Choose You Blog

When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I read What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Well, tried to read it. I brought it with me on a trip to see friends married, and I lay on a chaise lounge in gorgeous Sarasota reading this book and I cried. I was going to read it like a normal pregnant woman. I was going to read it to convince myself I was pregnant. We’d fought for years to be pregnant, my husband and I, to be healthily pregnant with a baby born live and healthy after 40 weeks. I spent the first two months trying to be hopeful and positive with this pregnancy, while my doctor told me to not get attached. Right. When we finally cleared the mark–the place where the doctor said it was okay to hope, that this was a strong baby and things looked good, while I gave myself daily injections to keep that part true–we still could not bring ourselves to say the words: we’re having a baby. We’d learned to not take anything for granted, we’d learned to not expect, even when expecting. And so I read this book and I cried because nothing–nothing–in that book was me, or my pregnancy. All the things hormones bring to other pregnant women–nausea, fatigue, moods, cravings, glowing–all the things that are the by rights humble brags of the gravid, none of these were mine.

In beautiful Sarasota, my husband gently took the book from my shaking fingers and said, “They don’t know us, they don’t know this, they don’t know, it’s just a general idea, it’s a stupid book. We don’t need it.” And he threw it away, that book, all the way away. Outside our room in a dumpster. At a shower, in a store, my office, with friends, with family, everyone wanted me to read that book, everyone wanted to give me their copy. Everyone thought I was having the same experience they did, and all it did was make me feel more isolated.

My body kept me isolated for years after my baby was born, healthy and live and perfect and beautiful albeit only at 38 weeks. My breastfeeding wasn’t quite right. My recovery wasn’t quite right. Getting pregnant the second time wasn’t quite right, nor was that recovery. When I looked back, my teens weren’t quite right either. Other girls talked about all the signs of womanhood, all the symptoms, and I never knew really what they meant. But I laughed or groaned in all the right places and felt lucky, because hey, I never had any of those troubles. No breakouts, no PMS, no cramps, no bloating. Lucky? Or a symptom?

It strikes me that my hormone levels may never have been quite right.

In my late 30s, things got a little crazy. Suddenly, I did feel like a teenager. I brought a sense of humor to it and laughed about my youthful renaissance, but after a while, it wasn’t so funny. I suffered breakouts, PMS, cramps, bloating and more. My peers were experiencing it too, and for once, I felt like the typical woman. But where their symptoms stopped at mildly annoying, for the most part, mine kept going all the way forward to overwhelming and intrusive. Some days, the cramping pain was so bad I couldn’t get out of bed, on those days, the migraines would have kept me laid low even without the cramps. Days of exhaustion, lack of focus, wild variations in hunger and cravings, horrific bloating that took me up two dress sizes, and so on. My entire life was negatively affected. Lately, it doesn’t matter how much I cut back on food or increase dieting, my weight is creeping up. Once again, I feel my body is out of control.

If you’ve never been there, you might not understand. But when you feel out of control of your own body, it creates a soul-wrenching baseline for living. It affects my mind and spirit, and that creates a vicious cycle.

Because I believe in choosing myself and taking care, I sought medical help.

I was treated for various things in various ways–at the worst, with a horrific round of medication to treat an pituitary tumor; at the easiest, with dietary and exercise changes. The standard fixes, such as “eat more soy” that my GP and OB/GYN suggested never helped, and now research says that’s because it never could help. I tried it all, including a year of different hormone therapy. I think I know what it is and so do most of the doctors I’ve seen: perimenopause.

This statement by Eric Honing, MD, pretty much sums up how I feel about it all now:

Eating right, exercising and de-stressing will also help your hormone balance, but you need to have the energy and motivation to get there — and for that, you need hormone balance.

I’ve tried, honestly I have, but it’s maybe time for that next level. I’ve been deeply concerned about it, though, because of so much I’ve read that links hormone replacement and cancer. The difference, as one magazine article pointed out when it deconstructed the statistics, is that I am not in the age range or group evaluated for risk. I am under 50 and not menopausal. Maybe I don’t currently need a long-term pharmacological fix. Maybe I just need a little reset. My body has been through a lot the last ten years.

I’m going to explore various options, see what’s out there, what can help and I’m willing to try things that I decide, with my doctor, will offer benefits that outweigh risks, things that are the right approach for me. I don’t know yet what that is, but I’m checking.

I’ve called a doctor that I found through a site a friend put me on to, and after asking around a bit, I’ve found several people I know who have seen this doctor and given this approach a try. One friend who went through the treatment with this doctor described it as a whole body approach that used diet and exercise as cornerstones. That sounds promising. Mayo Clinic says bioidentical isn’t any safer, then claims FDA says it’s riskier. Oprah, who listed symptoms very similar to mine, says she benefitted greatly from it.

