Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Chicken nuggets

Hey everyone,

You know them. You love them. They taste delicious with some Bar-b-Que sauce or sweet and sour sauce. They make you feel better after you eat them, but from where do they come? Well, it's a simple process. You start with genetically modified chickens whose breasts have been so enhanced that they can't stand on their own power. If they survive the farm process, they are shipped to a plant where they are cleaned and prepared for the next step. In this step, they're put through a mechanical separator which removes the breasts and leaves the unwanted parts. It's ingenious really, but, then, the chicken breasts are ground up and turned into a collective paste which can then be shaped into signature shapes which we are so used to consuming. However, here is one more fact for you. Chicken nuggets contain 38 ingredients (at least for McDonald's). The choice to eat these foods is up to you, but I've decided against it. Personally, I think that people should have as much food knowledge as possible, so they can make decisions for themselves. The choice is now yours.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Fast food continued

Hey everyone,

Fast food may be addicting, but there isn't overwhelming proof of this. However, the proof necessary will probably not come because that research would be unethical and possibly dangerous. In despite of this, the message still remains the same, fast food should be avoided. Other reasons exist for this stance other than addiction. First off, the food is loaded with salt, fat, sugar, and calories. Moreover, it's also how the food is created. Particularly, I would avoid hamburgers (I don't always) and chicken nuggets (I do avoid these however). For anyone who wants to enjoy these foods without any reservations, I would quit reading now. Hamburger comes from beef, as I'm sure you know. However, in the old days, cows were fed grass and grazed normally. When they were butchered, the meat of one or just a few were ground into ground beef which has fat added to it to create hamburger. Today, the process is very different. Cows are raised on massive farms where they are fed corn and antibiotics. Yes, antibiotics, but that's another post. These massive farms are so crowded that cows live in their own feces. Images like this are not pleasant, but this is what food production has become. Some of this is bound to be included in our hamburger (which is why I would not recommend letting children eat hamburger). The meat from these cows is gathered into one lump sum which allows thousands or even tens of thousands of cows to be in one package of hamburger. If this doesn't disturb you, go ahead and keep eating regular hamburger. However, there are better options, but they cost a little more. For example, you can purchase hamburger made from cows that have been grass fed which will be listed on the package. However,I would recommend buying it from your local butcher or a local farmer who create their own (if they're around). This may not seem like much, but it's a start to consuming safer meat.

Next post, chicken nuggets.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Fast food

Hey everyone,

So, I would assume that everyone knows that fast food (yes, even the ones that claim they are healthy) isn't good for you. Considering that we know this food isn't healthy for us, why do we still consume it? Well, the first impulse would say that it's quick, easy, cheap, and usually tasty. Or, maybe, the food is addictive. I know it sounds crazy, but science has began to back up this view. Fats and simple sugars can have similar effects to nicotine and heroin, according to some scientists. For example, John Hoebel, a psychologist from Princeton, has done experiments with rats concerning the concept of food addiction. Rats were fed a diet that consisted of 25% sugar. After being taken off the diet, rats began to suffer from apparent withdrawal in the form of chattering teeth and the shakes like those seen in people who quit nicotine or morphine. Another level was added to this research where he gave the rodents a drug blocking opioid receptors, and the rats went through the same withdrawal process as heroin addicts (this has been simplified). If you want to read this article, the address is http://banzhaf.net/docs/newsci.html. Neuroscientist Amy Kelley has found even more convincing evidence to support the addictive notion of food. Rats which were given a synthetic enkephalin (better known as endorphins) ate up to six times more fat than normal and increased amounts of salts and sweets even when not hungry. She also found that overeating tasting foods lead to long-lasting changes in brain chemistry similar to morphine addiction. Now, hopefully, you are saying "rats are not people". Yes, you are correct. These results are a generalization. However, we can't conduct research like this on people because it is unethical. If we could, we'd be able to confirm these results. However, I doubt that will ever happen, but we should seriously consider the implications of this research and eat less fast food in general.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Bariatric surgery

