In recent years, some studies — albeit controversial studies — have suggested that marijuana can have adverse affects on “the maturing adolescent brain,” Science Magazine reports. However, a recent breakthrough study found that there may be “no measurable link between marijuana use and lower IQ.”

Most of us have smoked weed at some point in our lives. And if the conversations I’ve had with friends and family are universal, most people had their first toke when they were in junior high or high school.

But according to the study, conducted by Nicholas Jackson of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and his colleagues, that may not be such a bad thing. As this study differs from previous research that only examined a “single snapshot in time.”

Jackson’s study examined 789 pairs of adolescent twins between the ages of 9 and 11 from two ongoing studies. “Over the course of 10 years, the team administered five intelligence tests and confidential surveys about marijuana use,” Science reports. The researchers also asked about “other drug use such as opioid painkillers, cocaine, and binge drinking. Marijuana users lost about four IQ points over the course of the study. But their abstinent twin siblings showed a similar pattern of decline, suggesting that the loss of mental sharpness was due to something other than pot.”

Jackson says that the study’s findings lead the researchers to think the “something else” was something in the twins’ shared environment — most likely home life, school, and peers.

While this study is making waves right now, another recent study found similar results.

This separate study was conducted by Valerie Curran, psychopharmacologist at the University College London, and her colleagues.  The study examined 2,000 non-twin British teens.

While these studies were well written and researched, they still don’t prove without a doubt that marijuana doesn’t harm teens’ brains.

Related on EcoSalon

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Cannabis Helps Professional Runners Perform Better

Image of teen smoking weed via Shutterstock

The post Is Your Brain Totally Shot if You Smoked Weed as a Teen? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Ketchup can get healthier, and under 5 minutes!

Ketchup is the mother of all condiments. It’s sweet and salty and pairs with just about anything,  even when the combo seems intuitively odd. I, for instance, have long praised the healing powers of ketchup and white rice, and a friend of mine can’t bear to eat scrambled eggs without it. Ketchup has carved an indelible spot in our food psyches – it’s a classic that some estimates claim can be found in 97% of U.S. households.

Tracing its origins to China, Ketchup was first introduced in the U.S. in 1837. By 1900, ketchup was sold by more than 100 manufacturers. In 1872, HJ Heinz introduced his version of the condiment at the Philadelphia Fair, and to this day, the recipe has remained unchanged. Over the years, first for sanitary reasons and later for marketing’s sake, the FDA has developed strict guidelines concerning the consistency of ketchup and ingredients in it.

Behind the classic lies not so uplifting stats. Ingredients in Heinz Ketchup include tomato concentrate, distilled vinegar, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, and natural flavoring. While the list is relatively simple, high-fructose corn syrup is a known culprit, so much to the point that many are beginning to backfire, claiming it is “unfairly maligned.” Truth is, it deserves the flack!

In a 2010 Princeton University study, researchers found that high-fructose corn syrup leads to considerable weight gain, at a rate higher than other sweeteners. According to the study, which was administered on rats, those fed high-fructose corn syrup gained much more weight than those fed table sugar, even with the same caloric intake. The lab animals on a long-term high-fructose corn syrup diet experience abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the belly. Researchers noted that even rats on a high-fat diet don’t gain weight to that extent.

In 1 tablespoon of Heinz Ketchup, there are 20 calories, 160 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams carbohydrates, and 4 grams of sugar. The benefits deriving from the plum tomatoes are outweighed by the compounding calorie, sodium, and sugar dosages. Whoever just stops at 1 tablespoon? A few tablespoons in, and you’ve got yourself a condiment that threatens meal-status.

A condiment should never derail a diet, but many of us don’t know when to stop dipping, because serving sizes are never that clean cut. That’s why I’ve put together this simple homemade ketchup that you can whip up without laboring over the stove, risking your fries going frigid.

Using the same elements – tomatoes, sweetener, and vinegar – I’ve upped the ante on their health benefits. Maple syrup is one of the healthiest sweeteners on the market, with a lower glycemic index than other mainstream sugars. Apple cider vinegar, especially one that is indicated as “raw,” is full of vitamins, minerals, pectin, and beta-carotene. It also boasts many benefits – treats sunburn, helps weight loss, removes teeth stains, cures severe acne, treats digestive ailments, fights allergies, and reduces cholesterol.

Enjoy!

