5 easy green ways to save $ at home

Veggies protect your prostate (if you have one)

The Molecular Nutrition and Food Research just published data that suggests a diet high in vegetable intake can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The primary mechanism of this protective vegetable effect is antioxidant protection against DNA and cell damage.

Trick New Bikes for Easier Commuting

Robin's Eco Simple column in this Sunday's Examiner (DC regional and San Francisco regional editions) ... two cool new bicycles to make self-powered commuting easier. The article appears on page 29 of the San Francisco and bay area editions, and in DC area editions including: http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?eid=a6c97966-b6e5-461d-814e-600abef44cb2&pnum=44

Love Handles Put the Squeeze on Lungs

Another reason to battle bulging love handles: Not only is abdominal obesity associated with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and other health problems collectively known as “metabolic syndrome,” a new study indicates that a high waist circumference is strongly associated with decreased lung function.

Paris-based researchers analyzed data from more than 120,000 people and published the results this month in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The researchers adjusted for age, sex, BMI [body mass index], smoking history, alcohol consumption, exercise and cardiovascular history. Natalie Leone, M.D., of French National Institute for Health and Medical Research wrote: "We found a positive independent relationship between lung function impairment and metabolic syndrome due mainly to abdominal obesity.” They defined abdominal obesity as having a waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.

Home Sweet Savings

Click the link above to access Robin's latest Eco Simple column in editions of the Examiner nationwide, including DC and San Francisco. By the way, the price-per-square-foot of the featured home – Heather's Home – is ONLY $117!

Soybean dish lowers Alzheimer's and heart attack risk

Newswise - A vegan food renowned in Asia for its ability to protect against heart attacks also shows a powerful ability in lab experiments to prevent formation of the clumps of tangled protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease, scientists in Taiwan are reporting. Their study is in the Feb. 11 issue of ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Rita P. Y. Chen and colleagues point out that people in Asia have been eating natto — a fermented food made from boiled soybeans —for more than 1,000 years. Natto contains an enzyme, nattokinase, that has effects similar to clot-busting drugs used in heart disease.Nattokinase is sold a dietary supplement to improve the body’s circulatory system. The scientists term this the first study on whether nattokinase also can dissolve amyloids. Those tangled proteins are involved in Alzheimer’s disease and several other health problems.

In the study, the nattokinase degraded several kinds of amyloid fibrils, suggesting its possible use in the treatment of amyloid-related diseases. “Moreover, since natto has been ingested by humans for a long time, it would be worthwhile to carry out an epidemiological study on the rate of occurrence of various amyloid-related diseases in a population regularly consuming natto,” the scientists say.

Rain gardens: improve your yard, save our waterways

About rain gardens and how to make one - my Eco Simple column in the Feb. 8 Examiner ... DC, MD, Virginia and San Francisco editions. Access by clicking this post's title.

Link to the article in the DC edition: http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?eid=21460818-da15-4092-b578-5009726b98ed&pnum=36