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.