Eating Better

In our efforts to get more healthy - and stay healthy - we look to many avenues, to make this very worthwhile endeavor a bit easier.  But while we're doing this, marketers are taking to the air waves, to get us to "buy into" their products. . . literally.  Not sold on something, yet?  Well, don't be. As I write this, some sales-y MD is droning on, about a popular diet (I won't mention which one, because it's not WHICH diet but HOW it's being "sold") and which foods to include.  As he natters on, I'm hearing the KA-CHING of the cash register (You know, they really used to make that sound) at the supermarket and health food stores, as people ring up their purchases of avocado oil, coconut oil, grass-fed bison and bone broth products.  In the little time it's taken for me to write the two paragraphs so far, it's cost viewers potential hundreds of dollars, if they want to buy into this trendy diet. Before we think of trendy diets, let...

You know, as a biochemist, I see things at a different level than most people do.  At the molecular level.  Now, don't get me wrong. . . I view the body as a collection of organs and systems, like you do.  But there's a whole level of activity going on, behind that "bag of guts" that we are.  Metabolism. Energy production.  Storage.  And more. Recently, I heard of another trendy diet (biochemists, like doctors and dieticians, keep their ears to the ground, on such things).  It was a type of fad diet in the "intermittent fasting" category.  In other words, there's an 8 hour eating window, followed by varying periods of fasting, lasting from 12-16 hours.  No problem here.  After all, the word "breakfast" was coined, to describe the meal that BREAKS the FAST, between dinner and morning.  The problem I have, is with the science behind it. The "authors" of this diet say that, during the fasting period, the body switches from using gl...

The title here is meant to be a bit deceiving.  No one is bored of health.  We're all grateful for our good health and wish good health for everyone.  What I am bored of, is the TERM "health," in its various forms. . . especially when used to promote better eating habits.  Every day, we're barraged with urgings to "eat healthy," have "healthy snacks," prepare "healthy meals," and practice "healthy exercise."  With VERY, VERY few exceptions, there is no mention of how delicious these snacks and meals can be. . . or how good it can feel, to exercise.  Using the label "healthy" seems to justify to the users and marketers, that they've done due diligence.  They haven't. Want some examples?  I know you probably don't, but because you opened my blog, you're about to see them.   SALMON:  Healthy fats, healthy protein.  But sadly, the word "healthy" just encourages people to eat it, without...

Let me begin by saying that this is NOT a justification, but an EXPLANATION. Stress i sn't a THING . . . it's a REACTION to a thing (called a stressor).  Stress is one of the most primitive of emotions, related to what some call "fight or flight."  It prepares our bodies to get us out of trouble.  To offer the example used in my grad school physiology class, if we were confronted by a huge bear, our bodies would have to respond, to enable us to survive.  Our heart rate would increase (get that blood to all organs), capillaries would constrict (lessens bleeding), our mouth would be dry (prevent any unneeded loss of body fluid), and so on.  Stress isn't something enjoyable.  It's survival. For most people, stress is also accompanied by a loss of appetite.  Before a critical exam, most students aren't thinking of eating.  Nor are candidates for a job, waiting their turn for the interview of their lives.  Or someone who's just been given...

Okay, okay.  I can hear the groans.  ANOTHER grumpy old guy complaining about Valentine's Day.  Not so, not so. I'm not going to get into the origins of St. Valentine's Day or the history of the saint.  Or that St. Valentine's Day is celebrated on or about the Feast of Lupercal, a fertility rite, in ancient Rome (Lupercal is one of the opening scenes, for Shakespeare's play, "Julius Caesar.")  But everything has gone way too far.  I grew up in an era when it was a nice (sweet) gesture, to give the ladies in your life (Grandma and Mom included) a heart-shaped box of chocolates on this calendar date.  But now, from shopping channels to food outlets, chocolate has become the lingua franca of the Day.  The currency, by which everything is measured. Even my RD friends on Twitter seem to be outdoing themselves, offering "healthier" ways to enjoy chocolate or combinations of chocolate and fruit or chocolate and grain.  Hey! I heard that! ...

E thyl alcohol is a simple molecule, easily absorbed from the digestive system and having various effects on the body/mind.  It is said to relax us, in small quantities.  In beverages, it can provide a pleasant accompaniment to a meal.  But this is no surprise.  Humans have been consuming beer (or forms of it) for millennia, as they've also consumed wine.  Spirits not so long.  So why the blog entry? Well, despite its ability to relax us and to provide a pleasant beverage to go with a meal, alcohol also acts on our brain's inhibitory center.  We all have mechanisms in place, to prevent us from doing unsafe or even silly things, in our daily lives.  Our brain's mechanisms keep us from walking into the street, without looking both ways.  They keep us from donning a lampshade and doing a hula, at a party with co-workers.  You get the idea. Turns out, our brain's basic protective mechanisms also prevent us from significantly overeating...

This line from Shakespeare's Hamlet is so important, when it comes to good health and eating well.  Over the years, Americans have learned to play the semantics game, using words to suit our needs.  If we can get past the semantics and move to the Truth, we can see life (and food) in a new way.  So let's get started. . . The Scene: A typical closet.  You look in, for something to wear.  You try it on and find out that, for some reason, what was once your favorite pair of jeans seems too tight.  Your reaction: "My jeans don't fit!"  And therein lies the falsehood.  When you bought them, they fit.  They've been washed according to label instructions and have remained in the closet.  So why are they tight?  NOT - repeat NOT - because THEY don't fit, but because YOU no longer fit into them.  They haven't changed, you have.  Am I just being picky?  Yes, but that's what semantics is all about.  The meaning of words...