Life Changing Advice from a 5-year-old and my "Holy" Christmas socks...

About two years ago, my brother, who was about 5-year-old at the time, told me something I think about very often. If I listen to it fully - - I notice it is quite profound. Simple yet mind boggling.

As one of my favorite quotes says - "Simplicity is complexity resolved," and after attending a Bible study led by a Columbia faculty / M.D. from the C.C.U. (Critical Care Unit), I value by brother's tangential comment now more than ever. Before I let him change your life, meet my little brother Jack. This is the face of a child-genius-world-changer. . . Star Wars fanatic =) Love him so much. 

Face of a child human-psyche genius....covered in low-fat, pro-biotic rich, delicious Yogurtland Yogurt =) He was taking me on a date.

Luke Skywalker..... see the resemblance? Luke also likes Yogurtland 

Anyways...this is what my brother asked me about two years ago ...
"What do you actually have to do each day?" 
He then said, "I mean, like-every day? What do you HAVE to do?" Meanwhile I was busy studying for an exam, worried about folding laundry, going running, making it to some event, should I call a friend back now or later...

I actually had to stop. 

I realized my answer. I realized everyone's answer :  "Not very much."

Being in school - demands are high. Heck being in life the demands are high. Listening this past Thursday to an incredible Doc talk about the CCU and what people express at the end of their life....my brother somehow, likely God-inspired because this simple wisdom is quite reminiscent of the thought provoking bits in Psalms, he somehow elicited the thought - what is the meaning of this -> what is important?

We have all heard it before. In the last moments of life - what are people concerned with? Family, friends, loved-ones, how they have helped others..... my message in this sentence is for all students everywhere....

You can take my advice...because I am wearing these socks in February....I think holy socks are part of the grad school curriculum...

Don't forget why you are doing what you are doing. ENJOY it. ENJOY each step. People may look at me like I am a nut when I say I enjoyed studying for the MCAT but I found joy in it. Whatever your struggles are - dwelling on the negative is not going to be beneficial for your mental health. You can do this...you can do it to YOUR standard. I go to school with genius kids here at Columbia. I doubt my abilities - then I realized: we all are endowed with unique qualities, to dwell on the negative, led me to fail to realize the positive, my own strengths.

Visiting my grandma (95 yrs!) recently, again brought my little brother's question to mind, "Brittany (or girlfriend, as he calls me)...what do you ACTUALLY have to do each day?"

This is what I have to do. To love the people around me. As the CCU doc said..... we love and care for them (others/patients) not because of any reason, just because they ARE. We love them because they ARE.

Another life lesson that I have learned by watching those who I admire - kindness never fails. Those who are truly and sincerely kind...what do they have to loose?

Another person who I hold near and dear said something else that I think about often when it comes to the end of life situations. We are all entitled to believe-in what we believe-in (faith), but those people who are truly and actively atheist trying to condemn the faith of others ... at the end of their lives, when they die, if they find out they were right and there is nothing ... there is no GOD...no HIGHER POWER... 1) that kind of stinks and (2) what point have they proven...they now fail to thrive?  and (3) if they were wrong.....they were eternally wrong.

On the flip - for those who are Christians or believers of any denomination, I recently found out that here at a PRESBYTERIAN hospital...people can be fired for expressing their faith/praying with a patient. It is interesting that a hospital that was initially started with some religious intention holds these rules. Someone, an amazing M.D. who I met, was fired for suggesting abstinence. Since this is my blog - - I can't be fired from it. I think this is sad. There are condemning and toxic Christians, as there are any personality type, but as a good friend and I discussed last night over dinner....how do we know those people's background. Whatever their religious/personal/economic status.... how can we know their background or what they are dealing with? Christian or not....why can we not separate this and look at people's intentions rather?

I digress. 

These are my thoughts about life. Everyone is entitled to their own but I hope that my pondering on this strangely foggy Saturday morning can bring some hope, light, love, thought, or otherwise to your day.

