Good Food Life

Eating good food does more than make you full – it makes you feel good – because it’s delicious, and because you are making a difference. Good food keeps you healthy by keeping harmful pesticides and GMOs out of your diet. Good food supports sustainable farming communities. Choosing good food protects wildlife and nurtures our environment.
In short, eating good food creates connections with and in the world you live in. Eating well is living well, and peace of mind comes from knowing that what best supports your body can also support your family, your community, and our planet.
Full Circle makes it easy for you to make positive change with every bite. Eat better, live better, and help the world change. Now that’s the good food life. Welcome.

Good Taste

What tastes good? Where does taste come from? Who has good taste? Well… we don’t have all the answers, but what we can tell you is that good taste starts with food that is naturally grown using certified organic processes.
Taste means quality; it means higher nutrition and reliability. Good taste doesn’t come from petroleum-based pesticides or GMO seeds that grow twice as fast, it doesn’t come from huddling wet under flickering fluorescent lights or waiting for three to four days before making it to your home. Having access to fresh, pure, organic vegetables and fruits grown the right way will not only taste great, it will give you comfort.
All of the produce we offer comes from either our farms or farms we know and that we trust live up to our high standards. The artisan producers we’ve partnered with for our groceries take the same care with their goods as we do with our produce. Our sources are now your sources. Welcome to the good food life.

Good Health

Eating healthy isn’t hard. Simply, it involves eating real food, organic fruits and vegetables and other products made from the best ingredients sourced from trusted producers, as locally as possible.
Organic fruits and vegetables have been shown to have higher nutritional value. Instead of being genetically modified for resistance to certain bugs or climates, certified organic crops create their own nutrient density by growing strong to ward off fluctuations in climate.
Many organic farmers plant crops together that act as natural insect repellents for one another, allowing both to grow slowly, soaking up as many vitamins and minerals from rich and healthy soil as possible. You may eat them the same way, but they grow differently: stronger, longer and more robust. Eating with us, you can feel good about the food choices you make. Healthy for you, healthy for the planet. The good food life made easy.

Good Earth

Andrew and Wendy started Full Circle from the ground up and we still have a “dirt first” mentality. We believe if you nurture the dirt, it will nurture you back.
As farmers, we are stewards of the land, and the land, if properly cared for, nourishes generations. This is the reason Full Circle has partnered with organizations such as Stewardship Partners and PCC Farmland Trust, to preserve both the quality of the land, to retain the biodiversity of our riparian habitat that makes our farm a sustainable agricultural resource, and to maintain the agricultural heritage of our region for generations to come.
Because for us, it’s not just our business – it’s our legacy. Good food nourishes the land and the people. The good food life for all.

Women and Smoking

Tests have shown that women may, on average, find it harder to give up smoking than men. This is despite the fact that women are often more at risk than men to smoking related diseases. Some of the reasons are physiological and some are sociological. Also, a woman's menstrual cycle can affect the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Smoking can interrupt the menstrual cycle and may cause women to enter menopause earlier than otherwise. Depending on what phase their cycle is when they start an anti-smoking programme, it may alter how they respond to some quit smoking treatments. Among the sociological factors, women tend to be more concerned about gaining weight if they try to stop smoking. Women may also be more susceptible to environmental factors than men, associating smoking with specific moods or friends. Women and girls may be more susceptible to peer pressure and advertising enticing them to start smoking.

Women smokers are just as vulnerable to serious health problems like lung cancer or cardiovascular disease as their male counterparts. In women, however, smoking carries an increased risk of cardiovascular disease because it can affect their hormones, causing an oestrogen deficiency. Women smokers are 10 times more likely to die from bronchitis or emphysema and 12 times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smoking women. The rates of life-threatening smoker-related diseases are even worse for post-menopausal women and women taking birth control pills. Women who smoke and are also taking oral contraceptives may have an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke. If you are a woman smoker aged between 35 and 64 then you are statistically nearly five times more likely to suffer from a stroke than a non-smoking woman the same age.

