unhealthy-related stories
Worst Frozen Treats, Drink Shockers and Post-Party Dieting - Links We Love
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
It's nearing summer and that means ice cream and milkshakes, among other things. But what's a diet-conscious person to do? Well, one thing's for sure: Avoid these worst frozen treats (just one serving of some of these go overboard on your daily sugar intake) and these unhealthy drinks and shakes.
One more piece of fat-fighting advice on this Monday morning -- if you've had a on "off" weekend and need to get your diet back on track, check out our post-weekend diet.
Obesity in India - The Standard is Changing
Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment
BMI classifications are accepted universally: 18 to 24 is considered normal, 25 to 29 overweight and 30+ obese. Correction -- BMI classifications were universal but now, one country is changing the standard. India is re-defining what it means to be overweight or obese. Whereas the old standard classified people with a BMI of 24 as normal, anyone who ranks over 23 will be considered overweight. And those who have a BMI of 25 or over will be considered obese.
This means, of course, that hundreds of thousands of people who thought they were healthy will have to think again under the new guidelines. Kind of seems unfair, huh? The government doesn't think so. "This revision has been long overdue," said Anoop Misra of Fortis Hospital, New Delhi. "The new values will have tremendous public health implications."
What do you think? Is setting a new standard a good idea? Should the rest of us follow suit?
You can be healthy at any weight, say fat activists
Being overweight is unhealthy -- is this a fact? Or merely a common assumption? Considering the bad rap obesity has these days -- as an epidemic and national emergency, among other disastrous associations -- most of us will accept the overweight/unhealthy connection as fact. But according to The New York Times, a new movement out there is pushing for the acceptance of fat and the end to so-called false fat assumptions. The movement, generally known as fat acceptance, is lead by a group of activists and academics who want to change the way the world sees fat people. What do they believe in? That someone can be healthy at any weight, and assuming a fat person is unhealthy is as mis-guided as assuming a thin person is healthy. And instead of focusing on weight loss, the diet industry should be emphasizing nutrition, fitness, body image and measures of health other than the numbers on the scale. Read the full article for more info.
What do you think? Can you be fit and fat? Healthy and hefty? Is weight alone an accurate prediction of health?
Low-calorie diets are safe for bones, but surgery? Not so much.
Losing weight fast is widely regarded as really unhealthy. But researchers in Louisiana are questioning this notion, according to this article on Calorie Lab. In recent studies, diet very low in calories (we're talking 890 calories a day here) were shown to be and effective and fast way to lose weight without leading to dangerous loss of bone density.
I don't know about you but I'm still not convinced. There's no way eating less than 1000 calories a day can be good for you.
However, in related news, the same article points out that weight loss surgery like gastric bypass surgery, can lead to extensive bone loss. Researchers say that taking higher doses of supplements may help.
Tofu: Not a healthy health food
Healthy Habits, Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
Many vegetarians champion tofu for its meatless protein and versatility. They also eat quite a lot of it, and some sources are saying -- and have been saying for a while actually -- that no good can come of this.
Basically, because tofu is an unfermented soy product, there are chemicals left in the soy that are not only indigestible, but also rob your body of other nutrients. Phytates block mineral absorption and trypsin inhibitors block protein digestion.
In this video interview, Dr. Kaayla Daniel says she isn't so much worried about the people who eat a couple of chunks of tofu in miso soup and the like, but more the vegetarians who eat slabs of tofu daily as their main source of protein. She also says that eating tofu is still safer than ingesting soy protein isolate or hydrolyzed soy protein, ingredients found in many processed foods like veggie burgers.
Google Cafe serves up possibly unhealthiest meal EVER!
Google, the ingenious company that has seemingly single-handedly conquered the internet, could use some lessons in nutrition, apparently. Well, at least their NYC Cafe could. The eatery recently served up a stomach-churning, heart attack-inducing, vomit-inspiring doozy of a sandwich. The Bacon Krispy Kreme Burger is just that -- a cheeseburger with bacon served on a Krispy Kreme donut as the bun. The only way they could possibly make it less nutritious is if they deep fried it.
How many calories does you think is in one of these? Let's see, about 200 in the donut, 250 in the pattty, 150 in the bacon and 100 in the cheese? At 700 calories and about a jillion grams of fat, let's hope Google provides its employees with good insurance plans.
(via Celebrity Diet Doctor)
Don't cha knoooow? Chocolate covered bacon is nasty!
Healthy Habits, Womens Health, Healthy Recipes, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Kids, Obesity, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Yuck! I just watched a little news bit about Minnesota on Fox News. They were featuring the state as it is hosting the Republican Convention in St. Paul. (That title is meant to be read with an adorable accent.)
Apparently all the folks in Minnesota aren't in "the know" about health. On display in this feature was an obnoxious amount of fried food being carried around on sticks. Mmmmm. Heart disease. Corn dogs, fried chips, fried meat and to top it off, chocolate covered bacon!
Would you ever even consider eating this? It looked pretty fowl to me, though I am fairly particular about what I put in my mouth. I can only imagine some guy sitting in a diner one day thinking, "how could I improve on this strip of pig fat? I know! Let's dip it in chocolate!"
