Last week we spent some time talking about The Glycemic Index (GI).  

Well, if that wasn’t confusing enough, if you’d never heard of it, today we’re talking about the glycemic load (GL). Just when you were beginning to make sense of one term, it seems like we’re trying to complicate the matter.  We’re not, but we do need to clarify since one measure is actually a more accurate representation of what is going on than the other. Just to review, the GI measures only how rapidly a type of carbohydrate turns into sugar in your bloodstream without taking into account the amount of carbohydrate found in a typical serving of the food you eat, which makes a difference. Read the rest of this entry »

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse
When the Zombies come, will you be prepared?

We don’t know when or where or how it will begin, but we know this: the rise of the living dead will forever change the world we inhabit. With the power grid down, global trade halted, and brain-loving zombies roaming the countryside, you’ll need the hard skills to thrive off the grid. That’s why this Winter the Duke Campus Farm and Students for Sustainable Living are offering a series of hands-on workshops in everything from growing backyard mushrooms to foraging and fire-making. Join us for these fun workshops and you may even learn something that’s useful today. All workshops are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Read the rest of this entry »

Something to Chew On

My experience with the 2011 Campus-Wide Interfaith Fast

Joceyln Streid, T’13

Before November 29^th of this past semester, I had never fasted. Quite honestly, I had never seriously considered fasting. “It’s just never been part of my faith tradition,” I explained to a fellow Christian, relegating the fast to the ranks of what I viewed as culturally-relevant-but-theologically-optional practices varying from church to church.

For instance:

•  Some congregations take communion in little plastic cups. Others sip from a chalice.
•  Some congregations celebrate the Epiphany. Others simply give it a nod.
•  Some congregations rely on the organ to lift their voices to God. Others use Chris Tomlin.
•  And: some congregations fast. Others don’t. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever seen weight loss commercials claiming their product works using the “science of the glycemic index”, or have a friend who won’t eat white potatoes because  they have a high glycemic index? If you are wondering what all the hype is about, then read on.

The Glycemic Index is a measure of how much the sugar in certain foods that we classify as carbohydrates (breads, cereals, grains, starchy vegetables, fruits, and sugars) will raise your blood sugar (glucose) levels. Read the rest of this entry »

The Sweet Truth

What is your sweetener of choice? In an effort to improve the quality of their diets – and likely decrease the size of their waistlines— many people are looking for alternatives to good old table sugar.

Unless you are opting for a non-caloric sweetener—the ones in the pink, blue and yellow packets—the calories provided by natural sweeteners such as sugar, agave nectar, and honey are fairly equal, about 16 calories per teaspoon.

What’s the buzz around agave and other alternative sweeteners?   Read the rest of this entry »

Make the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday a day “on” rather than a day “off” by volunteering to package meals through Stop Hunger Now‘s Million Meals packaging event.  This will be held from 9:30 to 3:30 on Monday, Jan 16th at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life on campus.  This 6th Annual MLK Million Meals event is coordinated by Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and Durham Rotary Club and it is part of Duke Faith Council’s involvement in President Obama’s interfaith service challenge.

Students and community members will be packaging 80,000 meals which are composed of dehydrated rice/soy meal that is fortified with 21 essential vitamins and nutrients. Research has shown that one in three people in developing countries is adversely affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Addressing the problem of hunger is the single point where we can leverage relief for all humanitarian issues. Come be a part of the solution!

Visit the Duke MLK faceboook page for more information on this and other MLK Day events.

It’s a new year, time to turn over a new leaf! Spring semester will be a vast improvement on the last – or will it? The New Year inspires many of us to vow to make lifestyle changes that we probably won’t follow through on. Topping many people’s wish list for the New Year is to “lose more weight/get more fit.”  After a season (or semester) of way too many snacks, sodas, candies and alcohol, it’s only natural that a vow to lose weight and get fit would follow. The problem is that by the second week of January, most people have already fallen off the wagon. Read the rest of this entry »

For the past year the Duke Campus Farm has rallied around the motto of “one year, one acre” in order to create a functional production farm and educational facility serving the Duke community. This month marks the end of our one year pilot project, and what an incredible year it’s been. Please read our 2011 Annual Report here to see just how far we’ve come.