Anxiety was the topic of conversation with a customer the other day. He reckoned we are so anxious now because of all the coffee we drink. I think he may have a point.
 
No coffee no workee is a fridge magnet I have at home and hey it is familiar! I do like a cup of coffee with raw cream..!
 
While I rage at the proliferation of Monster in recent years perhaps I should pay more attention to the coffee? Have you noticed how the coffee cup is the ultimate accessory?
 
The habit of walking and drinking may be amplifying the stress in our lives. Today the coffee has become more like confectionary. Syrups and UPFs. Diabetes in a cup anyone?
 
Walking purposefully with the cup on the way to work in the morning. A familiar scene of modernity.
 
I remember when this concept was novel. Living in London in 2000 for a year of study I was not only living very frugally, the sight of all those corporate types rushing about carrying those cups of steaming coffee was so tempting and unobtainable due to the cost for me. The scene was so trendy… queues for the coffee before a busy day of corporateness. Oh how I longed to have one! Instead I would budget a pot of coffee into my flask and walk past on my way to college. Certainly not cool to walk and drink with a flask cup en route then.
 
Looking back I ask now what was the rush? Where are those corporate types now? Burned out? Frazzled? Anxious? Was it all worth it?
 
Coffee is an incredible product that has shaped how we live. We often quote how the mediterranean diet includes this food. Images of elderly men drinking from tiny cups in  social context come to mind. This is very different from our giant confectionary mugs on the go.  Maybe its time to go real again… 

Anne Maher

Thinking a lot lately about the Terrain theory. There is so much more to learn about this but hey every day is a school day. You’ll notice the theme running through though and there are many conversations being had about it inside.
 
Germ theory is our go to for the current health system. A bacteria/fungus/mold/virus invades and we get sick. We test for the presence of said germs with a repertoire of lab work and proxy markers. A positive result initiates a consequence…medication, surgery, culling. Trust the science they say… in reality we place far too much trust in the TEST.
 
Speaking to farmers about the compulsory TB testing, I can only imagine the horror of finding that the herd reacts to the test and has to be put down. The farmer gets a nominal compensation. But animals end up in the food system and profit is made. So it is a lucrative concept. But not for the farmer. No wonder they question the validity of this process of animal health.
 
We all became familiar with PCR testing in recent years. How society had to behave on the result of a tiny window demonstrating thin lines..
 
What about all the false positives of testing and screening? 1 in 10 mammograms give a false positive. Our brains fill in the gaps of fear associated with a positive result. Our bodies are traumatised enough with the processes involved with “healthcare”. Such fear and stress has a negative effect on our healing capacity.  Does the end justify the means? I guess so if your business relies on making money from it.
 
Screening is justified as essential to help pick up cancer etc.. but what about the side effects of the screening process? Interventions are well intentioned but are there are always unintended consequences… life teaches us this lesson time and time again.
 
Like regenerative farming we need to cultivate a way to recognise how to improve our terrain. Nature often does the heavy lifting as these farmers are finding out. We can apply the same principles to ourselves.
 
Don’t expect to heal if you keep insulting your body. A pill, a surgery may only provide a temporary solution and suppress the symptom of your body trying hard to help you heal. We have been encouraged to hand over our trust to a system and disregard our own intuition. The consequences may be worse in the long run.
 
Like modern farming with chemicals…the solution is temporary, the system benefits and the long term harm is catastrophic. Returning to the intuition of nature is a leap of faith and tradition. Often it is simply the basics and letting nature take over. Sleep, sunshine, nourishing food, connection. 

Anne Maher

Perhaps I am a catastrophist. Perhaps it’s a negative mindset that I grew up with. A throwback to famine days? Perhaps it is because I studied the area of nutrition in emergencies and once planned to go work at a therapeutic feeding centre in Africa. But I often imagine the scenario of our shelves empty of food and the panic that ensues for the population. What would you do if your pantry was bare? Where would you go? Is there a local farmer you trust where you can get some food? Is there a garden nearby? How far is it from your home? Do you know how to get there? How would we organise ourselves to share food in an emergency?
 
I imagine if I were very used to having a Just Eat system arriving every day I would struggle to cope starting from scratch to find food again. Our just in time systems are amazing when they work and a real problem when they don’t. As I type I don’t know what is going to happen with war plans, oil traffic and laws of unintended consequences. I do know that the skills involved in growing and producing food are vitally important, more so when there are times of scarcity. Perhaps we will learn to value just how much pretty soon enough. 

