More than beans cause gas: How about flying?

by Jamie Rhein on

According to Abha’s recent post, chickens produce less gas and therefore are more healthy for the environment than beef. In an article I just read, “Bloating, gas can create high anxiety while flying in an airplane,” people with gas problems have more than beans to worry about. The condition is called jet bloat. To make matters worse, those things that you do to relieve problems like ear pressure pain make bloating increase. Chewing gum, for example, brings in more air. Throw down a couple of free sodas (or in the case of Skybus, $2 sodas) and you will really feel like you’re about to pop.

Think of yourself as that complimentary bag of chips that gets passed out as a snack ($2 if you fly Skybus.) Did you ever notice the extra air in those? That’s because at higher altitudes air expands. Just like the chips, your stomach expands with air build up the higher up you go. Since what goes in likes to come out, for those who are more naturally gaseous, this can be a problem. No worries. If you can quietly let out the extra, it’s odorless. However, if you want to avoid the build-up, the article outlines foods and drinks to avoid.

Here they are: fried foods, beans, bananas, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, carbonated sodas and caffeinated drinks. Here’s a nother resource that lists other foods to avoid. Oh, and medication like Gas-X doesn’t prevent air build-up, it just makes getting rid of gas faster.

Bahamas tour that doesn’t include Anna Nicole Smith

by Jamie Rhein on

When I saw the New York Times article “36 Hours in the Nassau, the Bahamas,” I wondered if anything having to do with Anna Nicole Smith would be included. [see previous post] Right after Anna Nicole died, taxi drivers would take folks who wanted to see the pertinent places of her life and death on unofficial tours.

The New York Times article didn’t mention Anna at all. Not a peep. Instead of dabbling in low brow culture, go high brow. In 36 hours you can take in the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, swim with sharks, watch a cricket game, meander through the botanical gardens and more.

When my dad and daughter went to the Bahamas on a quick cruise, my dad wasn’t too impressed with Nassau. If he’d had the itinerary outlined in the article, he probably would have come away with a totally different idea. Still, there’s a lot about going to the Bahamas that sounds like lounging and the beach. He’s not a lounger–and he doesn’t smoke cigars as suggested, but the Poop Deck Restaurant would have been perfect.

Fight global-warming by eating chicken

by Abha Malpani on

For someone who is a sacrilegious beef-eating Hindu carnivore, I have many ‘official’ reasons to quit eating meat, but I love my steak and chicken-wings, so that’s not going to happen. (In my caste, we cannot even eat egg).

Which is why I was thrilled to read that eating chicken can help combat global warming drastically!

A recent story on Salon explains in a nutshell: the amount of energy and resources we invest in breeding animals for food, alongside naturally toxic excretions of those animals, is more responsible for global-warming than burning fossil fuels. However, poultry are the least polluting. (Gore, did you know this?).

The story throws in some shocking statistics:

  • “livestock accounts for 18 percent of global warming emissions worldwide, more than the entire transportation sector” — why is this not in Al Gore’s film?!
  • “cattle, bison, sheep and goats burp out a lot of methane that traps 23 times more heat per ton than carbon dioxide” — and we’ve been fretting about spraying deodorant?!
  • “the difference between a vegan diet and one that includes cheeseburgers is less than 2 tons of greenhouse gases a year — that’s about the equivalent of switching from a Camry to a Prius” — I wonder what Toyota would have to say about that.

With that in mind, eating beef is the worst; then comes cattle, sheep and goat; and then pork and dairy products are relatively less harmful. Pork and dairy hold the same place in the environment?!

Conclusion: if you want to change your diet to combat global-warming — eating chicken is the best thing you can do. Chickens don’t “burp” methane and they produce only one-tenth the methane of cattle waste.

Now who would have thought!

Big in Japan: Tuna fish will soon be extinct

by Matthew Firestone on

Bluefin tuna are amazing creatures.

First of all, they’re freakin’ huge – a prize-catch can weigh nearly a ton, and stretch to nearly 10 feet.

Like human beings, they’re also warm-blooded, which allows them to live everywhere from the tropics to the poles.

They can also accelerate as fast as a sports car.

As any Japanese person can tell you, they’re also the centerpiece of the Japanese diet. Whether you’re partial to maguro (?????; tuna) or toro (????; fatty tuna belly), one thing is for certain – tuna are delicious.

Of course, this why bluefin tuna will most likely be extinct sometime in the next fifty years.

It’s hard to imagine a fish like tuna becoming extinct, especially since they’ve been so abundant in the world for most of recorded history. However, numbers are falling dramatically, and it’s very unlikely that the population can sustain itself for much longer.

