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Archive for category health

Not a Safe Start

Jan 3

Posted by admin in health, news

As we begin the New Year and await the President’s signature on the new food safety legislation, we need to send out an alert about a food safety problem. Remember last year when peanut butter and hamburgers, two staples of most households, hit the dreaded danger list? This year is starting off the same with a new recall: Ground Beef. Not just any such meat, but organic ground beef! Doesn’t that make it a double offender? As more people switch to the organic food line to allay safety concerns, we get slammed with the following news:

A California firm sent out a recall notice for their organic ground beef. OK, not every state is affected by this E.coli announcement, but the fact remains we cannot be too diligent. The recall involves over 30,000 lbs of ground beef. That’s a lot of burgers, or meatloaf, or…When you link onto the government announcement, you’ll see a sidebar telling you how to handle ground beef for safe consumption. How about the companies? Where is their safe handling instruction book?Recallimgae

We need to remain extra vigilant about all products. This type of recall can have disastrous effects. The company deserves credit for its action, however…

Check your freezer. This is not a warm, cuddly introduction to the New Year. Let us hope this type of announcement will be a rarity and not a foreshadowing of continually escalating food safety issues.

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My Kind of Life: Living the Wine Life

Nov 19

Posted by admin in alcohol, health, news

As you know I love the studies that support my personal belief system: As in wine or beer is good for you. An alcoholic beverage helps you survive a longer, healthier existence has been the focus of a number of studies, but there’s always been a major caveat. Yesterday was a prime, positive day. Actually the news goes way beyond original research and suggests that women do not have to limit themselves to a single alcoholic beverage daily. No one is advocating for excessive beverage intake, but a greater focus on the health benefits women can derive from the beverages.metroad2

The American Heart Association research hits several high notes. As in, women do not have to limit themselves to a single drink a day and that having more than one drink a day may actually have a positive benefit: A lowered risk of stroke. Earlier heart studies suggested women limit themselves to a single drink a day; now that has been amended. This study primarily focuses on middle-age women and the benefits of the daily drink or two. Women who reach that tender age no longer have to sidestep the alcohol and can truly enjoy themselves and say, it’s good for me! In turn, they will be rewarded with a longer, healthier life.

What a nice start for the weekend. Take a walk and exercise your heart and then relax with an approved solution. This type of research has heart-healthy benefits for everyone to enjoy!

Moderation. Cheers.

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Candy Love and Lore

Oct 28

Posted by admin in chocolate, health, news

Having been born with a natural sweet tooth, OK, make that set of teeth, I have a great appreciation for candy, but I am particular. With a broad range from Thin Mints to (my expensive, but worth it) Neuhaus Chocolate with plenty of love for See’s Candies, and an occasional Frango Dark Mint (Marshall Field”s, now Macy’s), I am all about dark chocolate. Not just the essence of dark flavoring, but true dark chocolate from 60% on upwards is my goal!NEUA0005

For every rule, there is an exception. At this time of year, candy corn grabs me as it fulfills so much of childhood memories even with the new harvest colorations. I indulge. When I travel I find it difficult, if not impossible, to walk past a candy shop, especially an old-fashioned shoppe. Did I mention that dark fudge and truffles pull me inside, too? Yet nothing is more disappointing than waiting for that special treat and discovering there’s nothing special about it. I just made that mistake with chocolate fudge recently. Major disappointment. Go for the good stuff.

It’s Halloween and candy choices are everywhere, and I’m happy to report that research acknowledges a candy eater as a happier and healthier person. Whoohoo!

Let’s examine the facts so that this weekend’s activities can be put to good use. Let’s start with a super one:

–People who regularly eat candy live longer than those who don’t. Need I say more? OK, the facts from a multi-decade study from the Harvard School of Public Health indicate that individuals who consumed candy 1-3 times a month did well in longevity, and daily candy eaters had better survival rates than those who abstained!

–Sugar actually gives you energy and helps you through difficult tasks. Sure there are health risks from too much sugar (obesity and diabetes as starters), but if you can handle sweets, then sugar has its benefits. That’s why the afternoon candy bar is such a wonderful option. Nap? Candy?

–Gum. Chewing gum can improve your mood and help you focus and lessen your stress levels. What a perfect time to become a gum chewer as flavor options seem to increase with each visit to the counter!

–Chocolate. Bet you thought we’d never get there, but the data continues to confirm the health benefits, as in lessening cardiovascular risk, from enjoying chocolate. The best results actually came from individuals who consumed chocolate 5 or more times a week!

What are you waiting for? Dig in. Halloween provides a mere excuse, but data cements the deal.

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Enviro Eats and Drinks

Oct 13

Posted by admin in Environment, food universe, health

It’s lovely to walk into a coffee shop and see that everything in the to-go universe is compostable. Somehow the drink tastes better. Not just today but for the future, too. No need to separate out a lid or use a plastic-lined container.