Hey everyone,

For anyone who doesn't know, bariatric surgery is a procedure where either part of the stomach is removed or there is a band placed around the stomach. Both of these approaches allow less food to be consumed, and, thereby, the recipient loses weight very quickly. There are various benefits to this procedure including recovery from diabetes and decreased risk for heart disease. Likewise,the weight loss in these cases are dramatic with averages ranging from 35kg (77lbs) to 53kg (116.6lbs), depending on which surgery people receive. However, I am not a fan of these surgeries because they encourage the idea of the quick fix that everyone seems to want for every problem. Now, I will admit that the surgery isn't easy on its recipients, but years of overeating and under exercising has lead to the level of obesity necessary for these surgeries. Personally, I think a natural weight loss is more rewarding and teaches people the skills necessary to maintain their weight. Now, there is one thing that this surgery proves without a doubt. People can lose weight through calorie restriction. If it were true that the many people who claim they can't lose weight, this surgery shouldn't work. Its efficacy, without question, proves these people wrong. My final concern is that I've seen no evidence that the diets of bariatric surgery recipients changes after surgery. There is a regimen that they have to follow for a time, and they are encouraged to eat a protein heavy diet. However, I have found no evidence concerning behavior, good or bad, after surgery. When I do, I'll discuss it. However, the message to focus on here is that people can lose weight. It simply takes exercise and calorie restriction.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Health dairy: Post 10

Hey everyone,

So, I've finally done it. I've cut out regular pop from my diet. I'm still consuming diet pop which has carbonated water and caffeine, but I'm not consuming those regular calories. I'm down to 305.1 lbs, but I need to exercise more because I am definitely lacking in that area. I'm still pretty good about food. I don't eat that much per meal, and I, largely, don't snack. Finally, I still don't eat after 8 PM, and I always eat a good breakfast. I have to say that this really makes me hopeful. One continued difference in my diet is my consumption of meat. Probably, I consume three servings of meat a day which is still a lot, but I want that protein to maintain my muscle mass. Finally, this morning, I weighed in at 305.1 lbs, and I'm almost back to what I weighed three weeks ago. It wasn't even hard. That's the awesome thing. There is hope for weight loss.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Breakfast, it's more than a meal

Hey everyone,

We've been told time and again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, when I talk to people who want to lose weight, breakfast is meal that they skip. Not surprisingly in these cases, their largest meal tends to be supper. This is the wrong way to eat if weight is your concern. Breakfast should not only be the largest meal, but it is the most forgiving because you have the entire day to burn off those calories. However, the best benefit of breakfast is that you burn more calories throughout the day; consequently, your body burns 20-30% more calories when you do this. This is an amazing way to boost weight loss. Assuming you want to lose weight, this is a powerful tool to add to your arsenal, and it is a relatively easy behavior change. When it's combined with a smaller lunch and supper, weight loss becomes easier without reducing total daily calories much or at all. I think you'll find that you'll have more energy throughout the day as well possibly making exercise easier. Personally, I've used this as part of my weight loss journey, and I've lost 25 pounds over a two and a half months (although I've used other things like healthy eating and exercise). Think about doing this if you don't already.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Processed foods, friend or foe

Hey everyone,

The cheap food that we continually enjoy today is largely processed. Almost anything you want can be packaged or canned. Various meats, fruits, and vegetables can be bought out of a can. Pasta, eggs, milk, and damn near everything else is packaged. This, in and of itself, is not a problem nutritionally. However, many of these are not the same as what they would have been even 50 years ago. For these food items to have a long self life, they have to be enhanced with preservatives. Many canned foods don't need these preservatives, but items in plastic do. However, most processed foods have been changed, none the less. Foods, now, are created to be made as cheaply and easily as possible. This has lead to the overuse of the vegetables corn and soy. If you don't believe me, look at the ingredients on the back of a package. More than likely you'll see high fructose corn syrup or soy. However, there are other corn derivatives, such as gluten, maltodextrin, natural flavorings, sucrose, and xanthan gum. I know those probably don't look familar, and that's because they are not natural. Processed food is meant to be cheap and easy to cook, but these foods contain ingredients that our bodies haven't encountered even two generations ago meaning that our doesn't know how to process them. They are also nutritionally deficient to their natural counterparts (white vs. brown rice). However, there is a simple solution. We can consume foods that are derived from whole wheat flour or is the natural product (e.g. rice, pasta, bread), or, better yet, we can make these items ourselves. Also, we can focus on foods with five or less ingredients, which becomes difficult. So, I would recommend eating food with ingredients that you recognize, if there are more than five ingredients exist. Now, it's probably difficult to not purchase all of these items, but a reduction is an excellent start. Processed food is a foe to health and diet.

