September is National Cholesterol Awareness Month, so take some time this month to educate yourself on cholesterol -- the good, the bad, and what you can do about it.

• Get tested. If you don't know your cholesterol levels, visit your doctor. Ask your doctor to explain the results and give you some recommendations if your cholesterol levels needs improvement. Chris recently posted a good overview of the different types of cholesterol and some general guidelines for healthy ranges.
  
• Eat heart-healthy foods. Choose plenty of whole grains, healthful fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated), lots of fruits and vegetables, and lean protein. Also, remember to minimize your sodium intake.

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Caught an old rerun of an Oprah show last night. Watched just long enough to hear a very enthusiastic doctor offering advice on vitamin D. All women need to have their vitamin D levels checked, she said, because most women don't get enough. And if we're not getting enough, we need to know this so we can make necessary adjustments.

Vitamin D is critical to our health -- a deficiency can result in bone problems, cancer, high blood pressure, depression, and immune-system disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis. and diabetes. We need about 2,000 international units of it each day, says the good doctor, not the 400 currently recommended by the FDA.

Oprah said she's had her vitamin D levels checked. They were low. No surprise. So she started taking a supplement to bump her into a better range. Supplements are good. So is the sun -- just 15 minutes per day, and don't burn. And of course, vitamin D rich foods, like wild salmon, shrimp, skim and low-fat milk, Shittake mushrooms, fortified yogurts, and fortified cereals.

Do you know your vitamin D levels? I don't. But I should.

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This morning, my kids asked for cinnamon toast. So I made it for them. I used whole wheat bread, light butter with Canola oil, and a few sprinkles of McCormick's cinnamon sugar. My kids gobbled it down, which makes me happy for whole wheat purposes. My husband tends to think the rest of the equation -- the butter and cinnamon sugar -- is crap. I argued with him a bit, not trying to convince him butter and cinnamon sugar are good for our kids, just to let him know that our kids eat pretty darn healthy most days and there are far worse foods they could have ingested, with far more crap packed into them. Then I questioned myself. Then I did some research.

Hungry Girl says in one of her Chew the Right Thing posts that cinnamon sugar is something we ought to fight, not bite. Now she's speaking mostly to us grown-up calorie-counting folks and not to the kids of the world, but here's what she says: "McCormick's Cinnamon Sugar has only 15 calories per teaspoon. So why are we telling you to 'fight it!'? Well, we just don't see why anyone should waste any calories at all on this sweet spice when there is a just-as-good no-cal version available. After all, when you're watching your weight, every single calorie counts. Fifteen calories here, 30 there, another 40 here ... it can all add up." HG doesn't mention sugar in her opinion but clearly, there's sugar in cinnamon sugar.

So what does the Hungry Girl suggest? San Sucre Cinnamon Sugar. It uses Splenda and makes a great sugarless cinnamon sugar blend, she says. No calories in this goodie either. HG's final piece of advice: "Cinnamon helps keep blood sugar levels low, so sprinkle away!"

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Although the obesity epidemic in the U.S. is in full swing, at least many of us have normal cholesterol levels. Well, according to a report out this week from the federal government.

The average 'bad' cholesterol level of the typical American is 199, which is actually an ideal level based on current cholesterol research. Now, here is where things take a weird turn -- that level is the 'ideal' range for the first time in fifty years.

I'm not sure methods for measurement were around fifty years ago when it comes to cholesterol, but there you have it. Straight from the government's medical geniuses.

Is this a PR piece for pharmaceutical drugs meant to lower cholesterol or is this a legitimate finding? Hard to tell, but with the report mentioning the use of cholesterol pills being the main reason for the surprise lower levels here, I'm quite skeptic. Are you?

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Have you ever measure the level of industrial chemicals circulating or at rest in your system? If you live nearby a chemical plant or are in a smog-ridden city, you probably have high levels of some chemicals inside your body.

Scientists have been increasing the testing for industrial chemicals in newer techniques that were developed less than 10 years ago, and some have found the results very shocking. Could you imagine an 18 month-old having toxic substances in his body that would lead to a heavy potential for sickness if found in an adult? This new "biomonitoring" is telling the tale for some parents.

Even household chemicals and shampoos are generally nasty, unless they use biodegradable and organic ingredients. Problem is, many don't. Research methylparaben (in shampoos and lotions) and the items used to make dyes (like FD&C Red 40), and prepare to be shocked.

