I noticed with interest that actor Forest Whitaker is cutting down on soy in an attempt to lose weight.
I have a theory that everyone can identify some culprit in their diet that is causing them to gain weight. Therefore, there is something in our diet that if we stopped eating it we would lose weight. For example, I used to eat a lot of peanut butter. When I stopped eating it, I lost a bunch of weight. Many people eat french fries. Others consume a lot of ice cream, or whole milk, or butter, you get the idea. Anything high in fat or calories is not going to help us manage a healthy weight.
One thing I have done is to find out what foods are good for me, decide which of those I like, and then those are the ones I eat. For example, tomatoes are good for me, so I might choose to drink V-8 juice because it has a lot of lycopene and only fifty calories per serving. Something else I might eat is pumpkin seeds. I really like Michael Season's cheese curls or Cheddar Pops. They are very tasty, baked, and low in fat, at only about 130 calories per serving.
Anyway, I think maintaining a healthy weight is important. Good luck to everyone in that endeavor.
If you're not too busy, please check out my poetry books (links to the right.) Even if you don't buy any, they all have free samples, so check those out. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy them.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, November 20, 2009
The First Post in Two Years
I am the son of this blog's creator, and I decided to contribute a bit to this blog since I too have an interest in health. The best way to go about this, I believe, is to jump right in. So here we go.
I was at Barnes & Noble last Saturday, and after browsing the 'general health' section, I found a book I've never seen before. It is called "Never Be Sick Again" by Raymond Francis. I flipped through it, it looked interesting enough, and decided on a whim to buy it. Well, after reading his story (which was rife with health problems of all kinds) and a few more selections, I realized that this guy was going overboard on the alternative health bandwagon.
His chapter on Toxicity (the one I read the most of) is overwhelming to say the least. He writes about the dangers of basically everything in the home. Carpeting made from synthetic fibers (nylon, acrylic and polyester) plus the soil, stain, moisture and moth repellents which are used in their manufacture. Mattresses of synthetic material and the flame retardants and dyes used in their manufacture. Furniture made of polyester, polyurethane, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and particleboard. All of which can off-gas toxic fumes including formaldehyde from the particleboard. The stuff in your bathroom, the stuff in your pantry, no room is safe. After reading all of this, I realized this was not the book for me, so I put it down. I have better things to do than worry about all the toxins in the world.
There's no doubt that the sheer volume of chemicals we use in the manufacture of everything from food to furniture is stressing our bodies and taxing our livers. However, I believe that a lot of these agents have no adverse effects. Say you pick up an average soup can at the grocery store. It may have twenty ingredients listed. A few of those may be bad, some questionable, and the rest might have no impact on one's health. How bad are the ones that are bad? Time will tell. Don't get too worried about it, paranoia is not good for you. The important thing is that we're not rumaging around in the foliage only to find a mushroom so poisonous it kills us upon ingestion. That's what our distant ancestors had to deal with. Not only that, but we're living longer than we have before, which is something this author fails to elaborate upon. We are going to get sick, it's a fact of life. A wise move is to make it easier for your body to recover. All that junk food, those sodas, and that big old slab of cattle is not going to cut it. You only get one body, be nicer to it.
One more thing about this book. In the appendix he lists his personal recommendations for products. Under deodorant he recommends IndiuMagic, which he claims to have spent months trying to find on his search for a "safe" deodorant. It's strange though, because his site is the only place on the internet you can find it. What's more, this product contains Indium, an element on the periodic table. This element is rare and has no known biological role, but some health companies swear by its supposed health benefits. But get this, according to an online periodic table, Indium can cause damage to certain organs and is potentially teratogenic, which means it can cause birth defects. This is a guy who's trying to cash in on the long-standing desire for never-ending vibrant health and longevity and I'm not buying it.
I was at Barnes & Noble last Saturday, and after browsing the 'general health' section, I found a book I've never seen before. It is called "Never Be Sick Again" by Raymond Francis. I flipped through it, it looked interesting enough, and decided on a whim to buy it. Well, after reading his story (which was rife with health problems of all kinds) and a few more selections, I realized that this guy was going overboard on the alternative health bandwagon.
His chapter on Toxicity (the one I read the most of) is overwhelming to say the least. He writes about the dangers of basically everything in the home. Carpeting made from synthetic fibers (nylon, acrylic and polyester) plus the soil, stain, moisture and moth repellents which are used in their manufacture. Mattresses of synthetic material and the flame retardants and dyes used in their manufacture. Furniture made of polyester, polyurethane, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and particleboard. All of which can off-gas toxic fumes including formaldehyde from the particleboard. The stuff in your bathroom, the stuff in your pantry, no room is safe. After reading all of this, I realized this was not the book for me, so I put it down. I have better things to do than worry about all the toxins in the world.
