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Fresh Fashion Lifestyle

Squiggle Brows, Nose Hair Extensions, And Other Bizarre Beauty Trends

Watching beauty trends change throughout history, two things become very clear—beauty is subjective, and what is seen as beautiful is always changing. For some time, having a unibrow was considered be an attractive quality. In Ancient Greece, this facial feature was believed to signify intelligence, according to The New York Times.
With the passage of time, this preference swung to the opposite side of the spectrum. During medieval times, women removed their eyelashes and sometimes their brows as well. This was done to accentuate their foreheads, which was then largely regarded as the most beautiful part of the face, according to Marie Claire.
[pullquote align=”center”]If something is unusual, it will always garner more attention.[/pullquote]
On the dangerous side, plenty of women and men have done some incredibly extreme things in the name of beauty, or at least, what was seen as attractive at the time. A 1936 newspaper ad shows an eerie picture of invention created by Isabella Gilbert: a machine that allegedly creates dimples on the face (spoiler alert, it did not create dimples). And in the 18th century, lead poisoning was rampant because of the popular practice among men and women to lighten their faces with lead-based makeup.

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Joseph Caraud “La Toilette” (1858)

Strange, right? Interestingly enough, though, many of the beauty trends of today are just as unique. Yet now, social media provides the perfect medium for quickly sharing and spreading new trends.
“I can tell you that anything that provokes a strong reaction causes a chain reaction,” explains Aimee Davison, an Instagram user who has gained over 13,000 followers by trying out unusual beauty trends.
“If something is unusual, it will always garner more attention. Also, if any trend is relatively easy to attempt with products one already has, it’s more likely to catch on.”
It’s a unique time for the beauty industry. In a digital age, makeup trends can catch fire within hours. Here are some of the strangest beauty trends that have gone viral in the new age.

You put glitter where?

Although shaving your armpits has long been the status quo in the United States, this is a trend that is changing among the millennial generation. Since 2013, the number of women who keep their armpits bare has been declining. In 2016, nearly 25 percent of women surveyed by Mintel reported to have quit shaving their pits completely, according to The New York Times.

A post shared by Glitter Tribe (@glittertribenz) on

Lately, millennials are taking things one step further, beautifying their armpit hair with glitter to make a point—it’s 2018, and women are free to do what they want with their bodies, including their armpit hair. Still, this trend might not catch on beyond posed Instagram photos, namely because it isn’t all that comfortable.
“The combination of long, damp armpit hair and abrasive body glitter is totally not comfortable, and it leaves a giant, sweaty, flaking mess,” shares Davison. “There is no practical reason to bedazzle your pits other than as a conversation piece, which is mostly why I try or start most of the weird beauty trends that I do.”

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Armpits aren’t the only body part getting a little glitter love these days. Actress Bella Thorne made headlines when she posted pictures of herself wearing glitter makeup as a bra. Davison tried this trend as well, telling HealthyWay that she found it beautiful, despite the fact that she hated having glitter on her pits. She recommends glitter bras as a bold choice for a rave or music festival.

Trend or trick?

Depending on who you ask, this incredibly strange beauty trend is less of a trend and more of a joke gone viral.

A post shared by GretChen Chen (@gret_chen_chen) on

In the last couple of months, nose hair extensions are becoming a thing on Instagram. According to Cosmopolitan, this all started with user GretChen Chen, who only had 173 followers when she posted a picture of herself sporting nose hair extensions, which were actually just fake eyelashes glued into her nostrils. Now, no one is certain if this was meant to be taken seriously, but the picture went viral, resulting in copycat posts by several Instagram users in the beauty world.

A post shared by Taylor R (@taytay_xx) on

Always up for a challenge, Davison reports having tried this trend after it became popular.
“Utterly ridiculous,” she says. “You need to stick lash glue up your nose, which winds up ripping out your actual nose hair after the fact.”

Raise a Brow

Nose hair extensions may have been inevitable, considering the fact that the beauty world seemed to have exhausted every possible iteration of eyebrow art over the course of six months. Creative eyebrows just might go down as the defining makeup trend of 2017.
We know that brow art took off in the Spring, Allure reports that the earliest viral brow art seems to date back to March 10th, when Instagram user @athenapaginton shared a picture of barbed wire brows, which quickly went viral. Next came feather brows, which was accidentally started by popular beauty influencer Stella Sironen. On April 8, she posted a picture of her brows styled as feathers.

The very next day, Sironen was back with another picture of feather brows and a little explanation of exactly what she was thinking. As it turns out, it was just a silly joke that got taken way too seriously. Now it’s totally a trend.
Moving on, we have carved brows. Using makeup, artists are creating the illusion of brows shaped in squiggles, lightening, and more. Makeup artist Lucky Martinez tells HealthyWay exactly what he thinks of this trend.

“I tried the ‘brow carve’ trend,” he says, explaining that the look is created by putting shadow around the brow and then using concealer to create a ‘shadow carved’ look. “It wasn’t really for me because it isn’t very natural, and I wouldn’t ever see me repeating it at all.”
Lastly, we’ve got squiggle brows. They seem to be creation of hugely successful Instagram influencer Promise Tamang, who shared a picture of squiggle brows and squiggle lips in August. The picture now has over 27,000 likes and plenty of comments, both good and bad.

“Promise, how could you be responsible for this monstrosity,” user @luz_822 posted under the original picture.

Looking Yellow in the Face

If, like me, you missed the memo that yellow eyeshadow was on trend, you may be just as surprised to hear what else yellow makeup is being used for. According to Allure, yellow blush became hugely popular over the Spring.

It’s applied like any old blush, only the color is bright. It’s strangely flattering, to be honest, and Davison says she was surprised by just how much she likes the look on herself.
“It’s not a color I would have ever thought to use, but the end result was interesting,” she says. “I love when unusual makeup trends force you to rethink your makeup choices and lead you to new styles.”

Eyeliner Art

Sometimes beauty trends quickly fade away after gaining popularity, but this trend seems to be here to stay. Double liner has become so popular over the last couple of years, and it likely was inspired by a look worn by Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid at a Chanel show in January, 2016.

“The double liner is something that recently came into play, and I love it,” Martinez shares. “It’s a winged liner within a winged liner. I really like it because not only does it not require a lot of work, but it adds a bit of color and pop to the face without completely turning the look into a certain color.”

Do you glow?

Perhaps the most widely embraced of recent unusual beauty trends, neon makeup has become super popular among instagram makeup artists.
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Some artists are using actual neon makeup that reacts to black lights, but many are just really, really good at tricking the eyes. Different makeup colors are layered to make it look like the eyes or lips are glowing.

Too much, or just right?

Unusual beauty trends get a lot of negative attention. Growing out armpit hair has been called unhygienic, and it’s really no surprise that the comment sections of brow art pictures on Instagram are a free-for-all.
Many makeup artists simply don’t care. For them, it’s about doing their own thing, not conforming to the status quo.
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“When I use makeup, it’s always only about makeup,” explains Martinez. “Using makeup as an art for me is when I’m able to enjoy my time alone and create something new that I believe will put a … smile on someone’s face.”
And although Davison is quick to admit that the trends she tried are strange or weird, she doesn’t think that is necessarily bad.
“Our bodies are canvases, and makeup is a tool to create a masterpiece,” she says. “I think we are at an incredibly liberating point in history where makeup is so accessible and affordable, and tutorials [are] so easy to find, that anyone can become anything they choose. Makeup enables self-creation, and creativity is art!”

Categories
Motherhood

Pseudocyesis: Why Doctors Performed An Emergency C-Section On A Woman Who Wasn't Pregnant

Imagine the horror of admitting a woman for an emergency cesarean surgery—only to discover that she was never pregnant. Imagine telling that woman that you needlessly opened her up only to find that her uterus was empty.
Imagine the horror of being that woman, believing you were going to give birth to a child only to learn you were never actually carrying a child in the first place.
This is exactly what happened at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, a hospital in Fayetteville, North Carolina. When a woman went to the hospital in 2008, she was admitted in preparation for delivery of a child, according to the local ABC affiliate. The woman was seen by resident doctors, and they attempted to to induce labor multiple times over the course of two days. After no success, she was scheduled for the ill-fated emergency c-section.

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Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina (via Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina)

It’s difficult to imagine. It’s one thing to want to be pregnant so badly that you have a hard time accepting a negative pregnancy test; it’s another story entirely when even your body seems to believe you’re carrying a child, too. But that is exactly what happened in the North Carolina case, and it’s exactly what happens other cases of false pregnancy, referred to clinically as pseudocyesis. Women with the condition present symptoms that point to pregnancy but never deliver a baby, according to The New York Times.
Pseudocyesis is extremely rare—available estimates give a rate of less than one percent of pregnancies—and it is difficult to explain. We visited with three fellows of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists—Linda D. Green, MD, Nisseth Urribarri, MD, and Jose E. Berthe, MD—of Green & Urribarri Obstetrics and Gynecology to learn more about this diagnosis.

What is pseudocyesis?

Pseudocyesis was first documented by Greek physician Hippocrates, who wrote of twelve different women who experienced false pregnancies, according to a paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
“Many women experience the same exact symptoms that a pregnancy would experience,” according to the doctors at Green & Urribarri, who answered as a team. “Like mind over matter, your brain can fool your body into thinking that you are pregnant, and therefore, the same exact hormones are released.”
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It’s normal for women of childbearing age to become fixated on the idea of pregnancy and misinterpret symptoms as clues that they’re expecting, but false pregnancies are different: They display actual physical symptoms of pregnancy even when there is no fetus to speak of.
“Every sign and symptom of pregnancy has been recorded in these patients except for three: You don’t hear heart tones from the fetus, you don’t see the fetus on ultrasound, and you don’t get a delivery,” said family practitioner Paul Paulman, MD, in an interview with The New York Times.
The symptoms of pseudocyesis may vary from patient to patient, but they all mimic those of an actual pregnancy. Women may experience missed periods, morning sickness, food cravings, weight gain, a swollen belly, and even sensations of fetal movement and contractions. In some cases, Paulman said, they’ll even test positive for pregnancy because of their changing hormones.
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This is different from delusions of pregnancy, which “can be described as a false and fixed belief of being pregnant despite factual evidence to the contrary,” according to research in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine.

What causes pseudocyesis?

