Something Fishy Around Here

A recent Wall Street Journal article outlined the findings of a study by Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and Brigham and Women's Hospital, "Fish Intake, Contaminants, and Human Health," regarding toxity levels in fish versus their health benefits. Read it here if you have a subscription, otherwise, just take my word for it.

"The American Heart Association recommends that people eat fish -- particularly the fatty type -- at least twice a week."

-HOWEVER-

"While [the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in March 2004] stated that fish and shellfish are an important component of a healthy diet, it warned women who are pregnant, nursing or planning to become pregnant to avoid those four types of fish that contain high levels of mercury -- shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish -- and to limit their intake of albacore tuna, which has more mercury than 'light' tuna."

Your Civic Duties

Energy

There has been some recent news about the US obesity epidemic and its impact on energy consumption. Here's a quick explanation of some research that was posted on wifr.com, a local Illinois new station -

Weight Increases Gas Consumption

"Want to spend less at the pump? Try losing weight.

That's the implication of a new study that says Americans are fueling their cars with nearly one billion more gallons of gasoline each year than in 1960 because of their expanding waistlines.

University of Illinois researcher Sheldon Jacobson says if drivers reduce the weight of their cars -- either by removing excess baggage or by losing weight -- they'll see a drop in their fuel consumption.

Outside experts say the new study appears sound, but that even if the calculations aren't exact, the premise makes sense since Americans definitely are getting heftier.

Government data shows the average weight for American men was 191 pounds in 2002 and 164 pounds for women -- about 25 pounds heavier for both than in 1960."


Rug Rats

I came across this interesting report, which is compiled every year by the USDA (US Dept. of Agriculture). Can you afford to have children? Consider the fact that, if you want to provide your child with just an average upbringing, it will cost you around $7,700 per year, or $644 per month (and that's just for couples who bring in less than $43,200 per year).

and a good segue to...

The Pill for Men

"The common perception is that few women would actually believe a man who said he was on the Pill." Got the link from Drudge. Read it here.

A Couple Stuff (My friend Rich always says that. For some reason I think it's hilarious.)

From my daily email from Modern Healthcare:

Breaking News
Community hospitals' uncompensated-care costs rose 7.1% in 2005 to $28.8 billion from $26.9 billion in 2004, the American Hospital Association said. Meanwhile, Medicare and Medicaid shortfalls at community hospitals increased 14.5% to $25.3 billion last year from $22.1 billion in 2004, the AHA said.



Bank of America to offer HSA in 2007. Read about it here.



From SparkPeople.com -

Learn to Love A.M. Exercise

(Even if You're NOT A Morning Person)


Here is one of the best reasons (one pointed out often by my father, dammit). -

"Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don'’t overtake your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic family life. (It's so easy to wimp out in the evening, when we'’re tired or faced with such tasks as rustling up dinner and helping with homework.)"

To Your Health (that is what people say in most languages, rather than "cheers")

There's a study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston about the effects of booze on your ticker. Because the study takes only heart attack risk into account (and not cancer or liver disease, for example), the researchers are reluctant to encourage people to pick up drinking. However, Dr. Richard Stein, a clinical professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, often recommends a drink/day for patients who have suffered heart attacks.

From Forbes.com:

"The men who had two drinks a day had the lowest risk for heart attack, while those who didn't drink had the highest risk, the researchers found. Twenty-five percent of the heart attacks were among men who drank less than 5 grams of alcohol a day."

The article also has a link to the American Heart Association's take on the issue, which I have included here.

Barry's Rule Revisited

From SparkPeople.com:

"Healthy snack choices start at the grocery store. That'’s where the decision is made to eat healthy snacks, not at the office or on the coach, but at the grocery."

I think that must have been written by someone English. "Coach" means "bus" over there.

In July I mentioned my friend, Barry, and how he and his family don't buy junk food at the store because then they would eat it. So, when you go to the grocery store, don't buy things you wish to avoid eating.

SparkPeople has a list of some healthy snacks if you follow the above link. They're the usual suggestions of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Dun dun dun...

From Medterms.com:

Paraskevidekatriaphobia: Fear of Friday the 13th.

Say that 5 times fast.

I had to wait until past midnight to make this post, since I figured my computer might electrocute me or something. Plus my brother pointed out that I had doubled up on my "Uncola" posts. I of course leapt from bed to correct the matter at once.

The Uncola

I'll give you a hint, it's not 7up, and it starts with an "H" and ends with a "2O." It's been a whole 2 months since my last poison post, and by "poison," I mean "soda."

A Tufts University (yeah 'bos) nutrition study finds a link between cola consumption and lower bone mineral density among women.

Do not drink soft drinks regularly. I have made it my own policy to drink them only sometimes at the movies (Though sipping them over long periods is really bad for your teeth. Consider swishing with water intermittently as you drink.) . You can enjoy it once in a while, but the evidence is overwhelming that regular soda consumption is detrimental to your health.

