Starbucks to set a new low fat standard
Filed under: Type 2, Adult Onset, Diet, Lifestyle, Daily News, Products, Support
The lords of coffee have spoken and they're saying less fat. Starbucks plans to make all espresso-based drinks with reduced fat milk, switching from whole.
This new standard is planned to take effect by the end of the fiscal year, 2007 and will affect locations in the United States and Canada. The company stated that the new conversion would establish reduced fat milk, also known as 2% milk, as the standard dairy in all beverages served in its North American coffeehouses. Never fear - the company said customers can still request whole milk, but if no request is made, consumers will receive 2%.
The fat trimming decision warrants applause. Starbucks is consciously working healthier choices into their business model for longer living customers willing to pay as much for a venti latte as they would a gallon of gas. I have a few Starbucks gift cards to support my habit. No shame.
Milk Fund makes a difference for diabetic mom
Filed under: Daily News
Hypothetical exercise: imagine you're the mother of a young family. You're struggling financially. You're diabetic. What do you need the most? What would help you get by? Um, how about medical supplies? Tuition breaks? Canned goods? No. Okay, cash? No. Well, then, I would have to guess...MILK. Yes, correct! The Daily Iberian of Louisiana and the local Social Service Center is sponsoring a fund to provide needy families with milk. They collected $912 this month, which includes a donation of over $300 from a local elementary school fundraising club. Says a representative from the Social Service Center, "The Milk Fund is doing very well. People have been very generous, but there's still a great need." This month, part of the money will provide a month's worth of milk to a diabetic woman who is taking care of her mom in addition to her three kids.
Now, I'm not knocking the idea of milk-gifting. It's very generous on the part of the fundraisers. But, milk? Never heard of that one before. But, hey, if you're in a position to make a donation, here's where to send your check: The Daily Iberian, P.O. Box 9290, New Iberia, LA 70563.
Take your tea the healthy way
I've said it enough times on this blog, just as so many other people have spoken highly about the health benefits of 
drinking tea. The stuff is good for you, bottom line. But, it turns out that adding milk to your tea can make it less healthy than if you were to drink it as is.
German scientists found that people who drank their tea without adding milk showed signs of improved blood-vessel function, a well-known cardiovascular benefit of drinking tea. However, people who added milk to their tea did not show any signs of improvement with regard to their blood-vessel function. The study's author suggests that the proteins in milk may bind to the heart-healthy compounds in tea known as catechins. From there, the binding may lessen the teas beneficial effects.
If tea without milk isn't your...um...cup of tea, then maybe you can try a flavored or spiced tea in place of the added flavor you're used to getting from the milk. A personal suggestion is the Celestial Seasonings' blueberry flavored Green Tea.
[RESEARCH] Folic acid supplements and risk of facial clefts: national population based case-control study
Objective To explore the role of folic acid supplements, dietary folates, and multivitamins in the prevention of facial clefts.
Design National population based case-control study.
Setting Infants born 1996-2001 in Norway.
Participants 377 infants with cleft lip with or without cleft palate; 196 infants with cleft palate alone; 763 controls.
Main outcome measures Association of facial clefts with maternal intake of folic acid supplements, multivitamins, and folates in diet.
Results Folic acid supplementation during early pregnancy (≥400 µg/day) was associated with a reduced risk of isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate after adjustment for multivitamins, smoking, and other potential confounding factors (adjusted odds ratio 0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.96). Independent of supplements, diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and other high folate containing foods reduced the risk somewhat (adjusted odds ratio 0.75, 0.50 to 1.11). The lowest risk of cleft lip was among women with folate rich diets who also took folic acid supplements and multivitamins (0.36, 0.17 to 0.77). Folic acid provided no protection against cleft palate alone (1.07, 0.56 to 2.03).
Conclusions Folic acid supplements during early pregnancy seem to reduce the risk of isolated cleft lip (with or without cleft palate) by about a third. Other vitamins and dietary factors may provide additional benefit.
[RESEARCH] Accuracy of liquid based versus conventional cytology: overall results of new technologies for cervical cancer screening randomised controlled trial
Objective To compare the accuracy of conventional cytology with liquid based cytology for primary screening of cervical cancer.