In the United States, lung cancer now accounts for 25% of all cancer deaths among women and has surpassed breast cancer as the leading form of cancer death. Smoking is believed to double the risk of cervical cancer. About 30% of all cervical cancers have been attributed to women smoking.

Smoking by women puts them at a higher risk of early menopause and infertility. If women smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day or they started smoking before they were 18 years of age then they are placed at a greater risk of infertility. Women who smoke are also put at higher risk of developing osteoporosis and other degenerative bone disorders. Smoking hinders the flow of blood to the bones and retards the creation of the cells that form new bone.

The Negatives of Smoking

Put in the most basic terms, smoking is bad for you. How bad? Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death. It is estimated that it can reduce your life expectancy by 15 to 25 years. Smoking adversely affects the following areas of the body:

Heart: The heart is one the main organs damaged by smoking. Smoking lowers the HDL cholesterol, what is commonly referred to as "good" cholesterol. Smoking places more stress on the system that regulates the heart and the blood vessels because it increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Because smoking reduces the elastic properties of the aorta, the body's largest blood vessel, the risk of developing a blood clot is increased. The nicotine in cigarettes acts as a blood coagulant and can cause such blood clots.

Smoking can accelerate the process known as atherosclerosis. This is a narrowing the arteries that can cause strokes or heart attacks. The nicotine in cigarettes acts as a vasoconstricter that constricts blood vessels and restricts blood flow. If you are a smoker in the 30 or 40 years age bracket then you are more likely to die from smoking-related heart disease than from the cancer smoking produces. In fact, you are about five times more likely to die of a heart attack than a non-smoker. If you are a male aged between 35 and 64 then you are nearly four times more likely than a non-smoker you age to suffer a stroke.

Lungs: As well as contributing to lung cancer, smoking also weakens your immune system making you more susceptible to bouts of colds and flu. It also irritates the lining of your lungs and impairs your respiratory system. Smoking is the major cause of obstructive diseases like emphysema and 'smoker's cough'. A smoker is 10 times more likely to experience chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than a non-smoker.

Cancer: The carcinogens in tobacco smoke can lead to cancer. Smoking has a huge role to play in the incidence of lung cancer. It is believed that smoking causes about 90 to 95% of male deaths from lung disease and some 70 to 75% of female deaths. Smoking is believed to cause around 30% of all cancer deaths in mature tobacco markets like the US.

As well as lung cancer, the carcinogens in cigarettes can cause other types of cancer as well. Smokers have higher rates of cancers of the stomach, bladder, kidney, pancreas and leukaemia. In the case of cancer of the bladder, pancreas, and stomach, smoking approximately doubles your chances of developing them. The tar from cigarettes makes it hard for the lungs to repair the damage done to them by smoking because it damages the lung's DNA. Smoking and chewing (smokeless) tobacco are responsible for over 60% of cancers of the throat, mouth, and esophagus.

Children's health: Children who breathe in second-hand smoke are more likely to develop asthma or, if they already have asthma, they risk the condition worsening. It also increases their chances of suffering from pneumonia, colds, and bronchitis.

Other consequences: Smoking can play a role in disorders as varied as osteoporosis, peptic ulcers, cataracts, thyroid problems, impotence, and periodontal disease. A person who smokes increases the risk of developing osteoporosis. This is because smoking reduces the blood supply to your bones and slows the production of bone-forming cells. This can affect joints and the spine and may slightly increase the chances of smokers developing rheumatoid arthritis. Smoking can cause peptic ulcers. This is because it increases acid secretion, decreases mucosal blood flow and reduces the body's production of prostaglandin and bicarbonate. This will also delay the healing of gastric and duodenal ulcers. Heavy smokers risk developing cataracts of the eye. Smokers also have twice the chance of developing macular degeneration as non-smokers. Macular degeneration is an eye disorder usually associated with old age. Thyroid disease can be caused by cyanedim, a chemical found in cigarette smoke, which interferes with the production of thyroid hormone. Heavy smoking may contribute to impotence in men by decreasing blood flow to the penis. Male smokers also run a higher risk of infertility because smoking reduces the mobility and density of sperm. This is all rather ironic for those who think smoking makes them sexier. Because tobacco results in tartar build-up, it increases the incidence of periodontal (gum) disease, staining of the teeth, and potential tooth loss.