The cause of this unusual condition isn’t clear. In most cases, there typically isn’t a physiological explanation for pseudocyesis. Many women do exhibit a hormonal imbalance, according to the doctors at Green & Urribarri, but it isn’t clear if the hormonal balance causes the false pregnancy or if the false pregnancy causes the hormonal imbalance.
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On that hormonal imbalance: Though the condition’s rarity prevents large-scale studies, individual case studies have shown women with pseudocyesis to have elevated levels of the hormones estrogen and prolactin, according to The New York Times story. These hormones cause both physical and psychological pregnancy symptoms.
In many cases, the cause seems psychological, and a close look at the woman’s personal circumstances and history may reveal clues as to why she is experiencing a false pregnancy.
“More often than not, it is due to psychological reasons, such as trauma or just wanting it bad enough,” explain the doctors at Green & Urribarri.
Included in The New York Times story is psychiatrist Biju Basil’s recountance of a woman’s false pregnancy concurring with her son’s girlfriend’s pregnancy—”[Basil] speculated that the woman’s condition arose from a deep-rooted desire to participate more fully in the birth of her first grandchild.”
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Traumas that can lead to pseudocyesis include multiple miscarriages, severe mental illnesses, and abuse, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Women who have experienced infertility may also be at more risk for experience a false pregnancy, as can women who have lived in extreme poverty. In very rare cases, doctors actually find a physical explanation for the symptoms of false pregnancies, such as cancer or tumors.

Who is at risk for pseudocyesis?

As mentioned above, women who have had traumatic experiences are at an increased risk for experiencing false pregnancies. The doctors at Green & Urribarri explain that deep emotional pain may trigger the symptoms, especially if women have a history of abuse or have been told at some point that they will never have a child.
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Women in less-developed countries have the highest risk for experiencing false pregnancies, according to research in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. For these women, maternal care is not readily available, and many will not seek medical care until they believe they are ready to give birth. In some African cultures, there is a high value placed on fertility, which may also influence the higher occurrence of pseudocyesis.
And although women of childbearing age are most likely to experience pseudocyesis, there are reports of elderly women experiencing delusions of pregnancy initiated by physical symptoms. These cases are linked to other mental health conditions, like dementia, according to a study in Age and Aging.
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Still, pseudocyesis is incredibly rare. While statistics are hard to come by, it occurred at the rate of one-to-six in every 22,000 births as of 1990, according to research in the Journal of Family Practice.

Notable Cases of Pseudocyesis

One of the most tragic cases of pseudocyesis occurred in a 6-year-old girl. Her story, published in The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 1985.
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A victim of parental abuse and neglect, the young girl yearned “for food, material things and attention as well as feelings of defectiveness, of something missing, and sadness.” By ages 6 and 7, she longed for “her baby,” and was eventually admitted to the hospital “because of abdominal pain, enlarged abdomen for several weeks, along with morning nausea and vomiting and swollen ankles.” Only after after a year of intensive therapy did she accept that she wasn’t pregnant.
Mary Tudor, the Queen of England also known as Bloody Mary, is believed to have experienced pseudocyesis. In fact, it is speculated that the violence that earned her the nickname may have been instigated by learning that she wouldn’t give birth to a child, according to The New York Times.

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A painting of Tudor (via blog of Lindsey Fitzharris, PhD)

Twenty cases of false pregnancies in men have been formally recorded, according research in the journal Psychopathology. In one case, a man with schizophrenia appeared to experience pregnancy on multiple occasions.

How is pseudocyesis treated?

Treating pseudocyesis is more complicated than you might imagine. Although it may seem as simple as telling a woman she is not expecting a child, that is not the case. Once it is confirmed that there is no baby, doctor’s must tread lightly to protect the mental health of the mother involved.
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“Learning that you are not experiencing a real pregnancy can be emotionally scarring for women,” explain the doctors at Green & Urribarri. “It is vital to have a psychologist present during the meeting.”
Once the news has been broken to the patient, they are encouraged to begin any practices that can address the trauma, and they’re also encouraged to treat whatever underlying emotional trauma may have caused the disorder. Most doctors will encourage women to begin attending therapy. The doctors at Green & Urribarri also suggest involvement in support groups.
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In rare cases, when a physical explanation for the false pregnancy exists, such as cancer or a tumor, doctors treat that right away. And if doctors do find that a hormonal balance is being experienced, they offer medical treatment to correct that.
One mom spoke to HealthyWay—let’s call her Hannah—about a pseudocyesis-like experience. She was experiencing a variety of symptoms, all of which seemed to point to pregnancy: She gained weight, experienced nausea that was strangely similar morning sickness, and even started lactating.
“It was actually from a brain tumor,” she explains. The tumor was near the pituitary gland, which lead to a condition called prolactinoma—the same condition that Mary Tudor may suffered from, V.C. Medvei suspects in The History of Clinical Endocrinology. Prolactinoma is characterized by an overproduction of the hormone prolactin, mentioned before—symptoms for females include irregular menstrual periods and a milky discharge from the breasts.
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No matter the course of treatment chosen by a woman and her doctors, recovery from false pregnancies is not easy. For Hannah, treating her false pregnancy meant treating her tumor. For moms who are dealing with past trauma or infertility, treatment of pseudocyesis can be a long road, requiring therapy to address the underlying issues that lead to the pseudocyesis.
[related article_ids=21584]

Categories
Nosh Nutrition x Advice

Why Some Foods Taste Better The Next Day (And Other Leftovers Facts)

If you ever find yourself in my kitchen in the middle of the week, there are a few things you are almost always guaranteed to find. There’d be Tupperware scattered across the floor, the work of my busy toddler. Toast crumbs would be littered embarrassingly from one end of the kitchen to the next, a product of a full life with three young kids. My refrigerator would be full, with a pretty even toss-up of uncooked foods for the rest of the week and forgotten leftovers, packed up in guilt after a weeknight dinner but never touched again.
Leftovers are funny. Some foods I look forward to reheating and eating again since they only seem to get better with time. Others get shoved in the back of the fridge, where I can hardly look at them in their sad state of mush and mediocre flavors. I’m not typically a picky eater, so I feel guilty that so much gets ignored until it’s time to toss.

Still, there seems to be a definite pattern to leftovers as to what tastes good and what is unbearable on day two. As it turns out, this isn’t just my personal preference. The real reason some leftovers taste so good, and why some taste just plain bad, is all about the chemistry of the flavors.

The Real Reason Some Leftovers Taste So Good

Everyone has their preferences, but there is actually a science to which foods taste better with time. Asking around, I hear a lot of the same opinions. Soups usually taste great on day two, red sauce only gets better with time, and chilis and stews are favorite foods to pack up to be reheated at work the next day.
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“Soups and chilis work the best the second day,” says Dustin Green, senior executive chef from the Weber Grill Restaurant in Chicago. “The flavors tend to blend. Once they relax and they have time to cool down, the flavors tend to mesh a little bit better.”
And when it comes to soups, chilis, and similar foods, it isn’t just the flavors that change—the consistency transforms as well. Taking these foods from hot to cool and then allowing them to sit in the fridge overnight thickens these foods, according to Green.
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The science of the flavor changes has a lot to do with the fats that are in foods, which are called lipids, says Devin Peterson, PhD, professor and director of the Flavor Research and Education Center at Ohio State University. The lipid molecules in the food are always changing. Typically, time gives foods a less desirable flavor, but in some cases, the effect is much different.
[pullquote align=”center”]… the lipids continue to break down the molecules we perceive, and that’s part of the new flavor we experience the next day.[/pullquote]
“When you heat them, those lipids form things you smell, and that’s a large part of where the flavors are coming from,” he explains. “That reaction is faster when you do it at cooking temperatures, say in a stew, but it still happens at room temperature and even in the fridge.”
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The constant changing influences the flavor. In some foods, it isn’t a great result, while it creates a more enjoyable flavor profile in others, according to Peterson. Another factor to consider is that iron causes lipid oxidation in foods. Lipid oxidation is a chemical reaction, and it changes various characteristics of foods. When a food product is high in iron, like turkey, lipid oxidation speeds up and this can influence the flavor, according to Peterson.
“By heating it, you kind of allow things to mix more effectively,” he says. “That’s a big reason why, even when you cook a turkey and you eat out of the oven, when you put it in the fridge and eat it the next day, the lipids continue to break down the molecules we perceive, and that’s part of the new flavor we experience the next day.”
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Lastly, there is another chemical reaction that happens in foods, according to Berkeley Wellness. In some cases, the protein in the food breaks down further, releasing amino acids. Some amino acids enhance the savory taste in foods, while others create new flavors through their interactions with sugar in the foods.

The Reason Some Leftovers Taste So Bad

Some leftovers are better thrown in the trash than reheated the next. Asking various friends and family, there are a lot of different opinions, but I also hear a lot of the same answers. Anything with pasta in it is better consumed right away, rice takes a lot of tender, loving care to bring it back to life on day two, and fried chicken is just awful after a night in the fridge.
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Negative changes to food take place for a variety of reasons, including the result of the processes mentioned above, which simply have a difference result in different foods.
Additionally, there is the issue of temperature and moisture, according to Thomas Bowman, director of product development at Hampton Creek, who offered fried chicken as an example of food that tastes amazing on day one but awful after sitting in the fridge overnight.
“What has happened here? This is something that happens to all leftovers, but some foods deal with it a little better than others,” he explains. “It’s called equilibrium relative humidity, or ERH, for short. This is where moisture equals out to be more level with the environment around it.”
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This is what causes the once-crispy outside of chicken to go soggy overnight, and the juicy meat inside to get tough, according to Bowman. An added component is how fat and collagen change with temperature changes.
“Animal fats in general take on a waxy texture when cold, and collagen congeals into a savory, rubbery jello,” he says.

Why Foods Taste Better—or Worse—Cold

Most foods that are meant to be eaten warm only taste good that way. There’s a reason for this, and it isn’t about personal preference. Temperature and flavor go hand in hand, according to Peterson.
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“The temperature of your food will affect how much flavor reaches your receptors,” he explains. “When it’s colder, you could look at it as the molecules being less active and going to be less received in your mouth.”
When you heat that same food up, the flavor changes. Specifically, when you heat food up, more of the flavor ends up in the air around the food, and when you eat it, you receive the flavor to a higher degree. In some cases, like eating cold pizza, this is an enjoyable change, but the majority of leftovers will taste better after a couple minutes in the microwave.