Design Randomised controlled trial.
Setting Nine screening programmes in Italy.
Participants Women aged 25-60 attending for a new screening round: 22 466 were assigned to the conventional arm and 22 708 were assigned to the experimental arm.
Interventions Conventional cytology compared with liquid based cytology and testing for human papillomavirus.
Main outcome measure Relative sensitivity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade 2 or more at blindly reviewed histology, with atypical cells of undetermined significance or more severe cytology considered a positive result.
Results In an intention to screen analysis liquid based cytology showed no significant increase in sensitivity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade 2 or more (relative sensitivity 1.17, 95% confidence interval 0.87 to 1.56) whereas the positive predictive value was reduced (relative positive predictive value v conventional cytology 0.58, 0.44 to 0.77). Liquid based cytology detected more lesions of grade 1 or more (relative sensitivity 1.68, 1.40 to 2.02), with a larger increase among women aged 25-34 (P for heterogeneity 0.0006), but did not detect more lesions of grade 3 or more (relative sensitivity 0.84, 0.56 to 1.25). Results were similar when only low grade intraepithelial lesions or more severe cytology were considered a positive result. No evidence was found of heterogeneity between centres or of improvement with increasing time from start of the study. The relative frequency of women with at least one unsatisfactory result was lower with liquid based cytology (0.62, 0.56 to 0.69).
Conclusion Liquid based cytology showed no statistically significant difference in sensitivity to conventional cytology for detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade 2 or more. More positive results were found, however, leading to a lower positive predictive value. A large reduction in unsatisfactory smears was evident.
Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN81678807.
Recipe for Crunchy Breakfast Oats
If you are on a weight loss campaign, you must always make time to have a healthy breakfast. Skip breakfast and you only eat the wrong foods later in the day - you are sabotaging your weight loss program.
This is one of my favorite breakfast dishes. It’s nutritious, has a low glycemic load (GL) and it tastes delicious. The perfect combination.
- 3 tbsp. crunchy oats (see below)
- 2 tbsp. natural or soya yogurt
- 1 organic pear, chopped
- 1 tbsp ground seeds (a mix of sunflower, sesame, pumpkin and linseed)
Place oats, chopped fruit and ground seeds in a bowl and top with the yogurt.
You can use any fresh fruit, preferably organic, and the recipe also works well with soya milk instead of the yogurt.
How to make a batch of crunchy oats:
- 10 tbsp. apple juice
- 3 tbsp. xylitol
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 15 oz, porridge oat flakes
- 6 tbsp. macadamia nuts
Preheat the oven to 180 Centigrade/350 Fahrenheit . Place juice, xylitol, mixed spice and cinnamon in a saucepan and stir to mix. Bring almost to the boil then remove from heat.
Combine the oats and nuts in a bowl. Pour the liquid over the mixture and toss to mix well.
Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Spread mixture evenly onto tray. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring two or three times.
Allow to cool thoroughly. Store it in a refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Enjoy.
Isobel Whytock 1Stop-Weightloss.com
Calcium may lower cholesterol
Filed under: Diet, Prevention, Research
Talk about annoying...I wrote this entire post toward the end of last week, only to have the whole thing erase on me just before it published. Oh well, I'll do my best to paraphrase from memory.
Let's see, where was I? Oh yes, I was going to point out some new-found benefits of calcium. Milk does a body good -- yes, we all know the trite tag lines. Got milk? Yeah, we've heard all about that one, too. The thing is, this push for people to consume more calcium rich products has a great deal of merit, for there is more and more research pointing to how it can help you lose weight and, believe it or not, help you reduce cholesterol.
Canadian researchers put 63 overweight women on a diet and gave half of them 1,200mg of calcium per day. The other half of the women took a placebo. Fast forward fifteen weeks -- the women who took the calcium supplements lost approximately 2 pounds more than the placebo group and, interestingly enough, also showed that they had dropped their cholesterol level by twice as much as the other women.
