4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 13, 2016
O PINION
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thanks, coach
Our South Valley Athletics basketball
coach last season, Brent Hoover, was great.
He taught the kids the basic fundamentals
of the game and had a positive attitude. I
was impressed that even when his team of
kids lost, he didn’t get upset with the play-
ers, but instead tried to focus on the fun of
the game. After the season, he invited the
kids and the parents over to his business,
where he set-up a Wii so the kids could sit
at the bar and play while he kept the food
and root beer fl oats coming. And he bought
them all trophies, too. Thanks, coach!
Kristin Ammerman
Cottage Grove
Taking the power back
Today’s national leaders stand in front
of television cameras and tell the biggest
whoppers to the American people. Where
is the humiliation that used to come with
lying? Now our leaders lie without shame
and lie about lying!
Our nation was founded upon truth, jus-
tice and self-governance, guided by the
strict rule of law in the Constitution. When
did following the law become repugnant?
America’s education system is so upside-
down that teachers no longer revere the
Constitution but openly deride it. Students
are not taught to obey the law, but encour-
aged to openly defy it.
Elected offi cials and federal appointees
do not believe the law applies equally to
them and openly abuse the justice system
and benevolence of the American people.
Lawlessness begets lawlessness.
America’s Founders understood tyranny,
greed and corruption by leaders. They lived
it and fought against it. This is why they
included an emergency clause in Article V
of the Constitution to make citizens the last
line of defense against the federal govern-
ment. Article 5 gives the people a way to
legally restrict the power and jurisdiction
of the federal government, returning power
back to citizens. Learn more about taking
your power back at: http://www.conven-
tionofstates.com/.
Cynthia L. Choat
Cottage Grove
Bridge confusion
Your recent series of front-page ar-
ticles regarding the condition of the Main
Street Bridge over the Coast Fork of the
Willamette has managed to leave read-
ers more than a bit confused. One week,
you said the bridge was in imminent dan-
ger of collapsing, while most recently, it
has been declared safe. Which brings up
the obvious question — what happened?
No maintenance work was noted as hav-
ing been done on the structure or its erod-
ing embankment, and yet now the bridge
is suddenly suitable to carry traffi c, without
any restrictions.
There are close to 600,000 bridges in this
country, with many of them in poor con-
dition. If indeed the Main Street Bridge
somehow miraculously mended itself,
perhaps the City should look into apply-
ing for a patent for its bridge healing pro-
cess. The revenue possibilities would be
endless, with government agencies across
the country happily sending funds to Cot-
tage Grove in exchange for learning how
they, too, could make their bridges fi x
themselves.
But perhaps you
simply
intend-
ed your bridge articles to
teach
read-
ers the importance of not allowing un-
qualifi ed individuals to perform bridge
inspections (or report them on the front
page of the Sentinel), without fi rst having
acquired proper bridge inspection training
and experience. Very few city managers, if
any, are qualifi ed bridge inspectors.
Michael Kober,
Retired Bridge Inspection Engineer
Cottage Grove
Pay attention, save a life:
Ditch the distractions
Boundaries, III
You don’t know from what premise other
people were born, what their life experi-
ences have been or how they were molded
by the good and evil that befell them. How-
ever smart you are or however proud you
are of your heritage or belief system, when
you look at a stranger, the portion of their
truth that you see is just as insuffi cient as
they see when they fi rst cast their eyes on
you.
This boundary is an abyss and it is this
division into which our world pours as if
our world were an ocean on a great earth-
quake had opened a mighty crevass down
the middle between North and South and
East and West.
Look into the abyss with me, read a little
History Lesson of 1914 and 1933. As a
Democratic Socialist, Buddhist and Athe-
ist, I may be the perfect fool for your idea of
the right target for mockery — but worlds
can end. Wrong-minded men and women
driven by selfi shness and the tickle of being
thwarted in their vanity and enmity can end
them. Exhaustion of the bounty of Eden,
no respect for the Tree of Knowledge and
impatience with our lot — all these things
conspire against the prophet and hate the
innocence of young lovers.
