Super Sized?

Have you ever seen the movie Supersize Me? I'll admit, I've only seen it once, and that's all I need to see, because it disturbed me so much. I wanted to throw up after seeing the change going on with him during the entire debacle, but I just found a picture of the Obesity Scale for America, and was just as grossed out...

Even though Virginia is in the Orange scale rather than the red or dreaded purple, that still means that almost a quarter of our state's population is obese. According to ObesityinAmerica.org, obesity claims the lives of almost half a million people per year, and the number is growing. This site not only looks at different ways of losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but also researches the genetics of obesity. It's actually a pretty informative site, if you decide to look at it.

The thing is, most of us at least have a family member or friend who is obese, and it's no way to live your life. In order for us as a nation, state, or even just as friends to change this epidemic, we have to become informed of the reasons behind and factors leading to obesity.

Walk Like and Egyptian

On a whim, I decided to research the food pyramid, just to see how I was stacking up (pun intended, and yes, I'm a dork...). What I found actually surprised me. Did you know that there is not one food pyramid, but several, maybe hundreds for all I know?

On the lft is the Asian Food pyramid. The only real difference between this and the American Food Pyramid is that it includes food local to them, such as rice and tea. This is how most of them go, including the Latin American Food Pyramid, Mediterranean Food Pyramid, and so on. However, I did find a few more interesting ones:

The Senior Food Pyramid:

This one takes an emphasis on water and veggies, and includes supplements that should be taken for those in their golden years.

The Vegetarian Food Pyramid:

This one is kind of cool too, and allows for more servings of different kinds of foods normally not mentioned in the regular food pyramid, like beans, nuts and seeds, as well as "Green Leafy Vegetables." Mmmm...

Finally, I thought I'd include the Mayo Clinic's Heathy Weight Food Pyramid:

It really focuses on your vegetable intake, and puts more of an emphasis on excercise, as noted by the totally cool walker in the middle.

Autism Speaks

I'll go ahead and say it: I'm a huge Jenny McCarthy fan. Have been since Blind Date and the Jenny McCarthy Show. I always found her funny in a way that most women are afraid to be and respected her for that. So while I was in line at the Wal-Mart checkout counter, I happened to see her picture on the cover of a magazine, and realized that I hadn't heard anything about her in a few years. The cover was about Jenny and her son, Evan, who was recently diagnosed with autism. My heart reached out to this mom, who I had so adored over the years, and I took the opportunity to look a little further into her story. Here's a great one I found when she did a segment on the Oprah Winfrey Show:

Jenny's Story

I found her cause to be immensely inspiring and the story moving. I suggest everyone read it, whether you are directly affected by autism or not. As a person who has had limited experience with the condition, I was amazed at some of the things that these mothers go through to open up their children. From changes in diet to conditional learning, it was amazing what some of these women, and in some cases men, would go through to help their child in any way possible. The most inspiring part of the story, however, was the progress that could be made in these difficult years. Although an immensely difficult journey, autism has not stopped Jenny from working to make her son into the most capable person he can be, and her advocacy on the subject, working with HEAL, has allowed so many more people to raise awareness for this disease.

Peanut Better!

So I was perusing around the old MSN Health page, and discovered a tasty article on peanut butter! Not a peanut fan myself, I found it intriguing, as I am a loyal consumer of Smucker's All Natural Peanut Butter. Here's the article:

MmmMmm Good!

It made me feel great knowing that what I had always assumed to be a bit of an indulgence is actually good for me. Since I'm known to compare links, I thought I'd look for some great peanut butter recipes. Haha, did you know that there's Peanut Butter Lover's website?

Peanut Butter Striped Delight (Okay, so I'm not sure how healthy this one is!)

My favorite thing about peanut butter, though, is all of the heath benefits it has to offer. When consumed in moderation and on a regular basis, the tasty treat can help prevent against heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

Knit for your Health

I strongly believe that being physically healthy means nothing without having a good bill of mental health. After a particularly stressful weekend, I decided to research some good methods of handling stress. Different sources I looked at provided different results, all of them making perfect sense:

APA

Though short, I really liked it. It says toward the end that one way to lessen the stress in your life is to learn to say "no," something I need to learn to do.

Yahoo Health

This one, written by Gabrielle Reece, the former volleyball star, cited exercise and reflection for managing stress, which I find to be easy to say unless you are under a great deal of stress.

While all of these suggestions are valid, I find managing stress to be a personal decision. As an avid knitter, I came across this article on my favorite knitting website:

Knit Like a Man

I often find my knitting to be a stress reliever, but sometimes I can't even bring myself to do that. This article was difficult to read, but also very honestly done. It's interesting to see someone's progression through a deep depression, from onset to end, by how many rows a person can knit. Many people cite a symptom of depression as when someone begins to lose interest in the things they enjoy. They don't often include, though, that sometimes it is those hobbies that can get you back to your normal, healthy self.

Now off to make a scarf!

Chocolatey Goodness!

So I've found it a bit ironic that I'm writing a Health and Nutrition blog, yet live a pretty unhealthy life. I've decided to justify this by investigating the potential health benefits to some of my favorite foods. This week: the ever-beloved chocolate.

After a little digging, I found an old USA Weekend article (from 1998) that clears the air a little about the benefits and downfalls of chocolate:

Click me!