What we can take away from this study: If possible, consume at least 1,000mg of calcium per day (the Recommended Daily Allowance). Source it from low-fat dairy, green vegetables, orange juice with calcium, or through supplements that can be purchased at most grocery and health food stores.
Vegetarian Tips: Make Your Vegetarian Diet A Balanced Diet!
"Can't find what you are looking for? Try Google Search" Low Calorie Feature Article Vegetarian Tips: Make Your Vegetarian Diet A Balanced Diet!Author: Jasdeep Singh The world has opened eyes to the harmful side-effects of non-veg food like red meat and is now opening arms to Vegetarian Food. A very common myth found among common man is that vegetarian food doesnt provide you with necessary nutrients but a Vegetarian Diet, in no ways, is deprived of necessary nutrients, Only if you have a balanced Vegetarian Diet. Make sure you eat a lot of fruits and dont follow particular monotonous meals. Some Nutrients you dont come across normally in Vegetarian Diets are:- a) Iron b) Calcium c) Zinc d) Protien e) Vitamin D f) Vitamin B12 But you can always have vegetarian source for these nutrients. On a other side of the coin, there are a lots of benifits of Vegetarian Food (incomplete) . They are rich in . You can Find Iron in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Cashews, tomato juice, rice, garbanzo beans (chick peas) and tofu. . You can Find Calcium in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Dairy products, fortified soymilk, fortified orange juice, tofu and broccoli. . You can find Zinc in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Whole grains (especially the germ and bran of the grain), nuts, tofu, leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, cabbage), root vegetables (onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, radishes), eggs and dairy products. . You can find Protein in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Vegetarians must eat a variety of plant foods over the course of a day to get enough protein. Eg: Tempeh, miso lentils, tofu, nuts, seeds, and peas. . You can find Vitamin D in the following Vegetarian Food items:- fortified cereals (or a small amount of sunlight) and Fortified milk and soymilk . You can Vitamin B12 in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Tempeh, miso, eggs, dairy products, fortified soymilk and cereals.. Tempeh and miso are foods made from soybeans. They are low in calories and fat and high in protein. Know more about Balanced Diet at http://www.weightloss-health.com/balanced_diet.htm About the Author: Jasdeep Singh For http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health. Also get free sample low carb recipes, low fat recipes, low calorie recipes, low sodium recipes, low sugar recipes at http://weightloss-health.com/low_carb_recipes.htm If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.... Burning Calorie On A Stationary BikeRestaurant Food Calorie CountLow Calorie Pumpkin Pie
[RESEARCH] Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality: cluster randomised study in the community
Objective To determine whether insulating existing houses increases indoor temperatures and improves occupants' health and wellbeing.
Design Community based, cluster, single blinded randomised study.
Setting Seven low income communities in New Zealand.
Participants 1350 households containing 4407 participants.
Intervention Installation of a standard retrofit insulation package.
Main outcome measures Indoor temperature and relative humidity, energy consumption, self reported health, wheezing, days off school and work, visits to general practitioners, and admissions to hospital.
Results Insulation was associated with a small increase in bedroom temperatures during the winter (0.5°C) and decreased relative humidity (-2.3%), despite energy consumption in insulated houses being 81% of that in uninsulated houses. Bedroom temperatures were below 10°C for 1.7 fewer hours each day in insulated homes than in uninsulated ones. These changes were associated with reduced odds in the insulated homes of fair or poor self rated health (adjusted odds ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.38 to 0.68), self reports of wheezing in the past three months (0.57, 0.47 to 0.70), self reports of children taking a day off school (0.49, 0.31 to 0.80), and self reports of adults taking a day off work (0.62, 0.46 to 0.83). Visits to general practitioners were less often reported by occupants of insulated homes (0.73, 0.62 to 0.87). Hospital admissions for respiratory conditions were also reduced (0.53, 0.22 to 1.29), but this reduction was not statistically significant (P=0.16).
Conclusion Insulating existing houses led to a significantly warmer, drier indoor environment and resulted in improved self rated health, self reported wheezing, days off school and work, and visits to general practitioners as well as a trend for fewer hospital admissions for respiratory conditions.