Have a great day and don't be afraid to embrace life and all that you are and do - be a leader of the life that you live. We only get one chance. . . God bless ~

p.s. One of the things that we actually HAVE to do each or most days is eat.....(this is why I LOVE my nutrition program....food is an essential)


The Ajna Bar in NYC for restaurant week with my fabulous friend Danielle =) formerly the Buddha Bar.

Very tender braised beef short ribs in an amazing burgundy sauce with mustard seeds

Danielle with Chai Tea Pana cotta.....AMAZING

Ice is INconvenient

NY-1 News never ceases to amaze me with their creative weather reports - -today they reported the sound of rain on the reporter's umbrella. This was, of course, with little external validity because most NYC umbrellas actually only consist of the metal sticks with the covering still clinging to about 1/4 of the umbrella - - Wind + Rain = umbrella failure.

Good thing NY has a designer that can make things with old umbrella remnants Click Here for the story... Think doggie coats or scarf like things.

With the uproar in Egypt - I was upset to hear about what was going on - - well I was also pretty upset that Diane Sawyer interrupted Oprah with a special report about it all. Why Oprah? (preface, I usually don't have time to watch TV) Because UC Berkeley Knight Professor of journalism / food expert Michael Pollan was on. Check out Oprah's site - there are also many great links to other resources regarding food:

Click Here for Oprah's site




Mr. Pollan himself...I think I am wearing his same jacket today.


His main point: we don't know where our food comes from. Do kids know that a chicken was killed in the process of making their nuggets? Do you even think about the distance your food has traveled to get to the convenient supermarket? You can also look inside Cargill - one of the largest slaughterhouses - and how your cow becomes dinner.

Meanwhile the weather outside was frightful...

And it took me an hour to get to my thesis setting. Primarily because I had to walk on what appeared to be a free ice rink that decided to cover NYC.

From Southern California, ice is relatively controlled and found mainly in cube trays in the freezer, in the Anaheim Ice Skating Rink, and in Big Bear when your dad decides it would be fun to go off roading in the snow and nearly slide the jeep off the mountain due to icy roads.

However, it was a great workout. Point being - - all of you readers who are reading this amidst inclement weather, I want you to rejoice. Think of the novel workout you are getting by shoveling snow, sweating profusely, trekking through rain, dressing and undressing with all of those layers.

If icy conditions and NY1 news' continual report of puddle conditions correlates with a healthier and more active population, then my grey morning just got much sunnier! Oh cardiovascular activity....30-45minutes daily folks!

In other news - - checkout the Michael Pollan interview on Oprah. It is worth a moment. Be weary of the lady that speaks with him (Kathy) - she does NOT have any nutritional training and while I respect her - - she says a bunch of nonsense. It is interesting to see how much false information is readily advertised and accepted by the population, desperate for a better way of eating and for regular bowel movements.

Are you Orthorexic? Are you a U.S. citizen...? Then probably, yes. Eat a freakin baguette!

You were once a child...or have children. How to you fuel the fire of a child's tantrum? Give it attention. How do you quench the fire...ignore it.

 I think we are paying too much obsessive attention to food, leading to a life of orthorexia.

Orthorexic =" people with an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating" (Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food) Taken from the Greek "Ortho" - right and correct and "exia" - appetite.

vs.

The "French paradox" (enjoy food....including Carbs and fats....oh my!..yet staying slender). This is how I justify ice cream,  I may be missing something.

-I once got to spend some time with authentic French boys. In California as interns for Louis Vuitton. At an after church, late night group trip to a restauraunt - they sipped a beverage sans food saying, "but I have already eaten dinner." ...except it was in a more French, man voice. What? Why would anyone skip eating a second dinner...this was absurd and new to me. Big fat Americans wouldn't do such a thing. (I am sorry - was that not P.C.?) Let me rephrase: Abundance driven Americans who seem to be at the mercy of science driven food rules, ever changing food concerns, and who can not stop multitasking long enough to have a decent meal with their family/friends/or complete stranger would never pass up eating again because they did not gain proper satisfaction from the meal the just had...thus come seeking more.

