(Podcast) Are you ordering a pound of heart attack at the deli? 18.3.2010 9:30:0 +0000 So just in case you needed another reason to avoid processed meats along comes Harvard's Dr. Renata Micha and her colleagues who at a recent American Heart Association conference reported on their meta-analysis that looked at over 1.2 million adults and the risk of their developing heart disease and diabetes as a function of their consumption of red and processed meats.
While for red meat there was no found linkage, for processed meats the results were staggering. Every 50 grams (1.76oz) of processed meat consumed per day increased the risk of developing heart disease by 42% and diabetes by 19% and even a single weekly serving seemed to increase risk of heart disease by 3-5%.
What really struck me was the fact that she was presenting at an American Heart Association conference.
The AHA, like Canada's Heart and Stroke Foundation, runs a front-of-package labeling program with less than strict criteria. Currently there are 114 different processed meat products that carry the AHA's Heart Check. Here in Canada there are 44 different processed meat products carrying the Heart and Stroke Foundation's ignoble Health Check.
I asked Dr. Micha about her thoughts regarding public health organizations formally endorsing and promoting the consumption of processed meats as healthy and while she was very diplomatic with her answer, her hope that policies may change consequent to the research is not something I'd be holding my breath for here in Canada. Sadly the Heart and Stroke Foundation doesn't appear to care too much about research when it comes to administering their Health Check program.
Click below to download the audio file, or you can listen on the embedded player (won't work with email subscribers) and hear Dr. Micha discuss this latest salvo against highly processed foods.
There's no such thing as a "Superfruit" 17.3.2010 9:30:0 +0000 I received an email last week from a reader asking about acai berries. I've had others asking about goji berries, melumbers and mangosteens.
The questions invariably have to do with the incredible health benefits these fruits are reputed to confer.
Funny thing is (ok, not so funny), there aren't medical studies supporting their claims or beliefs.
So what does the evidence suggest?
Studies on folks who consume larger amounts of fruits and vegetables as a whole show a myriad of health benefits that are almost certainly not a consequence of those fruits' antioxidant levels given the disappointing results we've seen on studies of antioxidants. And while indeed there are studies on fruits and vegetables as a whole, with free-living humans and all of their wonderful dietary and lifestyle differences, there's unlikely to ever be robust, well-controlled studies that are able to look at the consumptions of individual types of fruits or berries.
Of course it's possible one or more of these "Super" fruits are in fact "super" healthy. More likely though if you eat them you're just buying hope and more often than not in the case of so-called superfruits, super-expensive hope, often in the form of a large multilevel marketing campaign.
I'd stay away from things advertised (and priced) as "super" and remember Michael Pollan's 7 word healthy eating manifesto, "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants". Follow those simple instructions and you'll do super.
Simple experimental design. Take 165 undergraduate students and enroll them in a study you tell them is about memory and where as part of their reward for inclusion, they'll be given a snack. Ask half of them to memorize a 2 digit number and the other half a 7 digit number and once they've memorized their numbers ask them to go into a second room where they are faced with their snack choice - either a piece of chocolate cake or a cup of fruit salad. Track choice and then follow up with an exploration of the students' perceived reasons for making the choice.
The results?
63% of the students who were trying to remember the 7 digit number chose the cake compared with only 42% of those trying to remember the 2 digit number.
Students who chose the cake reported a stronger emotional decision making drive while those who chose the fruit salad reporter a stronger cognitive drive.
Researchers hypothesized that the difference was explicable on the basis of the 7 digit memory group having "lower levels of processing resources" with much of their cognitive brain power being spent on trying to remember their 7 digit number.
Moral of the story?
Don't eat on a full brain.
Shiv, B., & Fedorikhin, A. (1999). Heart and Mind in Conflict: the Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer Decision Making Journal of Consumer Research, 26 (3), 278-292 DOI: 10.1086/209563
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My nest is empty now and I'm looking for new endeavours to keep me busy.While recovering from my broken ankle, I've been let go from my office job, so I've been exploring ways to do something for myself in order to be free from the demands of other people. To that end, I've been looking at learning how to market online. Experimenting with a lot of different things - some of them turned out to be scams - I have stumbled on something that looks really intriguing that I'm going to examine further. (See MoreNiche blog)
I really like this online socializing. The internet really makes the world a small place, and I hope I can really broaden my horizons and meet a lot of new people. Lifelong learning and personal empowerment are important to me. I'm always looking for new ways to improve myself, and if anything I learn can be passed on for the benefit of others, then that makes me happy.
I love the girly stuff: knitting, sewing,quilting, crafting and shopping.
I love to read too, but I'm really passionate about seeing my fellow humans better themselves and their circumstances. Cynergy (Synergy) is my keyword.
R&B - New Country - Pop - Jazz
I like most music and I'm not fanatical about any one artist. About the only music I can't take is Opera and Heavy Metal. My favorite radio stations are: BBC Radio 2; KJAZZ; and the local oldies station AM 1220 Cornwall
Fave song as of Aug 2007 The Way I Are
Movies:
My faves are The Grapes of Wrath, Corrina, Corrina & Edward Scissor Hands - The last movie I saw was Stomp The Yard - 2 thumbs up!
TV:
My two favorites are British soaps Coronation Street and Eastenders; I love the Brit coms and westerns too
Books:
I like to read for personal development, and I love historical and generational sagas, but I'm not ashamed to say that I do enjoy trashy romance novels too. Some of the books that I have enjoyed are: The The Power of Intention by Dr Wayne Dyer - The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - Just about all of Danielle Steele's novels. Now Reading: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle
by Dr Wayne Dyer - The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - Just about all of Danielle Steele's novels. Now Reading: 
by Eckhart Tolle 