Getting the Most From Your Leftovers

In our family, there are differing opinions on when leftovers should be eaten. My husband, who generally isn’t that into to reheated foods, prefers to toss leftovers after a day or two. If it’s food that keeps well, I tend to keep reheating and eating until they’re a week old. As it turns out, the time to throw out leftovers tends to fall somewhere between the two. Green suggests no more than four days. Bowman, however, is willing to give certain foods until day seven but says it really is dependent on the food.
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“The length of time you keep your leftovers around also depends a lot on equilibrium relative humidity,” he says, admitting that calculating the spoilage rates of specific foods is a lot of work, suggesting that home chefs simply pay close attention to how their food changes over time. And all foods should be pitched once they hit day seven.
“It’s not a perfect science. There are some things that will last longer than and other shorter depending on moisture, preservative acids, and the temperature inside the fridge. Use your best judgement and repurpose those leftovers!”
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How you store leftovers matters, too. Specifically, the quicker you can cool down your food, the better. Foods need to spend as little time between 125 and 70 degrees, which is a window where growth of microorganisms happens most quickly, according to the Food Safety Extension of The University of Minnesota. Within four hours, hot food needs to drop below 41 degrees, and Green offers a tip for making that happen.
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“If I was doing it at home, the best way is an ice wand, so I could put that into the batch of what I’m making and put that in the refrigerator,” he says. “Depending on how thick something is, if I need to cool it down, I may need to separate it into smaller batches.”

It’s not all about science.

It’s fascinating to learn that there is a scientific explanation for why some foods taste so good on day two or three, but it isn’t all about science. It may seem obvious, but preference still plays a huge role in taste. It’s the reason I can’t help but indulge in off-brand iced oatmeal cookies, which are objectively not that great but remind me of the endless childhood afternoons I spent snacking at the kitchen table with my three siblings. When it comes to what type of food people prefer and how they prefer it cooked, it is heavily influenced by their past experiences.
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“I think in the end, preference is largely related to a context,” says Peterson. “So if I’ve grown up a certain way and I’m used to preparing my foods a certain way, that’s usually a part of my preference views. And so a lot of what we like is based on our prior exposure.”

Categories
Motherhood

5 Health Risks Kids Inherit From Their Moms

Growing up, I felt like my mother and I couldn’t be any more different. She is orderly and logical, with a knack for simply doing the next thing that needs to be done. She has strong convictions about what’s right and wrong. On the other hand, I have never been known as neat or organized. I tend to spend more time dreaming, and, although I have strong moral convictions, they’re a little more abstract. I’m the yin to her yang.
Being different from my mom was never a problem, really. Of course, we did butt heads from time to time, but we mostly understood one another and accepted each other for who we are. What I didn’t expect, however, was that time would reveal that I was much more like her than I had ever expected.
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I never anticipated that I’d notice myself sounding just like her. I was surprised the very first time I caught a glance in the mirror at my adult face, thinking I had spotted my mother for just a second.

Like my mom and me, mothers and children share a lot, no matter how different they may seem. It’s inevitable. Whether learned from watching them or passed down through genetics, children are destined to inherit certain traits from their parents.
Unfortunately, there are also certain health risks that are more likely to be passed from mothers on to their sons and daughters.

The Science of Inherited Traits

In the nucleus of each cell in the human body, you can find the chromosomes you inherit from your parents. You have 23 pairs of chromosomes, with one half of each pair from one parent and the other half from the other. These chromosomes determine what traits you inherit, like the color of your eyes.
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What traits you inherit from which parent really depends on a lot of things. Some genes are dominant, which means they get priority over other genes no matter which parent they come from. It isn’t just physical traits that get passed from parent to child, according to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. If there are mutations on a gene, those mutations may be inherited by the child. Of course, genetics are not completely to blame: Many conditions are random or caused by environmental factors, according to Erin O’Toole, MS, a certified genetic counselor and the owner of Family Forecast.
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“Down syndrome, for example, is a typically random event but does tend to happen more frequently as mothers get older,” she explains. “If a mother or father is personally affected by a genetic condition, a child is typically at increased risk, but this risk would change depending on the condition.”
Additionally, sometimes genetic conditions are simply carried by a parent, who remains unaffected, but they can pass on the condition to their child. And there are some conditions that require both parents to be carriers for the child to be at risk, while others require only the mom or only the dad.
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When it comes to physical traits, it’s kind of a toss up whether mom or dad passes on a certain trait. What we do know, however, is that there are a few traits and conditions that are more likely to be passed from mom to child. In some cases, it’s all genetic. In others, it’s about the environment the mom provides during pregnancy and early childhood.

Apple or pear?

One’s body type can be inherited from their mother, according to a study published in the journal BMC Biology in 2014. In this study, they discovered that two specific imprinted genes influence the composition of muscle and fat in the body of mice. And one of those imprinted genes, known as Grb10, was linked to an increased risk of obesity and a glucose intolerance in those mice.
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So what does this mean for humans? Scientists believe further research should take place to examine the possibility that maternal genes and paternal genes are working against each other to determine body composition with maternal genes linked to higher body fat.

Just Like Mom

When it comes to fertility in women, a genetic link may exist between mom and daughter. Specifically, the age of mom as she begins menopause might have a correlation with infertility in her daughter.
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According to a study published in the journal Human Reproduction, the number of eggs left in a woman’s ovaries decreases more quickly in the daughters of women who enter menopause earlier in life. This is an important aspect of fertility, since we know that egg count and quality decreases as women grow older.

It’s in Our Blood

Women who carry a specific blood disorder might pass that disorder onto their sons. Hemophilia is a clotting disorder that causes abnormal bleeding, most frequently experienced by men. This is a genetic disorder that is carried on the X chromosome. When a mother only has one hemophilia gene, she carries the disorder but doesn’t exhibit symptoms. If she has a son, he will inherit hemophilia from her and, since he only has one X Chromosome, he will experience the symptoms of this clotting disorder, according to the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute.

Mental Health Issues

Prenatal depression is believed to be experienced by as many as 23 percent of expecting moms, according to research published by the American Pregnancy Association. Many mothers experience symptoms that go well beyond nervousness about the new baby, experiencing hopelessness, mood swings, and even anger.
[pullquote align=”center”]“Having a parent with a mental health condition does increase the risk for a child, but we are still often unable to determine the extent of the increase.”[/pullquote]
Unfortunately, it is believed that many moms go undiagnosed or untreated. We know that prenatal depression does influence the health of a baby. It is linked to negative birth outcomes like problems with development and lower birth weights. There is also an increased risk for the child developing mental health problems later in life, although research is still inconclusive on how much this risk is increased, according to O’Toole.
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“Mental health conditions, including depression, are categorized as ‘multifactorial’ conditions, meaning they are the result of multiple genetic and non-genetic factors,” she explains. “Having a parent with a mental health condition does increase the risk for a child, but we are still often unable to determine the extent of the increase.”
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For parents who are concerned because of their own mental health background, she suggests a discussion with child’s pediatrician so both parents and doctor can be on the lookout for symptoms and discuss early intervention if needed.

A Scary Cancer Gene

Certain mothers pass a high risk of breast cancer on to their daughters. Specifically, there are two gene mutations that are increased with a higher likelihood of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancers
Certain mutations of the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are passed from mother to daughter and are responsible for an estimated 20 percent of hereditary breast cancers and 15 percent of ovarian cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Of all the women who inherited the BRCA1, between 55 and 65 percent will end up with breast cancer. This is a staggering number when you consider that 12 percent of the general population of women are diagnosed with breast cancer. When it comes to the BRCA2 mutation, around 40 percent of women who inherit this mutation go on to develop ovarian cancer.
The good news is that the mutations are not common, so only those with a family history of women being diagnosed with breast cancer or having already tested positive for a specific mutation need to receive testing genetic testing.

When should I have genetic testing?

For expecting mothers, it is important to understand that passing on genetic conditions is not a common experience. Most mothers experience healthy pregnancies and give birth to healthy children.
[pullquote align=”center”]Would I want to know in advance if I were going to have a baby with a genetic condition?[/pullquote]
However, it is always it a good idea to understand if you have risk factors for passing on a genetic condition to a child. Although O’Toole suggests genetic counseling to all mothers, she says there are specific clues that a mom should definitely have genetic screening.
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“Being over 35, having a family member with a genetic condition, or having a history of a poor pregnancy outcomes are all reasons to consider genetic screening,” she explains.
Additionally, she believes all moms who may conceive or are currently pregnant should spend time asking themselves hard questions about what they want to know about their unborn child and how those answers will influence her choice to have genetic screening.
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“Asking questions like, ‘Would I want to know in advance if I were going to have a baby with a genetic condition? Would this information change how my family and doctors prepare for the birth and newborn period? Would I consider ending the pregnancy or creating an adoption plan?’ can help you decide if you want to explore your testing options more with your doctor or genetic counselor.”
And, for women who are dealing with anxiety about their pregnancy, a genetic screening that reveals that mother is low-risk can be the reassurance she needs to enjoy her pregnancy without the overwhelming fear of the future of her baby’s health. Knowing her baby has a low-risk of inheriting a life-changing condition just might mean less time worrying and more time daydreaming about whether they’ll get mom or dad’s eyes.

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Nosh Nutrition x Advice

"Dead Meat Bacteria" And Why Certain Processed Foods Might Fuel Inflammation

When your work is featured in a major documentary, you’d figure you’d at least get a phone call.

Dr. Clett Erridge was somewhat surprised to learn that his research was featured in What The Health, Netflix’s ultra-popular documentary on the dangers of eating meat. We know Erridge was surprised because, well, we were the ones who told him—nobody from the film had ever reached out.
In 2011, Erridge, an honorary research fellow in cardiovascular diseases at the University of Leicester, authored a scientific paper called “The capacity of foodstuffs to induce innate immune activation of human monocytes in vitro is dependent on food content of stimulants of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4.” Not the snappiest title, but he wasn’t writing for Esquire, either.
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Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the paper made the case that certain microbes present in certain foods—primarily meats and processed foods—could stimulate the human immune system, causing inflammation that could eventually increase a person’s chances of atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries) and other diseases. It was impressive research, but it didn’t exactly capture the public’s attention.
It did, however, grab the eye of Michael Greger, MD, an adamantly vegan doctor who runs the website NutritionFacts.org. Greger posted a video drawing, in part, on Erridge’s research. The video was titled “Dead Meat Bacteria Endotoxemia.” Greger contacted Erridge to tell him about the video, but only after he’d produced it and posted it online. Erridge wasn’t too concerned; he was happy that someone was talking about the research.