As orthorexics, let me clarify - I think attention needs to be paid to food. Just not the kind of attention that consumes us or becomes synonymous with an obsessive compulsive disorder.

I think that scientists (which I am one of) have killed the joy in eating.

Sir Hans Adolf Krebs....as in Krebs cycle...TCA...Citric Acid Cycle...

This is a problem. Pre scientific discovery of catabolism and anabolism (the breakdown of foodstuffs to monomers (or at least smaller units) to release energy and the body's construction of polymers and use of energy for re-building processes, respectively) by the way thank you to those who collaborated in the development of  GLYCOLYSIS and Sir Hans Adolf Krebs for the citric acid/Krebs/TCA cycle , for making all of us scientists memorize your proposed cycle....darned oxaloacetate and Acetyl CoA (although the Pyruvate/AcetylCoA shunt is pretty cool).

 Undergrad Biochemistry + Glycolysis, TCA, and the ETC: I may look happy in this picture. It is simple to eat a delicious POP burger in NYC ... it is NOT easy to outline the processes that each ingredient in the burger undergoes in our bodies. . . been there.

Wow that was a tangent. Let me start over; Pre scientific discovery of catabolism and anabolism, people ate what was a) available b) they could produce c) what they knew from their culture. Now we have more choices than ever and seem to have no idea what we should really be eating. As if we are unwilling to accept that the answer could be simple, eating fruits and vegetables are good and moderation in eating overall is a good thing, we try to make rules. The way things are heading, I would guess that we want some sort of "meal in a pill."

Well...I certainly do not. I have just discovered quinoa and I want to make it and enjoy it with friends.

Starting with our daily life...

Adam and Eve...

How organic is our workday. I remember in the Garden of Eden when I used to sit, naked because this was pre- apple incident of 3500 B.C., and work for at least 8 hours in a strange bent, sort-of, orientation called "sitting." Then I would go home and because Adam also had to work, dual income needed to support little Cain and Abel, I have only a limited amount of time so I have to rely on others to provide dinner from a factory....wait there are not others yet.

Back in the day, no production = no consumption. I recently thought it would be novel to start making my own bread. Until I opened my good friend Danielle's Better Home's cookbook to learn how complicated this endevor may prove to be. I may have to quite going to school if I plan to eat the literal fruits er...bread of my labor.

Point being: food production is hard and complicated. BUT we now have convenient markets BUT we now have abundant choices which we try endlessly to make...BUT even those who try to make CORRECT and HEALTHY food choices...well...how do they figure what is "healthy" and "unhealthy?" what is "good" and what is "evil" in the marketplace of foods.

 I adore nutrition. This is my master's degree....but people....don't be quick to believe drastic food claims. Listen to your body. And think about oxidative phosphorylation....I am kidding...don't do that. Unless you are a geek like me, that may ruin your appetite.

Think about what it means to gain satisfaction from your food and meals. Is that what you are currently gaining from your: I don't have time to eat so I eat in my car, bar-shaped food, stuff in a shake, stuff on a plate that I don't know the origin of, stuff that I don't really enjoy, stuff from a package that makes crinkling noises, stuff with ingredients that are hard to decipher? I am still guilty of some of the above, but I am taking baby steps away. I would like to ask you - - will you join me? E-mail me brittanykunza@gmail.com and let me know if you are with me! I can help with some info and suggestions.

I think that nutrition science has made a BIG Type 1 error. (In epidemiological terms - this is when a claim of association is made when really one does not exist). Lets backtrack to our roots and soil. Don't eat dirt, because that is a disease called pika, but lets eat from the soil or darned close to it.

Baked eggplant and vegetable cous-couse

Stop eating stuff and start eating food. No, none of us have time, but that is not my area of expertise. If something means enough to you...no matter what it takes, you will make it happen.