'Tis the Season

Flu season, that is. October and November are the recommended months during which one should get a flu shot. The CDC has some guidelines (which you can read in their entirety here):

People who should get vaccinated each year are:

1. People at high risk for complications from the flu, including:
   • Children aged 6-59 months,
   • Pregnant women,
   • People 50 years of age and older, and
   • People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions;
   • People who live in nursing homes and other long term care facilities.
     
     
2. People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:
   • Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu (see above)
   • Household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated)
   • Healthcare workers.

Use of the Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine

It should be noted that vaccination with the nasal-spray flu vaccine is always an option for healthy persons aged 5-49 years who are not pregnant.

Who Should Not Be Vaccinated

There are some people who should not be vaccinated without first consulting a physician. These include

• People who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs.
• People who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination in the past.
• People who developed Guillain-Barr syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting an influenza vaccine previously.
• Influenza vaccine is not approved for use in children less than 6 months of age.
• People who have a moderate or severe illness with a fever should wait to get vaccinated until their symptoms lessen.

Cook It Up

Spinach is back, baby. The CDC has the following guidelines, though:

• Do not eat spinach products processed by Natural Selection Foods (see below for link to full list of brand names).
• If you can't tell whether a particular brand of fresh spinach was implicated in the outbreak and the package has a "use by date" of Oct. 1, 2006 or earlier, don't eat it.
• E. Coli 0157:H5 in spinach can be killed by cooking at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds. If spinach is cooked in a frying pan, and all parts do not reach 160 degrees F, all bacteria may not be killed.
• Don't allow raw spinach to contaminate other foods or food-contact surfaces.
• Wash hands, utensils, and surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after handling the spinach.
• Store fresh produce in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 40 degrees F or below. All produce that is purchased pre-cut or peeled should be refrigerated to maintain both quality and safety.

This is actually important to me. Spinach is good stuff.

http://www.cdc.gov/foodborne/ecolispinach/

I'm Rich _____! - Dave Chappelle

Check out CNNMoney's "What It Takes to Be Rich."

A Couple of Things

Travel

I frankly cannot remember where I heard about this website, but I put it into my Blackberry to check out later. Sidestep.com is a site that compares a bunch of travel site results so you don't have to go on Orbitz, then Travelocity, then American Airlines, etc. It's fantastic.


Time Management

From SparkPeople:

Do a Realistic Time Audit Time management experts stress that before you can make needed changes in the way you manage time, you need to look at how you spend your time now. What activities or tasks are taking up the biggest chunks of your life? What items do you hate or put off most? Are you allowing others to dictate uses for your time that aren't productive or don't fit your agenda? By doing a brutally honest assessment, you can begin to change the way you manage yourself in relation to time.

I'm going to put that on my list of things to do.

Don't You Wish That You Were Part Cuban Like Me?

"Puzzled researchers call it the ''Hispanic Paradox'': On average, U.S. Hispanics lead longer lives than non-Hispanics, despite having less access to healthcare and higher rates of poverty."

There are many possible reasons for this to be the case, including inaccurate census data, but my favorite hypothesis espoused is that of the benefits of "simpatia" (which I would probably refer to as "cariño"). Latinos are more outwardly loving and affectionate to one another, and that produces health and psychological benefits. There's a somewhat poorly written article in the Miami Herald here . It's not the New York Times, but in NYC I don't think you're going to see many cariñoso people.

The Usual Stuff About US Healthcare

Although healthcare cost increases have slowed, they still outpaced both wages and inflation. This is not a conversation that will be going away anytime soon. Read here to learn more about the recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"Almost all employers with 200 or more workers provided health insurance for employees in 2006, but fewer than 50% of employers with three to nine workers provided health coverage, the report finds (Kaiser Family Foundation/HRET/Health Affairs joint release, 9/26)."

The Gym of the Future??? (It's actually pretty obvious)

As I began reading this article, I figured the gym in question would likely be located in Mountain View or Sunnyvale, CA. It's in Mountain View, land of computer engineers, technological advances, and my brother, Brendan. Read the article here.

"Walk through the malls and high school halls in America, and you'll quickly notice that kids in the US could use a few good workouts. A new fitness center opening this Saturday hopes to lure kids in with a combination of a "fitness arcade," traditional workout equipment, free WiFi, a study center, and a cafe."

Hopefully this can be a component of the solution to the nation's childhood obesity epidemic. If that's what it takes...

Eating for One

Men's Health has great resources available on its website, as I have pointed out before. My brother is my roommate, so I have always said that it is much easier to go food shopping than if I were to live on my own, as many of my friends do.

Men's Health has a wonderful shopping and meal list that even accounts for leftovers to be taken into work (in a different form so as to lessen boredom). I just printed it out myself. It's great and incorporates easy-to-prepare items such as rotisserie chicken, frozen shrimp, rice, and beans. Check it out here.

The article points out that the average amount spent on eating out at cheap restaurants is $85/week, whereas this articles suggested fare costs $47.96. That's pretty easy math.