Take a deep breath please. Think of your
own mortality and how much you depend
on and must live with your neighbors.
These boundaries that seem to divide us
are also the places at which men of good
will go when it is a friend they seek.
Leo Rivers
Cottage Grove
April is National
Distracted Driving
Awareness Month
“If you’re texting...you’re not
driving.”
S
tudies show that many drivers
will talk and text when they’re
alone but think twice about it when
they have a passenger. Yet nearly all
drivers think it’s dangerous to do so,
passengers or not.
More than eight in every 10 re-
spondents to a recent survey said
they feel uncomfortable riding with
a distracted driver.
ODOT and partner agencies the
Oregon State Police and AAA Or-
egon/Idaho are emphasizing the
importance of focusing on driving
when you’re behind the wheel.
“Our goal is to change cultural
norms when it comes to distracted
driving,” said ODOT Director Matt
Garrett. “If each of us focuses on the
job of driving when we get behind
the wheel, we’ll save lives every
year.”
Ditch the distractions
Turn it off and stow it. Turn your
phone off or switch it to silent mode
before you get in the car. Then stow
it away so that it’s out of reach.
Spread the word. Record a mes-
sage on your phone that tells callers
you’re driving and will get back to
them when you’re off the road, or
sign up for a service that offers this
feature.
Install an app. Apps can help you
avoid texting while driving. Go to
your app store and search for Dis-
tracted Driving Lifesaver.
Pull over. If you need to make a
call, pull over to a safe area fi rst.
Use your passengers. Ask a pas-
senger to make the call or respond to
a text for you.
X the Text. Don’t ever text and
drive, browse online or read your
email while driving. It’s dangerous
and against the law in most states.
Even voice-to-text isn’t risk-free.
Know the law. Familiarize your-
self with state and local laws before
you get in the car. Oregon prohibits
the use of hand-held cell phones in
addition to texting.
Prepare. If using a GPS device,
enter your destination before you
start to drive. If you prefer a map
or written directions, review them
in advance. If you need help while
driving, ask a passenger to assist
you or pull over to a safe location
to change your GPS or review your
map/directions.
Secure your pets. Unsecured pets
can be a big distraction in the car.
Mind the kids. Pull over to a safe
place to address situations involving
children in the car.
Focus on driving. Multi-tasking
behind the wheel is dangerous. Re-
frain from eating, drinking, reading,
grooming, smoking and any other
activity that takes your mind and
eyes off the road.
Statistics
ODOT data analysis of crashes in
Oregon in 2010-2014 shows:
On average, a distracted driver
crash occurs in Oregon every 2.5
hours.
On average, a person is injured in
a distracted driver crash in Oregon
every three hours.
On average, a distracted driver
crash involving a cell phone occurs
in Oregon more than fi ve times a
week.
On average, almost fi ve people
are injured each week in a distracted
driver crash involving a cell phone.
A recent AAA survey concluded
that, in a 30-day period, 70 percent
of drivers talked on their cell phone
while driving.
A recent ODOT survey by South-
ern Oregon University concluded
drivers didn’t like someone else
driving distracted, but still did it
themselves: 84 percent of respon-
dents said they feel uncomfortable
riding as a passenger with a distract-
ed driver. But 44 percent admitted to
driving distracted with passengers,
and 75 percent admitted they drove
distracted when they drove alone.
Nuts and seeds for a healthy weight and a long life
BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD
For the Sentinel
N
uts and seeds are health-
ful, natural foods that
are full of
beneficial
nutrients
and phyto-
chemicals.
Although
the myth
that
nuts
and seeds
are fattening has persisted, the
research suggests that nuts are
actually benefi cial for weight
loss. In any case, it’s not the fat
content of a diet that makes it
healthy, it’s the nutrient content.
And based on their nutrient con-
tent, nuts are a health-promot-
ing source of calories.