I agree with her position: “she urges women to “take charge of your health” and says it’s time to “start the conversation” about menopause and bioidentical hormones.”

So here’s to taking charge of health and starting the conversation: have you tried any treatments for perimenopause and menopause symptoms? What are your thoughts?

Did you know that July is National Blueberries Month? This gives all of us the perfect excuse to add more of these tiny treats into your diet. To tell you all the truth, I’ve only recently become a fan of blueberries but now I can’t get enough of them. They make the perfect snack throughout the day and can easily be found at your local grocery store or farmer’s market.

Blueberries are the second most-consumed berry behind strawberries and for good reason! Blueberries are a great source of antioxidants and vitamin C. If that wasn’t enough, the fruit contains healthy amounts of dietary fiber, something that most of us don’t consume enough of on a daily basis. Eating foods high in fiber not only helps us stay regular, but also helps to manage our heart health and cholesterol.

I love rinsing off blueberries and eating them fresh from whatever container they are in. But, I found a few other ways that to add fresh blueberries into my meals.

• Add blueberries into lowfat yogurt
• Sprinkle some blueberries into your favorite salad. Check out this recipe that I found for Chicken Blueberry Salad.
• Blend them into your favorite smoothie mixture
• Use them to refresh your usual salsa with this recipe. This Blueberry Salsa is the perfect companion to your summer grilled dishes!
• Muddle fresh blueberries and add to your favorite beverage. Blueberry mojitos, anyone?

I’m still in the middle of my colorful fruits and veggies challenge, so I’m open to more ways to enjoy fresh blueberries. Do you guys have any that you’d like to share?

On my nightstand I have a women’s magazine with a screaming headline on the cover about ten things I can do to lose weight without even trying. Riiiiiiiight. No effort whatsoever. What demographic is that aimed at? On a news program, a doctor does surprise visits to households to rate their kitchen food contents. His goal is to show people the hidden weight gain foods they are eating. The household shown was full of potato chips and soda, and the man of the house admitted he had a soda with his meal and liked potato chips on the side. The doctor advised eating fresh vegetables on the side instead, and drinking water instead of soda. [insert dusting hands] Problem solved! Or is it?

Again…what demographic is this aimed at?

Not me, aka the aging woman aka the old gray mare who ain’t what she used to be.

I was blessed until about age 30 with a metabolism that knew no limits, and thus, neither did my eating. However, I did eat healthy for the most part, a habit I grew up with. But I got into the habit, also, of not counting calories or worrying about what I ate. I was also really active. In my 30s I made a few physiological colossal catastrophes as far as my body was concerned: I moved up the corporate ladder and got more bottom-in-chair time and I got pregnant. Twice. Happy go lucky eating and exercise days, goodbye.

By 40? I’d already gone back to Weight Watchers three times. The first time was post-pregnancy one. The second was post-pregnancy two and I just never lost the baby weight. In fact, I left the hospital postpartum weighing more than I did when I went in! (That should have been a red flag, by the way, to the medical staff who should never have released me. I was back in the ER within 24 hours deathly ill and spent three months recuperating, yes, with a toddler and newborn.) I was actually overweight then. Not even nursing helped me, although I was surely hungry all the time. I got down to a great size and weight. Which I maintained for a couple of years. Then another illness and round of treatment left me with a solid 15 to lose. Which I did. But then two years later, I was back in the fight against the bulge. I feel like I’m on a yo-yo diet, even though I’m using a healthy eating lifestyle “diet” versus a fad or theme diet. Still, despite rigorous and regular exercise and daily journaling of eating right within my points limits, I’m in a war against creeping pounds. Technically my weight and BMI are right in the middle of regular. But I know my body and I see the little love handles. I am not pleased.

Let’s look at my diet, take today for example: breakfast — whole grain organic granola (1 cup) in low fat soy milk; snack — fat free yogurt and fruit; lunch: fresh chicken salad (no mayo) with blueberries and almonds on 100 calorie whole grain sandwich rounds with a side of tomatoes, carrots, and sweet peas. Dinner will be fish with green beans and probably a glass of wine (1 cup), maybe a dessert yogurt (fat free chocolate mousse). Tasty. Also? Low fat, low calorie and full of healthy foods, the very ones that I am supposed to eat. Right? Right?

Potatoes, two years ago hailed as a miracle food full of health benefits and weight-loss potential, were this week slammed for being the culprit to those one to two pound per year weight gain creeps that end up with us looking bulky by 50 and wondering what happened. Still. I don’t really eat potatoes. Or potato chips. Nor do I drink soda. Today I had water, water, sparkling water, and water. Not even juice.