Then there is the grocery aisle with so many plastic containers. Yet, steps are being taken to improve the containers. Look at the plant-based advance just announced by the Stonyfield Farm folks. Their organic multi-pak yogurt, from YoBaby on up the chain, is now made from a new plant-based container. This then is the first yogurt cup made from plant-based plastic. Currently it’s a remanufactured corn-base container, but the most important takeaway is the reduction in carbon fossil fuels. Almost a 50% reduction in the plastic impact. We are talking a significant advancement!STONYFIELD FARM LOGO

Just think about the impact from just these two examples. How many coffee cups line the trash barrels v those that can be processed and get a second life? Some estimates are as high as 25 billion Styrofoam cups annually are disposed. The numbers alone are staggering, but when you add in the health consequences, you open up a different evil door. Whatever steps we take whether with our yogurt or our coffee can only benefit us in the future.

Time for a small round of applause as we watch for additional companies to come forth and announce their healthy, innovative approaches to save us from ourselves.

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The Eyes Have It: A Winning Diet

Jun 25

Posted by admin in health, news

We’ve spent a lot of time singing the praises of resveratrol for the heart-healthy benefits from consuming red wine and grapes. Now a new study from vision researchers at the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis uncovered additional foods that can demonstrate their health-worthiness from properties found in resveratrol. Add blueberries and peanuts to the list. Perfect timing since blueberry season is just at the beginning of what promises to be a fruitful month or so!peanut

This time the beneficial focus rests with the eyes in preserving vision (even in instances where there has already been some deterioration). This made sense to the researchers who cited the anti-aging properties of the compound so eye degeneration issues formed a natural fit. Let’s see if I have this right: Eat and drink some of these special foods and beverages and your heart and eyes benefit from the consumption. Nothing too difficult about this concept.

Wait, there’s more. Another study also just released addressed the obesity-fighting properties of resveratrol. This quickly brings to mind the French Paradox: A phrase employed with the earliest resveratrol studies that questioned how the French can remain so thin while they consume such large quantities of wine. As Yogi would say, deja vu all over again.

Nothing wrong with either of these studies. They point us in the right nutritional direction, and they have the seasonal advantage of information. Peanuts for the baseball game; grapes and blueberries as new seasonally ripe fruits, and wine anytime.

This makes sense to me!

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Drink Up: Pour These

Jun 23

Posted by admin in beverages, health

OK, what health news interests you? What’s your drink of choice? How healthy do you want to be? Coffee? Tea? Wine? We’ve got it all and today it’s all in the good news column!

Check it out:

–A new study from the Netherlands found that coffee and tea drinking in moderation reduced the risk of heart disease. Too often we find studies with a particularly small sample size. Not this time. They followed almost 40,000 coffee and tea drinkers for 13 years. Impressive. Those that consumed 2-4 cups of coffee daily had a 20% lower risk of heart disease than those consuming less coffee. Tea drinkers: You’ll love this. Those who drank 3-6 cups of tea daily reduced their risk by 45%. Even those who drank more than 6 cups daily were able to reduce their risk by 36%. Wonder about the mixed drinkers: The coffee-tea-coffee-tea routine folks?mrcofffeetea

–More interested in the positive news re: wine? Got you covered. We’ve talked a lot about the health benefits from red wine and its major property, resveratrol, and now, not one, but two studies indicate the positive powers from the compound in red wine and grapes. Drink and be skinny one study finds (fat cell reduction protects against heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s). The other study reaffirms the overall heart-healthy benefits from red wine. Of course, the researchers point out additional research is needed, but these results are in the right column.

–Soft drink consumption down. Well, that’s not totally accurate but in a study at Harvard’s Brigham & Women’s University, researchers found that if they created a “soda tax” more people would forgo the sugary sweet drinks. They raised the price of the beverages by 35% for a 4-week period and watched sales drop while coffee and diet beverage increased by 20%. Not so sure about the diet drink approach but believe taxing sugary drinks may provide some of the positive health results (less diabetes, obesity) than relying completely on individual decision-making.

So it’s a hot week, this first official week of summer, cool yourself down with an iced coffee or iced tea. Enjoy dinner with a glass of red wine, and hydrate sufficiently with water. Your body will thank you.

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Love These Studies

Jun 10

Posted by admin in beverages, health, news

Every once in a while I feel obligated to share some health news with you. Like with the positive effect of certain beverages. Wine mostly tops my list but a new study should interest even more people as researchers in Spain believe they have found a positive link between moderate drinking (not just wine but other alcoholic beverages, too) and a decreased risk of getting Alzheimer’s. Everyone believes the study is still in its early stages of suggesting positive lifestyle changes and caution that drinkers who also smoke may negate the positive effects from the alcohol.wmc_home_glass

An interesting side-note is that women seemed to fare better with this beverage link than their male counterparts. Just a few weeks ago we found that women are increasingly the largest purchasers of wine in this country but still are often ignored when a wine list is presented at a restaurant. Maybe someone will start to note that women are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about wines and are not afraid to walk into a wine store or order wine in a restaurant. Have you noticed that wine stores are hiring more women! Pay attention, restaurants!