2-minute Homemade Ketchup

Makes just over 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tomato paste
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (or agave)
• 1/4 tsp mustard
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. No cooking required!

Add lukewarm water by the teaspoon to reach the consistency you crave.

Serve aside sweet potato French fries or lather on top of a vegan chickpea burger!

Bon Appetit!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Images: Overthinking Me, Aylin Erman

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Revamping America’s Favorite Condiment: Ketchup [Recipe] appeared first on EcoSalon.

If the green movement had its own Santa Claus, would he have a green beard or would she wear a vegan cape? Business News Daily reports that a new survey shows the archetypal green buyer would be a younger female with a post-graduate degree. Further, the least likely green consumer would be a man over the age of 55 years.

According to a survey from Crowd Science’s Just Ask! “men are nearly twice as likely to believe that buying products marketed as green makes no difference.” Sandra Marshall is vice president of research for Crowd Science. As she told Business News Daily, “We’re seeing an interesting gap in what we call ‘green shopitudes’ when you consider gender, age, and education. Women and younger age groups appear to be more eco-centric when it comes to shopping practices.”

That’s great for women, but where does this leave the menfolk? We asked our own Scott Adelson to weigh in. As Scott tells it, “I always was of the notion that too many men see the idea of legacy as an individualistic concept, rather than a communal one. This is by no means always the case, but it seems that women have a better ear for issues like the environment, education, even health care.”

Further, does buying green mean you’re committed to all things eco? Personally, I think anyone who makes an effort to take out the recycling deserves props, but you’re going to find people who think being green means eating vegan. Or driving a Prius. Or supporting environmental initiatives. Or yes, buying green. Sure, it seems silly to be caught up in labels, but when a large percent of the population devotes itself to attacking the science of climate change and more, it’s not the worst thing to pick up a banner and wave it.

And what does this really say about gender issues in the green movement? If I look at my own coterie of friends, I can’t really say that gender plays a significant factor. True, many of my “greener” friends are women. Most are also mothers of young children, contributing heavily to their interest in a toxin-free lifestyle.

But my husband is arguably greener than I am, especially when it comes to debating the contents of the recycling bin. (Me? I tend to follow this guide; he’s a little more adventurous.) I know three or so men whose opinions espouse exactly what is being touting in this study. My friend Dave is convinced that green labeling is just a giant marketing scam. But for every Dave I know a Scott Adelson or a Brian Clark Howard or a Jeffrey Davis.

Then again, my unscientific sampling of friends doesn’t compete with a formal study. Do you agree that women tend to shop greener than men, or are in fact a deeper shade of green?

Image: aerokev

The post Women Have a Higher ‘Green Shopitude’ Than Men appeared first on EcoSalon.

With a science-hostile Congress moving into Washington next month, now – before reactionary attempts to turn back the nascent clock – is a good time to revisit the benefits of stem cell research.

By way of a quick review, work here in the United States is still in a relatively embryonic stage, so to speak, as it was only in March 2009 that President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13505 – “Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells.” The EO revoked one signed by President George W. Bush in 2007, as well as Presidential statement in 2001 that limited federal funding of research involving human embryonic stem cells. Obama’s order instructed the Director of NIH to “develop guidelines for the support and conduct of responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research, including human embryonic stem cell research, to the extent permitted by law.”

It’s that last bit about the law where the new Congress has the ability to stop and reverse forward motion. Here’s a primer on the progress and opportunities we stand to lose if backward thinkers have their way:

1.  Cures for common diseases

Topping the list is the role that stem cell research and regenerative medicine might – most researchers, in fact, say will likely – play in developing cures for disease that might otherwise be incurable. (Note that: otherwise incurable.) Here’s a short list:

• Parkinson’s Disease
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Heart Diseases
• Diabetes
• Cancer

Know anyone suffering from something on this list? Most people do. And how about this recent headline from the peer-reviewed journal Blood, a publication of the American Society of Hematology: “Evidence for the cure of HIV infection by CCR5 32/32 stem cell transplantation.” Know what that means? Yeah. The AFP reported this just yesterday: “A US cancer patient who received a stem cell transplant has been cured of HIV.” Stay tuned on this one.