​Anne Maher

We often hear the phrase Food is Medicine and it is thankfully something that is being recognised officially. In general our experience shows the pattern of customers finding that they resort to better food after the medical medicine fails them. We are slow to learn the value and power of food. Culinary medicine is also a phrase we like. Really we want to be able to eat food that heals us. Getting the balance right is the hard part. With so much conflicting advice to listen to on what is considered healthy food the stress of decision making is enough to keep you sick!!
 
Medicine has evolved of course and I see a merging of thought happening where nutrition is finally being seen as a strategy in the medical world. Functional Medicine is a “branch” of medicine that in relative recent years has embraced the concept of food as part of the healing strategies. Invariably you will see organic food recommended. Why is that? The reason is clear. The toxic load of pesticides etc is one of the reasons we are sick. Heavy metals overload from our environment is also being recognised. Mercury, Aluminium, Lead are well known to be toxic to our bodies. Neurological symptoms are very associated. Dedicated testing strategies can help you build a picture. There are strategies to help. Personally a number of years ago I had my mercury fillings removed and replaced. Chelation from heavy metals involve protocols that are available to find online. There is a lot of information to take in if you embrace the functional medicine route as you are actively involved in your own healing process. But this is an important facet because I believe for too long we had become passive recipients of modern medicine. Free GP care & Free screening are so tempting today as we seek the solace that our health is being looked after but in reality the outcome is yet more medication and intervention overload that may be doing extra harm.
 
Modern medicine still has a long way to go to catch up as it deals with resolving the symptoms only, not the cause. Subtle difference but it is important to know. We often hear that consultants will say that food has no effect on the condition involved. I have heard this so many times from people (even those who have heard this line from their gastroenterologist!). The arrogance of such certainty never fails to amaze me. For all those experts out there, it’s ok to say you don’t know! Don’t dismiss food as a potential ally in the healing journey.
 
Functional medicine is a positive way forward for people to take control of  health. We are fortunate to have information at our fingertips and being able to decipher it helps considerably. Nutritional therapists use this approach and have a great network so they are worth following up as a gateway to understanding your health. The power is in your hands.  

Anne Maher

Not many people like January. It is long, busy and quite a chore. What a busy month we have had in January with visitors etc here at the Co-op! Many discussions and plans with the year beginning as The Urban Co-op is a magnet for good intention! It is also though a season of sickness and caring and reverting to the Mother role. The trend is obvious. Fill up with sugar from October to December and pay the price later. Christmas is a time that encourages parties and events. They are exhausting! Pressure to fulfill responsibilities to family and friends with gifts blah blah blah… January comes and the guard is down. But sickness creeps in. I have found this each year. I have learned to slow down and semi hibernate when I can. We joke that we cannot afford to get sick as we end up stepping in for those who are. I certainly feel a responsibility to stay well. Early nights to bed and seaweed baths have become my therapy.
 
But I also have learned to embrace the role of carer when the pre adults get sick and recognise it is an important time to knit family together. How many of us have felt very inconvenienced when the children get sick? Sales of Calpol tell a story. This is a conversation that has emerged lately here where the female energy is vital for co-operatives success. I can see why! So many mothers keeping the show on the road when the troops are sick.. honestly I don’t know how ye would manage with out us! 

​Anne Maher

Change is inevitable in life, and how we react to it is a mark of our resilience.  What helps us to adapt when we need to face change? How often has a crisis happened to you that, in hindsight, you valued for the lessons it taught you? I acknowledge we live in a world where tragedy and misfortune can be milked for the attention it gets. For some, the identity of tragedy is a badge to display and rehash to the newest audience. Psychologists echo the victim-victimiser narrative that has been a feature of our generation. Resilience, though, is one response that is underemphasised. Instead of amplifying the victimhood and drama surrounding the same, perhaps we should emphasise strategies for managing crisis and change. I must admit to getting some satisfaction from teaching this to my teenage daughter. Rule one: Bad things will happen. Rule two: Put it in perspective. Rule three: Have a plan to adapt. Rule four: Each choice has a consequence..
 
Taking ownership of our health in this way, we can apply those rules too. Perhaps we can change rule four to rule one. Let’s say we choose to eat lots of ultra-processed products because they are cheap and convenient. Let's say we get sick from same. Let's say we decide that’s just the way it is, it's inevitable. Then adapt our life to illness. Or lets say we turn it around when the crisis hits and we change diet to real foods, organic, clean etc… we learn to nourish ourselves again and think consciously about health. We find life changes in dramatically positive ways…we find our tribe, and it becomes a fun adventure of opportunity.. each choice has a consequence. Resilience is learned early, but with the right choices becomes easier. Sometimes change is the best catalyst!
 