Nuts and seeds are nutrition-
ally important. Nuts and seeds
contain a spectrum of micro-
nutrients including LDL cho-
lesterol-lowering phytosterols;
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
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circulation-promoting arginine;
minerals, including potassium,
calcium, magnesium, and se-
lenium and antioxidants, in-
cluding fl avonoids, resveratrol,
tocopherols (vitamin E) and ca-
rotenoids.
Eating nuts and seeds reduces
the risk of cardiovascular dis-
ease. Epidemiological studies
have consistently shown that
nut consumption is benefi cial
for heart health. Eating fi ve or
more servings of nuts per week
is estimated to reduce the risk
of coronary heart disease by 35
percent. Eating nuts and seeds
protects against sudden cardiac
death and reduces cholesterol
and infl ammation.
Nuts and seeds aid weight
loss. Someone who is trying to
lose weight should not be trying
to avoid nuts; in fact, in obese
individuals, adding nuts to the
diet aided in weight loss and
also improved insulin sensitiv-
ity, which could help to prevent
or reverse diabetes. Nonethe-
less, nuts should not be eaten
to excess. Nuts and seeds are
high in nutrients but also high in
calories, so they should be eaten
with consideration for one’s ca-
loric needs. One ounce daily is
usually appropriate for women
trying to lose weight and 1.5–2
ounces for overweight men.
Nuts and seeds of course should
be eaten in larger amounts for
the slim, highly physically ac-
tive people who could use the
extra calories.
Nut consumption may en-
hance lifespan. In the Adven-
tist Health Study, a number of
lifestyle factors were found to
be associated with longevity.
Those who had a high level of
physical activity, followed a
vegetarian diet and ate nuts fre-
quently lived on average eight
years longer than those who did
not share those habits. Similarly
in the Nurses’ Health Study, nut
consumption was identifi ed as
a dietary factor associated with
reduced risk of death from car-
diovascular disease and cancers.
New research continues to con-
fi rm these observations.
Each nut and seed has a
unique nutritional profi le that
lends unique health benefi ts. Al-
monds are rich in antioxidants.
In one study, people ate either
almonds or a snack with a simi-
lar fat profi le each day for four
weeks, and the subjects who ate
almonds showed reduced oxida-
tive stress markers.
Diabetics who ate walnuts
daily for eight weeks experi-
enced an enhanced ability of the
blood vessels to dilate, indicat-
ing better blood pressure regu-
lation. There is also evidence
that walnuts may protect against
breast cancer.
Pistachios and Mediterra-
nean pine nuts have the highest
plant sterol content of all the
nuts; plant sterols are structur-
ally similar to cholesterol, and
help to lower cholesterol levels.
Pistachios reduce infl ammation
and oxidative stress as well as
cholesterol.
Mediterranean pine nuts con-
tain a specifi c type of fatty acid
that has been shown to curb ap-
petite by increasing hormones
that produce satiety signals.
Flax, hemp, and chia seeds
are extremely rich sources of
omega-3 fatty acids, and hemp
seeds are especially high in
protein, making them a helpful
food for athletes.
Pumpkin seeds are rich in
iron, calcium, and phytochemi-
cals and may help to prevent
prostate cancer.
Sesame seeds have the great-
est amount of calcium of any
food in the world and provide
abundant amounts of vitamin E
and contain a lignan called sesa-
min; lignan-rich foods may pro-
tect against breast cancer.
Nuts and seeds should be eat-
en raw or only lightly toasted.
Roasting nuts and seeds forms
a potentially harmful compound
called acrylamide and reduces
the amounts of minerals and
amino acids.
Also remember that eating
nuts and seeds with leafy greens
can enhance the body’s absorp-
tion of fat-soluble nutrients from
the greens, so a nut-based salad
dressing is an excellent way to
absorb more nutrients from your
salads.
Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New
York Times best-selling author
and a board certifi ed family
physician specializing in life-
style and nutritional medicine.
Visit his informative website at
DrFuhrman.com. Submit your
questions and comments about
this column directly to
newsquestions@drfuhrman.
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