Odds and Ends

Salt - There was news out this week that Americans are consuming an average of 3300 mg of sodium a day which is twice what is recommended.  Salt and sodium - for the purposes of limiting intake- are the same thing.  The food you purchase may say low salt or low sodium (note that 'reduced sodium' does not mean LOW - it means less than the regular version and could still be high). Labels may list sodium mg on the nutrition fact panel.  The biggest source of all this salt is processed foods, including; lunch meat, cheese, soups, pasta, chicken and breads.  In fact, 44% of our extra salt comes from only 10 foods.  According to the CDC, 90% of us are getting too much salt and in population studies, the more salt consumed the higher the rates of hypertension or high blood pressure.  Read more about the sources of this salt in the February 2012 Vital Statistics Report from the CDC.
Ensure - Perhaps you have seen the commercial for the new Ensure "flavor" - muscle something or another.  This is (once again) an example of misrepresentation of science or clinical studies.  There is no proof that this product will strengthen your muscles.  There is an ingredient in the drink that may have done so in some condition or context (like a lab and maybe with animals and not people even).  This product is not your way to bigger or stronger muscles.  The commercial does have one thing right - if you do not exercise you will lose some muscular functioning as you age.

Pets - A few days ago I made note of the incomprehensible notion of overweight/obese children and soldiers. I later heard that we had reached another milestone in the USA - 50% of our dogs are considered obese.  (I wonder how THAT is measured.  Do they have doggie BMIs?) Dogs are active by nature - the only explanation that makes sense - high fat, high calorie people food in their bowls.
Push - Women 'choosing' to have c sections instead of giving birth naturally is not new. It was mentioned in the news and in this blog some time ago.  However, the risk to the baby is now becoming apparent. It is a dangerous habit for a society to get into - I hear it is called "Too posh to push."  Problem is, those lazy Mom's are putting the infant at risk.  Read more from the Mayo Clinic. [this is only in reference to cesarean sections by choice, btw - not medical need]
Medifast - AAACK - Can I express my discontent for diet programs any more often or emphatically?  Blek.  Plans that require you to eat packaged foods are just not appropriate - they are not "real life."  Anyways, the commercial for Medifast has an actress who expresses her excitement for the program.  She exclaims that when she finally  got down to  a size 10 after x amount of years, she cried.  Well - you know I talk back to these ads... guess what I said to this one?  "You're gonna cry harder when you realize that 10 is really a 14."