Greger’s website is apparently where those at What The Health found out about Erridge’s work. They posted Greger’s video, and Erridge’s article, on their website’s fact-check page, giving a much more dramatic introduction:
Within minutes of eating dead meat bacteria toxins, the body gets a burst of inflammation, stiffening or paralyzing the arteries.
(For this story, we also reached out to A.U.M. Films & Media, the distributor for What The Health, to put us in touch with the filmmakers. While A.U.M. initially agreed to provide a statement, they changed their minds once we’d forwarded a few questions, noting that it “seems quite difficult for us to be able to participate in [the] piece at this time.”)

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A.U.M. Films & Media

But while What The Health made some exaggerated claims, the documentary might also have glossed over some extraordinarily important research. Erridge’s study is complex, but if replicated, it could help scientists limit cases of diabetes, atherosclerosis, and even obesity—without changing the way we eat.

The documentary’s “dead meat bacteria” descriptor isn’t quite accurate.

While “dead meat bacteria” might be an excellent band name, it’s not much of a scientific descriptor. The toxins in question aren’t just on meat—and their “paralyzing” effect on arteries is significantly overstated, too.
“There are some elements of truth in [What The Health’s claim] from a scientific perspective,” Erridge notes. “They’re right that bacteria produce these molecules, which our bodies see as foreign, and that when they’re ingested in a particular way, we can absorb them and trigger inflammation. But it’s very, very mild inflammation, and it doesn’t immediately paralyze your arteries.”
In other words, at normal levels, those toxins won’t end a person’s life immediately (though Erridge did note that they might have that effect “if you injected somebody with huge quantities,” which he wouldn’t recommend).
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Exaggerated claims by filmmakers aside, Erridge’s research is still new and somewhat controversial among scientists. The prevailing opinion in the field has been that saturated fats or low-density lipoprotein cholesterols are what cause that “paralyzing” inflammation. For a time, Erridge believed those hypotheses, but his research led him to what What The Health would term “dead meat bacteria”—he calls them bugs.
They aren’t literal bugs, but rather several strains of bacteria present on the surface of many foods. Those bacteria create pathogen-associated molecular patterns, or PAMPs, which may be the culprit behind the dangerous inflammation.

That discovery basically occurred by accident.

Erridge was considering whether the microbes already in our guts create the inflammation when he received what he thought was an incredibly stupid question.
“As I was doing that work and developing new tools to look at the gut microbiota, a reviewer of one of my papers asked me, ‘How do you know these microbes weren’t coming from the food?’ And I thought at the time, ‘that was one of the stupidest questions ever.’”
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“But I thought, ‘I have to address this at some point, so I’ll just do a couple of experiments to show that it’s complete rubbish, and then I can move on.'”
As he quickly learned, there are no stupid questions in science.
“I did these experiments, which I thought were going to be complete duds. And it turns out that a lot of processed foods are full of just massive quantities of these molecules, which I did not expect at all.”
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Erridge thinks that those molecules might trigger an immune response in humans, and after he performed a few experiments, he published the unsnappilly-titled 2011 paper, which he now describes as “speculative.”

Here’s why this research has the potential to change the world.

We’re simplifying here, but Erridge essentially made the case that certain microbes on the surface of our foods release the PAMPs. The PAMPS then cause inflammation—our bodies see the molecules, which look like germs, and respond accordingly. In heavily processed foods, those microbes often grow into larger colonies, and in turn, PAMP levels rise.
[pullquote align=”center”]We designed a diet that was very low in these PAMPs … [and] to our surprise, a whole bunch of markers went down …[/pullquote]
With finely cut foods, PAMP levels rise rapidly by the day, even when the foods are refrigerated. Ground beef and sausage seem to be particularly susceptible to this effect, and common cooking methods don’t rid the meats of the PAMP molecules.
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However, the effect isn’t restricted to meat. The “bugs” seem to love chopped onions, in particular, so foods like jarred pasta sauces might create more of a dietary threat. Sadly, chocolate is another high-PAMP food, since chocolate processing requires fermenting the cocoa beans for several weeks.
Fresh foods seem to have very low PAMP levels, but finely chopped foods have much higher levels of the molecules. Unprocessed meats—steaks, for instance—don’t seem to pose as much of a problem, since the bacteria doesn’t permeate the meat (though Erridge notes that steaks can be unhealthy for other reasons). Also, no two meats will have the exact same bacterial species, so as Erridge says, “it’s possible to find a perfectly good sausage.”
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Erridge’s work didn’t stop in 2011. He later designed a new experiment to test the hypothesis in vivo (in actual living organisms), comparing the health markers of 11 human volunteers before and after they participated in a special diet.
“We designed a diet that was very low in these PAMPs, and we tested the food to make sure that it was low in PAMPs,” Erridge says. “And to our surprise, a whole bunch of markers went down [for] cardiovascular risk and risk of insulin resistance. We saw the leukocyte count go down, not so far that it would cause infection or anything, but certainly bring some [people down to] the low-risk category for a bunch of diseases.”

That’s not all: The low-PAMP diet seemed to help people lose weight.

Erridge’s team wasn’t expecting that. They hadn’t set out to create a weight loss diet.
“This was surprising, because we’d been asking the people to eat just as much food as they wanted to the whole way through [the study], and they weren’t complaining of being hungry,” Erridge says. “They’re eating just as much as they wanted, but they still lost weight.”
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If Erridge’s research is correct, it could explain why diets like the Mediterranean diet seem so heart-healthy: They forbid processed foods, so they’re naturally lower in PAMPs.
But Erridge also noted that dietary studies are notoriously difficult, since researchers have trouble accounting for all the factors that inevitably affect the results. He was careful to note that, while he’s confident in his research, he welcomes criticism of his methods.
If he’s right, his work could change the way we eat. By ridding foods of PAMPs, we might be able to eliminate the moderate inflammation we get from eating certain foods. That could lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity worldwide, and it wouldn’t require any large-scale dietary changes.

We’ve got a ways to go before that’s a reality, but it’s exciting work.

Erridge’s research needs to be replicated, and he’s currently working on additional research that might provide more insight. Nothing is concrete yet, so stating the “dead meat bacteria toxins” cause a “burst” of “paralyzing” inflammation is pretty dramatic. Scientists prefer to use more measured terms when describing their work, since hypotheses are subject to continual reevaluation and change.
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That’s really one of the key takeaways here: These studies might save millions of lives, but they also might fizzle out with the next round of research. While Erridge is a respected authority in his field, he doesn’t pretend to have all of the answers, and he seemed genuinely delighted at the idea that he might be proven wrong.
That’s really how innovations like these start: You’ve got to be willing to ask stupid questions, and you’ve got to be willing to change course when you don’t get the results you’re expecting.
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Oh, and you might discover that chocolate is secretly evil. That revelation didn’t go over so well with Erridge’s team—or with the doctor himself.
“I do still eat chocolate,” Erridge admits. “[My diet] probably hasn’t changed as much as it should.”

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Favorite Finds Nosh

13 Things The Grocery Store Cashier Wants You To Know

Being a cashier at a grocery store may be considered a fairly mundane job, but it’s surprisingly stressful—and not just during rush hour. In fact, customers’ behavior can make a lot of difference when it comes to getting through that shift.
If you’ve never worked as a cashier, you might be surprised to learn that some of your shopping habits aren’t ideal, or perhaps parts of your weekly grocery run routine are making things more difficult for yourself than they need to be.
These insider tips can not only make a cashier’s day better, but they can help make your entire shopping experience much smoother.

1. Practice common checkout courtesy.

First of all, a counter is not the same as a conveyor belt. See how that flat surface isn’t moving, or attached to any kind of machinery? It’s basically just a table. No, those groceries aren’t going to magically move themselves toward the register without the power of technology. Yes, please physically bring them to the cashier.
Now it’s time to unload your basket. That’s right: you, not the cashier. It’s an awkward height, and lifting 15 pound hams out of baskets with one arm all day isn’t great for your spine.
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There is, however, one exception: If you have many of the same item in your cart, you only need to put one of them on the conveyor belt to be scanned. There’s really no need to unload 32 individual packets of frozen corn.
Make sure you use the divider, too. That’s how the cashier can distinguish your groceries from the person in front or behind you. Do you want to be paying for that random customer’s olive oil? Didn’t think so.
Brandon has worked in a Canadian grocery store for nine years in many different roles, including as a cashier. He warns against putting anything that’s not groceries on the conveyor belt, including money, coupons, and cards.
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“This can be a big no because some tills might have enough clearance between the conveyor belt and till that allows these things to fall in between,” he says. “And even though most tills will have a trap to catch anything that might slip through, there is no guarantee the trap catches it.”

2. The cashier isn’t trying to steal your card details.

You know those little electronic point of sale machines that you use to pay with your card? They don’t all work the same. While some of them simply need the customer to swipe their card and enter their pin, others require the cashier to take your card, swipe it, enter the total, and then hand the machine back to you for your pin.
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Some people tend to panic when it comes to handing someone else their card. Rest assured that the cashier doesn’t have the desire, time, or capability to memorize every single one of your card details for their own gain. They’re much too busy trying to get you and in and out so they can serve the next customer.

3. Understand how to read labels.

You can save a lot of money if you look at the price per weight of each item to see which one is really cheaper. On the other hand, there’s no point overreacting to a $50 per pound price label on that imported cheese when you’re actually just buying a couple of ounces.
Paige has worked as a cashier for three years, two of which have been in a grocery store. She knows all too well the importance of reading those labels.
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“There is such a thing as an item limit, a brand, a weight limit, all that—the sign will tell you, so will the grocery store ad,” she says. “Very few people actually read the weights and just grab whatever the sign is near. Often, that means [everything from] grabbing the wrong size to getting the incorrect brand. Just because a sign says ‘Brand A shredded mozzarella eight ounces’ doesn’t mean you can get ‘Brand A 16 ounces mozzarella,’ ‘Brand B eight ounces,’ or ‘Brand A block mozzarella.'”

