Stupid Spot: Ok I really did not see any stupid exerciser examples this date, well, maybe crazy exerciser, crazy runner. That would be me. I was trying to run my regular mileage while on a business trip and I did too, but I was dodging construction barrels and signs and workers. Too funny. And as I tell my friends, it is never a question of “if” I will get the work outs in, only “how”. That and my boss kept warning me that the alligators in Bonita Springs were going to eat me, but alas they did not.
Cell Phone: I was serious about what I said last week. There has been no definitive study on the risks associated with the radiation that is emitted from these awesome machines and for that reason, caution is appropriate, panic is not. I did get my new phone with a lower SAR and I feel better about that.
Smoking and Smoke: This week saw a regulation bill pass the US House in regards to tobacco products. It has some good measures, for instance, not allowing the terms light or low tar to be used in advertising as they imply less harm and that is incorrect. Also, having the tobacco companies list ALL the additives that they use. Also a good thing. The consumer should know that cigarettes contain cancer causing substances like benzene, toxic metals like lead and poisonous gases, like carbon monoxide. It may not be a good law on the other hand, if it implies that cigarettes are somehow healthy. And that it may. Is there any other FDA regulated product that if used correctly is likely to kill you? Also out this week. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine evaluating some of the effect of Scotland’s 2006 public smoking ban. There was a significant change in the amount of heart attack triggered hospital visits. That is the way most researchers evaluate public smoking bans. In fact, the greatest reduction was in non smoker heart attacks and that is a promising and telling statistic. Sometimes people fear that if smoking is prohibited in public then more people will smoke at home, in the home, and expose their nonsmoking loved ones to the deadly smoke. These statistics may also show that food service workers are now protected from the smoke of their clientele and coworkers. If you wonder why they are looking at heart attack cases, let me remind you. More smokers die from heart attacks than from lung cancer and the US Surgeon General has confirmed that tobacco smoke causes heart disease in active and passive form. Nicotine and Carbon Monoxide are the two main factors. Oh and these bans are good because they also work to make smoking a social taboo.
Time to Make the Donuts (Healthy): Oh, I almost wrote that it was time to make them healthier, but that would have implied that they were healthy to begin with and that isn’t so. Anyhooo. Dunkin Donuts is adding some items to its menu that they claim will be better for us and will have 300 or less calories and lower fat content. This includes a few things made with egg whites, sandwiches and such and also a lower fat blueberry muffin and a whole grain bagel. This is fine. The company spokesperson said they wanted to get involved in the trend of healthier eating, and they are going to spend a lot of money (several million) to market this new menu line. I think it has a lot to do with being a franchise with many NY locations. (i.e. calorie content laws). The reason they are getting my attention is the NAME of their new menu line………… DDSmart. Too funny and of course, my nickname to some, is DD.
What?! There is a Wall St Journal article this week that actually questions if Barak Obama’s level of physical fitness and uh, normal weight, would be a negative to voters. Are you kidding me? Seriously, are you kidding me? Bill Clinton and Mike Huckabee are touting their programs to get kids fit and Huckabee lost like a 100 pounds and is now running marathons. We NEED a president who is health conscious. What a stupid suggestion (not mine, theirs!)
Off Label: I read a story this week about the problem with off label drug use and the money it may cost drug plans. I agree that it is an issue and have seen it myself in practice. To review. A drug company creates a drug to treat a specific illness and submits a new drug proposal to the FDA. The drug must treat a new illness or an old illness in a better way, be effective, have minimal side effects etc etc. It goes through several clinical trials and sometimes gets approved and may even have block buster status. However, it is only approved for marketing under the disease that the drug application named. So if it was approved to treat erectile dysfunction i.e. Viagra and a doctor decides to give it to a woman for her lack of libido that is OK. But if Pfizer runs a TV commercial advising women to ask their doctor if Viagra is right for them, well, that is illegal. So you can prescribe it off label but not market it. There is a problem with marketing going unaddressed by the FDA whose job it is to keep this from happening. Of course, the more people a drug company can medicate the more profit they will accrue.
Pink Patch: I have no idea what this was, but a news story on BBC Radio Scotland mentioned a weight loss patch that was being advertised on social networking sites. The marketing was false and misleading and there was concern that young women would be harmed and so the ads and patch were pulled. Awesome.
Alli: I may have spelled that wrong but that diet pill – program that is heavily advertised on TV and in your local grocery store or Walmart is not something I would ever promote. I do not think that pills that suggest bowel leakage to be worth the pounds that will only return if eating behavior is not changed. Anyway. I heard a commercial this week and the spokesperson was saying how much weight she had lost with her Alli. The voice over advised that these results were only expected if one followed all the recommendations. Well, that my friends, includes limiting your food (esp fat) intake and exercising. Duh.
Potassium and More: Researchers writing in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension this week advise that if the population would decrease their sodium intake and increase their potassium intake ten percent of current hypertension cases could be dismissed. It was noted in the article I read that there is significantly less heart disease in the traditional vegetarian population because of the fruit and vegetable consumption. In fact, the American Heart Association also recommends increasing potassium in your diet. Now, do not go to eating five bananas a day, they are only one food with potassium. There are others with less sugar. You can find the foods highest in potassium on this website.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR20/nutrlist/sr20w306.pdf
Also recommended were magnesium and calcium. Two wonderful statements in this Reuters article, as quoted by scientists Houston and Harper…. Increasing the potassium and reducing the sodium is the most important thing to do to reduce risk of heart disease second to Weight Loss. And secondly, they advised to increase intake of those micronutrients by way of consumption of fruits and vegetables, NOT supplements.
Wishing You Wellness.
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