Where's the food?

In this article, the author discusses the benefits of eating real food, as opposed to all of that fake food we're seeing in the grocery stores nowadays. No I'm not talking about the play house plastic apples, but rather nutrition bars and protein shakes that we're becoming accustomed to. She gives six rules to live by when looking for healthy meals:

1. Eat seeds or foods made from seeds
2. Eat five different colored fruits and veggies daily
3. Eat plant foods with their skins intact.
4. Drink milk and eat milk products that come from animals (rather than soy)
5. Eat foods that come from cold water
6. Eat meat poultry or eggs that come from free-range or grass-fed animals.

You can read the article to understand her reasoning behind her six rules, but I thought her underlying theme was interesting. Basically, it's understanding that vitamins and nutrients cannot be supplemented as easily aas we like to think. Although it's a good idea to take vitamins every day, nothing truly substitutes for the real thing.

Smokin'

Yes, that's right, another post on smoking. I seem to be sucking back more lately with all of the stress I've been under, so I decided to look into ways to quit when I'm good and ready.

SMOKE LESS

They talk about some different techniques for quitting, including some more high-tech ways that have come out lately. The author, however, doesn't trust these methods, and recommends more traditional methods and knowing yourself as a smoker.

I have to agree with him on this one. Only you know your smoking habits and when you tend to reach for a cigarette. By the way, a fun fact: Smokers who have the first cig of the day as soon as they jump out of bed tend to be more addicted than those who wait thirty minutes to light up. Interesting. Especially seeing as I'm part of that first group.

BOO!

As much as I commend the experts at Prevent Blindness America, I have to say: chill out. I understand that the world is a scary place now with uni bombers and razor blades in the apples and whatnot, but let kids be kids. I was a kid. Sometimes I got hurt. I'm not blind. Fancy that. Now I do understand that sometimes people need to step in for the well being of their children, say, when you catch them lighting fireworks too close to their face, but don't dictate what the poor kids should wear for Halloween.

I stated in my previous post that I'm terrified to have children. Let me clarify this: I'm terrified to have children considering what the environmental state of our world is now, but I like to think, though I will worry about my children, that my (probably) constant state of worry will not hinder them from being kids.

Walk with your kids on Halloween night, keep an eye out for perverts and leather face. But let them be kids. You only get one chance to do that, and you'll probably have to pay thousands of dollars worth of head shrinking because of your over protectiveness otherwise.

Increases in Diagnoses

This article makes me scared to have kids.

I've been following the recent talk about the increased diagnoses in ADHD, bipolar disorder, allergies and more for the last couple of months, and no article that I've read has actually made me scared to have children. This one did. Not that it said anything so telling, like my kid is going to die at the ripe old age of 30 because of increased allergies, but the stance that the author took on the reasoning behind these diagnoses.

Weiss stated that lack of contact with certain germs, since we live in more sterile environments now, is not allowing our bodies to build up natural immunities to them. Similarly, the overly industrialized environment that we are living in is giving way to lack of sleep and increased mental and emotional difficulties, leading to ADHD and bipolar disorder. While I don't often buy into the hype that most of the authors I read about speculate, this one actually made sense to me.

Brains!!!

My grandmother suffers from dementia, so when I stumbled across this article, I thought it was a great resource for people looking to pump up their brains Schwarzenegger-style.

Brain Boosters

The article lists eleven different ways to jump-start your brain and improve your overall quality of life:

1. Diet: The author stresses a Mediterranean-style diet, focusing on fish, whole grains, and color-rich vegetables. He adds that sugars and red meat should be avoided. I'll have to work on that one: I love rare steaks!



2. Vitamins: Most people don't consume the appropriate amounts of certain vitamins and minerals, so it is suggested that supplements are taken. Nothing beats getting these from the original source, but a supplement is better than nothing. The author stresses Folate, B, C, and E vitamins, as well as Omega-3 fats.



3. Drink!: But don't guzzle. Red wine is invaluable to the body for antioxidants, and darker reds, like pinot noir is preferable. Just don't over-consume: 1 glass of wine for women is enough each day.