A beverage at a totally different part of the spectrum has demonstrated positive results as well. Not that long ago we discovered that coffee drinking counted as part of our daily hydration endeavor. Now a study demonstrates that tea which had been considered a dehydrating beverage actually rehydrates better than plain water as it provides the positive, heart-healthy antioxidant effects.

Just one more bit of health news to ponder today. Again we look at the heart-health link and this time we toss out much of what we previously considered about the dangerous factors in dairy food contributing to higher cholesterol and possible weight gain. A new Swedish study demonstrates the opposite result between dairy foods and cholesterol. Again, women fared better than men; this time with improved heart-cholesterol numbers. Women who consumed the most milk products had an improved cholesterol profile.

If one study says go to the right, an author awaits to disprove the notion. That’s a possible end result of the dairy-cholesterol link. Call me a skeptic!

As with all studies, these are beginning pieces of welcome news for lifestyle changes and improved health benefits.

Stay tuned.

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Draw a Circle: Lower your Calories

May 22

Posted by admin in health, news

Some studies are just more fun to read than others. I can’t hide that fact! Take the French Fry discussion. According to the Journal of Food Science, if you cut potatoes into strips and want them to become French Fries, you’ll need more oil and, they’ll need to cook longer. Translation: They will not be considered a healthy food.potato

Yet, if you make circle fries out of your potatoes, you’ll shorten the cooking time, i.e. reduce the oil you’ll need and still come up with a similar tasting product, albeit healthier.

This all rests on the premise if you believe potatoes are healthy to start with! I confess: I’m a potato person and like the nutritional benefits from this food!

My prediction: More circle potato products with fun-sounding recipe names!

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Water: How Much?

May 19

Posted by admin in health, life, news

May is a busy month for accolades. Besides all the food-focused holidays, it is also National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. In order to help with our obesity numbers, physical activity and daily exercise remain important components. If you’ve been thinking about getting outdoors and doing something for yourself, this is a good month to take the pledge. Speaking of the pledge, there is the President’s Challenge which focuses us on daily activities to improve overall health.

Just a few helpful reminders. We need to be properly hydrated. That phrase gets mired in complexity. Does everyone, regardless of size, health condition, or physical activity, need the same amount of water a day? Can the sport dictate the rules? How about the length of the activity? The time of day? All relevant questions, but hydration is not a single-focused, exclusive phenomena. If you plan to start running today, grabbing a couple water bottles will not do the trick. Sure, they won’t hurt but that is not considered proper hydrating.

Let’s look at a few factors. Jimmy Connors one of tennis’s great athletes used to get leg cramps if he didn’t prepare for a match with an intensive amount of water for several days prior to the matches. He could feel them coming on and knew his lack of (water) diligence was going to cause pain. Research also indicates you can overdose on water and that can have a debilitating effect. Getting the balance can be accomplished by a daily intake of water which matches your daily physical commitment. Many recommend a sports drink to supplement water as you’ll be losing too much water through perspiration. Or, just give your water an energy boost with powder packs to turn it into a more powerful beverage. Over or under-doing liquids has severe negative consequences from leg cramps and extreme nausea to heat-related medical problems.propelpaks

No one needs to remind you about sunscreen and time of day. OK, I just did, but application of the SPF’s and reapplication may be a long-term critical commitment. There are numerous products that reduce the sweating off (as in dripping into your eyes) during physical activity. Until you find the right balance of fluids and have your activity in a manageable zone, consider skipping the high noon workout or consider an indoor regimen when it’s 100 humid degrees. Keep your body hydrated no matter time of day or physical activity.

Participate. Drink. Be smart.

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A New Healthy Twist

May 18

Posted by admin in health, lifestyle, Wii

How about this combination: The American Heart Association and Nintendo! Frustrated by the alarming obesity numbers and the lack of exercise among our population (AHA research found 70% of respondents say they never exercise and 40% say they find it boring), the Association and the game company formed a strategic relationship to help get people moving. Active-play video games are the focus as the emphasis is to create a multi-tiered approach to a more active lifestyle.

Nintendo has the very popular WiiFit Plus and the Wii Sports Resort games which will form the basis for this program to get people active. The benefits of moving and exercising are well-known, but accessibility often proves a deterrent. The new campaign is nintendoheartcalled “Get Informed,” “Get Empowered”and “Get Active.”

Research indicates the average person spends more than 8 hours daily just sitting down. That is about to change if this partnership has its way. Later this year they will jointly host a summit of leaders from a variety of fields to find ways to create synergies and benefits of active-play video games and physically active lifestyles. Beginning this summer they will host an information website with a component (www.activeplaynow.com) to help people conduct personal assessments of their lifestyle. Speculation abounds that a new Wii Sensor will be available to measure pulse rates.

Any approach we take to help us get off the couch and on our feet has to be given serious attention. Combine the acitivty with a heart-healthy diet, and you’ve got a winner.

I’m a gamer–Check out the tennis ball machine!

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