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Overweight? It's Not Your Desk's Fault
Tweet Share on Facebook May 8, 2013 CommentOne of the most common beliefs about the world's rapidly growing waistlines is that we're growing larger because our jobs are no longer physically demanding – that it's our desks' faults. I've little doubt that those rare folks who still burn calories in their day jobs do in fact burn more calories than most. But the question is: Do those additionally burnt calories make those folks lighter than those of us who drive desks?
No doubt, on paper burning an extra 500 calories during a sweaty workday ought to have at least the same impact as not eating 500 calories through dietary discretion – maybe even more. Maybe more, because while all foods have calories, the quality and types of foods affect how many available calories there are for the body's stockpiles, while exercise is just a straight burn.
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Strange (but True) Food Allergies
Tweet Share on Facebook May 7, 2013 CommentFood allergy is an immune system response in which the body mounts an attack on food proteins it mistakes for being harmful. In a process called "sensitization," immune cells generate antibodies specific to that food protein (called IgE), so they'll recognize the offending food the next time it comes calling.
When it does, IgE antibodies trigger a cascade of chemical reactions throughout the body that are experienced as allergic symptoms; these range from mild to life threatening. Allergic reactions can occur in the skin (rash, hives, itching); in the digestive tract (vomiting, diarrhea, cramping); and/or in the respiratory tract (sneezing, congestion, itchy mouth or inner ear).
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Blueberries, 3 Ways
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2013 CommentFeeling a little sluggish today after a whopping Cinco de Mayo celebration? If you went overboard yesterday, don't fret! Like I always say, every meal is a Monday morning – a new and unique opportunity to eat well. Use today to get back on track by incorporating blueberries in your meals. This refreshing fruit is one of my favorites, and I'm not alone.
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Health Hinges on the Whole Diet, Not Just One Food
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2013 CommentRecent attention to the provocative new research about trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and the foods that cause us, or really our resident bacteria, to produce this compound preliminarily linked to heart disease risk, raises a fundamental question we often fail to ask: How does a food affect our overall diet, and thereby, our health? I think it's in much the way a tossed pebble affects a pond.
The TMAO story is intriguing and provocative in its own right, but I've opined on that already and won't belabor it here. Let's just consider what it means when dietary research is translated into recommendations to eat, or avoid, particular foods. The new studies, theoretically, provide a new potential argument against eating meat and eggs.
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Is the 'Facts Up Front' Labeling System Helpful?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 2, 2013 CommentLet's face it: Reading food labels can be a daunting undertaking. Even after writing a 250-something page book about this task, I too get confused while walking down the aisles.
To help decipher what's on the box from what's in it, the Grocery Manufacturers of America collaborated with the Food Marketing Institute to launch a website that shines light on the new Facts Up Front icons. You'll now see this symbol at your local supermarket on nine out of 10 products in various categories, including cereals, dry goods and beverages. Calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar will appear on each label—and these big four, which may need to be limited, will often be accompanied by one or two other nutrients that perhaps need to be encouraged. For example: calcium, fiber, iron, potassium, protein and vitamins A, C and D. The product must contain at least 10 percent of these encouraged items, or they won't earn a position on the front panel.
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Don't Stress About the Scale
Tweet Share on Facebook May 1, 2013 CommentIt's simple, right? You stand on your scale, and then it tells you how much you weigh. And if the sentence ended there, I'd agree you know how to use a scale. Except most folks, especially folks who are struggling with or are upset about their weights, don't end their sentences there. Instead, their scales also somehow seem to magically tell them "how they're doing."
Doctors aren't often any better. Despite a whole lot of schooling, their scales also seem to tell them things beyond weight; once patients stand on doctors' scales, somehow those scales miraculously tells doctors whether or not their patients are healthy.
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Say No to GMOs: How to Change the Way We Eat
Tweet Share on Facebook May 1, 2013 CommentWhat's the deal with GMOs? This acronym has been flying around the food world recently, and many of us don't even know exactly what it is. GMO stands for genetically modified organisms. These are plants and animals that have had their DNA modified in a lab. GMOs have been created for many reasons, including longer shelf life, as well as resistance to weed killers and insects. Although these may sound like benefits, we don't know how the genetic modifications are affecting public health. The changing of DNA may allow for nutrients to be removed from a product that are important for our health.
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The Missing Piece From Your Low-Sodium Diet
Tweet Share on Facebook April 30, 2013 CommentIf you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure, your doctor has likely prescribed a low-sodium diet. The recommended intake for dietary sodium is 1,500 milligrams per day, with an upper limit of 2,300 milligrams per day for people who are not at risk for high blood pressure based on age, medical history or ethnicity. The average American takes in 3,400 milligrams per day, about three-quarters of which comes from processed and restaurant foods rather than from the actual salt shaker.
Sticking to a low-sodium diet in this country is not easy. It's not just a matter of avoiding unhealthy foods like cured, processed meats (bacon, sausages) and fast food meals. It can also mean avoiding some nutritious foods like whole-wheat bread, cottage cheese, vegetable soups, olives and calorie-controlled frozen dinner entrees. And after all that effort, at the end of the day, reduced-sodium diets on their own aren't always enough to reduce the risk of stroke from high blood pressure.
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Sugar-Free and Fat-Free Claims: Don't Fall for Them
Tweet Share on Facebook April 30, 2013 CommentYou know better: Products labeled "sugar-free" and "fat-free" are not shortcuts to flat abs and tank-top arms. While it may be tempting to reach for the sugar-free cookies or the fat-free cheese, don't let that temptation get the best of you. Give yourself a little slap on the wrist, step away from the Oreos and hightail it out of that grocery aisle—stat!
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To Supplement or Not to Supplement?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 29, 2013 CommentHealthy living: Accept no substitute. There is none. There, I've said it.
I've said it before now, and at every opportunity. Lifestyle is medicine, and the best we've ever identified. Feet (physical activity), forks (dietary pattern) and fingers (not holding cigarettes!) are the master levers of medical destiny. We can round out that list to the "Super Six": feet, forks, fingers, sleep, stress and love. Deal effectively with all of these, and almost everything else is substantially less important.
