Month: October 2011

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When I was a kid, our living room opened out onto a back deck through a set of French doors. A pine tree stood over the deck, providing a home for countless birds. Baby birds would regularly fall from their nests onto the deck, and would lie there crying in full view of my brother and me as we sat on the floor watching TV. Our parents always told us that we should never attempt to rescue these birds, no matter how long they were out on the deck, because our scent would cause their parents to reject and abandon them.

Some of these babies would get their act together and find their way back into the nest. Some would get dragged off by neighborhood cats. A few got plucked off the deck by hawks (and, once, devoured as I watched). Whatever happened to the birds, though, my brother and I dutifully listened to our mother.

These days, I feel bad about that. It turns out my mom is full of baloney.

Scent of a Human

Birds will not readily abandon their young because they “smell humans.” For one thing, birds don’t have a great sense of smell. Their olfactory bulbs are small and simple compared to other animals (although this wasn’t always the case, and there are exceptions to the rule, like the turkey vulture, albatross and kiwi), and they’re not going to be able to pick out your scent from all the other smells hitting their beaks at any given moment.

Even if they could detect your scent, and make a negative association with it, they’re not just going to up and leave. You wouldn’t abandon your kids and home at the first sign of danger, would you? Even if you didn’t love either all that much, you already went through the trouble of painting the living room and changing all those dirty diapers, right? Birds will make that same simple economic decision. They’ve invested a lot of time and energy in those babies and they’re not going to give them up for nothing. Mess around with a nest before the eggs are laid or before they hatch, and a bird might re-nest elsewhere, but once the kids are in the picture, they’re no push-overs.

Rescue Mission

So, my mother is obviously no ornithologist, and she’s not your mom, so feel free to ignore her advice. (Sort of. Let me explain.)

There are two types of baby birds you’re likely to encounter on the ground: nestlings and fledglings. Nestlings are featherless or fuzzy and are too young to leave the nest. Fledglings have their feathers and are old enough to leave the nest and be on the ground, making their first bold steps away from home under the watchful eye of mom and dad.

Fledglings you should leave alone. They’ll usually sit around for a few days outside the nest before their flight skills develop enough that they don’t need their parents. If you’ve got a fledgling near your home and are worried about predators, ask your neighbors to keep their cats inside. Hawks? Well, that’s just the circle of life.

Nestlings, though, could probably use a helping hand. Pick them up and put them pack in the nest, and their parents will not think any less of them if they smell a little bit like a human. What you should not do is take the little guys inside and try to care for them yourself. Sure, you’re at the top of the food chain. You’re smart and civilized and have dominion over the natural world. But you are not a bird. You will make a lousy bird mom.

David Murdock is Chairman of the Dole Food Company.  Original article follows:

In my previous blogs, I have talked about my diet and the important nutrients needed for optimum health. In this blog I will talk more about what I eat and why. No pills, not even aspirin, and certainly no supplements ever enter my mouth — everything I need comes from my fish and vegetarian diet, which incorporates many different kinds of fruit and vegetables every week.

Even though I am Chairman of Dole Food Company, I do most of my own grocery shopping. Below I provide an example of a partial grocery list of what I might buy in any given week. Most of this is weekly. More to come — in my next blog I will give you an addendum that will break this down into component parts to know what to eat for five days of the week.

[[Note: For consistency and simplicity, the values below are based on USDA nutrient data for 1 cup fruit, vegetables, legumes and grains; 3 cups leafy greens; 6 oz. fish and 1 oz. nuts.]]

BANANAS contain 25% vitamin B6, 20% vitamin C and 14% potassium.

PINEAPPLES contain 130% vitamin C and 80% manganese.

BLUEBERRIES contain 35% vitamin K, 25% vitamin C and 25% manganese, plus anthocyanins.

STRAWBERRIES contain 140% vitamin C, 30% manganese and 12% fiber.

SPINACH contains 540% daily vitamin K, 170% vitamin A, 45% folate, 40% manganese and 40% vitamin C.

BROCCOLI contains 280% vitamin K and 170% daily vitamin C.

RED BELL PEPPERS contain 320% daily vitamin C, 90% vitamin A and 20% vitamin B6. Also provide beta-carotene.

CAULIFLOWER contains 90% daily vitamin C and 20% daily vitamin K.

ASPARAGUS supplies 110% vitamin K, 35% vitamin A, 25% vitamin C and 10% iron.

TOMATOES contain 40% daily vitamin C, 30% vitamin A and 20% vitamin K.

OATS supply up to 70% of your daily manganese. Also provide soluble fiber, 20% phosphorus, 20% selenium, 15% magnesium and zinc, plus 10% iron.

BLACK BEANS are the top bean source of magnesium (30%), plus 60% fiber and folate, as well as 40% manganese.

WILD SALMON is low in mercury and rich in two important omega-3s (DHA and EPA). Contains 130% vitamin B12, 110% selenium, 70% niacin and 45% vitamin B6.

SARDINES supply 120% daily vitamin D and 60% calcium — plus 0.9g omega-3s.

PICKLED HERRING provides 288% vitamin D, 138% selenium, and 120% vitamin B12.

EGG WHITES (three) are a fat-free source of protein, providing 21% of the daily requirement and 27% selenium.

ALMONDS are the top nut source of alpha-tocopherol, a potent form of vitamin E (35%), plus 30% manganese, 20% magnesium and 8% calcium.

Obviously this is only a partial list of what I eat every week. It may seem like a lot of food, but I juice fruits and vegetables every day. Also, I expend a lot of calories every day in my 50-60 minutes of cardio and strength training, most days of the week.

At the North Carolina Research Campus we are constantly doing research on all fruit and vegetables, including the ones listed above. It is the only campus in the world encompassing eight universities all working together for the benefit of health and longevity. These include Duke University, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina A&T State University, University of North Carolina Greensboro, and Appalachian State University. We’ve gathered a comprehensive array of famous scientists and scientific equipment under one roof, including a two-story, 950 megahertz, 8-ton superconducting magnet. It is the largest and most powerful magnet in the world and is helping us look at both plant and human cells at the most minute level.

One of my missions in life is to share this kind of knowledge with others, so they can live more vital, active, satisfying lives. Since acquiring major interests in Dole Food Company 28 years ago, educating the public on proper diet has constituted the agenda of the Dole Nutrition Institute. We publish the Dole Nutrition News — enjoyed by 2.5 million subscribers (sign up at dole.com), and our Dole Nutrition Handbook.