Bon Apetit my beautiful and handsome friends! Now go and enjoy freakin baguette :) Enjoy your food...don't obsess over it . . and enjoy one of my current favorite songs - - makes me want to dance and celebrate a healthy and active life! Waka-Waka

Columbia University Medical Center in New York - Student Housing (the Towers) - - video tour of my appartment

It has been several months in the waiting. I apologize. Somewhere between mid-terms and finals I got lost in my biochemistry notes, only to resurface recently and get back to blogging! Due to guests coming for the holidays, the apartment was in tip-top shape and I thought it would be the best time to share it with the world.

My big-little Christmas Tree

If you are a prospective Columbia University graduate student on the Morningside Heights campus (nursing, medicine, dental, public health, nutrition etc) 

this will come in handy as there are mysteriously little to no pictures of the graduate housing options online. Feel free to contact me with any questions. For student housing, you can either be assigned housing (priority goes to those who are traveling from greater distances), or you can contact the housing office about a "J&S" lease. I don't know what the J or the S stand for but basically this circumstance allows the remaining tenant to fill the additional rooms in the apartment rather than the school doing arbitrarily choosing the roommates - - this may give you some more options BUT they fill up fast and housing may not cooperate right off the bat with maintenance requests. They will get the vacant bedrooms in great shape (new paint/waxed floors) but the rest of the house they consider the "common area" and not their responsibility.

Before bathroom = Yuck

Luckily if you visit the New York City website you can find laws for renters and tenants, you can find laws that justify your request and get the black mold/broken stove/thrashed walls (not always the case) taken care of.

In a prior blog post from August, I posted the before pictures of the apartment.

The Kitchen - -I apologize for my quiet narration, my roommates were home and I thought they would find it odd if I was talking to myself.

 The Dining Area and my many umbrellas and shoes - - mind you, much of this furniture was left behind by the prior renters. So please excuse our Hodge-podge of items! 

The Bathroom - - grandma was on bleach probation when we first cleaned this bad-boy. Black mold and all - - housing also stepped in to re-paint, new medicine cabinet and ripped out the strange torture-looking device that they claim was to dry clothes...hmmm.

The Living Room - - this room actually gets less living than the rest of the apartment. With first year dental students as roommates and my one year master's program ( Institute of Human Nutrition)  - - we have not had a whole lot of time to hangout in the living room....

 Last but not least,  maybe the only time you will be allowed into.....my bedroom with the fantastic view of the George Washington Bridge. It is very important to own a sweater that matches your desk lamp....

Morality and Science; Know the Standards and Scandals of Science Based Information - and buy E.coli.

In an afternoon lecture regarding ethical issues involved in research, I had a thought.... ( pause for thinking faces below)

Sometimes we need to go to Chicago to think about morality and science

how does science know about ethics? To consider what is ethical requires some moral code to reference.

To make a moral code, there needs to be some idea of what is good.

So...science (which I am a part of) what is good? What is Bad? What type of scandals occur behind the scenes that may have minor to severe implications, such as vitamin or drug recommendations. Could this help to explain fluctuating nutritional recomendations that flood the market and why I eat chocolate, don't eat chocolate, drink wine, take calcium then don't for fear of aggressive prostate cancer...then remember I don't have a prostate... it can all become very confusing for the consumer (me included) - but you SHOULD be supplementing with vitamin D!! There is significant evidence that most of us are deficient (aim for around 400-500IU per day - although most supplements that I find are at least 1,000 IU , I don't have an answer for you on that, I take one every other day) - - remember this is a fat soluble vitamin which means your body does not excrete it as readily as water soluble vitamins (like the B vitamins)  - - this means toxicity in high doses can be an issue and that one may argue that absorption is better if consumed with food containing some fat content.

  AND

Science, how is that moral code working out for you?

The Moral Parameters of Scientists. 

Within the blue bubble are some things that scientists/health care professionals/researchers try to avoid. 

To get rid of these sins-of-science, very strict parameters and systems have been made (yellow box).  

(for more information on what the above are click here - Hippocratic Oath, HIPAA, IRB)

Dishonesty 

• skewing data
•  Fabricating Data
• Plagiarizing colleague's data
• doctors choosing their career or path based on financial reasons (this is ridiculous unless pursing plastic surgery - cost of schooling plus the cost of malpractice insurance means choosing to be a physician on the basis of money is a complete fallacy)
• bias when reporting information and so on. 

