semi-sweets

Imagine if Haagen-Dazs (which, btw, is a made up word intended to sound Scandinavian) or Ben & Jerry’s made ice cream that had half the carbs, saturated fat, and calories of that of a normal tub of ice cream. Would you buy it?

I would.

Most of the decadent food items seem to be either low carb (but high in fat and artificial stuff), or low in fat (but high in carbs). Instead of using artificial sweeteners, why can’t they just put half the sugar they normally use? Then slowly, we can train our palates to enjoy foods that are healthier in content, without all the artificial fuss.

on eating healthier and exercising

I haven’t really Lose Weight Exercised since mid-May. Since then, I’ve probably gained back 5-6 pounds (which may not sound that bad until you consider that I lost some muscle Lose Weight Exercise probably put on closer to 6-10 pounds of fat!)

Need to get back to exercising regularly and watching what I eat. At least the good news is that I can loseWeight Exercise Lose Weight Exercise pretty easily (if i’m committed to doing so).

Here’s my plan:

*6-7 servings of fruit/veggies per day.
*drink more water.
*exercise 4-5 times a week (30 minutes at a time). Treadmill, swimming, Lose Weight Exercises.
*no carbonated beverages/sodas allowed (except 1 serving on my ‘cheat’ day)
*no ice cream/frozen yogurt/sorbet allowed (except for 1 serving on my ‘cheat’ day).
*no pastries/cakes allowed (except for maybe on my ‘cheat’ day)
*drink one cup/bowl of soup per day (preferably, during dinner).
*drink 1-2 cups of unsweetened cranberry juice per day (mix with black currant juice, 1:1)
*eat between 2/3rds-3/4ths of what you ordered/what’s on the plate.
*no seconds or refills.
*drink at least 1 cup of tea per day.

Need to get back to updating my traineo logs.

on comparing the U.S. healthcare system to France’s

Michael Moore has this new Sicko documentary on the U.S. health care system (compared to France). While I haven’t seen this movie yet, I’ve read a column in the Businessweek article that pretty much sides with Moore’s thesis–that the French system is probably better.

What the article doesn’t mention (and I hope Moore’s movie does, but highly doubt it since it would sort of go against his argument) is that on the whole, obesity is not as big a problem in France as it is here in the U.S. So it’s likely that the French socialized healthcare system wouldn’t necessarily be better for Americans, since a lot of U.S. cases are related to being overweight (heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, etc) and are, for the most part, preventable.

Also, most of the countries that have ‘model’ health care systems are countries with a much smaller population such as France, Canada, and the U.K. In general, with a smaller population, things are easier to manage.

Until sales from fast-food chains drop significantly and the government starts regulating the pharmaceutical industry, i can’t see how our healthcare system will improve.

dumbing down

I love it how those in positions of power or influence (conservatives and liberals alike) like to dumb down key issues.  Take for instance, the debate over stem cell research.  You have one side saying that it’s immoral and the other side saying that it’s very practical and necessary. 

If only things were that easy to figure out…

Suppose that one’s against stem cell research…..if one day that person has disease X and the only cure is through stem cell therapy in another country (that allows stem cell research), would that person consider making the trip? 

breast implants linked to suicides?

Breast Implants linked to Suicides?. 

I have no way of knowing this, but I suspect that it’s mainly because those who underwent breast augmentation procedures were either those who were more likely to be depressed than the general population to begin with, or who later realized that having larger breasts wasn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.  It illustrates the absurdity of the time and value that people tend to place on such worldly things.   

Why the proposed HIV microbicide gel will actually increase, not reduce the overall HIV transmission rates

It is apparent from reading this recent article that Bill and Melinda Gates have fallen into the logic trap of assuming that “Women key to fighting AIDS” + “more preventative measures for women” necessarily equals an overall reduced HIV transmission rate among the general population.  I could see a likely scenario where this actually backfires and results in higher rates of infection.     

There’s no substitute for promoting awareness of HIV protection (the use of condoms).  We know that those who are poor or less educated are more likely to catch and spread HIV.  The rate of new cases in the middle class is alarming too.  And assuming that the low and middle classes are mostly comprised of individuals of below-average to average intelligence, the majority of the population may actually think that the use of the women’s gel can replace the use of the condom during sexual intercourse. Most probably won’t understand that this woman’s gel only works if the woman does not already have HIV.  If the woman already has HIV and she uses this gel, the male more than likely will not be wearing a condom.  Because many women are ignorant of their carrier status, many may perceive using the gel as more beneficial to them (allows more sensitivity) than the condom, this would actually be putting more men at risk since it does not appear–from the article–that this gel protects males from contracting HIV! 

