A Healthy Tube

Youtube.com is a popular website of all kinds of videos including everything from home videos and personal video blogs to music videos and other media clippings. The website, however, does also include informational videos including this one video about healthy eating that basically sums up important tips and concerns that those should take note of in promoting a healthier personal well being.

Here are a few of the tips that the video aimed to promote not to go more than 4-5 hours without eating and also eating products such as edamame, turkey jerky, and soy bean drinks. The tips were provided by a professional nutrionist. Although, much of the video seems basic, but a little refresher could be useful to anyone looking to eat healthy.

Skinny Tastes Good

Today’s young females are faced with a plethora of various images on magazines and televsion that promote an unhealthy unrealistic female form; however, images and influences percievable by the eye are not the only source of negative influence.

Recently, model Kate Moss, an icon for the modeling world and a recognizable name to young females, was quoted saying “Nothing taste as good as skinny feels” in an interview with a fashion website. There has been a lot of backlash against the international model for saying this mainly because there is already so many nations facing a growing number of youth with eating disorders; these youth don’t need another stick thin model to promote further unhealthy eating.

Eating disorder support group representatives were not happy with Moss’s choice of words according to an article in the US Weekly. One of the representatives, Mary George, a representative of Beat, a British eating disorder charity, was quoted by the article saying that “comments like this make it even more difficult for young people struggling with an eating disorder. She probably doesn’t realize how dangerous such comments can be.”

However, whether Moss’s comment be considered one promoting “anorexic” habits or is it just a comment about her own self-will in her eating habits that media outlets want to obsess over is something that is up for the public to decide for themselves. How suseptible are the eating habits of Americans as well as other international nations to changing or being further “negatively” supported by the words of an international supermodel?

Beer Belly Myth

As beer has been around for 7000 years, it is no surprise that America’s love affair with beer is a phenomenon is not going away. However, can drinking Americas’ favorite alcoholic drink really lead to a beer belly?

Research says no in a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  This 8-year study focused on a sample of sampling almost 20 thousand participants. Although “these results suggest that beer consumption and absolute WC (waist circumference) and WC change are associated”;,this association can only drawn conclusions that the weight gained in the stomach is due to an overall weight gain trend and not directly due to beer. This research states that weight does not have to gather in the waist area, but it doesn’t say that beer causes no weight gain at all.

In another study conducted by Martin Bobak of the University College London, the conclusion was that “it is unlikely that beer intake is associated with a largely increased WHR (waist–hip ratio) or BMI (body mass index)”. The study focused on about 28 thousand Eastern Europeans among whom drinkers of beer and drinkers of spirits were studied. Those who drank beer were no more likely to have big bellies.

Something both studies did agree on was that beer does cause some kind of weight gain, not necessarily concentrated at the waist, but especially in those who binge drink. Although both studies on the surface conclude that drinking beer does not directly cause a beer belly, drinking in excess can still have consequences. Bobak is quoted in an article on WebMD saying that there is a correlation between binge drinking and abdominal obesity, which is an important risk factor for diabetes and for cardiovascular disease.

Simple is Healthy

In a world where everyone is concerned about eating healthy, marketers would also be concerned about the same in trying to promote their products in getting people to see that their items are just as healthy, if not more so, than something you can cook in the kitchen yourself. That is when simplicity comes into play.

As first stated in an article by USAToday, simplicity could be “2010′s most powerful marketing mantra”.

The article quotes many experts in saying that companies that offer products with few ingredients beat out those who have more ingredients and that consumers are demanding cleaner food labels meaning no food coloring and other chemical additives and preservatives. Even the word “simple” and “simply” have been used more within the past few years in product and brand names according to Datamonitor.

Another supporter of this would be Michael Pollen, the author of  In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. The book  has a number of rules, or rules of thumb,  including the advice to “[avoid] products with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can’t pronounce.” The book endorses the idea that products with five or fewer ingredients means a healthier product than those are not.

The Häagen-Dazs Five ice cream line is an example of that in which a company promotes five or fewer ingredients; that was launched earlier this year, the company has since gained success according to the USAToday article. Pure, simple, and natural are the qualities that it strives to promote.

As  simplicity appears to be now next year’s new mantra, more and more companies are expected to follow suit.