4. Do you really need that bag?

There’s nothing worse than the feeling of second-hand environmental guilt that washes over you when a customer asks you to double-bag or even individually bag every single item. You don’t need a plastic bag for that one apple. In fact, you probably don’t need a plastic bag at all. Why not bring your own reusable bag from home?
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“If you have reusable bags, make sure you hand them to the cashier at the beginning of the transaction,” Brandon says. “Otherwise, we may have already begun to bag your groceries in plastic bags, which are wasteful and bad for the environment.”
And in case you do need to accept a plastic bag, trust the cashier with how many you need. No one knows better than them that a single plastic bag isn’t going to hold the weight of all those cans.

5. Cashiers are human beings.

This shouldn’t be something that people need to be reminded about, but sadly, some customers do take their frustration out on the people behind the counter.
“Your cashier could be a mother, a father, a university student, or a high school student getting their first job,” says Paige. “We don’t really have much say in how the products are priced or what policies the store follows, so getting mad at us won’t do you any good.”
[pullquote align=”center”]If we bag something incorrectly, please be polite and ask if we can change something.[/pullquote]
Jordan, who’s worked in grocery stores since 2013, has seen some unfortunate breakdowns from coworkers.
“I’ve seen too many of my friends and coworkers cry over some nasty person who yelled at them over something minuscule as a coupon,” he says. “The job is way harder than it looks.”
He says the key is simply being polite.
“If we bag something incorrectly, please be polite and ask if we can change something,” he says. “I’ve been way more accommodating to customers who say, ‘Could you please put the bananas in a separate bag?’ than I have to others who say, ‘I don’t want bananas with my bread! You’re gonna bruise them!’ and angrily snatch the bag from my hands.”

6. They actually do want to hear about your day.

Small talk isn’t always fake! Long shifts can get boring, and it’s nice to interact with people when you’ve been staring at a register for hours on end.

In fact, Paige says that if you go the extra mile, you might even strike up a beneficial friendship.
“Want to make days better for cashiers? Become a regular,” she says. “Let them learn your name, and learn theirs. As we get to know them, they get to know us. And when we know someone, we’re far more willing to do something for a regular we’d never do for a John or Jane Doe.”
“Short a dollar or two? Sure, I’ll cover you, you’re in here a lot, so I know you’ll pay me back. Need a sale ad four days before it’s out ’cause you’re going out of town? If we have them, sure. Just be warned: Once you’re a well known regular, we’re allowed to tease you!”

7. You’re not the only one in line.

You might be in a rush, but so are other people. You don’t deserve priority service over other customers. Don’t push in line.

8. If you change your mind about an item while in line, just hand it to the cashier.

“For some reason, people get apologetic or embarrassed about this,” says Brandon. “They should not be, especially when the alternative is putting the item in question in a random part of the store.”
You’d be surprised where these items turn up.
“I can’t tell you how many times I have found spoiled meat and milk on the shelf because someone was too lazy to walk three steps and put the item back in its cooler,” says Paige. “Not only is it gross, it’s outright unsanitary.
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“It’s exactly why we had an infestation of fruit flies. Someone hid a package of meat that had a hole in it instead of giving it to someone, and it festered. We couldn’t find where it was, either, till someone followed the flies—it was actually on top of the freezers!”
If you can’t manage that social interaction, then at the very least, return frozen items to the freezer and cold items to the refrigerated section.

“If you don’t know, just ask,” says Jordan. “If you don’t want to buy that pint of ice cream, don’t put it in the vending machine fridge. We both know it doesn’t belong there. Don’t know where to put your basket? Ask, and we’ll take it away for you. We’re not only here for our paychecks. We’re here to help!”

9. Hand coupons to the cashier at the right time.

“Some items might have coupons stuck to them or wrapped around them,” says Brandon. “If you notice these, take them off and hand them directly to the cashier when you are cashing out, either at the end of the transaction or when they are ringing the item in question through.”

10. Double-check your receipt and change.

“Always give a quick glance at your receipt after the transaction,” says Brandon. “Again, cashiers may go into auto-pilot and not realize they double-scanned a product and overcharged you. We are human, and we make mistakes. Luckily, these can be fixed by customer service most of the time.”

11. The back of the store is not a magic portal.

Thought the “backroom” was a place full of infinite possibilities and that item you can’t find in stock? Sorry, but that’s not even close to reality.
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“It’s gray, boring, industrial, and usually cramped,” says Paige. “There’s pallets of goods, boxes of this, crates of that. But that doesn’t mean that the back is a magical place where there’s always another one of the item you want.”

12. If you’re wowed by a certain cashier’s great service, make sure to let their manager know.

“If you like someone, tell their manager how great they are,” says Jordan. “My company tends to give out coupons to associates who are recognized by customers.”
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Not to mention it will put them in good standing with their employer and possibly help them get that raise or promotion!

13. A shopping cart is not a trash can, and neither are you.

Empty water bottles, half-eaten sandwiches, and any other form of trash has no place in a shopping cart. If you have rubbish, hold onto it until you can find a bin. Chances are the cashier has one under the counter.
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On that note, take care of yourself before coming into the store. It’s not exactly courteous to interact with people when you haven’t changed your clothes or brushed your teeth in a fortnight.
“Take a hecking shower!” says Paige. “I just got one guy today I could smell from 10 feet away.”
No one wants to be the person who pushes in line or leaves frozen peas in the candy bar aisle. But you definitely don’t want to be the customer known for their odor.

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Nosh

Psychology, Made To Order: How Restaurants Trick Customers

Eating out is an essential part of the American dining experience. There seems to be an eating establishment suited for every situation. If we’re in a rush, we make a dash to the local fast food joint. If we’re celebrating a special occasion, we like to dress up and enjoy a night out at a swanky, upscale restaurant.
But did you ever stop to think about why we’re drawn to eat at certain restaurants? And why we choose the food items that we do? Is it really what we naturally crave, or are there behind-the-scenes machinations influencing our decisions?
The truth is, there’s a deliberate strategy in nearly every aesthetic decision that comes with designing a successful restaurant. From the color schemes to the music to the menu, there are elements designed to elicit a psychological response from the customer.
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So if you’ve ever wondered what tricks restaurateurs employ to earn your business, you’re about to find out. The answers may surprise you.

Musical Meal-odies

Lest you think the music you hear in your favorite eatery is a random choice, or just something that the staff wants to hear, think again. The choice of music in restaurant is picked meticulously to achieve the desired effect—to make you spend more money.
According to a study by the University of Leicester, playing classical music in an restaurant encourages customers to pay more because it makes them feel more sophisticated and affluent.
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The tempo of the music you hear is also a factor in how you dine. There’s a reason slower, more relaxed music, like classical or jazz, plays so prominently in higher-priced eating establishments: The slower the music, the more inclined you are to relax and take your time finishing your meal. This means you’re also likely to spend more on food and drinks.
https://twitter.com/AlexPelayre/status/956710686293245952
Fast food joints have a different approach—the music is always upbeat and faster paced. This inspires the customer to order faster and eat quicker to encourage them to hurry up and leave to make room for the next person in line. Rosalin Anderson, chief branding officer for Just Salad, says picking the right music for your establishment is essential, and in their case, required some tweaking.
“When we started the business over 10 years ago, our ordering process was a little more hectic during the lunch rush and to offset this, we incorporated reggae music in all our stores, as it helped the customers to relax and stay in a more generous mood.”

Color Scheming

From the color of the logo to the wallpaper on the bathroom walls, a color scheme is another effective psychological method restaurants use to influence their customers.
The Cornell University study “Turning the Tables: The Psychology of Design for High Volume Restaurants” bears this out, noting that the color chosen for dining establishments “not only affects people’s perceptions and attitudes but can actually elicit a biological response.”
Yellow is an irritating color that can make people feel uncomfortable. Red, on the other hand, is a positive color and has been proven to stimulate our metabolism (and our appetite).
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Now think about how many fast food places use red and yellow together: McDonald’s, Burger King, In-N-Out Burger, Pizza Hut, and Wendy’s are just a few prominent examples. Red makes customers hungry while yellow encourages them to leave quickly—that’s an effective strategy.
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Upscale restaurants use a different tactic, which is why they utilize blues and greens so often. Both are relaxing to the eye, which works in the same capacity as slower music—it keeps you there longer, and you spend more money.

A Light Meal and Sound Nutrition

Another integral aspect of the dining experience is choice of lighting, which makes sense: You want to be able to see your food (and you want it to look appealing). But you also want to look attractive while you’re eating as well.
In an interview with The Independent, Tom Strother, co-founder and creative director of interior design firm Fabled Studio, said, “From a psychological point of view, one of the key aspects to a restaurant’s design is the lighting. It has to be soft and flattering to make guests feel comfortable so that they are confident and relaxed.”
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Fast food doesn’t operate the same way, as we’ve already covered, and by using cheap overhead fluorescent lighting (which is always unflattering), it encourages people to leave. But this also comes at a steep price—our health.
According to a 2012 study by Cornell University, harsh lighting can actually encourage us to overeat, and by modifying a fast food restaurant to adopt softer lighting (and using relaxing music), test subjects consumed 175 less calories than they did eating in harsher lighting. So while fluorescent lighting is de rigueur for the industry now, this could change in the future.
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Acoustics are also important. It’s not just what type of music you hear while you eat, but volume and sound distribution matter as well.
“One of our store locations has light pendants that are made out of thin rubber. This helps to catch loud sounds and diffuse it,” Anderson says. “This is a design element that the average guest might not know about regarding restaurant acoustics. It creates a more relaxed environment when it’s quieter in the store.”


Paula Stanbridge-Faircloth, marketing manager for The Contract Chair, says that acoustics also play a part in the chairs they design for eateries: “Most restaurant chairs that we sell are a combination of wood and upholstery. … Fully upholstered chairs will tend to muffle echoes, particularly important if your restaurant has wooden floors and if you’re going for a cozier, more intimate environment.”

Menu Venue

Anderson says an effective menu is all about simplicity: “We stick to a graphic design hierarchy to help guests navigate the menu in an easy and quick way. We design the menu so it’s not complicated, and the information that they want to see, such as calories and pricing, is very visible.”
Pictures are also worth a thousand words—menus that show photos of entrees can increase sales by 40 percent. Likewise, food items that are bolded, highlighted, or framed in a box draw attention to the eye and drive up sales.
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And the more descriptive the menu, the more effective. A study entitled “Descriptive Menu Labels’ Effect on Sales” showed that menus with more verbose descriptions increased food sales, and customers chose descriptive items 27 percent more than barebones descriptions of food items.
Limited menus are another tactic many restaurants use as it takes the pressure off of guests to choose while also encouraging them to place their order faster.