Smoking can be detrimental to your external appearance as well. Tobacco smoke has a drying effect on the surface of the skin. Carbon monoxide enters the bloodstream when you smoke and this decreases the amount of oxygen carried to the tissue in your body. This depletes the skin of essential nutrients and makes your skin look grey, especially around the mouth. It also increases the number of wrinkles visible on your skin. You will appear to age prematurely as these deep wrinkles make you look older than you really are. No only that, but smoking actually damages the ability of the skin to heal. This is why you should not smoke before you undergo any surgical procedure. Smokers also often develop discolouration of the fingers and fingernails on the hand they use to hold the cigarette. Smoking also stains the teeth and can cause halitosis.

What is it In Tobacco that is So Bad?

Smoking a cigarette, a cigar or pipe releases over 4000 chemicals. Contained in the smoke that is released is tar. Tar is what remains of the smoke particles once the nicotine and water have been removed and it contains many carcinogens that are known to cause cancer. This tar and other toxic compounds like carbon monoxide damage your health by causing cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Some of the chemicals contained in cigarettes include: acetic acid, acetone, ammonia, arsenic, butane, cadmium, DDT/deildrin, ethanol, formaldehyde, examine, hydrogen cyanide, methane, methanol, naphthalene, nicotine, nitro benzene, nitrous oxide phenois, stearic acid, toluene and vinyl chloride. You may have heard of some of these chemicals before because they have other uses and this tends to make them sound even less appetizing than if you are just hearing of them for the first time. Cigarettes also contain the following metals: aluminum, copper, gold, lead, magnesium, mercury, silicon, silver, titanium and zinc. The list of known cancer-causing agents in cigarettes includes: benzo(a)pyrene, B-napthylamine, cadmium, crysenes, dibenz acidine, nickel, P.A.H.S., polonium 210, toudine, urethane, nitrosamines and N. nitrosomes. Each time a smoker inhales they are taking the chemicals mentioned above into their lungs, along with harmful gasses like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide.

If you are wondering how smoking a cigar compares to a cigarette, consider that one cigar contains as much tobacco as an entire packet of cigarettes! Cigar smoke contains the same hazardous concoction of chemicals as cigarette smoke and a one cigar-a-day habit exposes the smoker to the equivalent damage done by a pack-a-day of cigarettes. Even those cigar and pipe smokers who do not inhale absorb the nicotine through the lining of the mouth. This does mean that the blood concentrations of nicotine peak more slowly than occurs when you inhale the smoke.

Quit Smoking Today

Choosing to smoke and destroying your own health is one thing but passive smoking, also known as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) or Secondhand Smoke (SHS), damages the health of those around you. These people have no choice as to whether or not they are exposed to your harmful smoke. Passive smoking constitutes a serious public health risk to both children and adults. It is also a major source of indoor air pollution. A non-smoker is subjected to both the "side stream" smoke from the burning tip of the cigarette and the "mainstream" smoke that has been inhaled and then is exhaled into their environment by the smoker. Nearly four-fifths of the smoke that builds up in a room containing a smoker is of the more harmful "side stream" type.