Jumpstart Your Fitness: By breaking bad habits
Unhealthy habits, we all have 'em. Eating too much, exercising too little, spending too much, saving too little, the list goes on. When it comes to your health and meeting goals for weight loss and fitness, some of the biggest obstacles standing in your way could be some the things you do everyday without even thinking: your unhealthy habits. Habits aren't easily broken, but many of the methods for getting rid of them are the same across the board, regardless of what your specific vices are. Here are the most proven and effective methods for breaking unwanted habits:
Workplace Fitness: The unhealthiest jobs (you've probably got one)
How healthy is your work environment? We all face challenges, for some it's an office full of candy dishes and donuts and for others it's about physical danger and hardhats are involved. There are different kinds of health hazards, but for the purposes of finding out which jobs were the unhealthiest the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently did a survey where they tracked how often employees in different professions sustained on-the-job injuries that caused them to miss at least one day of work. The results may surprise you.
Scary celebrity diet secrets
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements
How many times have you heard a startlet credit her fabulous body with good genetics or a busy lifestyle. You know, "I swear, I eat junk food all the time! I just don't put on any weight!" Well, I don't know about you, but I generally want to punch those girls. You know, good for them and all, but most of us just aren't that lucky.Well, it turns out most of them aren't, either. We're always hearing about celebrity diets and fitness routines, and this article in the Daily Mail gives us nine reasons why most of us don't look like most of them. And trust me, these are not things you want to do in order to get bodies like theirs.
Bad foods that are (somewhat) good for you
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
- Red Meat. Protein is great for curbing hunger and building muscle. Just make sure you get an extra-lean cut.
- Ice Cream. Studies show that women who eat a serving of full-fat dairy a day lose more weight than those who don't. Who knew?
- Eggs. Eggs are a great, low-fat source of protein, and contrary to popular belief, they're not bad for you heart -- at least in moderation.
- Pizza. With a few healthy modifications, pizza can be a perfect meal. Opt for thin, whole wheat crust with tons of veggies and just a sprinkling of cheese and you're getting one well-rounded dish
- Bacon. Well, Canadian bacon, that is. It's got a third of the fat of regular bacon, and none of those worrisome nitrates. Not a fan? Try turkey bacon.
Healthy people bad for government
How exactly are healthy folks breaking the bank? They're doing it by living longer. Because their lives are longer, it costs more to care for them. Maybe this is true. But I tend to think it's still more costly to smoke and carry a lot of extra weight. It may not cost money, but it costs time spent living. For me, dying sooner than I'd like is quite a price to pay.
Check out these study facts: Healthy folks live about 84 years. Smokers live 77. The obese live 80. Care for the healthy group runs at about $417,000, from age 20 on. The cost of care for obese people was $371,000, and for smokers, about $326,000. Other fun facts: Cancer incidence, except for lung cancer, was the same in all three groups, obese people had the most diabetes, and healthy people had the most strokes.
Reacting to this news, professor of health politics at Johns Hopkins University Patrick Basham says: "This throws a bucket of cold water onto the idea that obesity is going to cost trillions of dollars."
What is your reaction?
Testosterone supplements not that efficient for older men, says study
If you're middle-aged, male and taking testosterone supplements to help you keep that muscled look and that sex drive, researchers say those supplements may not be doing you any good after all.Researchers out of The Netherlands studied 230 men between the ages of 60 and 80 and did find that taking testosterone supplements did result in slightly more muscle mass.
However, those products did not provide a boost to overall health or quality of life. No net health benefit was observed, in effect. Still think those testosterone-promoting supplements are worth it? Why or why not?
Fit but fat is better than thin and lazy
Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment
It's important to look at more than the number on the scale when assessing someone's health, according to this article from Diet Blog. Case in point: a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that fitness and lifestyle is a better indicator of someone's health than how they look.
I think these findings are spot on -- I know thin people who live on diets of chemicals and get no exercise, and I know so-called chubby people who work out regularly and eat well. Anyway, no matter your size, it's a good reminder that true health can't be faked.
What's the air like there?
Healthy Habits, Healthy Places, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness
I've been looking strictly at the temps when I make my weather stop, but I just learned that I can check out the air quality in my area too. In fact, I just did it. After arriving at my friendly weather website, I clicked on healthy living and then air quality and pollution. Good news: In every Florida city listed, the air quality is good. To compare and contrast, I also took a peek at Ohio, my home state. Different news here: Some cities have good air quality; some have moderate. There are other possible air qualities -- unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, and very unhealthy -- and it seems by my quick tour through a few other states that none fit these three categories. I suspect the conditions can change day by day, though. So for those of you concerned with the state of the air, regular visits to this site might be wise.
Why should you be concerned with the air, you ask? Because polluted air is bad for your health. Check out these articles in the journal Circulation for more on this topic. And before heading for outdoor activities -- and especially before exercising outside -- check your air. If it's not optimal, then head to the gym.

