Price Price Baby

Perhaps the most important aspect of menu design is pricing. The way restaurants list their prices on their menu is designed to have a persuasive effect.
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One of the most effective strategies is simply leaving the dollar sign off. A 2009 study on menu design showed that guests spent far more money when prices were listed without dollar signs than those that did (or that spelled out the pricing versus numerically displaying them).
Even the smallest of tweaks in pricing yield good dividends. Menu items that price their items ending in 0.95 versus 0.99 are more pleasing to the eye and give the diner the feeling they’re getting a deal (even if they’re only saving four cents).

A Family Meal

Nostalgia is always a draw in marketing. If you can make someone feel emotionally invested in the dining experience, it’s always a win. And any restaurant with a family theme has an edge on the competition. It’s not just the eateries that declare themselves “family friendly,” but those that use a person’s name to enforce the connection.
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When customers eat at Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Mimi’s Cafe, or even Wendy’s (named after late founder Dave Thomas’s daughter), it invokes a familial draw, making diners feel like part of the family.
We’re betting no matter where you live, there’s an individual mom and pop restaurant not far away, and if it includes “aunt,” “uncle,” “mom,” or any other moniker based on a relative, it probably stays busy.

Check, please.

When it comes to the best restaurant experience, it’s all about seeing the bigger picture. According to Kevin Gregory, creative director at AllDay Industry, a restaurant consulting firm, the best way “to capitalize on the benefits of designing the space to capture that profit margin is to focus on the experience you want to create and bring in the project partners that can help bring your vision to life.”
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So the next time you’re enjoying your favorite meal in your favorite restaurant, take a look around. See if you can point to all the ways your experience has been crafted by industry experts. It may add a whole new level of intrigue to eating out.
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Discovering you’ve been psychological manipulated by the restaurant industry may make you feel a bit uneasy, but perhaps the end result isn’t so nefarious. It’s all about a symbiotic relationship that fulfills both parties: You enjoy your meal in a pleasant environment, and the places you frequent keep their overhead.

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Motherhood

Demystifying Adoption: 5 Common Misconceptions Put To Bed

Based on the most recent data available, the United States Children’s Bureau reported in 2016 that nearly 120,000 children were adopted in the U.S. in 2012. And according to the last U.S. census in 2010, almost 2.5 percent of all children in U.S. households were adopted—or about 1.5 million out of 65 million total children.
We adopt infants. We adopt adults. We adopt children from the foster care system. We adopt babies from scores of countries all around the world.
As the facts, figures, and the multifarious forms of adoption suggest, adoption—a process in which “children become full and permanent legal members of another family,” as the USCB defines it—is incredibly widespread in the U.S.
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And yet some common myths about adoption still hang on. Some are naive, stemming from confusion about who is allowed to adopt or how much adoptions cost. Others are more nefarious, involving judgments we make about mothers who relinquish their children for adoption or stigmas adoptees unwillingly bear.
Let’s debunk some of these stubborn and insidious myths for a clearer picture about the process of—and, more importantly, the people involved in—adoptions.

Myth 1: Only married, heterosexual homeowners can adopt children.

A slew of misconceptions surround who is allowed to adopt in the US, with many people thinking only traditional families are eligible. As the USCB explains of domestic adoptions: “Most people are eligible to adopt, regardless of whether they are married or single, their age, income, or sexual orientation.”
What’s more, single-parent households accounted for one-third of all adoptions in 2011. Prospective adoptive parents also don’t have to own their own homes, nor does having a disability necessarily disqualify them from adoption.
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The legality of same-sex adoption is a more recent phenomenon, the culmination of decades of legal battles finally recognizing the rights of same-sex couples to adopt. Yet in some ways, the battle continues. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right protected by the constitution in 2015, a federal district court struck down a ban on same-sex adoption in Mississippi in 2016, making same-sex adoption legal in all 50 states. Ironically enough, UCLA’s Williams Institute found in 2013 that it was Mississippi which had the highest proportions of LGBTQ parenting in all of the U.S., with 26 percent of its LGBTQ couples raising biological, adopted, or stepchildren.
However, some states—most recently Alabama—have passed laws allowing faith-based adoption agencies to turn away LGBTQ couples on the basis of their religious beliefs.
For domestic adoptions in the U.S., eligibility comes down to an assessment called a home study. Basically, adoption agencies are looking for a loving household that will care for the adoptee—and yes, research shows that adoptive parents love their adopted children just like their biological ones.
International adoptions—commonly called intercountry adoptions—can come with a different set of restrictions. To adopt from China, for example, a parent has to be 30 years old, among other criteria. Many countries don’t permit adoptions by LGBTQ parents. A few countries, like Russia, currently don’t allow for adoptions to the U.S.
HealthyWay
Megan Caporicci, a teacher in Tustin, California, had already had was originally interested in adopting from China when she adopted her daughter over 12 years ago. As she tells HealthyWay, she and her husband already had two sons and were interested in a baby girl. Their research pointed them to China—whose former one-child policy and cultural favoritism of boys indeed led to the international adoption of tens of thousands of infant girls from the country over recent decades.
“I wasn’t 30 yet. I was 28, maybe 29, and you had to be 30 to adopt [in China],” Caporicci says. “Every country has specific rules: how long you are married, whether you are married, ethnicity, how much money you make.” The Caporiccis went with South Korea instead, where they were eligible.
If you’re interested in adoption from a specific country, first heed Caporicci’s example and consult each country’s policies.

Myth 2: Adoption always costs a fortune and takes forever.

Assumptions about the expense and length of the process may deter some prospective parents from adopting. Again, we have to distinguish between domestic and intercountry adoption. We also have to distinguish between the means of adoption, i.e., through an adoption agency or through an independent adoption attorney, as well as differentiate the age of the adoptee.
HealthyWay
Each year, the Adoptive Families magazine conducts a cost and timing survey. According to their 2016 report, the average cost of adoption from foster care—which happens when “children in out-of-home care cannot be safely reunited with their birth families,” explains the USCB—was approximately $2,800 in 2014–15. This included the home study fee, documentation, and paperwork processing costs, attorney fees, and travel expenses.
Many families, though, actually reported ultimately paying $0 for adoption from foster care and were receiving an average of about $850 in monthly subsidies from the government. By adopting from foster care, families can claim the adoption tax credit, receive health coverage through Medicaid, and even get support with college tuition in some states. Timewise, nearly 50 percent of respondents said it took zero to six months for the adoption placement to take place.
The average age of a child adopted from foster care is 7.7 years old, according to the Adoption Network Law Center. But a great many parents want to adopt a child from birth or infancy—which does become significantly more expensive. The 2016 Adoptive Families survey finds that for newborn adoption in the U.S. in 2014–15:

  • Adoption through an agency cost an average of just over $41,500, with 62 percent of families matched with a child within one year of application. Nearly $17,000 of the total costs went to agency fees.
  • Adoption through an attorney cost an average of just over $35, 500, with 67 percent of families matched with a child within one year. About $13,000 went to attorney fees.

HealthyWay
Cost and timing for intercountry adoption varies. Adoptive Families provided a breakdown for three of the top countries American families adopt from in 2014–2015:

  • China: average cost of about $36,000, with 75 percent of families matched within six months for its “Waiting Child” program, which supports children with special needs. Adoption of a “Traditional Child” has a considerably longer wait. About 70 percent of families adopt a child younger than five.
  • Ethiopia: average cost of just over $38,500. Fifty six percent percent matched within one year, and 78 percent adopted a child younger than six.
  • South Korea: average cost of about $46,000. Fifty six percent matched within one year, and 100 percent of families adopted a child younger than five.

Remember, these costs are averages, and the adoption process is complex—plus, we’re dealing with human beings here, who want nothing more than a good home.
For the Caporiccis, the “total cost was about $17,000, including travel,” Megan shares. “From application to actually finalizing, it was almost two years. But from application to baby in arms was one-and-half years.”
HealthyWay
They also elected for adoption from South Korea not only because their age and martial status met the country’s requirements, but the total travel time was less. South Korea was closer than other places they considered, and the agency only required one trip that lasted only about four or five days. “For us, having young kids, it wasn’t easy imagining leaving them for months at time,” says Caporicci.

Myth 3: The biological mother can come back at anytime and take her baby.

While we appreciate the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty that can surround the adoption experience, a biological mother can’t simply change her mind and reclaim her child.
Before a child goes up for adoption, the birthparent has to consent to terminate all parental rights in a court of law. Only in very limited circumstances—usually in cases of fraud or duress—can a birthparent revoke that consent. After the child has been placed into a new household for a period of about six months, a judge issues an adoption decree at the end of what’s called the finalization process. The decree makes the adoptee the permanent, legal child of the adoptive parent(s). In other words, the adoptee is their child under law.
HealthyWay
Contact between adoptive families, adoptees, and birthparents is a complex matter, involving issues of birthparent privacy and adoptees’ right to certain information, like their medical history. In closed adoptions, there is no contact between the two households, and no identifying information is shared, whereas open adoptions, which are increasingly common in the U.S., allow for various degrees of contact and identification between the birth and adoptive families.
The Caporiccis, for example, went through a closed adoption with their daughter, as is common for intercountry adoptions. She says there was some information required for each family to report to the adoption file, while other information was completely optional to share, such as birth name and family interests.
As we’d expect, views vary on the pros and cons of contact, as they do on the risks and benefits of an adoptee reuniting with their birthparent. One thing is for sure, though: It’s normal for adoptees to be curious about meeting their birthparents—and it doesn’t mean they love their adoptive parents any less. It’s also a very personal choice for whether or not an adoptee seeks out a reunion.
HealthyWay
Thomas Kelly, now an attorney in Cleveland, was adopted after birth in 1948 from the Father Baker Home in Lackawanna, New York. He was very open about the subject of reunion. His thoughts reveal just how unique each adoptee’s experience is, and are worth quoting at length:

I am certain that at some time or another, every person who is adopted has some level of desire to find the biological parents, to see what they look like, to discover why they chose to place the child for adoption. It’s easy for … an adopted child … to fall into the trap of, “Was I not good or not good enough?” or “I must be less valuable because my parents didn’t want me.” Self-pity clouds judgment, and it’s a minor form of selfishness. But we are all prone to it. … I am forever grateful to them for their decision to choose me and their lifelong love and concern for me. I had also decided long ago that the decision made by my natural mother (most likely without the involvement of the father) to place me for adoption was also a great gift and a great sacrifice that I should honor and that I should not disturb her life, which I hope was happy and fulfilling.

