Odds and Ends

Here we are again at week's end. I have a few left over bits to share.

I saw a commercial on line last night while watching a TV show. It was a little dog explaining that he used to have good poop but now it was superior. YUP that is what I said. I wish I could find it now, but a quick google search didn't draw it out. It did involve a cute canine saying how he used to be a good pooper but now he was a super pooper and this was owed to some brand of dog food. Well, I do get it. Colon health is important and a high fiber diet is one strategy for maintaining it. I guess dogs don't need my cereal bars as they have that special dog food, but you do not have to eat dog food for super poop! (ah, I make myself laugh out loud sometimes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEZkK_Z3deQ my cereal bar recipe is here

Ah, I am a bit dejected. I, as you know, am a big fan of Kenneth Cooper, MD. Recently a newspaper story attributed a comment to him and when I contacted the reporter I was told that Dr. Cooper had made this comment in his book the Antioxidant Revolution. I did get the book from the library and was reviewing it this weekend. I am frustrated because the book was published in 1994 and many of the things that Dr. Cooper is advocating have since been either disproved as effective or found to be harmful. I worry because many people who read the book now would not know that! The important part is this however. Every action that occurs in our bodies as well as assaults that occur from without, like smoking and pollution, lead to free radical expression. Free radicals in small numbers are good and in a slight excess our bodies own (endogenous) antioxidants can manage the extra. Unchecked and abundant free radicals can lead to heart disease and cancer as well as aging. Research continues to support that exogenous antioxidants from FOOD can help, but supplements do not. Dr. Cooper's book is heavy on supplement promotion. It is a 15 year old book!

Sorry for the inconvenience: Some weeks back, I read a short article by Howard Brandston who is a lighting consultant. He was discussing how the energy conservation efforts that call for compact fluorescent lights or CFLs over incandescent ones are not considering how uncomfortable Americans will be with this change. I am sorry, what? He talked about how our dimmer switches for ambiance and home theatre systems would not work well with the CFLs. What an incredibly spoiled group we have become.

I was intrigued by a show on NPR yesterday and wanted to mention the gist of the conversation to you. A scientist or professor from UCLA was saying that the elephant in the room of Health Care Reform was food. He discussed diabetes, especially diabetes 2 and that high fructose corn syrup had a lot to do with it. He said that diabetes was leading to costly treatments but that physicians received reimbursement to treat it and not to prevent it. He also noted that our government pays farmers to grow a lot of corn and this corn is used to make the very cheap high fructose corn syrup which is used most generously in sodas. Soda consumption is a big factor in our obesity and diabetes epidemics. I do hope that prevention programs become the norm. Expect the insurance companies to role out some fancy wellness programs when the reform passes. Maybe I can work for them!

You may not be aware, but the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 bans all flavorings in cigarettes, except menthol. That means clove cigarettes will be banned. However, the ban on flavorings, which we feel entice children, does not include cigars. Get ready then for the Clove Cigar.

Lastly. A report about bacteria in our oceans, east and west and gulf coast, was scary. In the news story it was advised that we not avoid our oceans but that we rinse ourselves off when we leave. This advice is regarding the water AND the sand of our beaches. I just thought the irony should be noted. We have poisoned our waters and now they are poisoning us.

Might I just add - Go Giants