Coercion

• $$ still makes the world go-round.
• FUNDING (this is vital) - if you have read a study lately, look at who funds it an be weary that if coercion or dishonesty have entered the picture, the results may point to favorable findings based on where the money comes from.

• The ADA (American Dietetics Association) - - - see other blog. I was APPALLED to see who was funding the group that claims to be "nutrition experts" - - a HUGE loss of credibility in my eyes....(interested yet!)...quackery but more about that in a later post...

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Bias

• Maintaining objectivity is not always done-- if researchers want an outcome, they know how to work the numbers to achieve that outcome, the question is, do they value results or morality/integrity more?
• Who is studied in these trials that yield results that impact our public health programs and recommendations?  - - have you ever considered that the people in a test population are not a very good representation of the truth or even lack generalization to the general population. 

Inequality of Treatment

•  Per-say a researcher is thrilled about a new screening method and gives certain cases much  more attention than others. This "preferential bias" will inaccurately overestimate the results of a study.

• Perhaps subjects were chosen on the basis that they would provide the results of interest

 Invasion of Privacy (In a more clinical aspect of things)

• HIPAA - - patient confidentiality. Nothing is supposed to be shared outside of specific parameters. 
• In a research setting - - often identifiable information is separated from the specimen being used or turned into a code with the key locked and monitored by a third party

 BUT WHO CARES IF THEY LIE, OR TALK ABOUT A PATIENT'S HEMORRHOIDS IN THE ELEVATOR OR FABRICATE RESULTS OR FRAME QUESTIONS TO GET STUDY SUBJECTS TO ANSWER FAVORABLY......who will stop these rogue scientists?


One thing that the moral laws of science is lacking is accountability. What omniscient review board or group can get into the minds of and convict those to want to maintain integrity? And to make a full circle - -what is integrity without morality?

Just some food for thought =) As a Take Home - beware of what you hear/read and choose to believe. Even in science and medicine, never trust blindly. 

BUT guess who is back in full-force..... little e.coli ! and she is spreading to others.... ( pun very much intended)

 

Cousin Sarah With her very own e.coli......

Natural Habitat

 You might not believe it but...you also can get your very own E.coli right HERE
 
 d

(Part II) Why "breast is best," for you and your baby.

 This is a continuation from the Breast Feeding Part I post. WARNING  - What you are about to read may change you and your baby's life for the best! Stop reading now if your baby's IQ, your weight, and your pocket-book are of no concern...

Formula Costs Money$ ; Breast Milk is Free.

Talk about eliminating the middle men...er industries. There is really no such thing as a free lunch, but this may be as close as it gets. Perhaps it was stubborn feminism or WIC (Women, Infants, and Children - now supporting breast feeding, by the way) that led people away from breastfeeding, but I can't fathom paying for something that one can otherwise get essentially for free.

Women love the FREE gift with purchase at Lancome or Clinique, we love the FREE food samples at Costco and Sam's Club... 

 ...they apparently love the FREE benefits of online FREE dating

In fact we love $$FREE so much that we have websites that somehow make money off  of FREE stuff

 WWW.FREE.COM

AND....we must not forget one of the most profitable and well known....Craigslist ...

What is my point?

None of this stuff is actually free but we obviously have an affinity for bargains...especially when they come with added bonuses such as...something that costs more money than usual to offset the price of the "free" item, stalkers on the "free" dating sites who are really NOT 190lb with an athletic build (unless round is the new athletic build), an eternity of spam mail, and bed bugs (if you live in NY and are looking for that "NEW" mattress on Craigslist). 

What if there was something that could: make you loose weight (women should already be interested because on average we all want to loose 5lb), make your baby smarter, and not touch your wallet. 

Um ... breastfeed. 

According to Dr. Sally Lederman, Special Lecturer at Columbia University, breastfeeding has been shown to raise a child's IQ (research shows) and help mom's utilize approximately 500 extra calories per day in the content and production of breast milk . 