2. Reversing birth defects

Studies are showing that by injecting stem cells directly into the brain, neural birth defects may be reversible. This research into treating birth defects is pretty new, but teams have been developing therapies for rodents with real or simulated birth defects in the brain, says MIT’s Technology Review. “Even though most of the transplanted cells did not survive, they induced the brain’s own cells to carry out extensive repairs.”

3. Repairing stroke damage

Science Daily reports that according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, neural cells from human embryonic stem cells “helped repair stroke-related damage in the brains of rats and led to improvements in their physical abilities after a stroke.” This is big news. “The great thing about these cells is that they are available in unlimited supply and are very versatile,” said a senior scientist on the project. “The neural cells the group generated grew indefinitely in the lab and could be an ongoing source of cells for treating stroke or other injuries.”

4. Dealing with spinal cord injuries

Just this fall, a patient suffering from a spinal cord injury was injected with two million human embryonic stem cells. “The hope,” says CBS News Healthwatch, is that “one day this treatment may help the paralyzed walk again.” The procedure took place at the Shepherd Center spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation facility in Atlanta. The idea is that the cells will become specialized nerve cells which can then be injected directly into the injured area of the spinal cord.  If the treatment works, the progenitor cells will produce new oligodendrocytes (cells that produce myelin, which allows impulses to move along nerves) in the injured area of the patient’s spine, allowing for new movement.

5. Organ repair and replacement

Growing whole organs and critical tissue is a seemingly sci-fi scenario that’s a lot closer than we think – with the help of stem cell research. This new technology could make possible “a virtually inexhaustible supply of organ replacements, thereby doing away with the need to wait for organ donors and removing the risk of rejection.” Entire hearts, lungs, etc., aside, tissue generation has an entire host of curative possibilities.

6. Burn victim relief

Here’s an area where there’s already been a significant payoff as cultivated stem cells are today being used to generate skin grafts. Also, patients whose eyes have been damaged in chemical accidents have had their sight restored using their own stem cells. Embryonic stem cell research plays a significant role helping scientists understand and put to use adult stem cells, as well.

7. Developing new drugs

New drugs can be tested on stem cells to test safety before testing on humans, or even animals, for that matter. In fact, as CNN reports, some researchers are saying embryonic stem cells could end animal testing altogether. Says one expert, “It could save a lot of time and effort of taking the wrong drugs through, or it may allow drugs through which are lost at an early stage, because they affect the animal cells but don’t have an effect on human cells.”

8. (If the science isn’t enough) It’s the economy, stupid

States that support stem cell research have seen significant corporate investment and job creation. Estimates in California, for example, are that $1 billion in investment in stem cell research is not unreasonable. The commercial potential is overwhelming, according those who are in the business.

9. It’s the economy, stupid II

Oh, and don’t we have a little problem with healthcare expenditures in this country? Don’t most experts believe that the amount of money we’re paying out as a society for the sick and dying is going to bankrupt us if action is not taken? How about more healthy people? Seems like something we should be looking into.

10. (If the economics isn’t enough) It’s just the right thing to do

Stem cell research is inherently innovative and efficient, and a practical and a conscious demonstration of caring for those who are sick. These people are not only taxing the system, but they are taxing themselves and their families with trauma and anguish. Scientific progress and human quality of life are inexorably linked in our times and acting to improve and care for the entire system, the whole connected fabric of our existence, is a moral imperative. Consider that more than 100 million Americans suffer from ailments and diseases that may be cured with embryonic stem cell therapy. Alleviating human suffering. It’s the right thing to do.

Image: kaibara87

The post 10 Reasons Not to Turn Our Backs on Stem Cell Research appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s not unusual in California to see from 1,500 to 2,000 sea lion deaths on our beaches each year. But this year is off – way off – and no one can figure out why.

Starting in May and continuing through September, an unexpected onslaught of emaciated, young sea lions has been beached along the coast, requiring a tremendously heightened response among the marine mammal rescue networks throughout the state.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which coordinates these networks, is just as concerned about what is happening offshore at sea lion breeding colonies in California’s Channel Islands: Unusually high levels of mortality among the 59,000 pups born in this past spring.

“In one study area, 6,000 pup mortalities were observed where the average had been 1,000 to 1,500,” said Jeff Lake of NOAA’S National Marine Mammal Lab (NMML).

Beach goers have seen – and smelled – the signs that something is amiss. I’ve spotted many carcasses myself throughout the summer months and was surprised to encounter so many visitors soaking up surf and sand and picnicking on rocks amid rotting, decomposing mammals.