Because the mechanism for prevention is one-way only, introducing the women’s gel will provide a false sense of security to users.  It will also confuse and dilute the message of the importance of having protected sex using condoms, I think.    

IBS episode (warning: long entry)

After my second Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) episode in the last 5 weeks–not only was it a very unpleasant feeling, not easy getting your mind off of it–I decided to take a more proactive approach.  After doing some research on more ‘objective’ sites such as NIH’s and those that on one hand seem very informative, despite the cloaked endorsements for the products (see this one).  

Last time I had this was maybe 5 weeks ago in Vegas.  I had an In-n-out burger and chocolate shake for dinner and took a 2 hour nap shortly afterwards.  When I woke up I felt that my lower left abdomen (maybe a couple inches below my navel) felt a bit tight.  I then went to the bathroom (loose stools) and thought that’d be the end of it.  It was only until the day I got back home when it started to go away. 

Last week, I ran on a treadmill for 20 minutes or so and then ate a quick dinner (indian ‘masala’ with rice, a banana, godiva chocolate ice cream bar; for lunch I had chicken rigatoni with a side house salad at Macaroni Grill).  I then took a nap.  When I woke up, i remember feeling the same way as I did in Vegas a month earlier.  A couple days later, I ‘thought’ i was feeling better so a couple of my co-workers and I went to a local tex-mex place known for its ’dangerously’-spicy hot sauces.  I ordered a beef taco salad with jalapeno peppers, salsa, and their medium-hot salsa, with sweet tea for my beverage. Boy, was that a mistake.  Later that night, I woke up to a buildup of gas or pressure in the lower left/sigmoid region (i was sleeping on my left side) and sat on the john wondering when my colon was gonna burst and how this was gonna look when I’m discovered a week later.  I was able to expel some gas but not much of anything else.  I then got on the treadmill for 10 minutes (slow walking pace) to see if that can alleviate the pressure (seemed to help a bit) and then hopped online to do more research.  At first, I thought I had diverticulitis since my symptoms seemed to indicate so, but it seemed unlikely because most people who have it tend to be older.  Then I remembered that my physician 4-5 years back told me that I probably had IBS (i went in to complain about tightness in that same area), so I researched on IBS and read some of the posts on the user forums (some complained of the same types of symptoms in same area, etc).  Learned about the therapeutic benefits of peppermint oil (apparently, it helps relax muscles in GI tract) and a lot of IBS sufferers either drink peppermint tea or take peppermint oil capsules with enteric coating.  Also learned that not all fiber’s the same.  Lately, I’ve been taking FiberChoice orange candy (contains inulin).  It really helps with regularity but you also get more gas.  Read up on the differences and have decided to go with the ones that don’t cause bloating/gas.  Benefiber and Acacia Pure Organic Soluble Fiber fit the bill and are of good value.   I placed an order online for peppermint oil capsules (around 10 bucks) for 30 and 2-3 month supply of fiber powder (30 bucks).  I saw a heat pad laying around and also applied some heat to the affected areas.  Seemed to help the most. 

Went to the grocery store the next morning and bought some Celestial Seasonings Peppermint Tea and bought some anti-gas over-the-counter pills (one that didn’t contain sorbitol, which may hurt intestinal lining).  Seemed to work pretty well. 

In addition to regular Lose Weight Exercise, eating more fruits/veggies + fiber powder supplements, peppermint tea (regular basis) and peppermint oil capsules (when symptoms seem imminent), I’m also going to take Probiotics.  The idea is that our gut relies on healthy bacteria eliminating toxins and maintaining good balance is important to maintaining health.  Not sure how much of this is exaggerated but I’m gonna give it a shot.  This site claims it can help everything from diarrhea, canker sores, Crohn’s disease, Pancreatitis (acute), etc.  Going to buy some tomorrow (less than 20 bucks).  Worth a shot. 

I’m feeling a lot better since then and gotta be more proactive about this.