I really like how it debunks a lot of chocolate's myths, and explains that certain types of chocolates with less sugar in them, like dark chocolate, contain antioxidants, while others, like white chocolate, have few, if any health benefits.

My favorite part about this article, as well as the one I found in Shape Magazine, were the low-cal. chocolate recipes they provided. Let's be honest, how can you say no to this:

This is a tasty-delicious chocolate banana smoothie that makes me want to jump in the car and go grocery shopping right now. This recipe is so easy to make, and is low-cal, so try it out. It can be found in the USA Weekly link above. Shape Magazine's website also has a bunch of low-cal chocolate recipes as well.

The basic consensus about choclate, though comes down to this: all in moderation. Dark chocolate is the best, but nobody wants, or should for that matter deprive themself of something they crave. Try out a couple of the recipes and sleep sound knowing you didn't just undo your whole day since you satisfied your sweet tooth and chose a (semi) healthy option in the process.

McHealthy?

Burger King just announced that they will begin marketing new healthier options to kids starting in 2008. Their big hit seems to be what they call "BK Fresh Apple Fries," which are simply apple slices cut and packaged to look like french fries. I must say, while a small step, I still admire BK's attempt at moving toward a healthier America.

Full Story at cnn.com

This got me to thinking about other fast food chains that are starting to offer healthier options, and how healthy are they really? Also, how much advertising are they investing into the health of their patrons?

McDonald's Nutrition Facts

Notice that while some of the salad options are lower in the calorie department, some, like the Southwest Salad with Crispy Chicken has about the same amount of calories as a Quarter Pounder. I find it interesting as well, that none of the nutritional values for the salads include the dressing. In addition, the sodium values for the dressings are ridiculous - some 1/3 of the daily recommended value. Haha, can you tell I'm not a big McDonalds fan? Moving on:

Burger King Nutrition Facts

This one was pretty cool. Burger King lays out all of thier food options, ranged by calorie intake. You can also do the same for carbs and fat. What I found really impressive was that they have several links to view healthier eating strategies, as well as tips for making their own food more nutritionally sound, including lightening up on the dressing and cutting back on the mayo. Check it out, it's pretty interesting.

Wendy's Nutrition Facts

Check out the sodium levels for the salads. I want to cry. I was afraid to even look at the burgers. They include some sites about special diets, including gluton free and diabetic, but not much in the way of their own healthier options. Wendy's needs to get on the ball here.

Finally, I've been really irritated by the Quizno's commercails knocking down Subway because they have less meat. Isn't that the point? Portion control and healthier ingredients are Subway's aim. Shame on Quizno's for having such a lame advertising department. The proof is in the print!

Quizno's Nutrition Facts

Subway's Nutrition Facts

So you notice that Quizno's nutrition facts doesn't send you to a link? That's because I couldn't find it, and it doesn't seem to exist online, at least not one endorsed by Quizno's. On thier website, it said that they will be offering nutritional information in the fall of 2007. However, I noticed that under the "Kidz" menu, every entree is advertised with a cookie and soda, and for adults, there is only one vegetarian option.

Subway, however, has a very cool nutrition guide that's pretty fun to play with. I think the websites speak for themselves.

Now time for a juicy burger and fries...

Pregnant Smokers: Beware!!!

For my first official post on my Health and Nutrition blog, I decided to find an article that spoke to me personally. No, I'm not pregnant, but I am a smoker who hopes to have kids one day. While I've tried to quit this stinky habit several times, the urge to grab my cancer-sticks in times of extreme stress and not so extreme boredome always seems to prevail. However, I always told myself that when the time comes to bring my wee ones into the world, my tasty nicotine treats would have to go the way of the gun...or the trashcan, whichever works.

With that in mind, I always wondered about the mommies-to-be out there who couldn't seem to put down their lighters for the health of their baby. Looking at the side of my cigarette box right now, it says in rather large and very capitolized letters: "SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight." Don't these mothers feel a certain sense of responsibility for their unborn children? Then I read this stirring article from the Associated Press on msnbc:

Pregnant Smokers

I'm not going to summarize the article, as you can read it yourself, but I will take this time to question authority a bit, as I'm sometimes prone to do. AP is a popular guy, and I see his articles floating around a fair bit in my news-hunting fortays, but I must ask, where did you get your information from? No, I'm not knocking the notion that pregnant women shouldn't smoke by any means, but the article makes mention of the emotional dependency of women especially in less educated and poorer regions of the country, citing they are more likely to be victims of depression and possible chemical imbalance. "Poorer regions" stuck out to me as a nice way of saying "the South."

Sure, everyone and their brother smokes in the South, including pretty much anyone over the age of 12, but I think the more important issue here is being ignored: education. It's no secret that the educational system in our southern region is, to put it nicely, sub-par, but I see that as all the more reason to promote education than drug-therapy, as the article mentioned. True, it was one of many options mentioned, but in these "poorer regions" how are women supposed to afford psychological treatment when the price of a carton comes so much cheaper at the local 7-11? It seems to me that promoting education at a younger age could nip this problem in the bud instead of simply accepting the fact that yes, your child will be a smoker, and probably pregnant at an early age. I would be depressed, too.