We look forward to the change coming for The Urban Co-op. Time to adapt and build our resilience. 

Anne Maher

I suffer from a condition that I wonder is common? Though I might be recovering slightly over the years. Perhaps it’s a maturation of sorts and perhaps it is a realisation that has dawned more. We all see the world through different eyes and experience a different world depending on our circumstances. My problem is that I find it difficult to understand when others don’t see what I think is very obvious to the world. Opportunities to share your view of the world are fraught with censorship and self regulation though and our algorithms keep us firmly in our own lanes mostly. So as I learn to understand this reality more I am becoming more accepting that it is vital we keep talking to each other and be open to learn. Especially if the topic challenges your previous beliefs.. Edward De Bono has always appealed to me with his work on lateral thinking. Stretching our thinking to solve problems. The creativity of solutions are appealing. Working upstream on problems to prevent them happening does seem logical though and I cannot help but feel this point is fairly obvious to most..but perhaps it is my own delusion!
 
Let me point you to some topical information… I thought you might be interested in the report out on Sepsis from the HSE. Sepsis is a word we are hearing more commonly now in our language. It is effectively normalised. Organ failure from infection that cannot be controlled is perhaps a simplified story that is understandably a fearful prospect for us all who may need to go to hospital. The report tells a story too of where we are in Ireland. Health reports are not every ones cup of tea. Data can be played with to tell an appropriate story. Page 12 gives an interesting graph if you take the time to look. As more awareness of the condition is raised the more cases are diagnosed. When the definition changes the trend does too. As for 2020, well it looks like a significant drop in numbers but those cases may have been reclassified to covid instead. You might be forgiven for thinking its not so bad. But what I see is a distinct trend upwards. Antibiotics have been a game changer for the health system but we are seeing more and more resistance where our bodies are not as strong to resist the damage. By the time you go to hospital you are relying on the expertise and medical intervention to help you recover. The warnings are there of course and have been for a number of years that the hospital itself is struggling to be the solution. In many cases they accelerate the problem of ill health. Medical errors & intervention are suggested to be a leading cause of death. I often see this quoted but again I wonder about the source of the data and how this is manipulated. But let’s go back a bit shall we?
 
Antibiotic resistance is due to overuse of antibiotics and our bodies getting too used to the effect. How many courses of antibiotics have you had in the last few years? If you are counting your visits to the doctor you probably can remember…
 
If on the other hand you are used to consuming UPF and non organic foods you might be surprised that your antibiotic load will be significant with out you knowing. Roundup (glyphosate) is a registered antibiotic as well as a herbicide. Conventional grain is sprayed liberally with it. At many stages of growth and harvest. Fruits, meats, vegetables all have their dose too. Your daily loaf of bread may be the reason that your immune system takes a battering when you least need it to. How about sugar? It’s the season for sugar from October to December. Don’t think the sugar cane fields escape their dose of glyphosate to manage the yields demanded by addicted consumers…
 
And how about those cosmetic chemicals to add to the mix as well as our house cleaning chemicals..
 
Our bodies can take so much until they can’t. I am sympathetic to the medical world that is expected to work miracles at the last minute. Time is a great healer they say and time is what we have to use wisely. Build your immune system strength every day with real food! Eat organic foods! Minimise your toxic load. Give your self a chance. Don’t wait until you have to compete for a trolley space!

​Anne Maher

Our recent trip to Salt Lake City in Utah was a revelation in more ways than one. My brain hurts as I feel the cells growing and stretching!! It was fascinating…!
 
Interesting to note it had been 39 years since I last set foot in the US. A teenager experiencing an exciting new environment. Away from college, the farm and late 80s, it was only for the summer weeks on a J1 visa. But I remember a large gathering of family and relatives at the house before I left as if it was for a lifetime. Memories of emigration resonated. While my job was a live in au pair on the outskirts of Washington DC, I was so excited about the familiarity of McDonalds, Wendys, KFC. Still relatively new in Ireland at the time. It was like being on a movie set. First time on a plane. First time seeing obese people. I was so charmed by the pizza delivery concept. Far from it I was raised. Our food system has significantly changed in these years and I believe Taco Bell has arrived recently to add to the growing list of US outlets.  Drone deliveries are a thing now… That didn’t take long!
 
It was no wonder that the irony of my trip was to follow the movement of traditional foods, raw milk, nourishing broth and the like! Who knew! How the wheel turns! Is this a circular economy in action? 

​Anne Maher