The rank smell just about knocked me out while exploring Costanoa with my husband. And in recent days, I’ve passed several rotting sea lions on the beach at Fort Funston, where I run. Naughty dogs go wild, barking and sniffing those sad decaying bodies with empty, hallowed-out eyes.

“We refer to marine mammals as a sentinel species that is like us and can provide a barometer of what is happening to our own ecosystem,” Trevor Spradlin of NOAA’s Washington D.C. office  tells me. “The sea lions have tapped out with a record number of cases of the mammals starving and since it cannot be linked to an El Niño, folks are scratching their heads.”

Perhaps puzzling now, the deaths are typical during an El Niño, such as the one experienced in 1997-1998, due to changes in water surface temperatures and a lack of upwelling.

Ocean upwelling is the mixing of deep cold water at the bottom of the ocean with warm water at the surface so that the cold water and nutrients that fertilize aquatic plants that form the food web can rise to the surface layers while warm water travels to the mid to deep depths. Such areas are very rich along the coast and that is where you find the anchovies, squid and sardines pinnipeds feed on.

While this isn’t the time for such a cycle, scientists are still seeing the oceanographic changes caused by the dying of winds in late April and June. There was no way to pull the vital nutrient-filled waters to the surface. This has been a large contributor to the starvation.

“A huge number of pups were born this year in the Channel Islands and the breakdown in the upwelling may have resulted in the fish moving to other areas inaccessible to young sea lions looking for food for the first time,” observes Joe Cordaro, a wildlife biologist and marine mammal strandings coordinator at NOAA National Marines Fisheries Southwest Regional Office in Long Beach, CA.  “Unlike the older animals, the young pups cannot follow the fish wherever they go.”

Cordaro says scientists also are considering the theory that upwelling has been so great, it has acted like a conveyor belt transporting nutrients to other areas. Either way, he agrees, nature is acting just like it does in an El Niño.

“We do have one developing in the Tropics, and if it continues to develop, it will be nothing compared to what we are now seeing in strandings and deaths,” says Cordaro. “It will pretty much wipe out the reproductive year, slowing down the rate of increase in the population.”

He adds that there is no way it will make a huge dent in the population, itself, because the sea lions have been increasing since the last El Niño with the current population of California  sea lions at about 239,000.The big mystery is why the lack of upwelling has occurred in some areas while not in others.

An investigation into the mystery is being led by Dr. Frances Gulland, Director of Veterinary Science at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. No one knows yet if any of this can be attributed to climate change. They do know that nothing like this occurred last year.

Meantime, beach visitors are asked to continue reporting sea lion strandings to the Sausalito center (415)298-SEAL rather than trying to coax mammals back into the water. Also, always stay back from the dead mammals found on the beach and keep your dogs away, as well.

For animal removal, you should contact the beach maintenance service in your city. Some have policies of removing the carcasses, while others allow them to remain, despite the ghastly smell.

While the dead animals provide food for sea birds and fowl, the sea lions are usually contaminated from pesticides and other toxins dumped into our oceans over time. Cordaro says it isn’t in the best interest of scavengers to feed on the carcasses.

“They don’t die from eating contaminants but their eggs become thin and crack before hatching,” he says. “It effects the reproduction of the next generation.”

Main Image: Luanne Bradley

Image One: Vanilla Sheikh

Image Two: NOAA

Image Three: Quarterdome

The post Scientists Baffled by High Sea Lion Death Count in a Non-El Niño Year appeared first on EcoSalon.

The economy might be in a downturn, but according to the 2009 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey, that’s not stopping people from buying green. Despite the recession, Americans are still interested not only in continuing their environmental shopping habits, but also expect that companies maintain and expand their environmental commitments.

The survey, which was conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation over two days at the end of January and questioned 1087 Americans 18 years and older from across the nation, found that:

35 percent of Americans have higher interest in the environment today than they did one year ago.

35 percent of Americans have higher expectations for companies to make and sell environmentally responsible products and services during the economic downturn.

70 percent of Americans indicate that they are paying attention to what companies are doing with regard to the environment today, even if they cannot buy until the future.

Environmental purchasing is not just a passing trend. It’s here to stay.

Image: thebittenword

The post Despite Recession, Shoppers Still Go for Green appeared first on EcoSalon.