women’s shapes, dha, and intellegence (and a leaf collection)

Someone left a copy of “Psychology Today” magazine at the gym where I work and I read about 75% of it (most of the time, I look at the images and skim the content). The entire magazine was very interesting, especially this one article about the shape of a woman (figure, not health).  Some of the interesting information I gathered from this article included:

• Most of the DHA in a mother’s breast milk comes what she has stored over the years in her lower body fat (hips, thighs, etc.)
• The first child gets the most DHA from the mother which is why first born children tend to be more intelligent than their siblings.
• Curvier women have more DHA  stored in their body fat which tends to lead to the women and her children being smarter
• American women generally have less DHA in their bodies than other countries because of our increased consumption of Omega-6 fat instead of omega-3 fats.
  • Get this: “feeding farm animals corn instead of allowing them to graze on their natural diet of grass also increases omega-6 while reducing omega-3 in meat, milk products, and eggs.” Yet another reason to eat NATURAL or ORGANIC meats and dairy products. (I am getting 3 more chickens and a turkey from the local farm soon so I’m really trying hard!)

I never had put that much thought into DHA before. I saw it on the organic milk carton, but didn’t really think it mattered that much. The article also mentioned how important it is for children to have a lot of DHA in their first two years of life due to rapid growth of their brains.

Some other neat info I picked up from the magazine:

• More folks worked together to complete a puzzle when they were only given chairs rather than a table (the folks with a table didn’t work together at all!)
• To be more creative, stand and don’t sit.
• There’s a syndrome that affects kids called PANS (Pediatric acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) where kids wake up one morning with anxiety, emotional meltdowns and more. There can also be an onset of OCD following a case of strep throat. Isn’t that crazy?!

On another note, I took a nature walk today. My son is spending the night with his great aunt and my husband was piddling around the house, so I took off with one of my dogs and my cat. We had a nice little stroll and I took some pictures. The photos don’t do justice for the beautiful scenery, but I thought you might enjoy some of my “leaf collection” (remember those projects from elementary school?).

Sassafras

Sassafras

Oak

Dogwood

Maple

Maple and Poplar

Oak

Morning Glory

snooki, mitt romney, and the magazines

My husband’s grandmother has been passing me old issues of “People” magazine and my husband makes fun of my reading them. He knows I’m not into famous people and honestly, I didn’t know who Snooki was until reading this stupid article recently. Did you know this Snooki had a baby? I’m not sure why the good Lord has allowed someone with a head full of air to procreate, but there are bigger mysteries in this world. Some of my favorite quotes from her interview….

• “Before I was pushing, I put bronzer on and [false] eyelashes. I wanted to look pretty for him!” As a woman who went through labor approximately 8 months ago, that has to be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.
• When asked if they were going to move into their own place soon, the reply was, “It’ll take a year or two. We’re in no rush, because it’s great here, and we have to concentrate on Lorenzo.” Can you hear me rolling my eyes? I’m assuming this ex party girl earned a boatload of money on that Jersey Shore show and she’s live at home with her parents?! Puh-leeze!

I just had to share my disappointment of what the world is coming to.

On a lighter note, I bought my husband a subscription to “ESPN” magazine as a school fundraiser and I read it more than he does. I love the ads in that magazine (it really appeals to my marketing background) and there was the best article about Mitt Romney’s family vacation and their mini family Olympics they do each year. I was impressed that they have done this mini triathlon each year and he almost got beaten by his daughter-in-law who had just given birth about 8 weeks earlier. I have to say I like the idea of a man who focuses on family vacations (albeit at his $8 million mansion) with fitness involved.

Getting back to those good ads – it’s Snickers that have the BEST ads in ESPN magazine. See example below…

Exhibit A: an aromatherapy candle ad featuring Jerome Bettis. I first saw it and thought, “What the heck?!”

Exhibit B: The real ad for Snickers. Pretty darn good marketing and I’m not even their target market!

One more magazine thought and I’m done with this topic – I love “Real Simple”. I feel so inspired after reading that magazine and looking at the pictures. If only I could muster up the energy to cook some of the good looking recipes that I read in there.

Happy reading!