Food, Exercise, Normalizing Weight and Eating Habits
November 1, 2010

Food, Exercise, Normalizing Weight and Eating Habits

Great Web Sites about Your Health:
Food, Exercise, Normalizing Weight and Eating Habits

 

TAKE A LOOK!

http://www.HealthyAmericans.org Ideas to improve health
http://www.EDReferral.com Eating Disorders
http://www.NIH.gov Metabolic syndrome (25% adults)
http://www.NIH.gov Search: Portion control quiz
http://www.lpi.oregonstate.edu Linus Pauling Institute; –Search: micronutrient information center
http://www.nwcr.ws NatlWeightControlRegistry: Duke’s tracking of people who keep weight off
http://www.MyPyramid.Gov Food Diaries and more
http://www.Americanheart.org New CPR method, childhood obesity, etc.
http://www.MapMyRun.com App to check out your running(walking) course and more
http://www.OldWaysPT.org Mediterranean Diet Pyramid (and Asian, Vegetarian, etc.)
http://www.ShapeUp.org Take 10,000 steps per day (average is 900-3000 in U.S.)
http://www.StrongWomen.com Fitness programs
http://AmericaOnTheMove.org To stop weight gain, simple plan
https://SleepFoundation.org/US Great help for getting quality sleep
http://US.BBB.org Better Business Bureau-check for weight loss products, etc
http://USDA.gov/wps/ Weight management and obesity
http://www.plannedparenthood.org For information on contraception, sexually transmitted infections and for the pregnant woman on her pregnancy month by month

Get informed and  inspired!  Be Motivated!

4) Lastly, the following is the “In the News” for December, 2010:

Web News December 2010

The Dangerous Plastic Epidemic

You probably know that plastics can release toxic chemicals.  But you may not know quite what to do about it because plastics are everywhere.

The Problem:

A chemical commonly used in plastics, bisphenol-A (BPA), has powerful, hormonelike effects.  It is an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to increased risk for a variety of cancers, including breast and prostate cancers.    A government task force issued a report suggesting that BPA also might be an ‘obesogen’, a chemical that causes obesity.  In addition, there’s some evidence that BPA is linked to low sperm quality in men.

You cannot avoid plastics altogether, but you can minimize your exposure:

  1. Don’t take the receipt, or at least minimize contact with receipts, and wash your hands when you are able. The thermal paper from ATM’s and supermarkets is often coated with BPA, which keeps the ink from running.
  2. Be wary of “BPA-free” plastics.  Other chemicals, such as bisphenol-AF or bisphenol-S may actually be more dangerous.   Use containers of glass and stainless steel that can be reused.
  3. Don’t let plastic wrap touch food.  Use tinfoil or glass containers, or wrap food in a paper towel or waxed paper before putting it into a plastic bag.  Also, a dry product is less likely to absorb toxic chemicals than a ‘wet’ product.
  4. Don’t heat plastics.  Don’t put plastics in the dishwasher or microwave because heat releases the chemicals in the plastics. “Microwave safe” only  means that the plastic won’t melt in the microwave.   It doesn’t mean that it’s chemical-free.
  5. Discard damaged containers.  It is likely they are releasing chemicals at a greater rate.
  6. Choose waxed paper sandwich paper bags.  You may have to search a bit for this once common item.
  7. Buy from the butcher.  The supermarkets package meat on beds of styrofoam-like material and then top it off with plastic wrap, for a double delivery.
  8. Opt for opaque.  The food industry prefers clear or translucent packaging because it looks ‘cleaner.’  But in many cases, clear plastics are more likely to contain BPA and/or other harmful compounds.   Often opaque plastics are made from safer plastics, polypropylenes.
  9. Watch out for cans.  The vast majority of canned foods and beverages are lined with BPA-containing resin.  Oily foods, such as tomato sauce, are particularly bad, so buy that in glass containers. Eden Foods works hard to ensure its canned goods are safe.   H.J. Heinz, ConAgra and Hain Celestial have begun using BPA-free linings in some of their cans and have set timelines for eliminating the chemical from all products.

Patricia Hunt, PhD, a leading BPA researcher, reproductive biologist and geneticist and the Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences at Washington State University in Pullman.

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