The USDA recently approved new standards for public school lunches – the cause célèbre of First Lady Michelle Obama – but the improvements still leave a lot to be desired.
Let’s start with the good stuff. The new regulations call for double the amount of servings of fruit and vegetables, the use of non-fat and low-fat milk, an emphasis on whole grain and an attempt to curb the amount of sodium our kids are consuming. Until now there had been zero regulations where sodium was concerned. The average high school lunch contains almost 1,600 milligrams of sodium, she said, more than half the recommended daily sodium intake for a high school-age student.
Unfortunately there are still some parts of the proposal the USDA failed to get authorized….
American and Australian researchers recently reported a study in which they were able to keep mice from getting completely sloshed. Though it sounds rather inconsequential scientists believe that this study could one day pave the way for what they’re calling a “stay-sober pill.”
It turns out that when mice get drunk they pretty much act the same way we do. They fall over, stumble and occasionally break down sobbing in the middle of sex. The mice in the study were given enough alcohol to make them drunk but by giving them the drug they were able to limit the effects of the alcohol and keep them from even getting a bit tipsy.
In less than twenty years 1-out-of-2 Americans could be considered obese according to a new study coming out of Britain. That is, unless the government can step in and make important policy changes to help curb gut expansion across the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
A team of international public health experts urged making healthy food cheaper and less-than-healthy food more expensive through tax measures. Their argument is that if the global obesity crisis continues to spiral out of control nations will be forced to face substantial burdens to their health care costs as well as economies.
A large portion of the blame is placed on what’s known as an “obesogenic” environment in which it is nearly impossible for someone to maintain a healthy weight and diet thanks to the way food is being marketed and produced.
While the wellness industry is known to one of the fastest growing industries today, there are some misconceptions developed within people about healthy food choices. Sometimes they use it too much for marketing, and that is sad.
When products are labeled common wellness-support labels like “zero-gram trans fat” or “organic” or “whole”, it tends to create a notion that it is healthy so let us buy it. Although it seems to be perfectly fine, it kind of creates a mindset that it is good to consume a great amount of it, especially for people who are used to large quantities of food.
In support to this statement, using “low-calories” or “low fat” may not always be the case. According to an article : “Organic Labels May Trick Dieters Into Eating More”, talking about organics may trigger consumers minds about being less so it is okay to consume more, and that is bad conditioning.
Being pregnant is probably one of the most beautiful moments in a woman’s life. It is a delicate responsibility to take care of a life inside a woman’s womb, so one of the priorities any woman should have is to take care of her health.
For example, an article titled ; “Quitting Smoking Before Pregnancy Could Save Babies’ Lives”, says that quitting smoking before even conceiving can bring so many good effects in relative to smoking while pregnant.
Responsible parents are loving parents, and studies do prove that avoiding habits like smoking and drinking can give a higher chance of a healthy baby.
One of the hardest things faced when in a diet or practicing self-discipline is the ability to say “NO” to certain foods, or habits one has been doing for a while. In a life of people getting used to fad diets, having to face another “new” product, how do we say no?
One thing we have to say no to in a healthy lifestyle is anything in excess. Excess sleep deprivation, alcoholic intake and even food. It might not be hard for some, but to some it takes almost every inch of willpower, sometimes, in the end, or in days, you find yourself saying “yes” to what you have been avoiding.
Tip: Love moderation. Tell yourself that anything in excess is bad and that anything in moderation is good. For starters, it might be too hard to just replace anything you have been used to.
Most of the people who are not introduced to a healthy lifestyle of activities like walking in a treadmill or having a healthy snack may often find it hard to start living the way they want to. And to avoid many complications in the future. For some it takes some real sheer willpower to do a thing, but most may end in despair and quitting.
What may be wrong? Encountering many people with this way of thinking have one thing in common; they think they have to spend countless hours just to get their blood going. How about work and family?
Who would have thought that taking care of our teeth would come along way more than just saving our loved ones from bad breath or irritation caused by bacteria in our mouth? Oral care is important because many studies have shown its relation to the conditions of the heart.
A study in London according to Reuters showed that those people who have poor oral hygiene have increased risks in heart diseases. According to the study, unhealthy gums are likely to promote diabetes and other heart problems. The inflammation of organs in the body, which in this case is gums and teeth, relate to clogged up arteries.
But how would people in olden times take care of their teeth if there were no toothbrush and toothpaste ? They had a diet with a lot of vitamins and nutrients. This helped maintain their tooth enamel by limiting the sugar that usually rots present-day teeth.
Many times people might get the wrong idea in dieting. Some think that a low calorie diet or a high protein diet is healthy and it will compliment the healthy lifestyle of activities everyday. There are many diet plans that has concepts like this. But for the practical everyday person who does not want a complicated and calculated diet, there are few concepts you might find useful in planning your diet.
We get most of our vitamins and nutrients from the foods we eat. But some may not have access to healthy choices of food all the time that their only access is fast food or any convenient, easy-to-prepare food. Sometimes we may take for granted the importance of these vitamins for the proper functioning of our organs and systems in battling elements that can weaken our immune system.
How do we make sure that we get everything we need?
People can sometimes be too lazy to exercise; some believe many things that give the excuse not to exercise. But any physical activity has been a part of a lifestyle that is less prone to diseases, and any exercise routine has been an indicator to our body that we need to get the blood going to keep the heart and arteries healthy, and the mind too.
This progressive world of almost pure work and no play has taken a toll on us. The demands of an ever changing world has limited the opportunity to sweat, take a walk and rather spend more time on a chair for most hours of the day.
Good thing that in the wellness awareness generation we are experiencing today, people make more effort to have physical activities to enhance the mind and the body, for some of its reasons.
Awareness is sometimes not enough, or maybe too late for some.
new standards for public school lunches – the cause célèbre of First Lady Michelle Obama – but the improvements still leave a lot to be desired.