Drug-Mart

I can't imagine many people haven't heard that Wal-Mart will start offering generic prescription drugs for 4$/30-day supply. The program will begin in South Florida and then be expanded to other parts of the country next year. Some are skeptical. Read about it on usatoday.com.

More on the Benefits of Weight Training

From SparkPeople.com:

The top 10 reasons everyone should strength train (and LOVE every minute of it):

1. Strength training preserves muscle mass during weight loss.
According to a University of Michigan research study, at least 25% to 30% of weight lost by dieting alone is not fat but lean tissue, muscle, bone and water. However, strength training helps dieters preserve muscle mass while still losing weight.

2. Strength training elevates your metabolism.
Starting in their twenties, most people (especially women) lose half a pound of muscle every year if they aren't strength training to preserve it. After age 60, this rate of loss doubles. But regular strength training can preserve muscle throughout the lifespan, and rebuild the muscle lost.

3. Strength training helps you lose weight more easily (or eat more without gaining weight).
Since muscle is active tissue (unlike fat, which is inert), it requires energy to maintain. The more muscle you have, the more you can eat without gaining weight. Strength training can provide up to a 15% increase in metabolic rate, which is helpful for weight loss and long-term weight control.

For every additional pound of muscle you gain, your body will burn about 50 more calories each day. A study by Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., from the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, showed that a woman who strength trains two or three times a week for eight weeks gains 1.75 lbs of muscle and loses 3.5 lbs of fat.

And John Hopkins researchers found that while aerobic exercise burns more calories at the time you are exercising, your metabolism returns to normal about 30 minutes after you finish your workout. Individuals who perform strength training, however, elevate their metabolisms (burn more calories) for two hours after their workouts end.

4. Strength training increases bone density.
A study conducted by Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D. of Tufts University found that strength training increases both muscle mass and bone density. Dr. Nelson’s research showed that women who lifted weights did not lose any bone density throughout the study, and actually gained an average of 1% more bone mass in the hip and spine. Non-exercising women lost 2% to 2.5% of bone mass during the same period of time.

Another University of Arizona study showed a 3% increase in spine and hip bone mineral density after an 18-month strength training program among women, ages 28 to 39.

5. Strength training counteracts depression.
In a study of 32 men and women who suffered from chronic depression, Nalin Singh, M.D. and Tufts University associates divided the individuals into two groups. They directed half to perform strength training while the other half received health information. After three months, 14 of the 16 members who lifted weights felt better and no longer met the criteria for depression.

A Harvard study also showed that 10 weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counseling alone.

6. Strength training reduces sleep difficulties.
Ten people in Dr. Singh’s strength training group (see reason 5, above) also reported sleep difficulties at the start of the study. After 12 weeks, six of the 10 reported they no longer had trouble sleeping—they fell asleep more quickly, slept more deeply, awakened less often and slept longer.

7. Strength training reduces your risk of diabetes.
Adult-onset (Type 2) diabetes is a growing problem, with over 14 million Americans suffering from the condition. Research shows that strength training can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23% in just four months. As muscles contract and relax during exercise, they use sugar for energy. To meet this energy need, your body uses sugar supplies in your blood, reducing your blood sugar levels.

8. Strength training lowers your blood pressure.
The University of Arizona study (see reason 4, above) also showed resting blood pressure (RBP) levels were impacted by strength training. Strength training participants shifted from the high-normal RBP category to normal RBP levels. Regular exercise, including strength training, strengthens the heart, allowing it to pump more blood with less effort. The less your heart has to work, the less force (or pressure) is exerted on your arteries.

9. Strength training helps you age more gracefully.
As you age, muscle mass decreases (if you're not working to preserve it), which can cause skin to sag in not-so-pretty ways. By strength training, you can fight age-related muscle loss and maintain a more youthful physique.

10. Strength training improves your quality of life.
Building muscle allows you to get more out of life. Everyday activities, such as lifting children (or grandchildren), carrying groceries, and working in the yard are much easier when you’re not struggling with the effort. Being in shape also makes you more confident, helps you stand taller and makes you feel great about yourself. And what’s better than that?

"D" Is for Disastrous

A recent study gives the U.S. health care system a score of 66 out of 100. Read about it on Forbes.com.

"The U.S. spends 16 percent of its gross domestic product on health care," Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis said during a press conference announcing the results. "That's more than twice the average of industrialized nations."

Sad Times for Popeye

In case you haven't heard the news, there is widespread E. coli contamination of U.S. spinach:

"The FDA reports that Natural Selection Foods of San Juan Batista, Calif., is recalling all its products containing spinach in all brands the company packs with "Best if Used by Dates" of Aug. 17, 2006 through Oct. 1, 2006.

The recalled products include spinach and any salad with spinach in the blend. Products that don't include spinach aren't part of this recall."

The FDA is recommending that no one eat any fresh spinach at this time. Read the WebMD article here.

Taxes

Here's an article you should read about some changes to the tax code, including an increase in the 401(k) contribution limit, and higher taxes for Americans living abroad. Read the article on wsj.com.