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Godfather Parts I and II

Hey everyone,

Over the last week, I watched these movies which are undisputed classics. This isn't the first time that I've watched these installments of the Godfather series. However, the difference was that, this time, I watched the commentaries for both movies. Coppola who directed both movies discussed the process which was very different for each movie. The first Godfather was terrible for him because he was a young director who they hired to make a small movie. At this time, the novel was not nearly as popular as it would become. At first, they wanted a contemporary movie with hippies and all, but, eventually, a closer adaptation of the novel would be created where the main story occurs in the late 1940s. Once the production began, Coppola would have to answer to executives constantly who he thought was going to fire him. They claimed that the scenes were not as good as they should have been and also claimed spending and casting issues. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino were two supposed errors. As you know, they would prove to be some of the best casting decisions. As a final blow, the studio wanted the movie to last less than two hours and fifteen minutes. Coppola's first version was two hours and forty-fve minutes, but he cut it down to two hours twenty minutes. Upon viewing this version, Bob Evans, a producer, would side with Coppola and tell him to add the material which had been removed. This would save the movie and prove to be the best decision made by the studio. The movie, of course, moved on to be a monumental success and even earned three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

On the second movie, Coppola would have complete control from the studio. He would also receive a large paycheck as well as a piece of the ticket sales. Coppola would win three Oscars for producing, writing, and directing. Coppola described the production as smooth and much less stressful. While there is an argument about which movie is better, the second film is, at the very least, an equal in every sense. These two movies are considered to be a couple of the best films ever made filling two of the top three spots on imdb.com's list of 100 top rated movies. They also both made AFI's list of 100 greatest movies, and, if you haven't seen them, you are really missing out.



Sunday, November 15, 2009

Health diary: Post 9

Hey everyone,

I missed last week and not for a good reason. I fell off the wagon. My exercising has largely stopped, and I'm eating too much again. However, I haven't gained much weight. My weight yesterday was 309.2 lbs which is fairly close to my accurate weight. This is a turning point for me however. Will I get back onto the wagon or won't I? I know this post is short, but you'll find out next week. Good luck to other people who are trying to lose some pounds.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Hey everyone,

On Friday night, I went to see this movie starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey. The story begins simply enough. As a journalist in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Bob Wilton (McGregor) has a normal life with his beautiful wife. Things begin to change when he interviews a man who claims to be able to use remote viewing, a psychic ability which allows the viewer to see anything in the world. With this ability, the man tells Wilton that the Loch Ness monster is a ghost of a dinosaur. Wilton can only draw one conclusion at this point, this man is clearly crazy. However, he also shows him a videotape where he supposedly kills a hamster using his mind. The video reveals a hamster that falls over, but the creature is not dead. Wilton asks how long it took this man to do this, and he responds: "three hours". The man also mentions the names of others in the program including Lyn Cassidy. Wilton doesn't think much of the encounter and continues on with his life. Soon, his life takes a turn for the worst, and he seeks a new adventure. Iraq becomes his new destination, but, upon arrival, he has a difficult time finding a way into the war torn country. To pass the time, he waits in Kuwait, where he meets Lyn Cassidy (Clooney) who begins to tell him about the First Earth Battalion, a secret paranormal psychic program to enhance soldiers. Leading this group is Lt. Colonel Bill Django (Bridges) who finds and encourages new age techniques to warfare. Cassidy quickly becomes the top pupil with abilities far beyond any other recruit. Soon, another recruit joins the team, Larry Hooper (Spacey) who hates everyone especially Cassidy and will eventually will bring about adverse consequences for the First Earth Battalion. Cassidy explains all of this as he and Wilton head into Iraq on a special mission. While I'd love to tell you more, I really liked this movie and think that you should go see it. 8/10

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Clinton Gustra Sustainable Growth Initiative

Hey everyone,

This branch works in South America, specifically in Peru and Columbia. They are working to improve the problems that come with poverty. There are three main efforts: economic development, health, and education. The economic development includes supporting organic farms, providing housing for displaced persons, and helping the poor in general to climb above the poverty line. The education program provides schooling for displaced children which includes nutritional classes, counseling programs, self-esteem building and others. The final approach is health based, and it focuses on cataracts which is a serious problem due to unsafe drinking water, and a lack of Vitamins A, C, and E. In the United States, I think that we tend to take these privileges for granted (health, education, and poverty). Imagine where you'd be without these privileges, the time for action is now.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative

Hey everyone,

HIV/AIDS has become a pandemic. However, the problem has hit the Sub-African continent the hardest. Depending on the source, world-wide estimates put the amount of HIV positive at 33.2 million to 42 million people. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are nearly 25 million who have HIV or AIDS. While in developed countries the outlook is promising, life expectancy is considering lower for those in Sub-Saharan Africa with HIV or AIDS. The HIV/AIDS Initiative branch of the Clinton Foundation focuses on supporting governments to deliver services to underserved populations such as children and rural populations, increasing countries' human resource capacity to deliver care and treatment, and preventing the transmission of the disease from mothers to their children. Africa is where the problem is the worst, but this branch also helps other countries in South America, Asia, and Europe. Together, we can prevent the spread of this disease and eventually wipe it out.

