I was just looking at a list of Antioxidant Stars at Prevention, and I was very pleased to see that a lowly legume made it near the top of the list:

But I’m confused because they measured the beans by the 1/2 cup, but the blueberries by the cup? Does this mean that cup for cup, measure for measure, that the kidney beans outscored the top star, blueberries? If so, why wouldn’t they list it like that? The article doesn’t list the criteria for the scores. Oh well, at least by including the bean, they’re showing that you can eat healthy and still be budget-minded.

If you have too much glucose in your blood, it can can serious long term problems, including damage to your eyes, kidneys and other organs. But researchers have found that cinnamon can greatly affect and reduce blood sugar levels. Not only can this help diabetics, but it can also help those that have undiagnosed blood sugar problems. Cinnamon also lowered the blood levels of fats and “bad” cholesterol in the volunteers that participated in the study. Just think, all these benefits, and all you need is a half teaspoon a day! Forget about apples, let’s all say that a cinnamon stick a day keeps the doctor away!

I think the “Biggest Loser” is a pretty decent show. I think they’ve done a lot to help humanize overweight people and to help everyone see what a struggle it is to lose weight. However, some times I question the wisdom of some of what the trainers say. For example, when you’re profoundly overweight, it’s better to exercise the bigger muscles. But yet, half the time I see the contestants just doing bicep curls, which I don’t think will help them as much as doing laps in the pool.

I’ve wanted to blog about this for a long time, but I kept forgetting till I got one of my health newsletters. It seems that there’s an online “Biggest Loser Club” and if a person joins, they say they’ll help them lose weight. If it works, I’m all for it, but I wonder if there’s as much product placement online as there is on the show?

When my kids were really small, too small to see over the counter, I would sneak all sorts of stuff into the food and they never knew. I’d put zucchini in the muffins, chopped cabbage in the tacos, and pureed lima beans in the soup. Yep, I am guilty of deceiving my kids when they were young. I kind of wish that they liked lima beans, but then again, I don’t like them very much myself. I never forced them to eat what they didn’t like because I knew I wouldn’t like it if someone tried to make me eat something that I found repulsive. But I always figured that if they couldn’t taste it, then they wouldn’t know they were eating it.

Everyone likes popcorn. Microwave popcorn seems to make it so convenient. I mean, remember the old hot air popper? Those were so cumbersome, and if you knocked the lid off, you’d have a popcorn volcano on your hands. We all rejoiced when microwave popcorn came out because it’s easy to make and you don’t have to clean up any dishes.

But a recent study says that there are tons of carcinogens in the popcorn bag. If you threw out your non-stick cooking pans because of the risk, it’s sad to know that there’s even more risk in the popcorn. I guess it’s time to reach way back in the cabinet and dust off the old popcorn popper.

I have a relative that has PKU. She has to watch everything she eats because she can’t eat too much protein. Too much protein may cause her to become mentally disabled.

There are several sites that cater to those that have to eat special foods, but they all seem to be very overpriced. For example, one low protein site sells a common snack that’s low protein snack for more than twice it costs on Amazon .

Don’t get me wrong, I believe it’s okay to make a profit, and I totally support capitalism. But I think its sickening for these people to try to make so much extra money from people that have very limited options.

I just looked at a blog that promotes fat acceptance. I’m really on the fence on this subject. On one hand, I think that our society has a warped perception of true beauty, but on the other hand, if you’re in a fat acceptance group, does that mean that you’ve given up and thrown in the towel?

I don’t think of fat as pretty or ugly. But I know it’s not healthy. I don’t know all the long term effects, but when was the last time there was a successful overweight athlete? If you go the fat acceptance route, aren’t you giving up your chance to run around the block, or chase a ball with your kids?

I think the answer is some place in the middle, between anorexic thin and those that say that weighing 450 pounds is fine. I think the answer is that we all need to figure out what is our optimum health, and to pursue that by eating right and exercising.

According to Dr. McDougall , 89% of the cattle herds in the US are infected with leukemia virus. I like reading his newsletters, but haven’t quite decided if everything he cites comes from a reputable source. So I did a google search and found this at the National Institutes of Health website :

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is an oncogenic retrovirus that commonly infects cattle and causes B cell leukosis in 1-5% of infected cattle. BLV-infected cells are present in marketed beef and dairy products.

Using immunoblotting to test the sera of 257 humans for antibodies of four isotypes (IgG1, IgM, IgA, and IgG4) to the BLV capsid antigen (p24), we detected at least one antibody isotype reactive with BLV in 74% of the human sera tested. The specificity of the reactivity was strongly suggested by competition studies and by ruling out cross-reacting antibodies to other chronic human viruses. Our results suggest that antibodies reactive with the BLV capsid antigen may serve as a biomarker for exposure to BLV and this exposure may be widespread.

This is from an article titled,

“Humans have antibodies reactive with Bovine leukemia virus“

It goes on to say: The results do not necessarily mean that humans are actually infected with BLV. They do, however, suggest that further studies in this area could be important.

I am shocked, almost beyond words. It seems that the official position is that they’re not sure what the effects of eating leukemia is, so lets just keep selling it until further notice. My gosh, the government is cracking down so hard on supplements, but they’re allowing the American public to consume this illness-laden meat?

When I first read that article from McDougall, I have to admit that I was skeptical. But it looks like even the government agrees with him, but the government decided not to do anything about it.

There’s a new product that claims to be able to satisfy a craving for nicotine. Nicogel is a quick-evaporating gel that’s made with tobacco extracts. Apparently, it’s similar to lotion, or hand sanitizer because it’s dispensed by pumps of the nozzle. One pump for light smokers, two pumps for heavy smokers.They say they’re not a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product, although some have used it to quit smoking. They claim that Nicogel is to be used in situations where it’s inconvenient or illegal to smoke. It costs about six bucks per container and should be available at Walgreens very soon.

If I smoked, I would definitely try it. One site, whyquit.com , has all sorts of studies that show that NRT products don’t work, but since this isn’t quite the same thing, I’d at least buy it once. One problem with the NRT products is that people end up becoming addicted to them instead of the cigarettes. Whyquit consistently shows that NRTs are not bridges to quitting, but often cause people to pick up cigarettes again.

I always knew that black pepper was tasty, I just didn’t know it was good for you, too. It has consistently demonstrated antibacterial and antioxidant properties which help your digestive tract. Also, the outer layer of the peppercorn can stimulate the breakdown of fat cells, which may help increase your energy while helping you lose weight.

Black pepper is recognized as a substance that helps prevent the formation of intestinal gas, probably due to the fact that it stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid. It stimulates the taste buds so that a “message” is sent to the stomach to increase the secretion of hydrochloric acid, which is necessary for digesting such food components as protein.

I usually use black pepper is on my hard boiled eggs. I usually don’t use it any other time, but that’s going to change. For years, I had acid reflux, but now that I don’t, I’m going to enjoy putting pepper on EVERYTHING!

Well, maybe I won’t put it on strawberries.