Healthy Bytes

read time: 291 words, just a minute

Novartis drug Zelnorm has been withdrawn from the market per the request of the FDA.
Zelnorm is for relieving constipation. Apparently the FDA thinks the higher risk of chest pain, heart attack and stroke as a result of relieving constipation with Zelnorm is not a good trade off.

What do I think…
Fe-Fi-Fo-FIBER
Enough with the toilet paper conservation. Eat fiber, don’t get constipated.

Our fine ancestors ate about 100 grams of fiber a day.
Us?… 8 grams. Yup, that would be 92% LESS.

And where do you get fiber…
Veggies, fruit, veggies, legumes, veggies, flax seed, nuts, whole grains.

Not only will be spared constipation, but you’ll get some other massive benefits…

• Fiber slows the rate food and nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream – this keeps
  blood sugar and cholesterol in ideal balance and prevents blood sugar spikes. In fact fiber can lower blood sugar (which reduces insulin) as well as diabetes drugs.
• Fiber speeds the rate food passes through the digestive track – this quickly eliminates toxins.
• Fiber promotes weight loss by signaling the brain you’re full, stop eating.
• Fiber has bulk with far less calories than “empty calorie” foods.
• Fiber has been shown to reduce colon cancer by as much as a third and breast cancer by nearly 40%.

Soluble fiber is better than insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber gets digested; insoluble fiber does not.

Oh and if you really need extra help with constipation, there’s Glucomannan - a fiber product made from the root of elephant yams. It’s soluable and one of the most viscous fibers known (absorbs up to 50 times its weight in water). So it will bulk up food in your stomach… you feel full more quickly, you eat fewer calories.

Now go eat your veggies.

read time: 463 words, about 2 minutes

How tired are you of conflicting results?
I mean one study says eating blabla will prevent (fill in the blank malady). Then another study comes along and says blabla does not have an effect on (fill in the blank malady).

My sense from a lot of people is, in some ways they’re numb to all these “studies”. At minimum, they’re confused and frustrated. When it comes to teasing and toying with your health and the quality of your life, well, it seems a bit cruel.

You can’t blame the researchers in most cases – assuming they don’t have a hidden agenda that has significantly tilted the research.

But here’s the thing – in my strong opinion – all of this research, or at least the interpretation of it, tries to fulfill a much greater role than it possibly can. Often this is driven by hope, mortal fears and our inherent need to make things better.

Additionally, while a particular study may look at one particular food, or one effect, it cannot completely control everything else. For instance, “subjects” that are apt to ‘eat a healthy diet’ are also apt to practice numerous other healthy habits. Since they’re probably healthier to begin with, the results they experience may significantly differ from the results a less healthy person will realize.

Let me explain.
Think about a couple phrases you’ve probably heard a billion times:
Eat a balanced diet
Everything in moderation

These are very, very, very core truths and the first filter you should use for everything.
A> There simply is not ONE thing, not ONE food.
B> There’s an inter-relationship among the systems in the body. What you eat does not have a single effect on a single system. Nor is the effect generally noticed immediately.
C> You need a plethora of nutrients to thrive. Eating a small number of foods won’t get you there.
D> The body is pretty forgiving. It can take sporadic and temporary stresses. But constant stress and malnutrition have a cumulative effect.

All this to say, that yes, for example, blueberries are very good for you. But, simply adding blueberries to a bad diet is not enough to absolve the effects of a bad diet. It’s only enough to tilt the scale a little.

While there is value in research findings, understand them in perspective. And try to understand why a particular food or advocated diet is good or bad. For instance, in the case of blueberries - they’re very good anti-oxidants. So to increase your anti-oxidant intake, blueberries are one of the best ways.

So when you turn on the evening news and here about the “latest” miracle food or miracle exercise, understand the limitations of research. And don’t abdicate your responsibility to consistently eat well for the health of it.

read time: 157 words, maybe a minute

Now that we just passed the last pre-Christmas weekend, we’re mostly through the pre-Christmas holiday parties, soon to be moving into the Christmas-New Year’s parties.