4. Aspirin: A daily aspirin regimen is really not necessary until a certain age, so I won't go into this one too much.



5. Meditation: Whether it's a walk in the park or simply taking 15 minutes to yourself at lunch, meditation is key to relieving stress and taking pressure of the brain and heart.



6. Laugh: Like meditation, laughing relieves stress from the heart and releases endorphins to the brain, making you an all-around more pleasant person.



7. Be Social: Having friends or joining social organizations decreases your chances of depression, and does the same for your heart and brain as laughing and meditating.



8. Sleep on it: Though doc's aren't sure why sleep is so necessary for the body, they know that humans can't survive more than a couple of weeks without it. Here's a few tips of getting that much needed rest when it seems so hard to attain:
   
   

   Don't eat a heavy meal late in the day.
   Avoid caffeine and alcohol late in the day.
   Get regular exercise, but not close to bedtime.
   If you can't fall asleep or wake up in the middle of the night, get up and read or watch TV until you feel drowsy.
   If you lie awake worrying about things, make a to-do list before going to bed.




9. Puzzle yourself: Try crossword puzzles or other brain-teasers to keep your attention levels at a maximum. Plus, these fun quizzes allow you to constantly test yourself and make you think even when you're having fun.



10. Exercise: You know all about this one.



11. Learn "neurobics:" Neurological Aerobics allows you to appreciate your other senses in ways that you might not have thought to. Learn Braille, wear earplugs at the dinner table, shower with your eyes closed. It might seem odd, but things like this keep the brain on its toes, and ultimately allow you to live longer with everything still on upstairs!

Overdiagnoses

I've been getting pretty interested in mental health lately, as I seem to be going crazy myself, and have enjoyed reading up on the latest in mental heal news. Most recently, I have become aware of the serious influx in the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, previously known as Manic Depression.

MSN Article

I have a couple of friends who suffer from this disorder, and whom I feel have been properly diagnosed, however, I wonder about all of the poeple who could possibly be wrongly diagnosed with this disorder. There is no clear way to test for Bipolar Disorder, making it difficult to pinpoint, but doctors are becoming more comfortable with the diagnosis. Whether they have been underrepresenting it in the past or are over representing it now is still to be decided, but something has to be done to make this disease more simple to catch.

The medications perscribed for this disease are serious, and often in conjunction with several other medications. Should these be perscribed to a person who displays similar symptoms but does not actually have the disease, they could be detremental, or potentially fatal. I'm not a doctor, so I don't know what I could really contribute as far as constructive criticism is concerned, but I do care for the people around me who have either been afflicted with this disease, or are suffering from another form of mental illness and have yet to be diagnosed properly.

Snack Happy!

My roommate (a nutrition major) has recently commented about my appropriate snack decisions. I never considered my regimen of goldfish and string cheese to be worthy of praise, but when she broke it down to me, I felt downright proud of myself. I always carry with me goldfish, string cheese, a peanut butter sandwich on wheat, and a pack of raisins with me when I know I'm going to be on-campus for a long day. I can't afford to actually eat at JMU, as the prices are absolutely ridiculous, so I just considered packing a natural way to save money. It turns out I'm due for more praise than I thought:

Snack Happy


I have noticed that when I snack, and healthfully so, I feel more alert during the day, and less inclined to binge later. My favorites include the ones I was fed as a child, like "ants on a log," which my mother referred celery with peanut butter and raisins as. Although childish in nature, I feel like the kid food that we consumed in our younger years was sightedly more nutritionally sound, and often, at least in my case, paired with a Flintstone vitamin for good measure.

Common Food Myths

I'm pretty tired of the whole "This food is bad for you" ordeal that many people get into. Of course if you top everything you eat off with a tablespoon of sugar or a pat of butter, it's going to be unhealthy, but many foods get a bad rap due to outdated or inconclusive "studies." Educate yourself:

Tasty Goodness!

I really liked how this author debunked a few food myths. What is good for one person may not be good for another, and just because yo mamma says it's bad for you, doesn't necessarily mean she's a nutritionist.