There's no doubt that the sheer volume of chemicals we use in the manufacture of everything from food to furniture is stressing our bodies and taxing our livers. However, I believe that a lot of these agents have no adverse effects. Say you pick up an average soup can at the grocery store. It may have twenty ingredients listed. A few of those may be bad, some questionable, and the rest might have no impact on one's health. How bad are the ones that are bad? Time will tell. Don't get too worried about it, paranoia is not good for you. The important thing is that we're not rumaging around in the foliage only to find a mushroom so poisonous it kills us upon ingestion. That's what our distant ancestors had to deal with. Not only that, but we're living longer than we have before, which is something this author fails to elaborate upon. We are going to get sick, it's a fact of life. A wise move is to make it easier for your body to recover. All that junk food, those sodas, and that big old slab of cattle is not going to cut it. You only get one body, be nicer to it.
One more thing about this book. In the appendix he lists his personal recommendations for products. Under deodorant he recommends IndiuMagic, which he claims to have spent months trying to find on his search for a "safe" deodorant. It's strange though, because his site is the only place on the internet you can find it. What's more, this product contains Indium, an element on the periodic table. This element is rare and has no known biological role, but some health companies swear by its supposed health benefits. But get this, according to an online periodic table, Indium can cause damage to certain organs and is potentially teratogenic, which means it can cause birth defects. This is a guy who's trying to cash in on the long-standing desire for never-ending vibrant health and longevity and I'm not buying it.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Oh Please!
This article is just so full of it, particularly the headline which reads, “Having Lots of Kids Helps Dads Live to 100.” The article then goes on to say that farming also helps men live to 100, as does keeping off excess weight in youth. That part I can agree with. Farming can be a healthy activity. Farmers get lots of exercise, they are out in the fresh air a lot, and the potential is there for them to eat a healthy diet with food taken right from their farm. And of course it is healthy to keep off excess weight, in one’s youth or at any other time of one’s life. But I really doubt that having lots of kids helps men live to 100. Even the article itself says that “based on previous studies by other authors, and common sense, quite the opposite could be expected.” I tend to agree with the common sense part. My grandfather had four children and he died at the age of 77. Why? Because he smoked, ate an unhealthy diet which included lots of saturated fats, and at times he bordered on obesity. Also, maybe there was something in his genetic history that kept him from living longer, although many of his siblings lived into their 90s. Having four kids had nothing to do with it. Leading an unhealthy lifestyle had a lot to do with it.
Articles like these really make me mad. They are like articles in which you can prove almost anything if you choose the right statistics. In articles like these, some of the most outrageous conclusions can come up depending on what you are looking for. Much of that depends on coincidence. Surely you’re not going to tell me, “Go out, have four kids, and you’ll live to 100.” That’s ridiculous, and I think much of this study is ridiculous as well.
news, aging, cancer, children, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,
Articles like these really make me mad. They are like articles in which you can prove almost anything if you choose the right statistics. In articles like these, some of the most outrageous conclusions can come up depending on what you are looking for. Much of that depends on coincidence. Surely you’re not going to tell me, “Go out, have four kids, and you’ll live to 100.” That’s ridiculous, and I think much of this study is ridiculous as well.
news, aging, cancer, children, cholesterol, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Eddie’s Vegetable Soup
1 carrot
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
1 can Beef Broth (15 oz.)
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
8 oz can lima beans
8 oz can green beans
8 oz can green peas
8 oz chickpeas
8 oz dark red kidney beans
11 oz can white shoepeg corn
4 oz frozen spinach
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Salt
I can cook and eat this delicious soup within one hour, and it makes 4 or 5 servings, maybe more, so I have plenty to eat at lunch for most of the week.
Prepare one large carrot, chop it up and put in 3 qt. pot. I don’t particularly like crunchy carrot in my soup, so I put enough water with it (not much) so that I can boil it some while I’m cutting up the onion and garlic. Keep a close eye on the cooking carrot. Chop onion and garlic and add it to carrot, stirring often. I put some olive oil with this sometimes, but you could also just add a little more water so that you can cook it all until the onion is somewhat translucent. Then I add a 15 oz can of Swanson’s Beef Broth and an 8 oz can of Hunt’s tomato sauce (just the plain variety) with a little coarsely ground black pepper and some garlic powder on top, and increase heat under pot. While all that is heating, open and drain all your beans. Also, rinse the chickpeas and kidney beans, maybe to minimize gas? Then to the pot add an 8 oz can Del Monte lima beans, an 8 oz can cut Del Monte green beans (I cut some in half if they seem too long), an 8 oz can Lesueur very young small early peas, an 11 oz can Green Giant white shoepeg corn. Chickpeas and kidney beans usually come in 15 oz cans, so I add a half can of each to the soup and freeze the rest for next time. I use organic beans if they are available. Food Lion has started carrying a lot more organic beans lately. I add some frozen spinach to the pot. It thaws nicely as the soup heats. I bring all this to the point where it simmers, almost boiling, reduce heat, cover, and let it cook for little awhile before I eat it. I spoon a bunch of the soup into a bowl, sprinkle black pepper on top, and crumble up 3-5 Saltine crackers in it, then stir and eat. You could add a little elbow macaroni or maybe some orzo if you want, but the corn is your grain. Sometimes if I have something like blackeyed peas left over I might add it to the soup, but I try to be careful not to spoil the taste of this soup because I love it.