The Cookie Diet

Cookies were once on the list of foods to eat in moderation if at all along with candy and other snackables; however, this was a belief that has since been complicated by the cookie diet created by Dr. Siegal which encouraged patients to eat cookies in order to lose weight. Users of this diet eat six prepackaged cookies a day and one real meal with a menu that sometimes includes vegetables and lean meat which leads to a total of 800-1,000 calories per day.

The actual effectiveness of the diet has been under scrutiny with many articles questioning the actual health and nutrition implications it has on users. An article in the NY Daily Times references experts in saying that the diet is “nutritionally unsound” and could potentially cause weight gain instead; “the 1,000 calorie a day is scarily low in fresh produce, nutritionists say”.

Nonetheless, the diet has become very popular. Advertised through Cookiediet.com, the diet has gained widespread prominent in the last few year. According to an article by the New York Times, the diet has been endorsed by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson. Even the Dr. Siegal’s book n the diet, appropriately named Dr. Seigal’s Cookie Diet Book: How a Doctor and His Cookie Helped 500,000 People Lose Weight Fast, has even cracked amazon.com’s top 500 October 23rd at position 428. The publicity that this diet has received is also much help to its now growing popularity.

Smart Choices Labels Suspended

It is important to eat the right foods for a healthy body and lifestyle; the Smart Choices Program, released this August, attested to do just that. According to the company’s press release, the program “is designed to promote public health by helping shoppers make smarter food and beverage choices”. To do so, foods are scored based on nutrition and given the label of approval if the product meets “strict science-based nutrition criteria derived from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans”.

However, some say that the label may as effective as it set out to be. According to an article by LiveScience’s Bad Medicine Columnist Christopher Wanjek, a problem with the label is that many of the healthiest foods don’t have labels because they are not produced by a factory. While foods like eggs do not make the list, Fudgsicles and  diet soda are able to make the list. When it comes to diet soda may be a better choice than regular soda, but is it really a healthy choice especially when compared to other choices like water? With foods like heavily sugar loaded cereals like Fruit Loops and Cocoa Krispies making the list, it is no wonder how the Smart Choices company has gained bad publicity in the past few months.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced through a letter of guidance for the industry that it was going to be taking a more in-depth look at the processes in which companies determine and label the nutrition level of different foods to not only improve the overall accuracy of nutrition information and create some sort of common ground between these labeling companies. In response to this, as even stated in another of its own press releases, the Smart Choices company voluntarily halted its operations on October 22nd for an indefinite period of time.

It may be uncertain whether or not the criteria that the Smart Choices company abide by are actually healthy and accurate, but it is certain that the FDA will get to the bottom of it.

Real Nutritional Benefits of Organic Foods

In the book, Our Bodies Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era published by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective about woman’s health and health in general, one of the four criteria of healthy eating emphasized upon is eating local, seasonal, organic foods. According to the excerpt published in 2005, local organic foods are safer food choices in contain less harmful toxic chemicals like pesticides and higher levels of nutrients.

However, according to new research for the Food Standards Agency published this year, organic foods give no benefits to consumers.

The study state that “no evidence of a difference in content of nutrients and other substances between organically and conventionally produced crops and livestock products was detected for the majority of nutrients assessed” “suggesting that organically and conventionally produced crops and livestock products are broadly comparable in their nutrient content”.

The research fails to look at the pesticide and herbicide residue comparison in organically and conventionally farmed food as well as taste of the two different food producing methods; it merely suggests that there are no additional benefits to eating organic foods.

An FSA director wrote in his blog, “the main take-home message from this report is that in order to eat a healthy diet it doesn’t matter if it’s made up of organic or conventionally produced food”. Perhaps it is not a matter of organic foods being essential to being healthier, but rather avoiding pesticide and toxic chemically affected foods is important in maintaining health.

No Cake for a Healthy School Birthday Celebration

Recently in Rotherham, Yorkshire, Olivia Morris was denied a complete birthday celebration when she brought a homemade chocolate cake to school for her 9th birthday. The grandmother of the little girl, Eileen Morris, 79, is outraged by the school ruling in that the Morris family has been making homemade birthday cakes to bring school for over 40 years and has never had this issue arise before.