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As Rigel noted a few days ago, some of the what should be the most rewarding careers are also the most depressing. The top? Personal caregiver.

The amount of sad situations those workers face may make it seem appropriate that depression follows shortly thereafter, and that is really too bad. Those people are the definition of hero, unlike movie stars or professional athletes.

But depression comes out of many fields of work as well, with some ranking much higher than others. Why are engineers and architects less depressed than personal care workers like child care workers and hairdressers?

Simple answer: dealing with objects instead of people produces less depression. Designing a skyscraper may be difficult, but dealing with the cast array of human emotions every day can prove to be just as hard (or harder) for many.

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Allergies were fierce in my area this summer, and continue to be even into October. It may become worse in the year ahead though, and researchers are now predicting that half the world's population will have some kind of allergy by 2015.

Yikes -- that's billions (with a 'b') of new allergies in the coming eight years or so. What is causing such a surge? We're not talking about just natural allergies like to ragweed, but to chemicals like perfumes, laundry detergent and cleaning fluid.

Indoor pollution (dust mites, pets, etc.) and outside pollution (smog, ozone, nitrogen dioxide) will both contribute to the rise in the coming year. Get our your gas mask now.

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A new survey this week stated that global abortions (proactively induced) dropped from 46 million in 1995 to less than 42 million eight years later in 2003.

Why the decline in an age where the world gained millions of new citizens? Hard to tell, but oddly, the largest drops came from countries where the procedure is legal.

It's estimated that 20 percent of all worldwide pregnancies ends in abortion, and that abortion rates were not significantly altered by the legality of the procedure in the country where it occurred. Of the total, only about 6.6 million abortions were performed in developed nations like the U.S. 92 percent were done using safe methods in developed countries.

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Dealing with the symptoms of diabetes, along with treating the disease itself, can be an exhausting challenge. Those of you out there currently dealing with diabetes might be interested in this piece, which says that as little as 20 minutes a day of exercise can help raise energy levels, as well as deal with a number of the side-effects that come with the condition.

According to the information in the piece, daily physical activity can also increase whole-body insulin levels, lower A1C (blood glucose test) levels, and decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Not bad for a short, brisk walk arond the block! And of course, any kind of regular activity is good for your body and mind as a whole, so if you're dealing with diabetes, finding time for a bit of exercise has numerous benefits.

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A Canadian medical expert is saying that women who are pregnant may need up to 10 times the normal level of Vitamin D to ensure they are protecting those babies from all sorts of chronic diseases.

The specific level? 2,000 IUs a day, which is quite a bit. In fact, that level alone sounds almost too high based on the recommended levels we've seen for decades. This new suggestion is drawing some surprise from fellow Vitamin D experts in the U.S., with a pediatric director at the University of South Carolina calling the findings "a remarkable change."

The big conclusion here is to ensure breastfeeding babies receive enough Vitamin D in those diets -- and the lactating moms need all that Vitamin D to have plenty of reserves stocked up for those hungry babies.

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Experts are weighing in on the best approach for preventing and controlling diabetes as they consider whether exercise or weight loss is better. Any ideas?

It all depends on a three-pronged approach. And the three prongs are: Diet, exercise, and quality of food consumed. But one is more important than the others for prevention, and one is more important for control of the disease. Place your guesses now.

For prevention, weight loss is better. The Diabetes Prevention Program established that losing seven percent of one's body weight can cut the risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent. Exercise doesn't hurt either, and exerting yourself physically for 150 minutes per week will help you achieved this decreased risk.

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I try to stay away from dairy, especially milk. It's been linked to breast cancer and since I've already had the disease, I tend to stray from anything even remotely associated with it. That's not to say dairy is all bad, though. In fact, it seems eating more calcium-rich dairy food may help in the battle of the bulge.

Study findings are preliminary but here's what they suggest: Dairy appears to reduce fat absorption. After overweight study participants ate meals containing either a high or medium amount of low-fat yogurt and milk, their blood-fat levels were 15 to 19 percent lower than those who ate only a small amount of dairy. Interestingly, results remained consistent even when the low-dairy eaters added a calcium supplement.

If you dare to consume dairy, you've got research backing your decision. For true weight loss results, though, make sure it comes straight from the cow.

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