I think this soup is one of the healthiest things a person can eat. Look at all the vegetables, the variety of foods, etc. I think it might help you lose weight, too, but I’m not sure. I’ve lost a couple of pounds recently, and I’ve been eating a lot of vegetable soup for lunch. This is one reason, though, why I’m not a vegan. I do use beef broth occasionally. Other than that, and some occasional Locatelli cheese on pasta, I am a vegetarian.
recipes, soup, low fat, cancer, cholesterol, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, immunity, inflammation, LDL, longevity, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
1 can Beef Broth (15 oz.)
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
8 oz can lima beans
8 oz can green beans
8 oz can green peas
8 oz chickpeas
8 oz dark red kidney beans
11 oz can white shoepeg corn
4 oz frozen spinach
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Salt
I can cook and eat this delicious soup within one hour, and it makes 4 or 5 servings, maybe more, so I have plenty to eat at lunch for most of the week.
Prepare one large carrot, chop it up and put in 3 qt. pot. I don’t particularly like crunchy carrot in my soup, so I put enough water with it (not much) so that I can boil it some while I’m cutting up the onion and garlic. Keep a close eye on the cooking carrot. Chop onion and garlic and add it to carrot, stirring often. I put some olive oil with this sometimes, but you could also just add a little more water so that you can cook it all until the onion is somewhat translucent. Then I add a 15 oz can of Swanson’s Beef Broth and an 8 oz can of Hunt’s tomato sauce (just the plain variety) with a little coarsely ground black pepper and some garlic powder on top, and increase heat under pot. While all that is heating, open and drain all your beans. Also, rinse the chickpeas and kidney beans, maybe to minimize gas? Then to the pot add an 8 oz can Del Monte lima beans, an 8 oz can cut Del Monte green beans (I cut some in half if they seem too long), an 8 oz can Lesueur very young small early peas, an 11 oz can Green Giant white shoepeg corn. Chickpeas and kidney beans usually come in 15 oz cans, so I add a half can of each to the soup and freeze the rest for next time. I use organic beans if they are available. Food Lion has started carrying a lot more organic beans lately. I add some frozen spinach to the pot. It thaws nicely as the soup heats. I bring all this to the point where it simmers, almost boiling, reduce heat, cover, and let it cook for little awhile before I eat it. I spoon a bunch of the soup into a bowl, sprinkle black pepper on top, and crumble up 3-5 Saltine crackers in it, then stir and eat. You could add a little elbow macaroni or maybe some orzo if you want, but the corn is your grain. Sometimes if I have something like blackeyed peas left over I might add it to the soup, but I try to be careful not to spoil the taste of this soup because I love it.
I think this soup is one of the healthiest things a person can eat. Look at all the vegetables, the variety of foods, etc. I think it might help you lose weight, too, but I’m not sure. I’ve lost a couple of pounds recently, and I’ve been eating a lot of vegetable soup for lunch. This is one reason, though, why I’m not a vegan. I do use beef broth occasionally. Other than that, and some occasional Locatelli cheese on pasta, I am a vegetarian.
recipes, soup, low fat, cancer, cholesterol, diet, fat, food, health, heart disease, immunity, inflammation, LDL, longevity, obesity, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women,
Monday, November 12, 2007
False Assumptions Can Kill?
It is interesting to me how some people are operating under false assumptions when it comes to their health. I don’t want to be judgemental or snobbish about this because I have done the same sort of thing myself. I used to eat potato chips, and I thought that since they didn’t have cholesterol, then they weren’t bad for me, or something like that. In other words, the potato chip bag had a label on the outside that said something like “Cholesterol Free,” and I thought that was a good thing. And of course it was a good thing, from my point of view, that they didn’t have cholesterol. But my sister pointed out to me the fact that they contain a lot of fat. So not only did they contain some saturated fat, which drives up a person’s cholesterol, but I am sure they contain more omega-6 fatty acids than I prefer to eat today.
