibaisereis.com, with many thanks to O Primitivo) shows the results of one study, involving many more...

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Like a chicken in a snowstorm

Oh heck! Today's the last day of school and Christmas is in one week's time. The family arrive on Sunday and I still need to tidy the house, sort out the laundry, make their gifts....and do X...and Y...and Z as well as the rest of the Christmas alphabet. I had so many plans, but time is running out...tick, tick, ticking away before my very eyes. I feel caught in a snowstorm, totally bewildered and wondering which way to turn. A bit like the chicken really - bless her!Oh well, I could always hide in the henhouse...If I don't return, you know where to find me.In the meantime, Click Here for a special Christmas e-Card prepared especially...

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