Odds and Ends - outsourced?

The title is in reference to my taking some shortcuts this week by linking a couple of the blurbs to outside sources - instead of summarizing the content myself....

Starch is Starch - There is a commercial for the non-butter spread, "I can't believe it's not butter," that shows a pat of the spread melting or being spread over different food items.  I believe they are; in order, potatoes, corn, peas and bread.  I shake my head every time I see this commercial.  You may be saving some calories with the spread, but the foods that are shown are the starchy ones that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest we limit.
Ease into Changes - I came across this article last night. A very good point is made by the writer and it regards the mistake of living one way all your life and then suddenly trying to live a completely different way in retirement.  Instead, he suggests, we start changing our lives now so that how we live will work for us no matter our age or income. It is a great read. He also talks about families living together again!
Sugar - Several public health experts and organizations have made a case for regulating sugar.  This regulation could be through taxes, price differentials, bans on soda (not selling it in schools, worksites or with food stamps, for example).  I think that sugar is causing damage similar to that of tobacco and using taxes to reduce consumption makes sense.  The issue was discussed on Science Friday this week.  The scientist who is interviewed on this program, Dr. Lustig, was mentioned in a recent Odds and Ends post.  Hearing him speak about the research, and how sugar causes us problems is quite informative.  Here is the link.
It's always about what you eat - The Harvard School of Public Health released its latest newsletter this week.  One of the articles regards diet and surgery outcomes.  IF you are or someone you love is going to be operated on anytime soon you may be interested in this article.  You also may just be curious.  You can read it here.
Dietary Supplements - Lastly, for my favorite subject - dietary supplements, aka vitamins and minerals from a bottle.  The folks at MedScape recently included several articles and commentaries regarding supplements and health.  The bottom line was that physicians need to talk to their patients about NOT taking most of the pills that people think they should take.  I hope this article is accessible to you because it is another must read (I didn't log out of my account, so give it a try).  Remember, supplements more often than not, give you no benefit at all (beyond high dollar urine) and sometimes cause you harm.