In fact, fisheries have collapsed before, and it’s likely that they will do so again.

In 1993, the cod population vanished on the Grand Banks near Newfoundland in Canada, which has since then devastated the local economy.

So, are we perhaps the last generation ever to enjoy fresh sushi?

Perhaps.

Approximately one year ago, British scientists issued a report warning that within the next fifty years, there will most likely be nothing left to fish from the sea. According to the report, nearly one-third of historical sea fisheries have already collapsed, and the rate of decline is accelerating.

The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Science, partly attributed the fishery decline to the global increase in the popularity of sushi.

Despite the demand for more tuna, bigger vessels, better nets, and new technology for spotting fish are not resulting in bigger returns. On the contrary, the global catch of blue fin tuna fell by 13% between 1994 and 2003.

Dr. Steve Palumbi, a scientist at Stanford who worked on the project, told the press: “Unless we fundamentally change the way we manage all the ocean species together, as working ecosystems, then this century is the last century of wild seafood.”

Eeek.

Sadly, it may be to late to save the noble bluefin tuna.

Last month, Europea banned tuna fishing in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean for the rest of the year. The move was taken to curb over-fishing and dwindling stocks of fish after the EU reached its 2007 quota.

Atlantic bluefin tuna is the best quality tuna in the world, and fisheries earn top dollar exporting the fish to the lucrative Japanese market.

However, existing bluefin tuna stocks are being plundered, with high rates of overfishing being reported by virtually every single country in the European Union.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) sets annual fishing quotas to be followed by all member countries.

With that said, conservation groups are cynical of ICCAT, and are partial to calling them the International Commission to Catch All Tuna!

Whether you loved canned tuna and mayo or fresh sashimi with a splash of soy sauce, it’s probably best to just enjoy the fish while it’s still around…

Big in Japan: Happi Harroween!!!

by Matthew Firestone on

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For those of you who can’t read Japanese – Happi Harroween!!

Yes, I know it’s still the middle of October, but here in Japan, Halloween is catching on in a big way.

From pumpkin flavored cappuccinos and pastas in Tokyo’s trendiest cafes and restaurants to witches and wizards adorning the window displays of even the most upscale of department stores, the Japanese are embracing the Halloween spirit.

It’s not hard to see why.

The Japanese are some of the world’s most avid consumers, with fine dining and shopping being something of a national obsession. And, let’s not forget about the fact that foreign trends are always the height of fashion in Japan.

Being an American, I’ll be the first person to say that the last thing the world needs is more McDonald’s and Starbucks on every single street corner from London to Tokyo. But, it’s hard not to love Halloween, especially since it’s the perfect excuse to wear a silly costume and blow your diet on gobs of candy.

Take for instance the Halloween party I threw for my students this past Saturday night.

When I’m not writing blogs for Gadling or on the road for Lonely Planet, I’ve been known to teach English from time to time. Of course, learning English is more than just cramming vocabulary and learning the difference between the simple past and the progressive past.

(Actually, I’ve never been that good at grammar, which is probably why I avoid trying to teach it all costs!)

Anyway, learning English should be about creating natural environments for students to practice their language skills in, which is why international parties are all the rage here in Tokyo.

Anyone who’s ever studied a foreign language can attest to the fact that it’s easier to speak when you’re absolutely hammered. There’s something about copious amounts of alcohol in the bloodstream that seems to awaken the brain, depress your inhibitions and loosen the tongue.

Needles to say, copious amounts of alcohol were imbibed at the first annual Halloween costume party at my English school. The night started out with yours truly, decked out in my best Matrix-inspired devil’s costume, welcoming everyone to the party, doing a keg stand and thus setting the standard for the madness that followed.

If there are any doubts about Japanese people’s ability to drink alcohol, I would urge you to spend a few drunken crazy nights here in Tokyo.

Yes, Japanese people do turn red when they drink alcohol, which is actually a minor allergy caused by a faulty enzyme. And yes, Japanese people do tend to puke fairly early on in the night, though the famous ‘boot and rally’ is something of a source of pride here.

But, I can assure you that the Japanese people party like it was their job, which is probably why my liver has slowly started failing me since moving to Japan. In spite of my Eastern European blood, my Japanese friends always set the pace, which is usually more alcohol than any sane individual should consume in one night.

Perhaps this is why I can’t remember most of the Halloween party…

Fortunately, I took a lot of pictures, and even though I’m not sure what’s going on, it does seem like everyone is having fun, right?