Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eye.
It is not something physical.
~Lauren Bacall
october 22–november 21
scorpio
As we enter winter our minds turn to the coming holidays. Feasting is a big part of both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and many of us put on a few “holiday pounds” before the end of the year. Perhaps that is why November is Good Nutrition Month. Begun in 1973 with the theme “Invest in Yourself—Buy Nutrition,” this is a month to reevaluate your food choices and make changes for the better. Nutrition education is making great strides in America, thanks in part to movies like Food, Inc. and SuperSize Me. But the fact remains that we must educate ourselves on good eating practices in order to maintain a healthy weight and strong body and mind.
The holidays are also a crucial time for food banks and hunger-
relief charities. According to Feeding America, one in six Americans doesn’t have access to enough healthy food. That’s 49 million Americans, including 14 million children. Part of the nutrition/hunger problem is that the cheapest foods are often the least nutritious for our bodies. When you have only a few dollars to spend, getting an entire meal for $2 is much more attractive than buying a small amount of fresh produce or lean meat. Keep nutrition in mind as you donate to your local hunger-relief charities this season.
How to get involved
Visit www.nutrition.gov or www.mypyramid.gov for helpful nutrition guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture. Here you can find your personal recommendations for grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, and oil consumption, based on your age and sex. Print a pyramid this month and write in your suggested servings (be sure to look up what counts as a serving first). Then dedicate one week to meeting those goals every day and see how you feel. You might be surprised what just one week of good nutrition will do!
Choose food that is as beautiful as you wish to be yourself.
~Victoria Moran
november 21–december 21
sagittarius
If October is a month of pink ribbons, December is a month of red ribbons. Red ribbons are meant to commemorate AIDS awareness, and December is AIDS Awareness Month in America. World AIDS Day was set as December 1 in 1987 by two officers at the Global Programme on Aids (part of the World Health Organization). Why December 1? The officials felt that the post-election, pre-Christmas weeks were a slow news time—their day would likely get more media coverage than at another time of year. Today World AIDS Day and AIDS Awareness Month are time to raise awareness about the pandemic of AIDS/HIV and to remember those who have lost their lives to the virus.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were first recognized by the Centers for Disease Control in 1981. Since that time, more than 25 million people have lost their lives. HIV is sexually transmitted or blood transmitted. It is a virus that weakens the body’s defenses and leaves it vulnerable to other sicknesses, which then cause death. The AIDS pandemic supposedly began in Africa, and that is where the disease still hits hardest, claiming ¾ of AIDS deaths. A person can live with the virus for years before becoming ill enough to be diagnosed with full-blown AIDS; then their survival time is about nine months.
How to get involved
There is no known cure for AIDS, and misinformation about transmission abounds. Visit www.aids.gov and take time to educate yourself about the disease and the latest news. The website also includes resources for patients and event ideas, as well as suggestions for individual action. Above all, be safe about sex and all forms of bodily fluid contact.
The greatest things ever done on Earth have been done little by little.
~William Jennings Bryan
Moon Void-of-Course Data for 2011
Moon Void-of-Course Data for 2012
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