10/4/24: 🧱 Glass bricks, obesity doubled, bee Vs pesticides

Happy Friday my friend,

Do bottlenose dolphins really “smile” at each other? New research says they do! “When playmates perceived a 'smile,' they responded in kind 33% of the time,” the article states. 🐬✨

ECL TRIVIA: What is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area? (Answer below)

🌎 Planet Health

♻️ RECYCLED GLASS BRICKS: These new 3D printed glass bricks designed at MIT could be the future of sustainable building, offering a sleek, modern look that's both beautiful and eco-friendly. “We found that bricks made mostly from printed glass with separate interlocking features on the bottom of the brick were the strongest and held up to the highest amount of pressure.”

🐝 FEEDING THE BEES: Providing honey bees with access to high-quality pollen will help them thrive, despite exposure to three common stressors including pesticides, viral infections, and nutritional stress like artificial pollen. "The takeaway from this study is that bees are quite resilient even to the interaction of pesticides and viruses if they have really good nutrition," says a Professor of Entomology who co-led the research. Read more about how this unique study was conducted. (and of course, my own music video for my song “Bee’s Knees” if you haven’t seen it)

🦠 PLASTIC-CHOMPING BACTERIA: A new discovery published this week in Environmental Science & Technology could revolutionize the way we treat plastics and nanoplastics in water. "We have systematically shown, for the first time, that a wastewater bacterium can take a starting plastic material, deteriorate it, fragment it, break it down and use it as a source of carbon," said study author Ludmilla Aristilde.

🧑‍⚕️ Human Health

🌮 GRAIN-LESS ACQUISITION: PepsiCo announced it will acquire family-owned favorite Siete Foods, a Mexican American company known for its healthier alternatives to conventional tortilla chips, seasonings, and salsas, and no-grain products. The whopping $1.2B arrangement is expected to close in early 2025. When mega-companies buy smaller family owned health brands, the products often suffer in terms of shortcuts, cheaper ingredients, and less attention to the ethics that started the brand. However, this is not a certainty – we don’t know the contract. On the positive side, new resources make products like this more accessible. We must watch, as responsible consumers, to ensure they do not reformulate and cheapen this beloved brand.

🍕 CHILDHOOD OBESITY: According to this article, childhood obesity has nearly doubled globally since 1990, due to factors like unhealthy diet, minimal exercise, as well as lack of access to healthy food, and limited educational opportunities. “We recommend adopting school food policies that remove ultra-processed foods from menus and promote healthier alternatives,” says the study’s co-author.

🧘‍♂️ STRESS COPING STUDY: Dr. Judith Moskowitz has been studying the “eight skills and practices to help people increase positive emotions and decrease anxiety, even amid hard times” for the last 20 years. Her proven 8 skills include self-compassion, gratitude, and daily mindfulness, and you can click here to read and learn about the other five. She’s also opening up a brand new “resilience study” for the first 20k people who want to be part of it.

My favorite digestive enzymes – $0

If you’ve been an ECL reader for some time, you’ve heard me talk about these digestive enzymes called Masszymes from BiOptimizers.

Masszymes are 100% plant-based, naturally-derived that digest proteins, starches, sugars, fibers, and fats. And they’ve been a life changer for my digestion, in terms of bloat, gas, and nutrient absorption.

If you’ve never tried them, NOW is your chance!

This month only you can get a FREE bottle [yes, really] of their best-in-class digestive enzymes.

I convinced BiOptimizers - the makers of Masszymes - to once again offer the Earth Conscious Life community a challenge…they’re offering a FREE bottle of Masszymes - you only cover the shipping.

No strings attached, no other purchase required.

The challenge is simple - try Masszymes and watch the enhanced digestion & nutrient absorption. If your digestive issues, gas, bloating, and fatigue after meals aren’t gone after the bottle, you’ve lost nothing.

To get your bottle at no cost, go HERE. That’s it!

They only let me do this because they’re extremely confident in how effective it is.

I genuinely bring these with me everywhere I go.

To get your bottle right now go HERE <<<

Creature Feature

🐕 CUTEST NEWBORN CUDDLES: Watch this fluffy newborn donkey, Willow, get nuzzled by her new older sister: Colton the dog. It might be the cutest video you’ll see all week. “Colton somehow knows when (she) needs a little special loving, and she has a calming nature to her,” the farm owner says, “they all want to love and play.”

Nutrition 101

💪 LEUCINE: This branched-chain amino acid is essential for muscle repair, recovery, and reducing inflammation. It also may keep blood sugar levels under control. Leucine is naturally found in seitan, seaweed, and animal foods like chicken, turkey, and cheese, and is also sold as a dietary supplement. Learn more about leucine here.

💬 Poll

⬅️ Last poll’s results

Do you think fluoride should be in the public water supply?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes, it has dental benefit (6.9%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No, the risk to IQ is too high (93.1%)

To a healing future,

— Rob