Megan Caporicci says her daughter, now 12, hasn’t expressed any interest in reuniting yet. But as for talking about adoption with daughter, she says, “All families are different.”
“The message in this day and age is you talk about it from day one. It was known as long since we could talk … don’t need to put a magic cover on it.”
In addition to her birthday each year, the family celebrates her Adoption Day, marking the date when she officially joined their family.

Myth 4: Foster children are broken, and adopted children are doomed to attachment issues.

Aggressive, troubled, damaged: These are some of the toxic labels cast on foster children, perhaps due to stereotypes of such youth being “shuttled from home to home” or because of some notion that they are delinquents or runaways.
HealthyWay
Truth is, most foster children enter into special care because of abuse, neglect, abandonment, and death. Like all of us, foster children want love, care, and stability. Being in foster care is no doubt disruptive, confusing, and challenging, so let’s dispel the myths that foster children are broken.
Casual jokes and everyday remarks, meanwhile, shame adopted children as “looking different from their family” or “being unloved by the parents.” Some of us may assume that adoptees are destined to struggle with forming trusting, meaningful relationships for all their days. The experience of adoption entails seriously grappling with identity—something we all do. But that doesn’t mean adoptees don’t go on to live happy and fulfilling lives.
Kelly writes of his experience: “I was about five or six years old when I first heard the word ‘adopted.’ Some kid had told me I was adopted; how he knew, I never discovered, but it seemed from how he had said it that it was not something to be proud of or happy about.” His parents later explained his adoption to him at home, but in a manner that has always made him feel “chosen” and “special,” he shares.
Fortunately, thanks to the “grace and dignity” his parents always brought to the topic, Kelly writes “being adopted did not come with any stigmas” or “cause me any setbacks as I grew.”
HealthyWay
Society has become indeed more open about adoption in the intervening decades. For her part, Caporicci says that her daughter “knows it’s a button she can use”—that she’s not her birthmother. When upset, her daughter will voice complaints like “Well, you’re not my real mom!” or “I wish I had my real mom!” Caporicci doesn’t react and instead acknowledges the reality that she’s her adoptive mother who does everything she can to love and support her.
And yet, “she’s so strong that she blurts it out there,” Caporicci continues. Her daughter will announce when she starts a new school, “I’m adopted.”
“It took her longer to realize she had a birth dad—the mom and the belly is such a permanent figure.” She recounts with a laugh when her daughter declared her discovery to her father: “‘Did you know I had a birth dad, dad?'”
Caporicci is quick to add, though, on a more somber note: “I feel like it would be not fair for me to say she doesn’t struggle … I think that there’s more details that I don’t know that she struggles with … that she probably can’t even verbalize.”
HealthyWay
Before adopting her daughter, the Caporiccis lost a son and learned they were carrying a genetic disease. “I do know a huge loss on my end. I do know she went through a loss, too.”

Myth 5: Birthparents give up their children because they don’t love them.

Which leads us to the final area of adoptions myth: What kind of a mother bears a child and then gives it up for adoption? Some have pictured such a mother as an irresponsible teen, a promiscuous woman, or a selfish person who just doesn’t love their child.
But mothers do not take the decision to relinquish their child for adoption lightly or easily, and the reasons that motivate them are often very serious and painful.
They include age, with some underage mothers and their parents wanting the child to grow up with parents who are ready, prepared, and able for childrearing. Inconsistent employment, challenges to stable housing, and single parenthood compel other mothers to relinquish their child, according to Cosmopolitan.
HealthyWay
Some mothers choose adoption because their child has severe disabilities they are unable to properly care for. Other mothers choose adoption because their child was conceived as the result of sexual violenceAnd in some countries around the world, poverty or other extreme hardships lead to adoption.
The decision is ultimately driven by an intense desire for their child to have a better, happier life in the care of an adoptive family.
The adoption process has enough challenges and trials. We don’t need any myths piling on guilt, shame, or other bogus judgments.
And we don’t need any myths obscuring the joys, the opportunities, the beauties, the blessings of adoptions—how “amazing and wonderful” it can be, as Caporicci puts it.
Or as Kelly concludes: “For many years I have said that I am the most fortunate man I have ever known. And much of my good fortune is the direct result of adoption. I am grateful to the woman who bore me, the good people at Father Baker’s who cared for me, and forever grateful to [my parents] for my life.”

Categories
Motherhood

Parents Think These Controversial Homework Assignments Deserve An "F"

When kids or parents normally complain about homework, it’s mainly because of either the quantity or the difficulty. One only has so much time in the day to plow through their studies.
But people occasionally get upset about homework for different reasons. Not because it’s too time consuming, but because, in their eyes, it blows beyond the boundaries of good taste.
This is usually not the intent. Controversy is something lower education tends to avoid like the plague. Inciting it can prove perilous for the employment of any teacher, be they well meaning or not. But controversy arrises with homework more than you might think.
Sometimes a child comes home with an assignment so bizarre, incendiary, and insensitive that one it’s a wonder how it was ever assigned in the first place. Perhaps it’s too sexually provocative or racially charged, or maybe it presents moral dilemmas that children simply aren’t mature enough to fully comprehend. A teacher should try to preserve a child’s innocence as long as possible, some say, not offer a preemptive assault on their sensibilities.
HealthyWay
We need to play devil’s advocate here, while proceeding with caution: It’s not always a negative to get an assignment that diverts from convention. Sometimes homework provokes intense feelings because a teacher is asking important questions designed to broaden their students’ horizons.
So why do some teachers give out homework that could result in being reprimanded at best and fired at worst? Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent examples of homework assignments that went very, very wrong—either because of poor taste or offending the sensibilities of overprotective parents.

Slavery Math

“Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how many would each slave pick?” Could you imagine seeing that loaded question on your child’s math homework? It was a real eye-opener for parents of third graders at Beaver Ridge Elementary School in Norcross, Georgia.
The question appeared on a 2012 cross-curricular activity that mixed basic math questions with a reading assignment about abolitionist Frederick Douglass. And it got worse. Another question read: “If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?”
 

Gwinnett Daily Post

So why would any teacher think about including slavery into a math question? Gaye Lynn Seawright, assistant superintendent at Valley Mills Independent School District in Waco, Texas, says, “When people send home questions like that, that are in poor taste, what that tells me, as an administrator, is that they need a mentor teacher. They don’t have enough experience in the classroom or in the community.”
While it’s important to learn arithmetic and American history (both the good and the bad), mixing them together takes things out of context. Seawright also emphasizes that anytime a teacher is teaching about a sensitive topic, it’s important to “change the verbage to reflect a more neutral type of environment.”

How comfortable are you?

This outrageous questionnaire got a teacher in Hernando, Florida, fired. And it’s not hard to understand why.
It was a list entitled “How Comfortable Am I?”, and it included provocative questions that had students rate how they might react to certain social situations. Those situations largely revolved around issues of race, gender, sexuality, and those with disabilities.
In an interview with ABC news, Jennifer Block, mother to a 12-year-old student, said she was offended by the questions, including “How comfortable are you if you see a group of black men walking to you on the street?”, adding, “That’s completely inappropriate. In no world, whatsoever, is that okay to question a child on.”

HealthyWay
NBC 4/WCMH-TV Columbus

In the same segment, student Tori Drews was equally outraged by the questions: “I thought some of them were racist. I thought some of them were sexist. I thought it was completely intolerable.”
So why would a teacher assign such potentially inflammatory homework? Did the instructor have good intentions by trying to teach about tolerance? Was it designed to help students confront their on biases, or was the instructor forcing their own bigoted views on their students?
Seawright says no matter the intent, teachers walk a very fine line venturing into such sensitive territory, as there can be blowback from “preaching in a classroom and trying to make your own philosophies to be the kids, because that’s the parents job. You’re just there to teach the content and make sure they pass the class and they grow up with good standards and they have open minds to learning.”

Fat Shaming Children

As adults, it’s easy to forget just how sensitive children can be about their physical appearance. A 2015 study by Common Sense Media shows that one-third of boys and over half of girls as young as 6 to 8 years of age are unhappy with their body weight. And by age 7, one in four children have tried some type of dieting program.
HealthyWay
In other words, fat shaming can have a devastating effect on kids who already have body image issues. It’s too bad that some teachers didn’t get the memo—namely, teaching staff in Bellevue, Kentucky.
Third graders were assigned an essay about the Great Depression that featured the insensitive multiple choice question “A very fat child probably…” The most egregious possible answer was “had trouble sharing a seat.”
One parent took to social media to declare how upset she was that her child was exposed to such insensitive material.
In response to her outcry, the school board apologized, stating that the essay, designed for reading comprehension, was sent home without any of the teaching staff aware of the potentially offensive material.

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WCPO

You may be asking, “How could an entire teaching staff not know what’s contained in their teaching materials?” Seawright says that teachers who make these types of reckless errors often lack experience due to only learning the bare basic requirements for their position: “They pay like $2,000 and spend a few months taking online courses, and then they get a job. … So that’s where a lot of your mistakes are made.”
She says that while an online teaching course covers all the major qualifications, it misses nuances which can result in a teacher who is “not attuned to the community, or the age of the kid, or what developmental state the kids are and what’s appropriate for them, because they don’t have a lot of experience.”

White Privilege

In 2016, a controversial homework assignment for students at a high school in Aloha, Oregon, drew polarizing reactions from some parents. The assignment in question was a survey which challenged students to identify if they had benefitted or been harmed by white privilege, a theory stating that white Americans benefit from a social hierarchy that discriminates against minorities.
[pullquote align=”center”]It’s a huge topic and it needs to start somewhere. If it doesn’t start now, it’s not going to start.[/pullquote]
Questions included hypothetical scenarios like, “I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well-assured that I will not be followed or harassed,” or “If a police officer pulls me over, I can I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.”

HealthyWay
Oregon Live

In an interview with a local news station, parent Jason Schmidt was angry with his son’s assignment. “I think he should be learning actual education and not be a part of some social experiment or some teacher’s political agenda,” he said.
This survey wasn’t met entirely with criticism, however. In the same news segment, Sarah Rios-Lopez countered, saying, “I want [my daughter] to have opinions. Whether it’s for or against, you have to create those, but you can’t without good information, so I applaud teachers getting out that information. … It’s a huge topic and it needs to start somewhere. If it doesn’t start now, its not going to start.”
In response to the news coverage, school officials elucidated on why students were given the assignment, saying it was to help them engage in a civil manner on matters regarding race, sexuality, and religion.
HealthyWay
It’s worth noting this study has been distributed to various school districts ever since it was first published in 1988. While it may make students (and parents) uncomfortable, it’s clearly designed to start a dialogue…but some parents aren’t interested in their children joining the conversation.

