Healthful Bites

Forget the Drive Thru Diet, pull right up to order some drive-thru health highlights! (Or Carry Out if you’re Justin Timberlake and TImbaland ;) ) Browse the menu below and make your order by clicking on the links to learn more. You can’t make a bad choice…

• Take off some body padding and pad your bank account— that’s the idea behind European bicycle tour brand Digngo’s new client activity incentive plan. You burn a calorie? You earn three-and-a-half cents! Participants could easily make more than 50 dollars during the usual four hour tour (Los Angeles Times, March 30). 
• Get this: you can slash your risk of dying from heart disease by 30 percent by taking small steps each day. Simply eat three plus servings of vegetables and your heart will be happy! (Women’s Health, April 2010). Frozen veggies count too!
• You’d think that looking more like the Michelin Man than the crash test dummy would be a good thing in the event of a car crash. But new research says you’d be wrong! Obese males are more likely to experience upper body injuries during auto accidents than “normal” weight males due to center of gravity and shape differences. No matter what size, everyone should buckle up though! (Los Angeles Times, March 29).

 (Cartoon from BifSniff)

Ha! This tickles my funny bone.

• Lately, many have been giving exercise a bad rap when it comes to weight loss and maintenance. While it’s true that it’s way easier to scarf down a Krispy Kreme than run three miles, physical activity plays a big role in overall wellness. Among women who had lost weight through diet and exercise, only the participants who maintained their active lifestyles kept off the more dangerous visceral (deep abdominal) fat. 
• Cheer up at the spa! Research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that massage may help alleviate symptoms of depression. While more research is needed, the relaxing practice could be a wise choice in addition to other treatments, such as  psychotherapy or medication, when necessary. Non-depressed individuals have rough times too—and a simple indulgence like massage can easily brighten anyone’s day! For more all-natural mood boosters, check out this article from the most recent issue of Women’s Health.
• Time for a movie break! Individuals who saw a funny movie clip ate three cookies less than study participants who didn’t watch anything, says a study from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. You know me: I love a good flick! Who’s up for a movie date? “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” looks good for some laughs :) (SELF, April 2010).

 (Image from Delaware Online)

Watch a comedy: you’ll laugh, you’ll (hopefully not) cry, you’ll be well!

Water cooler conversation starter: I thought video cameras were getting small by being the size of a deck of cards! Little did I know, scientists have been hard at work developing technology for a camera in a pill. That’s right, you swallow the period-sized camera and it passes through your system after recording its location (eventually, the developers hope to make it dissolvable). The University of Florida researchers hard at work on this project say it could be a solution to the prevalent misuse of prescription medication issue since doctors and/or family members can “keep an eye” on whether the patient has taken their drugs. In your opinion, is this technology at its best or a little too big brother?

Bad market, long life?

As a whole, Americans tend to have longer lifespans during times of economic recession and depression, according to University of Michigan researchers who studied data from the 1920s-1940s. They guessed that since more people drive when they are financially in the black, more deaths occur on the roads. Plus citizens have more money to spend more on alcohol and drugs and may work more and sleep less.

Critics say that this finding may not ring true today, since countless medical discoveries have been made since the Great Depression. Others note that many people are currently skipping their important medications to save dough. What do you think? Have you made any changes in your lifestyle in an effort to pinch pennies that could lead to a longer or shorter life?

(courtesy of Comedy Central’s Indecision)

Feeding the Kids

We all have lived through the days of the grease-pooled pizza and purple hot dogs that roll off of the grade school lunch line. But one company, Revolution Foods, is attempting to make nutritious school lunch food delicious. And the kids are actually enjoying it! Only one problem: higher quality food comes at a cost. Schools are often subjected to whatever food products the government can get at a good price, hence Charlie’s chicken nugget meal for the fifth time this month.

Regulations require schools to meet specific nutrition guidelines, but several health experts believe that, as a society, we are doing a disservice to our youth by not feeding them more nutritious foods because of budget concerns. What is cheaper: warming a pan of corn dog nuggets and french fries or paying for additional staffers to prepare fresh fruits, vegetables and lean protein options (that are less subsidized by the government than the sneakily corn-filled foods that often fill school menus)?

Is there a way that we can give students healthy options that they will eat and families can afford—without too much reliance on government financial intervention? 

(courtesy of Washington Health Foundation)

Water cooler conversation starter: working out with another person (or many!) can make fitness more enjoyable, which makes you more likely to stick with it. Who’s ready to hit the gym with me?