How are you doing…
Stress wise?
Eating wise?

The holidays become such a stress and bad eating land mine field.

Every two hours, take 5 minutes for 10 deep, slow breathes. You can do it sitting or even better, standing up.

When it comes to treats around the house, the office and at parties, be choosy…
Have a little bit of only the ones you really like, rather than some of everything in your visual field. Savor each taste. Fill up on fresh veggies and fruits. Have cheese without crackers.

Move – take the stairs, park further away, walk around the block, run in place at your desk for 1-2 minutes every hour, stretch out on the floor while parked in front of the TV.

Every little bit helps… and adds up.

read time: 158 words, just a minute

With health insurance premiums spiraling up (7.7% in 2006), companies who don’t or can’t absorb the cost are choosing one of two options.

Option one – cut the coverage and/or shift some of the cost to the employee.
Option two – take a decidedly active role in persuading employees to make healthier choices.

Some companies have hired dieticians, wellness program managers and health directors. They’re sponsoring exercise programs and nutrition education.

Some companies are applying a “Twinkie tax” – increasing the cost of not healthy food in their cafeteria and using the extra money to subsidize and lower the cost of healthy food. L.L. Bean hiked the price of burgers and lowered the price of salads. Burger and fry sales were cut in half, fruit and salad bar sales doubled.

A healthier employee means less productivity loss due to sickness and (presumably) lower health care costs eventually. An easy to understand investment for the company.

What would you invest for yourself?

CNN health ran an article on U.S. eating habits.

The findings include:
-> most Americans still eat at home
-> meals are more likely to be from restaurants or prepared and sold in grocery stores than 10 years ago
-> the average meal (portion size) is larger compared to the 70’s
-> we spend less time eating (eating on the run)

Eat less, savour more.

Here’s a great book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by food psychologist Brian Wansink

read time: 344 words, about 2 minutes

I was reading a New York Times article about the cost of obesity. Below the article were a few “Ads by Google”. This one caught my eye:

Lap Band Surgeon, among
World Leaders, Special $8,450 Great Hospital, 2700+ Ops, Mexico

I recently saw a TV ad for Lap band surgery. The tone of the ad was much like the tone of let’s say a weekend get away. Fun, fashionable. A real-life, before-and-after almost as easy as standing in front a trick mirror at a carnival.

World AIDs day was last week. A segment of TV news aired a brief chat with 3 under 25 years individuals who were HIV positive. The reporter was asking them about what their life was like compared to peers who were not HIV positive. One fellow remarked something a long the lines of… oh, you just take a bunch of pills. No big deal.

What does one have to do with the other?
At least in my apparently out-of-step mind, we’re buying into advertising that emphasizes have a fabulous time committing the sin over and over. Then do a quicky confession (take a pill, do a little surgery) and hey, it’s all better.

Lap band surgery is SURGERY. There are very real and serious risks. And afterward, the prescribed diet is, well, not a piece of cake. High in protein, low in fiber. Liquid only for some time graduating to puree. All in all, you’re very unlikely to get properly nourished. So basically, you’re volunteering for mal-nourishment. hmmm, how many charities and organizations exist to end malnourishment due to poverty?

And come on, with that kind of diet are you really going to feel satisfied??

Adding, oh just 2-3 pounds a year means that at age 30, you’re 20-30 pounds more than you were at 20. At 40, you’re 40-60 pounds heavier. At 50, you’re 60-90 pounds heavier. At the ole 65 benchmark, you’re 90-130 pounds heavier.

Behavior has consequence. The body temple doesn’t grant absolution eternally.

Eat less quantity and better quality.

… to another helping.

Many Americans gain 4-7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. And then…

50% start a diet in January.
How many succeed in taking and keeping it off?

You know, not many.

Gaining weight is not inevitable.

When you’re out socializing:

- limit the alcohol
- fill up on veggies and fruit rather than bread and other starchy and/or high calorie options
- have half a desert

A little extra isn’t terrible. But a little extra over and over again adds up.