Massages can Alter your Immune System

Here’s another excuse to get a massage (if you needed one). Swedish massages can lower your stress and slightly alter your immune system for the better according to a small research study.

The researchers, from Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, a Los Angeles-based medical centre, found that the Swedish massages reduced arginine vasopressin, a hormone that causes the stress hormone cortisol to increase. The massages also reduced levels of cortisol itself in the body.

Study participants also saw their cytokines — proteins released by stimulated white blood cells when danger is present — decrease, indicating the body did not see itself as under attack during the massage.

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Green Buildings Build Momentum

If I had my way every new building would have to be green, lucky for me other people are thinking along the same line. Green buildings are on the rise in the USA and the NPR has a good piece exploring what this means:

While much of the U.S. real estate market has been floundering, one area has not seen a dip. Green building now accounts for nearly one-third of new construction in the U.S. That’s up from 2 percent in 2005, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, which tracks the industry.

The numbers suggest a revolution is taking place within an industry that is historically slow to change. There are many factors — and many players — in this move toward green building.

Organic Farms Beat Industrial Farms

Researchers in California pitted industrial strawberry farming against organic strawberry farming and the winner was organic. Organic farms were better for the environment and produced noticeably better produce.

Another reason to buy organic and something that the movie Fresh predicted.

Among their findings:
-The organic strawberries had significantly higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds.
-The organic strawberries had longer shelf life.
-The organic strawberries had more dry matter, or, “more strawberry in the strawberry.”
-Anonymous testers, working at times under red light so the fruit color would not bias them, found one variety of organic strawberries was sweeter, had better flavor, and once a white light was turned on, appearance. The testers judged the other two varieties to be similar.
-The researchers also found the organic soils excelled in a variety of key chemical and biological properties, including carbon sequestration, nitrogen, microbial biomass, enzyme activities, and micronutrients.

Read more at Science Daily.

Beer and Games in Toronto

The game scene in Toronto is booming and this is a good thing. Games can bring people together in many aways, sometimes through online interaction, butI think the best connections come from playing games in person with other people. Indeed, a new cafe called Snakes and Lattes has opened in Toronto that caters to playing games with friends and strangers.

Now, a friend of Things Are Good is combining a scavenger hunt with beer. It’s to promote small breweries and encourage people to explore the streets of Toronto. Readers of this site will probably remember that we think beer is good. Just don’t drink too much in one sitting.

“This is an opportunity for people to show off their knowledge of both beer and Toronto in a fun and competitive way,” said Mirella Amato, Owner of Beerology. “While the focus of the event is on beer, it is also about discovering Toronto in a new light, making it a fun addition to Toronto Beer Week.”

“Urban adventures test skill as much as determination, and this is an event that will appeal to adults with a broad range of ages, knowledge, and interests, so there is something for everyone,” adds Rachel Young, Co-founder of Camaraderie. “Team work and collaboration are definitely encouraged.”

Here’s their facebook page.

Fresh: A Movie About Good Farming

Last night I went to a screening of Fresh, hosted by the West End Food Co-op in a local park. Most movies made about food recently have dwelled on the fact that industrial farming is killing us – a bad thing no doubt about it. Here’s more on industrial farming.

The good thing about Fresh is that it establishes what’s wrong with farming quickly and succinctly then spends the rest of the film celebrating good farming that’s happening. It’s an inspiring film that will make you love fresh food, crop rotation, and help you see that we can escape the control of industrial farming operations.