When my elderly aunt had heart problems, her response was, “Well, I eat Cheerios every day.” And I said to her, if you’re expecting to control your cholesterol with Cheerios alone, that won’t do it. They will help, because of their soluble fiber, of course, but you can get a lot more soluble fiber just from using products like FiberSure, etc.
And this summer, in the middle all of our 104 degree days, my aunt had a fainting spell, no doubt because of dehydration, and her potassium was very low. Her response to that was, “Well, I eat a banana every day.” And I wanted to say to her that a banana only has a small amount of our daily requirements of potassium – even less if you factor in the heat of a summer day. If you’re expecting to control your potassium by eating a banana every day, well that won’t do it. If you are concerned about your potassium, there are many other foods that contain it. In this list, banana is at the bottom.
Here is an article that challenges our assumptions, for example, that we might be getting enough omega-3 fatty acids if we buy all the food in the grocery store that claims to contain it. The article says, “Consumers are in real danger of being misled.” Well, duh. Cheerios claim to lower cholesterol, potato chips have no cholesterol, some foods contain omega-3s – we’re not in danger of being misled, we’ve been misled for a long time. Sure, some of the processed food in the grocery store is good for us, but we are often wrong to assume that it is the best choice of food to put into our bodies based on what the food companies tell us. In some ways they need to mislead us so that we will buy their products. I go back to the fact that a corporation’s only responsibility is to make money.
Anyway, we need to make sure our assumptions are correct and not wait until a health crisis forces us to find out the truth. By the time that happens, it could be too late.
aging, cancer, dehydration, cholesterol, fiber, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, soluble fiber, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women, omega-3,
When my elderly aunt had heart problems, her response was, “Well, I eat Cheerios every day.” And I said to her, if you’re expecting to control your cholesterol with Cheerios alone, that won’t do it. They will help, because of their soluble fiber, of course, but you can get a lot more soluble fiber just from using products like FiberSure, etc.
And this summer, in the middle all of our 104 degree days, my aunt had a fainting spell, no doubt because of dehydration, and her potassium was very low. Her response to that was, “Well, I eat a banana every day.” And I wanted to say to her that a banana only has a small amount of our daily requirements of potassium – even less if you factor in the heat of a summer day. If you’re expecting to control your potassium by eating a banana every day, well that won’t do it. If you are concerned about your potassium, there are many other foods that contain it. In this list, banana is at the bottom.
Here is an article that challenges our assumptions, for example, that we might be getting enough omega-3 fatty acids if we buy all the food in the grocery store that claims to contain it. The article says, “Consumers are in real danger of being misled.” Well, duh. Cheerios claim to lower cholesterol, potato chips have no cholesterol, some foods contain omega-3s – we’re not in danger of being misled, we’ve been misled for a long time. Sure, some of the processed food in the grocery store is good for us, but we are often wrong to assume that it is the best choice of food to put into our bodies based on what the food companies tell us. In some ways they need to mislead us so that we will buy their products. I go back to the fact that a corporation’s only responsibility is to make money.
Anyway, we need to make sure our assumptions are correct and not wait until a health crisis forces us to find out the truth. By the time that happens, it could be too late.
aging, cancer, dehydration, cholesterol, fiber, diet, exercise, fat, food, health, heart disease, longevity, obesity, soluble fiber, vegetables, vegetarian, weight loss, women, omega-3,
Monday, November 5, 2007
No More Trans Fat?
Wow, I was at the store the other day and I discovered that Nutella no longer uses hydrogenated oil. One reason I stopped eating it was because of the trans fats. The only problem now is that instead of partially hydrogenated peanut oil they are using palm oil, which is also bad. Nutella has a lot of fat per serving, but a lot of that fat is from hazelnuts. I’m not recommending this product, but it is good, and I was just happy that they had taken out the trans fat. (Note: I just looked up the nutritional information on Nutella. Apparently their website hasn’t caught up with the change because it still has the old information. But I swear what I am saying is correct. Check it yourself next time you are at the grocery store.)
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Green Tea
Green tea is supposed to be a very healthy drink. Just look at all these posts for an idea of how healthy.
As healthy as green tea may be, just think about how cheap it is. You can get organic green tea bags for ten cents each. That means you can have four cups per day for less than fifty cents. I think that is incredible! Where else can you find such a value?
green tea, aging, cholesterol, diet, health, heart disease, immunity, inflammation, LDL, longevity, prostate cancer, PSA, weight loss,
As healthy as green tea may be, just think about how cheap it is. You can get organic green tea bags for ten cents each. That means you can have four cups per day for less than fifty cents. I think that is incredible! Where else can you find such a value?
green tea, aging, cholesterol, diet, health, heart disease, immunity, inflammation, LDL, longevity, prostate cancer, PSA, weight loss,
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