Clinton Economic Opportunity Intiative

Hey everyone,

This branch was created to help families and individuals in the United States succeed and businesses in underserved communities grow. They are doing this by providing entrepreneurship opportunities and helping people with personal finance. Since this has begun, these programs have given 72,000 hours of pro bono consultation, helped Hurricane Katrina survivors to earn tax credits, and developed relationships with cities and states to increase access to low cost financial services. This is the kind of charity that this country needs. Poverty is far too common for how much money is available in this country.

Monday, November 9, 2009

John F. Kennedy quotes

Hey everyone,

I haven't posted in a while, but I'm back. Next Sunday, I'll write a health diary post, and, after this post, I'll continue to discuss the William J. Clinton Foundation. JFK was a man who I admired very much, and I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes with you. I hope you like them.

"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings."

"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal."

"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."

"There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction."

"Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation."

"If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."

I may compile a second list in the future, but this is good enough for now.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Prop1 results

Hey everyone,

So, Prop1 passed which repealed the gay marriage law in Maine. Forty-seven percent of voters voted in favor of gay marriage, so it was close. Ironically (at least it seems ironic), legislation allowing medical marijuana passed in Maine. However, on a brighter side, Washington passed a bill to allow same sex unions. Still, it raises a question as to why this was repealed. Perhaps, it's the definition of marriage as compared to same sex unions. However, I don't see how there's a difference. I'm sure there will be an appeal, but I doubt that the results will be overturned even though it's discrimination. Honestly, I'm surprised that a socially liberal state such as Maine would overturn this decision, but, apparently, I'm wrong about the direction of this country. However, with every loss is a possibility of hope because increasingly conflicting results will encourage the Supreme Court to hear these cases and change the law once and for all.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Prop1 in Maine

Hey everyone,

Maine passed a law allowing same sex marriage a few months ago. Today, there is a vote to repeal this law. As you may have figured out, I am in support of gay marriage, and I hope that Maine will prove that the state, in whole, is as well. The problem for me is that this is even an issue at all. I can understand where the opposing side is coming from. The world is changing to something where they aren't the majority. As a straight, white man, I can see how gay rights may make someone feel like their glory days are over or that morality is slowly being destroyed. However, this is not the case. These laws are balancing the scales creating equality. So, people say that the bible speaks against it, and that gay people are unnatural. However, examples exist in the animal kingdom (google it) showing that it may not be as unnatural as you think. And, if you're against gay rights because the bible says so, well, you've never read the passage about loving your neighbor. This didn't say love everyone but gays or some other minority. All were included. Jesus also discusses a man and a women becoming one, but this seems more like a condemnation of divorce than gay marriage. Marriage is a unification of two people (man and woman, woman and woman, or man and man). Marriage is a right that we all deserve to whichever human being we want to marry as long as it consensual. Imagine if you had been told that you couldn't marry the person that you love and who loved you back. Would that be an injustice or discrimination? Absolutely. Not allowing the same rights to a minority group is discrimination. There are no exemptions to this rule. If Prop1 passes in Maine, it will be a sad day in this country and will set a precedent for discrimination. No one should have to fight for rights, and no one has to as long as they aren't denied to anyone.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Health diary: post 8

Hey everyone,

So, I actually weighed myself on Friday, and I was 305.0lbs. The weight loss continues, but I'm becoming less consistent with my running and habits. I'm worried that I'm going to fall off the wagon soon, and I can't allow that happen. Personally, I think I need to get out of the house for a while and shake things up. Maybe I should move my exercise outside while I still can. Treadmills are incredibly monotonous, and they aren't helping me out. Pop is still an issue, but I'm becoming sick of it. The really good thing is that, when I don't eat well, I feel terrible, and I never want to eat consistently like that again. The final thing is to eat more fruits and vegetables and possibly drink more alcohol on a regular basis. Other than that, the weight loss journey continues.