May 19th, 2011 by Jessie Gruman, Ph.D. in Health Policy, Health Tips
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Only one in 10 respondents to a national survey could estimate how many calories they should consume in a day.
Seventy-nine percent make few or no attempts to pay attention to the balance between the calories they consume and expend in a day.
These and other piquant findings from the online 2011 Food and Health Survey fielded by the International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC) struck home last week as I smacked up against my own ignorance about a healthy diet and the difficulty of changing lifelong eating habits.
The confluence of my failure to gain weight after cancer treatment and a blood test suggesting pre-diabetes meant that as of last Tuesday, I have been on an eat-specific-types-of-food-every-hour-and-write-it-down regimen. And despite a lifetime of recommending that people change their behavior to become healthier, I am frustrated as I try to follow my own advice. I am bewildered about what I’m supposed to eat. Finding it, preparing it and then eating it at the right time requires untold contortions and inconvenience. Writing it all down is tedious. I don’t have time for this – I have a job, obligations. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*
May 3rd, 2011 by KerriSparling in Humor, True Stories
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Growing up, we had these large, potted plants in our dining room, within throwing distance from the dining room table. (Stick with me – this is an important detail.) The plants were big and had wide, draped leaves and they made the corner of the dining room look like a veritable jungle.
Also, these suckers were really convenient for hiding food.
When I was little, the “diabetic diet” school of thought was based on the exchange program. This meant that my meals were structured around my calorie needs and the needs of my (then) peaking insulin doses. An average dinner would include one meat exchange, two starch exchanges, a dairy exchange, a fat exchange, and a fruit exchange. (Exchange, exchange, exchange.) When I was on insulins like Regular, NPH, and Lente, I needed to consume these portions in proportion, or I would end up with a very high, or very low, blood sugar.
So my mother (bless her anecdotal-medical-degree’d heart) would carefully measure out these exchanges and that would be my dinner. EXACTLY one meat exchange, and those two starches, etc. She worked very hard to make sure my meals were calculated and well-balanced.
And in response, I would hide my vegetables – aka “gross things” – in the dining room plants. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
April 28th, 2011 by PeterWehrwein in Health Tips
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Recently, about 27,000 runners began the annual 26-mile, 385-yard (42.195 kilometers) mass run from suburban Hopkinton to Boston.
But if past marathons in Boston and elsewhere are any indication, perhaps up to 40% of these optimistic and determined souls will slam into a sudden sensation of overwhelming, can’t-do-this fatigue several miles (typically about five) before they get a chance to experience the glory of crossing the finish line.
It’s called “hitting the wall.”
Getting through, around, or over hitting the wall is part of the mystique of marathon running, although there’s a physiological explanation that’s not all that mysterious: when runners hit the wall, their bodies have run out of the carbohydrates needed to sustain intense physical activities like long-distance running.
Benjamin I. Rapoport believes many runners could avoid hitting the wall if they put a few key facts about themselves and their target marathon time into the online calculator he created, which can be found at www.endurancecalculator.com. The calculator will tell them how many extra calories they should get from pasta, rice, or other high-carbohydrate food or drink before (and in some cases, during) running a marathon. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
April 27th, 2011 by Michael Kirsch, M.D. in Health Policy, News, Opinion
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Recently, nine patients died in Alabama when they received intravenous nutrition that was contaminated with deadly bacteria. This type of nutrition is called total parenteral nutrition, or TPN, and is used to nourish patients by vein when their digestive systems are not functioning properly. It is a milestone achievement in medicine and saves and maintains lives every day.
What went wrong? How did an instrument of healing become death by lethal injection? What is the lesson that can emerge from this unimaginable horror?
This tragedy represents that most feared ‘never event’ that can ever occur – death by friendly fire. No survivors. Contrast this with many other medical ‘never events’ as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, such as post-operative infections, development of bed sores in the hospital or wrong-site surgery. Under the ‘never events’ program, hospitals will be financially penalized if a listed event occurs. Many physicians and hospitals are concerned that there will be a ‘never events’ mission creep with new outcomes added to the list that don’t belong there. Medical complications, which are unavoidable, may soon be defined as ‘never events’.
Do we need a new category of ‘never ever ever events’ to include those that lead to fatal outcomes? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at MD Whistleblower*
April 23rd, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Opinion
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After spending an entire vacation reading stories, I would like to start tonight’s post with a tiny dose of fantasy. Can we try using a daydream to learn something about the challenge of making good nutrition choices?
The fantasy goes something like this…
You have just been sentenced to eternal life on a far-away sun-drenched island. This island has mountains, paved roads, wide bike lanes, and mountain bike trails. You get to take two bikes, a couple riding buddies and your family—if they’ll go. You also get to take one Apple product.
Sounds good so far.
The kicker is that you only get four food choices—and liquids count.
You are a cyclist, so after coffee and beer there are only two food choices remaining. Obviously, you will need a protein source. Smart choices here would include nuts, mercury-free fish or organically-fed animals. The protein isn’t the point, let’s keep moving.
Now we are down to the carbohydrate source.
Choose one of the following:
A.) Arugula
B.) Quinoa
C.) Cranberries
D.) Fruit Loops
Herein lies the primary hurdle that smart-nutrition advocates face: unhealthy simple sugars taste really good. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