It is not too much of a conceptual leap to understand that the smoke from cigarettes, which is so bad for the smoker, is also damaging to everyone else. Tobacco smoke contains over 4000 chemical compounds, including at least 40 cancer-causing carcinogenic agents. Tobacco smoke also contains carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, which inhibits the transportation of oxygen to the body's vital organs via the blood. The smoke emitted from the tip of a cigarette has about double the concentration of nicotine and tar as the smoke being directly inhaled by the smoker. It also contains about three times the amount of the carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene, five times the level of carbon monoxide and about 50 times the amount of ammonia. Add to these the other chemicals in the smoke like arsenic, formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, and hydrogen cyanide and you have a very unappetizing toxic gas cocktail. Remember that the passive smoker receives all of this and gets none of the enjoyment that you get out of smoking in return. Many of the potentially toxic gasses in the smoke are present in higher concentrations in the "side stream" smoke than in the "mainstream" smoke. In tests tobacco specific carcinogens have been found in samples of blood or urine provided by non-smokers who have been exposed to passive smoking.

Any person exposed to passive smoking may experience short-term symptoms such as a headache, a cough, wheezing, an eye irritation, a sore throat, nausea or dizziness. Adults with asthma may also experience a significant decline in lung function when exposed to secondhand smoke. Under these conditions it can take as little as half an hour for an individual's coronary blood flow to become reduced.

It was estimated that prolonged exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, such as in the home, increases the risk of lung cancer by approximately 20 to 25%. Even if you do not accept the accuracy of these percentages, it is well established that you have an increased chance of developing lung cancer through passive smoking if you are a non-smoker but live with someone who smokes. The chances of suffering from ischemic heart disease is greater for those exposed to passive smoking compared to those who are not. Studies have shown that the risk of experiencing a heart attack is believed to be almost doubled by regular exposure to secondhand smoke.

Some of the most serious damage inflicted by passive smoking is done to children during their formative years. As you would expect, a child's bronchial tubes are smaller and their immune systems are less developed making them more susceptible to the harmful effects of passive smoking. Because their airways are smaller, children breathe faster than adults and, consequently, they actually breathe in comparatively more of the harmful chemicals in the smoke, based on their body weight, than adults do. Few parents who smoke would continue to do so if they knew the potential harm that they were doing to their children. Young children, by necessity, spend a lot of time at home and maternal smoking is one of the major sources of passive smoking because of the child's close proximity to their parents during early childhood.

Exposure to tobacco smoke can double the chances of your child requiring hospitalization for illnesses like bronchitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia that affect the lower respiratory tract, especially during the first year of life. They are also more likely to suffer from ear infections (glue ear), tonsillitis, and asthma. Passive smoking is known to be one of the main contributing factors in the development of childhood asthma. It can exacerbate existing asthma, increasing both the frequency of the attack and its severity. Secondhand tobacco smoke may damage a child's olfactory function so that they have difficulty differentiating certain smells. There is also the chance that passive smoking may have a negative effect on a child's cognitive abilities, impairing their ability to read or use reasoning skills.

Just as a woman should not smoke during pregnancy, she should not be exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke. There are links between parental smoking and the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or "cot death". It has been estimated that the infants of mothers who smoke are put at almost five times the risk of dying from "cot death" when compared to the infants of mothers who do not smoke. Yet a poll organized by 'Smoke Free London' discovered that only 3% of the adults surveyed knew of this connection between passive smoking and "cot death". Passive smoking is also a recognized factor in lowering the birth weight of babies.

Not only can passive smoking harm your fetus but it can also reduce the chances of you getting pregnant in the first place. Female fertility can suffer because of passive smoking, making it harder to conceive a child.

Passive smoking can even put your pets at risk of developing cancer. One US study observed that passive smoking increased the incidence of feline lymphoma in cats and the likelihood of them developing health complications increased the longer they were exposed to passive smoking.

To continue to smoke and put the health of your family and loved-ones at risk would seem, on the face of it, to be a rather selfish act. When you take into account the damage that smoking is doing to your own body then it seems more like insanity. Think of how traumatic it would be if a member of your family became ill or died because of your smoking habit. Now consider the fact that they would feel exactly the same way if smoking ended your life prematurely or made you seriously ill. You may find yourself asking "Why do I still smoke?"