As reported in The Sun, a UK newspaper, the cake was banned and deemed “unhealthy” by Headmistress Heather Green. “We love enjoying the birthdays of our pupils and we celebrate them both in class and in assemblies,” said Green. “At the same time however we are really working hard to promote healthy eating and lifestyles among our pupils through Healthy Schools and other projects.”

These new school policies aim to tackle some obesity statistics the city currently faces. According to the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper just last year, about 60% of families in Rotherham are overweight with 600 residents weighing 25 stone or more, almost the equivalent of 350 pounds.

With Rotherham considered as Britain’s capital of obesity, it is no wonder why stricter health codes are being enforced in the school environment. Perhaps less cake really is better.

Curing the Blues with a Mediterranean Diet

There are new scientific reports that eating a Mediterranen Diet, one that is filled with fruits, vegetables, breads, nuts, legumes, olive oil, and some fish, is not only good for the heart, but also good for the mind in preventing depression.

The study was conducted by University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Clinic of the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. A total of 10,094 healthy Spanish participants were studied between 1999 and 2005.

The participants were asked to fill out an 136-item food frequency questionnaire and scared between 0 and 9, with the highest score meaning meaning a strong following of the Mediterranean diet. 4 years down the line, those who followed the Mediterranean diet most closely had more than a 30% reduction in the risk of depression than those with low scores.

The study found that elements of the diet associated to a lower depression risk included fruits, nuts, legumes, and a high ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats.

According to the study’s background research, mental disorders are less common in Mediterranean countries and rates of suicide are also than in northern Europe; scientists believe it is because of this diet, but the study only proves an association and not an exact cause and effect.

“The specific mechanisms by which a better adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern could help to prevent the occurrence of depression are not well known,” the authors of the study wrote.

More research is still necessary to fully detail the benefits of this diet, but in the mean time, it certainly does not hurt to try the diet of fish, nuts, and vegetables. According to experts at ediets.com, the mediterranean meal plan is good for individuals who enjoy fresh whole foods and lots of fish and seafood as opposed to red meats and processed foods.

Healthy Yet Risky Food

Fruits, vegetables, and fish are just a few of the things that people are asked to eat more of in order to stay healthy; however, healthy foods do not come without risks making people wonder if there is anything that is safe to eat.

According to a press release by the Center of Science in the Public Interest, leafy greens, eggs, and tuna are at the top of a list of the 10 riskiest food to consume by the Food Administration. Potatoes, tomatoes, sprouts, and berries also made the list. The list goes as follows:

1. Leafy greens: 363 outbreaks; 13,568 cases
2. Eggs: 352 outbreaks; 11,164 cases
3. Tuna: 268 outbreaks; 2,341 cases
4. Oysters: 132 outbreaks; 3,409 cases
5. Potatoes: 108 outbreaks; 3,659 cases
6. Cheese: 83 outbreaks; 2,761 cases
7. Ice cream: 74 outbreaks; 2,594 cases
8. Tomatoes: 31 outbreaks; 3,292 cases
9. Sprouts: 31 outbreaks; 2,022 cases
10. Berries: 25 outbreaks; 3,397 cases

These foods account for nearly 40% of all food-borne outbreaks with potentially even more illnesses that go unreported a year. These outbreaks were associated with issues with E. coli, Salmonella, or Norovirus due to continaminted water, manure, and/or poor handling practices.

“The problems of food-borne illness are so broad [that] it’s not a matter of eliminating foods from diet,” says Sarah Klein, a staff attorney with the food safety program at CSPI. “The food industry and the FDA need to make sure that all of our food is safe.”

Hence, in response to this and the potential threat that these foods bring, the FDA is currently pushing it’s Food Safety Modernization Act; the act would impose stricter rules in an attempt:  to protect the public health. As written in the legislation, the act would do so by “preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes”. The act has already been passed in July by the House of Representatives with broad support. A similar legislation is still under consideration in the Senate.

For the everyday person, here are 3 tips that Klein suggests for protection against food-related illnesses:

1. Don’t change your diet: It is important to remember to still maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
2. Practice defensive eating: Avoid eating raw products and cook food till done thoroughly to eliminate risks.
3. Use care in handling and preparing all parts of your meal: Examples of this would be to avoid contamination by using the same cutting board to prepare both raw meat and fruits and vegetables. In addition, do not just take caution in for foods on the list of 10, but rather in the preparations of all foods and produce in a meal.