Teaching Taboos

A 2010 homework assignment assigned to middle schoolers in Greenwich, New York, raised major eyebrows from some parents.
Gary Cella became incensed after he found his 11-year-old daughter’s reading assignment contained numerous racial and sexist slurs, telling a local NBC affiliate she felt “as a parent of a seventh-grader that words that start with the letter ‘F’ and are four letters in duration and that words that start with letter ‘N’ and are six letters in duration are inappropriate.”
HealthyWay
When Cella reached out to the school principal, he was told the assignment was intentionally provocative. It was done in conjunction with the American Library Association‘s Banned Books Week. The reason it was assigned? To make students understand (and discuss) why certain classic books are deemed offensive or taboo.
[pullquote align=”center”]It is not a question whether or not the content is offensive —of course it is—but it is the intent of why the content is being given to students …[/pullquote]
Matt C. Pinsker, JD, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, says teaching students about free speech is important: “I teach constitutional law, including the First Amendment’s right to free speech and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause to combat racism. To understand the law on free speech and equal protection, I have my students read U.S. Supreme Court decisions and do practice problems, many of which arise from speech uttered by some of the worst people in this country.”
“Of course,” he adds, “what those people said is offensive, vulgar, vile, and absolutely disgusting. However, just like a doctor cannot learn medicine without seeing naked people, there is no way to learn constitutional law about free speech and equal protection without reading these important Supreme Court cases and going over real-world examples.”
HealthyWay
In instances like these, he notes it’s about getting students prepared for life beyond the classroom. “It is not a question whether or not the content is offensive—of course it is—but it is the intent of why the content is being given to students and that it is done so in a professional manner which is reflective of the real world … .”

Pass or fail?

So, as we’ve covered, when homework causes social outrage, it falls into one of two categories: poor judgment by a teacher or something intentionally designed to push the envelope. Something ill-advised, or something intended to develop a grasp on complex societal issues that well-worn textbooks don’t cover. It’s clear, then, that the most important quality, for both teacher and parent, is the ability to discern between the two.
Seawright says there will always be instances when homework assignments touch a raw nerve, because, in the end, “Everyone comes from different backgrounds. Everybody’s interests are different. Everyone’s political and religious views are different.”
HealthyWay
She adds that when approaching such sensitive topics, it’s possible to teach the concepts while being conscious of the age of the child and proceeding with caution.
“I’m for keeping the innocence in the classroom for the kids. I think there’s so much out there right now, and part of what some teachers are missing is that kids grow up so fast.”

Categories
Favorite Finds Nosh

Bread Ties Are Color Coded (And More Grocery Store Secrets)

You might not realize it, but you probably spend quite a bit of time shopping for food.
In the United States, consumers make an average of 1.5 trips to the grocery store every week. For most of those people, it’s a pretty simple process: Grab your cart, walk down the aisles, check out, and ride your grocery cart back to your car while quietly saying “Whee!” under your breath. What could be easier?
However, there’s actually quite a bit going on behind the scenes. We spoke with a former grocery store worker and researched some of the closely guarded (and not so closely guarded) secrets of the supermarket.
For instance, we had no idea that…

1. Bread ties are color coded.

Those little twist ties (or tabs, depending on the brand) tell grocery store restockers when a particular loaf was made.
Here’s the code that’s been floating around the internet for the past few years:

  • Monday = Blue
  • Tuesday = Green
  • Thursday = Red
  • Friday = White
  • Saturday = Yellow

How is anyone supposed to remember that? Well, astute readers will notice that the colors go in alphabetical order. Keep that in mind, and you’ll never get an old loaf of bread again.
HealthyWay
Then again, you probably don’t have to worry in the first place. As Snopes reports, grocery stores cycle out old loaves every day, so you don’t really need to memorize any color codes unless you’re looking to get the absolute freshest breads possible. Even if you do take the time to commit that list to memory, you might be disappointed, as there’s no industry-wide standard—some bread manufacturers use completely different methods to note freshness. The best way to find the real code is to ask the brands themselves.

2. Customers make all sorts of annoying mistakes when checking out.

First of all, the good news: Nobody’s judging your purchases. Well, not really.
“We’d see some older customers trying to hide embarrassing items—fungal treatments, things like that—under other items,” says one former supermarket worker, who worked primarily as a bagger and stocker for four years (he asked to remain anonymous to avoid disparaging his former employer).
HealthyWay
“We don’t care what you’re buying. Everyone buys embarrassing stuff,” he says. “However, we do care when you’re holding up the line.”
In many stores, managers time transactions, and cashiers with long transaction times might face unpleasant repercussions. You can help by doing some quick organization and by having your money ready when the cashier asks for it.

“Towards the end of my time as a bagger, I started to hate [bank] checks,” says our source. “We’re trained to move on to the next customer as quickly as possible. What’s frustrating is that some customers want to take their time. In a perfect world, that’d be completely acceptable, but management software has sort of changed that.”

HealthyWay
Try to keep similar items together to help the cashier and bagger move as quickly as possible. If you have coupons, let them know right away.
Oh, and make sure that your fruits and vegetables have visible code stickers, because…

3. Those produce codes aren’t random, and they sometimes contain some useful info.

They’re called Produce Lookup Codes, and they’re the bane of every grocery store worker’s existence. The little stickers come off easily, and cashiers need them in order to accurately price your fruits and vegetables.
HealthyWay
“I learned codes for gala apples, russet potatoes, and a few other items, but that was it,” our source says. “There’s too many of them, and our selection changed constantly. It was annoying when customers got impatient when we had to look up the codes, like they expected us to have them all memorized.”
“I wanted to say, ‘Lady, there’s hundreds of these things. Don’t get mad at me because you didn’t pick out a starfruit with a sticker on it.'”
PLU codes are typically four or five digits long, and generally speaking, a five-digit code starting with the number nine means that the product was organically farmed. PLU codes in the range of 3000-4999 are reserved for “conventionally grown” produce.
HealthyWay
With that said, the codes change regularly, so don’t depend on that little sticker if you’re looking to buy organic. Instead, research the farm or ask someone in your grocer’s produce department.

4. On a related note, be sure to bag your meats.

Most grocery stores provide disposable bags near their meat, poultry, and seafood sections, but if your store doesn’t offer them, consider bringing your own bags from home. Meat juices can seep out of the packaging and into your shopping cart, contaminating items and causing a mess.
HealthyWay
Even if you’ve never noticed liquids seeping out of those packages, your local grocery store’s staff certainly has.
“We had to constantly wipe down the conveyor belt because [customers’] steaks would leave fluid all over them,” our source says. “I’m as eco-friendly as the next guy, but use those little bags. We’ll appreciate the effort.”
HealthyWay
If you decide not to buy a meat product, give it to the cashier. They’ll happily put it back for you. However, some customers aren’t so considerate. If you find something perishable in the middle of the store, don’t try to put it back.
“You might think you’re doing a good deed,” our source explains, “but unless you know exactly how long that item has been sitting there, let us handle it. It’s a food safety issue.”

5. Know the store’s busiest hours.

Nobody loves waiting for half an hour to pay for a peach. Grocery store workers hate overloaded checkout lines, too, but they can’t really do anything when customers start pouring in.

“One of my biggest pet peeves was when a customer would tell us to ‘just open another checkout line,'” our source says. “Believe me, we would if we could. At peak times, we’re going to be busy, and we can’t simply call in more people every time there’s a rush.”
There is, of course, something that you can do: Shop during non-peak hours. While traffic varies by location, most stores see big jumps in traffic on weekends. Sundays can be especially brutal.
“Holidays and big sporting events were the worst,” our source says. “Don’t go shopping on Superbowl Sunday, especially if your town’s team is in the big game. If you are shopping at a busy store, please try to be patient, and certainly don’t take out your frustrations on the workers.”
HealthyWay
To avoid the crowd, try shopping early (before 8:00 a.m.) or late (after 8:00 p.m.) on a weekday. If you’re particularly averse to crowds, you can also ask the staff to tell you the best times of the week for a quick, painless shopping trip.

6. Likewise, if you love seafood, make friends with the people in the department.

Every store’s policy is different, but most stores receive deliveries on a particular day of the week. Ask someone who works in the seafood department when those deliveries come in, and you’ll know when to arrive to get the freshest possible fish.
HealthyWay
By the way, “fresh” is a relative term. Food often arrives frozen, and some farmed or frozen fish might not be explicitly labeled as such. If you’re familiar with the workers in the seafood department, you can find better deals on better-tasting products. Some stores will even season and fry your fish for you, which can be awesome if you’re in a rush.
We’d recommend sticking with local fish species, if possible; according to organizations like the One Fish Foundation, that’s the best way to make a tasty, eco-friendly purchase.

7. The store is set up to make you buy more than you need.

As we mentioned earlier, the grocery industry is big business. It’s also insanely competitive, and stores need to sell as many products as possible to stay profitable.

The most eye-opening thing I learned was that I’d been wasting so much money by not planning my trips more effectively.

To that end, they engage in some clever tricks to get their customers fill up their carts. Stores might keep their shoppers in a good mood by putting bakeries and florists near their entrances (the memorable smells make for a better shopping experience). If that fails, they’ll simply pipe in the scents with a professional aroma machine. They play specially curated playlists to keep shoppers happy, and every inch of your local store’s layout is carefully planned to keep you buying.
Don’t be surprised if you end up at the checkout counter with more than you need—and don’t be surprised when most of that food ends up in your trash can. According to a study from the National Resource Defense Council, the average American wastes about 33 pounds of food per month.
HealthyWay
Store workers notice when shoppers have poor spending habits, but of course, they can’t tell their customers to put back the extra bag of chips.
“The most eye-opening thing I learned was that I’d been wasting so much money by not planning my trips more effectively,” our source says. “These days, I’m more careful. I don’t really clip coupons or anything, but I make sure to eat a good meal before I go to the store. I make a list and watch for specials, and I avoid impulse purchases.”
“It’s easy to waste money, but it’s also pretty easy to stay within your budget.”