Good graphic, though it’s good to keep in mind that most things can be good for you in small poritions, but extremely bad for you if you consume too much.
(Source: tictactigger, via get-healthy-feel-awesome)
Customer: “I’d like a kid’s bean and cheese burrito.”
Me: “Alright, would you like a fountain drink, juice, or milk?”
Customer: *turns to her child* “Okay, do you want soda or juice?”
Customer’s daughter: “I just want water.”
Customer: “But soda’s better for you!”
This just makes me sad.
All About Poop: Deets, Facts, Bathroom YOGA and More…
Lol… oh my, I’m gonna get in trouble with this one.
I already know some of you are saying ‘ewwww’, but this is gross, funny AND serious business.
When it comes to health & nutrition, nothing is as telling as what you plop down in the toilet. And girls you DO it. I totally know when you’re waiting for me to leave so you can poop in peace!
In addition to the fun facts listed below, here are a few other tidbits you should know.
On average, we poop about 410lbs a year.
- It’s normal to go about 1-2 times a day, but some people go more, some less. How much you poop isn’t really good or bad, unless something changes in YOUR routine.
- The food you eat takes approximately 3 days from the time you eat it until you poop it out. If it takes a shorter time, the result may be greener stool (green is one of the first colors in the rainbow of the digestive process).
- Red poops suddenly can be a sign you’re bleeding, unless you’ve had a large amount of beets (beets make your poops red). Black poops can also mean blood - it’s simply coagulated.
- Size and shape are irrelevant - UNLESS it’s a sudden change. If you used to be a log kind of gal, and suddenly you’re pencil thin, it could indicate a problem like polyps in your colon. Mention it to your doctor.
Fizzy Drinks Linked To Teen Violence?
More blows to the fizzy, sugary drink industry with research suggesting that teens who drink a can a day of soft drink or around five cans per week are more likely to become aggressive, even carrying weapons and being physically violent with friends, fellow students and family members
You can read the full story here, but I’m going to go ahead and call bull on this one. There’s a big difference between causation and correlation. The study has some damaging statistics, but note that the teens in these statistics either drink one or fewer cans of soda a week or fourteen plus cans of soda a week.
Carried a Gun / Knife :
23% - one or no cans of soft drink a week
43% - 14 or more cans
Perpetrating violence towards a partner :
15% - One or no cans a week
27% - 14 or more
Violence towards peers
35% - One or no cans a week
58% - 14 or more
Violence towards siblings rose
25% - One or no cans a week
43% - 14 or more
Teens who drink one or fewer sodas a week probably tend to be more health conscious, more educated, or raised in a completely different environment than those who drink fourteen or more sodas a week. Teens who drink more soda may also be heavier and more bullied by their peers. These and other correlations could all provide reasons why those who drink more soda might also be more violent.
What this story, and the many others like it that were released today, fail to provide is a VALID EXPLANATION for why soda would cause teens to be more violent. While sugar has been linked to violence before (see this recent study), it’s never been properly tested. They’ve never, say, given sugar to rats and seen that the rats who ate more sugar acted more violently. Instead they’ve only asked people how much sugar they consumed and noted that violent people consumed a lot of sugar. There are plenty of things that may cause both an increase in sugar consumption and aggression—that doesn’t mean that the two are related.
I accept that I may be wrong and next week a study may be released showing that sugar and caffeine cause an increase of violence in small furry animals, but right now I don’t see the evidence.
Photo: Geoffrey Fairchild
31 Million Americans Skip Breakfast Each Day
I’m not one of those people who believes that everyone should eat first thing in the morning, but getting something in your belly within the first 2-3 hours of waking is key to getting a good start to your day. While the myth is that it messes with your metabolism, that’s simply not true (it’s something that happens as a result of overall nutritional deficiency and significant restricting over time). But eating in the morning has WAY more benefit than simply a start to your metabolism: you’re less likely to overeat later on, you have more energy, you’ll be more alert (the brain uses 25% of the calories you need) and you’re able to space out your nutrients more efficiently (protein etc.).
Bottom line: getting something in your body in the first couple of hours is better for you.
Still, I’m kinda alarmed at the number. 31 million adults! That’s crazy time.
The Morning MealScape 2011 study surveyed 27,179 Americans from January 10 through March 7, 2011. The results indicated that males ages 18-34 are most likely to skip breakfast (28 percent) and females ages 55 and older were the most likely to eat a morning meal; only 10 percent reported skipping breakfast. Among children, skipping breakfast correlates with age — teenagers are more likely to not eat breakfast than younger children. See the chart below for more statistics:
Tips for non-breakfast eaters
Time: If time’s an issue, have quick, EASY items you can grab on the go. Cereal bars, sliced fruit, toast etc. Wake up 10 minutes earlier so you have time to eat, or grab something to eat.
I wish this were bigger so that you could read everything, but you get the idea. I usually take half of my food home when I eat out. Depending on the meal, I’ll often ask for a to-go container up front and put half of my food in it before I even start eating.
The Ultimate Guide to Workout Nutrition
This is everything the average person needs to know about workout nutrition.
How Dangerous is That Little Green Spot of Mold on Your Bread?
Is it safe to eat food that has visible mold? The quick answer: it depends.
By the time there is visible mold on food, microscopic mold may have completely penetrated the dish. Softer foods, including most leftovers, baked goods, soft cheese, yogurt, jelly, and lunch meats, should be discarded entirely even if they only have a small amount of visible mold. However, for harder foods, such as hard cheese, firm fruits and vegetables, and dry-cured ham, it’s safe to cut off the moldy part and eat the rest.
For the long answer, read USDA’s fact sheet about mold on food.
What's in a Kids' Meal? Not Happy News
High-calorie, high-sodium choices were on the menu when parents purchased lunch for their children at a San Diego fast-food restaurant. Why? Because both children and adults liked the food and the convenience.
However, the study of data compiled by researchers in the Department of Pediatrics at…
As far as nutrition is concerned, convenient is rarely healthy.
What stood out to me in this study was not how unhealthy kids’ meals are (do we really expect anything from a fast food restaurant to be healthy?), but these two tidbits:
1. The included toy was not a major influence in purchasing the kids’ meal, and in fact almost half of respondents said that it didn’t factor into their decision at all. This interests me because kids’ meals’ toys have gotten bad press recently due to the assumption that kids want the kids’ meal for the toy. Some locations, such as San Francisco, have even banned including toys with kids meals unless they fit a set of nutritional guidelines.
2. A lot more fast food restaurants are including healthy options for their kids’ meals, such as apple slices and juice instead of fries and soda, but according to this study, those healthy options are rarely chosen over the traditional fast food choices.
There’s nothing wrong with eating fast food on occasion, but it’s good to have some other convenient options so that eating fast food doesn’t become a regular habit. My favorites:
1. Always make a little extra when you cook a healthy meal so that you have leftovers available for school lunches and quick meals.
2. Stock up on bread, deli meats, cheese, peanut butter, and jelly. It only takes a minute to whip up a delicious sandwich.
3. Keep fruits and vegetables in the house. They make great side items for any meal, as well health snacks. Give the kids a chance to pick out their own fruit too. You may be surprised what they like; my good friend’s toddler can’t stand oranges but loves raspberries.
Photo: CK
