December 15th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Tips, Video
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Some researchers say that America has “sitting disease” because (on average) we spend 56 hours a week in a seated position. I had the chance to talk to the ABC news team in Washington, DC, about the importance of daily activity to keep our bodies from losing muscle mass. I encouraged us to think of activity not just as going to the gym, but as the daily commitment to NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis, described by Dr. James Levine at the Mayo Clinic). And yes, I confessed to having sitting disease myself… and have made a clear New Year’s resolution to address this problem!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8CWiZYQucA
December 7th, 2009 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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After a holiday weekend of movie-going and eating that popcorn that smells so good in the theater, it was a shock to read the report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest that shows just how bad theater popcorn is. The researchers studied medium size popcorn from three large movie chains; Regal Entertainment Group, AMC and Cinemark.
The analysis showed that a Regal medium popcorn contains 1,200 calories and 60 grams of saturated fat. AMC popcorn was a “smaller” medium and contained 590 calories and 33 grams of saturated fat. This was before adding the butter topping. Cinemark wasn’t much better at 760 calories but it only had 3 grams of saturated fat.
Kudos to Cinemark for popping their corn in canola oil with less saturated fat. The other chains use heart unhealthy coconut oil, which is about 90% saturated fat. Lard is 40% saturated!
The study showed that a $12 medium popcorn and soda combination at a Regal movie would be the equivalent of three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with 12 pats of butter. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
November 24th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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BSparl is getting bigger. (And so am I.)
I spent a lot of time planning this pregnancy, starting from back in 2003 when I decided to go on an insulin pump. And even though preparation didn’t begin in earnest until Chris and I were married, having a child has always been something I’ve wanted with my whole heart. So I read up on what to expect, and what to do to help improve my diabetes control, and what prenatal vitamins to take.
What I didn’t do much research on was the actual pregnancy itself. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
July 22nd, 2009 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Do you know that most adults should eat less than 2,000 calories a day? Sounds like a lot, until you consider that if you eat out, you can get your entire days worth in one meal. Here are some amazing facts (chosen at random):
- At Burger King – a triple whopper with cheese has 1,230 calories – add medium fries (360) and medium chocolate shake (690) and you are up to 2,280 calories!
- The Cheesecake Factory brings you beer battered fish & chips at 2,160 calories, add a piece of Adam’s Peanut Butter Fudge Ripple Cheesecake (1,326) for a total of 3,486 calories!
- How about Chicken & Biscuits instead, with 68 grams of saturated fat? Yes, that is more than four days worth of saturated fat (for a 2,000 a day diet, <16 grams a day is suggested).
Right now you can usually request the nutritional information at chain restaurants and someone will point you to or produce a pamphlet, but the information is not apparent. The idea of having those nutritional facts printed clearly on menus is meeting some serious resistance from the restaurant industry. I wonder why?
Public health advocates however are pushing hard to get this information in front of consumers hoping that people will make healthier choices when faced with the facts! The Senate supported a federal labeling law last month as part of comprehensive health-care reform, but we shall see what happens when it all comes to a vote.
Until then, it would be good to know when ordering – and passing on these facts to our teens who are likely to be eating out.
This post, Would You Like A Bigger Butt With Those Fries?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
November 11th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Tips
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Several people have asked me if corn syrup is the root of all evil. This cheap, high calorie sweetener is adding hidden calories to everything from spaghetti sauce to condiments to peanut butter. But is it actually worse for you than “regular” cane sugar? Is there something special about corn syrup that makes it worthy of national vilification?
The truth is that corn syrup isn’t any “worse” than any other highly refined sugar – there’s nothing special about corn that makes it harmful to consume (unless maybe if you’re allergic to corn, but that’s another story). The real issue is that we humans love sweet things, and that food product manufacturers are simply adding sweetener to their products to cater to our taste buds. In so doing, hidden calories add up… and waist lines expand in response.
Folks with diabetes understand how difficult it is to find unsweetened products these days, and they have to work extra hard to avoid the high fructose corn syrup in so many foods. For those of us who don’t have diabetes (yet?) we’d probably do well to follow their example and consciously cut down on our sugar intake if not to manage our insulin levels, but at least to avoid unnecessary calorie consumption.
I myself am a bit of a sugar addict by nature – I resolved to cut down on carbs a few months ago and have dropped 10 pounds already. I have learned to like unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened organic ketchup, and I make my own sauces and avoid refined flour products.
In my next post I’ll speak with Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., Distinguished Professor of Nutrition, Penn State University about what she learned at the recent American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) in Chicago. She’ll explain why all the fear mongering about corn is a bit exaggerated.