When it comes to Menopause- You Are What You Eat
"Can't find what you are looking for? Try Google Search" Calories Feature Article When it comes to Menopause- You Are What You EatAuthor: Dawn M. Olsen Copyright © 2005 Dawn M. Olsen. All Rights reservedThis Article May be Reprinted in it?s entirety provided the resource box is left intact with an active ?clickable? link.Did you know that Japanese women tend to suffer hot flashes only about 1/3 as often as American women? Or that those following a vegetarian diet also complain of hot flashes far less than the rest of us? Of course, you don?t have to give up the steaks just yet ? but doctors and nutritional professionals suspect that the difference is largely due to the use of soy products in the diets of these women, and several women have now realized that by incorporating some soy in their diets, their symptoms of menopause have abated considerably. In fact, altering your diet in small ways can have the greatest positive effect on your body as it transitions to menopause and beyond. For instance, by staying away from hot drinks, you?re not giving your body reason to ?heat up? and produce a hot flash. At the same time, reducing your caffeine intake (which often comes in the form of hot drinks, including coffee and tea) will naturally help you sleep better at night, which will keep your mood and mental state healthy. Lastly, replacing these drinks with water and juice will keep your bones and muscles well-lubricated, prevent osteoporosis from settling in, and temper your general aches and pains. We know it?s no easy task to give up coffee, but think of the endless benefits of this one relatively minor change to your diet.In fact, one of the most commonly complained about symptoms of menopause these days is the weight gain that seems to come along with it. Put simply, your body isn?t burning calories in the same way it once was, so if you don?t change your diet ? even if it?s already a healthy one ? you?re bound to gain a few pounds around the waist. Changing your diet now, simply by avoiding a few foods that are bound to make other symptoms worse, while increasing the foods high in certain vitamins while remaining low in calories, will help you to maintain your figure while giving your body the nutrients it needs to fight off some of the worst symptoms of menopause. We?ll tell you which foods to add to your diet if you?re suffering hot flashes, vaginal thinning, aches and pains, or emotional symptoms of menopause. In addition, of course, we?ll share the secrets of which vitamins and herbs have been proven to keep your mind sharp and your bones strong as you age through menopause and beyond. For instance, foods high in potassium, including most fruits, will help you keep your mind sharp while promoting healthy water flushing throughout your body (which will reduce cramps and bloating), while keeping your muscles and bones lubricated and strong ? including your needy joints and your thinning vaginal walls. In short, this is the time in your life when ?an apple a day? couldn?t ring more true!Also, oily fish, including salmon and tuna, and vegetable oils, are often recommended by nutritionists for anyone wanting to keep their minds sharp. But these oils are also useful in helping keep your muscles from drying, while helping your digestive system.In fact, everything from Vitamins C and E to herbal remedies such as Dong Quai and Wild Yam Root are discussed in this book; remember, not only American women suffer menopause ? you?re far from alone. Every woman in the world goes through menopause sooner or later, and we all have our own ways of treating the symptoms unique to us. We?ll explore the countless ways in which these small changes or additions to your diet will not only combat the unique symptoms you?re going through, but the ways in which you can identify these symptoms quickly to lead a healthy, long life far after menopause.But let?s talk about soy again, briefly. It?s been in the news, and for good reason, but where do you start? Many of us would buy a chunk of tofu, which, let?s face it, can be tasteless, but it doesn?t end there, and again, you don?t need to move to Japan to figure out how to add it to your diet. You don?t need to give up eating cheeseburgers to enjoy the occasional veggie burger, but adding some soy to your diet has made the symptoms of menopause much more tolerable for millions of women. If you?ve not eaten many soy products, don?t hold your nose just yet ? in addition to helping your symptoms, you may find that you actually like it! About the Author About the Author: Dawn M. Olsen is an Advocate for Better Women?s Health through Education, Recipe Developer, Soy Food Enthusiast and the Author of "Menopause A to Z - A Definitive Guide to Modern Menopause (available online now at http://www.MenopauseAtoZ.com) ... Free Low Calorie Low Fat RecipeLow Calorie Meal IdeaStarbucks Calorie Count