Now that I have the men interested with a large picture of a breast.....

Why else should women breastfeed (as if your baby's IQ is not enough)

The Female Breasts Need at Least Two Purposes. 

We multi-task in everything else that we do - why shouldn't our breasts have an equal opportunity to do the same? - - I don't have anything academically remarkable to say about this. However, we did learn that size, of the breast, does not matter. Women with smaller breasts versus larger breasts should not be any less able or more able, respectively, to produce milk.

As an interesting physiological tie in - Oxytocin is a feed-forward hormone while most other hormones undergo negative feedback inhibition. What this means is that while other hormones, when stimulated and in abundance, tell the body to stop producing that particular hormone, Oxytocin does the opposite. This remarkable hormone is responsible for the continually increased intensity and frequency of contractions during child-birth (also interesting tid-bit "pitocin" is the synthetic form of oxytocin that is administered to induce labor/contractions). Another interesting tid-bit....oxytocin is involved in a female's orgasm.

Conclusion: Breast is Best.

It is cheesy but true. I don't care what fallacy I am committing in claiming an absolute - this is my blog and I think breastfeeding (and breasts) are the best way to go - if you are nervous to beast feed because of the "milk letdown" that may occur in inappropriate settings...say at work, leaving your blouse with awkward spots, try LilyPadz. These silicone inserts prevent milk leakage and have been highly recommended by personal friends and family with breast feeding experience.

Other recommended sites for resources regarding the benefits of breastfeeding - please see the links below:

- Click Here-

   -Click Here-

I welcome all criticism with confidence.  

Comment below or write to BrittanyKunza@gmail.com

Halloween in New York - in the end I prefer giant sweet potatoes and tiny pears

Yesterday (Halloween Oct 31st) some friends and I took a break from studying, which reminded me why I need to study.

Halloween in New York is not like Halloween in Los Angeles. I am not even sure most people recognize Halloween in LA, except for my uncle David who recognizes Halloween on my behalf as a classy Corvette driving Elvis.

Personally - I would be studying for mid-terms upstairs with all of the lights off...inconvenient for studying... but felt it was bad practice to hand out candy to kids and goblin princesses. I am not one to promote dental carries and childhood obesity.

Fruits and vegetables should be passed out instead.

In New York, I am fairly certain most kids have gotten shoved out of the celebration so the ever more immature adults can dress themselves as: a giant boob (traveling in 3's ... this was coordinated by men), a man covered in blown-up latex gloves, a Jew dating a Nun, several men with only diaper-like things on, impersonators of the ever-more-forceful street evangelists with a, "the end is near" sign, and a tinfoil man or what I presumed to be leftovers from Gladstone's restaurant.  Despite not knowing if the street evangelist or the bum, seemed more theatrical than usual said one of my friends, were actual costumes - I do know one thing - - despite being around 35 degrees out, the cold did not stop the scantly clad from making a statement.

"Aren't you cold," I asked. "I am DYING!" - she said. Needless to say - still a creative costume. - Posing with friend Trisa on right.

While I am more apt to be dressed as the panda in the background - warm and a much better way to attract the men...(?).. this woman was BRAVE.

Some other happenings included:

The Parade in West Village which we accidentally saw twice due to walking in circles...it was worth it!

Street Break Dancing (or brake dancing? - I need to pull out my Urban Dictionary)

A restaurant for my people (nerds):

And a national monument...not so much related to Halloween.

Left to right: Jane, Trisa, Me ( I am a pumpkin..?)

 Brittany sleeping in the train....like mother like daughter!

At the end of the day all I really wanted were some really good crepes (thank you tour guide Anthony! and the random Russian guy who was willing to share his while we waited for ours)....and to return to my natural habitat:

Columbia

And Study groups generally organized by Kirk and including a GIANT sweet potato and tiny pears (thank you Ming!) - we all do love a good farmer's market! **note**this was not the best non-strategic centerpiece layout.