Healthful Bites

Skip the Hospital Corners

Slipping back the covers and sliding your toes under the securely-tucked and properly-made bed sheets is an inviting thought—way more so than a sloppy pile of blankets! But researchers at Kingston University in the U.K. have proven that tiny dust mites find made beds more appealing as well. Apparently, having neatly stacked and tucked sheets makes the bed environment cooler and damper for the bugs, which they prefer over the warmer and dryer unmade environment.

Dust mites are very common in the boudoir (in fact you may be sleeping with as many as 1.5 million!), but aren’t too hazardous to a healthy human’s well-being. Basically, they like to chow on dead skin cells that your body sheds. But they also emit allergens that may bother some people, such as those with allergies and asthma, while slumbering. 

Scientists say that dust mites need to absorb moisture from outside of their bodies to survive, so leaving the bed open to dry air can cause them to die off. Air purifiers and keeping your home tidy with a vacuum and some Pledge can also help your home stay a little less mite-y ;)

Fun fact: a 150 lb. person burns about 35 calories making their bed for 15 minutes! Do you make your bed everyday? 

 (Image from Nichols Clan)

It may be smart to save some time and leave that bed sloppy!

Shopping Slim

Without taking a peek in your cart or your body, an outsider may be able to tell quite a bit about your health by knowing the place that you grocery shop. People who want affordable food go to one store, while those who seek eats for their nutritional value frequent another. These findings highlight the economic disparity that may be at the root of obesity and other health issues, according to University of Washington researchers who discovered these results.

Obese individuals are about 10 times more likely to hit up the lower-cost grocery store than the healthier one. In this study done in Seattle, 40 percent of shoppers at Albertsons were obese, while only four percent were at Whole Foods. All the stores offered nutritionally-sound noshes. However, another study found that an average low-calorie diet costs about $36 per day, compared to about $3.50 for a high-calorie diet. So, in other words, your limited dollars would buy a lot more red licorice than red bell peppers.

Do you feel that obesity is mainly an economic issue? Or is something else a larger factor in promoting weight gain?

 (Image from Dan Brokamp)

Picking produce is a wise choice at any market.

Water cooler conversation starter: Some songs are more likely to get stuck on replay in your head, and certain activities are more likely to bring these “earworms” on than others. Can you believe people research this stuff?

Not surprisingly, tunes with repetitive phrases and fillers such as “la la” or “do-run-run” as the kids of the ’60s might say, commonly become stuck in listener’s brains. The good news: these jams on repeat generally occur when people are feeling good and doing something that doesn’t take too much brain power. One easy fix: try working on something that will use your mind so it won’t “Gaga-ahhh-Gaga-ooh-lala-rara-ahhh-watch out bad romance” on you.

For a list of the songs that were most often stuck in the heads of the French individuals studied during this serious scientific research, click here. Then share the tunes that get stuck in your head in the comments! If you couldn’t tell already, mine is “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga (and I’m not complaining ;) )

Toned and Tidy

People with spick-and-span homes are more likely to be physically active than those who have messy abodes, says a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting.

After researching residences and activity levels of almost 1,000 St. Louisians? STL-ers? well, anyways…the cleanliness of the inside of the dwelling was the only factor correlated to total physical activity level. External factors such as noise, air quality and nearby surroundings (neighborhood/community factors) were not shown to be linked in this research.

While it’s unclear as to whether those who are physically active keep their homes cleaner or those who keep their homes cleaner are more able to be physically active, the link has been found, so that’s a first step. Cleaning house can be a great active endeavor—all the reaching, bending, pushing and scrubbing. In fact, a SELF magazine calculator says that a 150 lb. woman burns about 215 calories during one hour of general cleaning. So grab that vacuum and some Windex and squeak in some activity while straigtening up!

What is your choice active chore? Despite my slight grass allergy, I dig mowing the lawn. Being outside, listening to some tunes, getting a good walk and a bit of pushing strength in? That’s my idea of “house work.” Plus the results are so tangible to the naked eye!

 (Image from The Daily Green)

Things are looking up, like a cleaner’s activity level!

The Latest TV Dinner

In a fascinating attempt to learn more about food advertising on TV, scientists at Armstrong Atlantic State University decided to see what a diet would look like if people followed a 2,000 calorie meal plan involving only advertised foods in their promoted proportions. So if 40 percent of ads were for sugary cereal and treats in the 96 hours of TV examined by the researchers, the meal plan would be filled with 40 percent sugary items.

No big surprise: foods advertised on TV during the studied period in 2004 were almost always the less-than-nutritious ones. But check out these findings: following a diet based on TV ads would lead to consuming about 20 times the government recommended daily amount of fat and about 25 times the suggested intake of sugar. That amount of sweetness is about equal to how much one person should have in a whole month!

In fact the diet promoted in advertising is about as if the food pyramid was turned on it’s head: fats and sugars are promoted the most, and in this TV diet, fruits and vegetables would be about half as common as they should be.

But the persuasive nature of advertising can be used for good, study authors say. We know that spending $11.3 billion each year to sell food items is powerful and persuasive, and that same force can promote less processed eats. Interestingly, the researchers found that in past research, ads urging the public to increase “nutritious food” intake was not very beneficial. But if food manufacturers advertise their specific food products that are healthful, consumers will take notice and buy them.

What grabs your attention in advertising? Do you feel at all persuaded by what you see in between your favorite TV show segments?

 (Image from Yale University)

Homemade popcorn can be a great TV treat :)

Water cooler conversation starter: as if I wasn’t feeling ambivalent enough about having a baby…this woman’s story may push me over the edge to adopt. A 17-year-old mom from the UK was in labor with her son for nearly three weeks (!) before he was born five months premature at just 1 lb. 3 oz. Doctors gave little Daniel a 15 percent chance of survival. Thankfully, he just turned one. In hindsight, doctors believe the prolonged labor-like symptoms may have been part of an infection mom had at the time she delivered. 

So if you were in labor for 20 days like this woman, (and if you’re male, this may take a bit more imagination, but go with it… ;) ) what would you do during that time? How would you distract yourself? And what is the most amazing feat you believe the human body can accomplish?