Now there is this:

People commonly find it hard to take off the pound or two a year that most adults put on. But it can be done. At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, researcher Anne McTiernan tried it with 439 overweight-to-obese women ages 50 to 75, because less is known about successful ways to lose weight for women in this age range. Some dieted at moderate levels, some exercised at moderate to vigorous levels, and some did both…

Ah ha, so the truth is…I haven’t really been the target demographic.

McTiernan’s four-year study in short:

Lifestyle interventions for weight loss are the cornerstone of obesity therapy, yet their optimal design is debated. This is particularly true for postmenopausal women; a population with a high prevalence of obesity yet toward whom fewer studies are targeted. We conducted a year-long, 4-arm randomized trial among 439 overweight-to-obese postmenopausal sedentary women to determine the effects of a calorie-reduced, low-fat diet (D), a moderate-intensity, facility-based aerobic exercise program (E), or the combination of both interventions (D+E), vs. a no-lifestyle-change control (C) on change in body weight and composition.

. . .

Using an intention-to-treat analysis, average weight loss at 12 months was −8.5% for the D group (P < 0.0001 vs. C), −2.4% for the E group (P = 0.03 vs. C), and −10.8% for the D+E group (P < 0.0001 vs. C), whereas the C group experienced a nonsignificant −0.8% decrease. BMI, waist circumference, and % body fat were also similarly reduced. Among postmenopausal women, lifestyle-change involving diet, exercise, or both combined over 1 year improves body weight and adiposity, with the greatest change arising from the combined intervention.

So, in short, proper diet and exercise are the keys.  You also need to choose the right foods (this week’s are yogurt, nuts, and blueberries), get enough sleep, be vigorous in exercise, manage stress, and avoid bad foods (this week’s are potatoes and fruit juice).

If you happen to be a middling age-ish woman, you immediately see the inherent challenge in this prescription for maintaining weight and preventing weight creep. Especially if you have hormones. That are fluctuating.

However, at the end of the day, we do our best. My knees may not be able to keep up with the rigor of running of high-impact aerobics, but I mix in stair stepper, yoga, walking, and low-impact. I may gravitate to Skinny Cow ice cream in the summer, but I eat largely fresh fruit and vegetables alongside mostly healthy and low fat entrees. The bottom line is? This is the new normal. You can fight pounds creep (which also decreases a lot of health risks including cancer) and get all the health benefits of exercise, but that just keeps you healthy at your current age. No matter what you Wii says, you aren’t ever going to be physically 25 again. So if you’re still there? Enjoy it. And know that aging means increasing healthy lifestyle choices, so make them while you’re young. If you’re where I am or beyond? It’s okay. We look and feel better than we think we do.

Summer came early here, on the heels of a drought. By the end of May, temperatures were already pushing 100, with equivalent humidity, and the greens had already shriveled to dried khaki and brown. Just the sound of cicadas makes exercise, such a brisk walk or jog, sound like an exhausting and unwelcome prospect. In other places, winter is hanging on, or the outdoors is a place of constant rain and wild weather. Add in busy schedules, kids, and other attention thieves, and it seems nearly impossible to get exercise. Six regular women shared their ideas for how they juggle it all in, including exercise:

Christine Green advises, “Three words: get. up. early. I do all of my exercise between 5:30 am and 7am. It is hard, but so worth it especially when the days are hot and there is a ton of stuff on the day’s agenda.” She also suggests, “Work out with the kids. Babies and toddlers can be put in a backpack and taken on a hike or walk and older kids can hike, run, or walk with you. It’s a good way to introduce them to exercise.”

That’s so true. I often shift to daily yoga in the summer, from a tape on TV, and my kids like to join in. Nearly any mobile age can, but with little ones you have to keep an eye on them to ensure they don’t get hurt. It’s a good fun start to the day, and a healthy example. An evening family bike ride is another good idea.

Sandra Julich advises, “There are aquatic exercises with noodles for free on-line that I would like to try this year while watching the kids out by our pool. I normally either get up early or will take them to our gym with fun child care, classes and camps.”

The Mayo Clinic has a really easy-to-follow slide show with good aquatic exercises.

Catherine Holecko advises, “This is the golden year where both my kids are the right age for the “fun” drop-off kids’ area at our Y. (It’s not for little tinies–that’s child care; and it’s not for older kids–they can roam free.) So I’m ALL OVER that. Plus, we can ride our bikes to the Y for more exercise. I also use the dreaded ‘mill for days when it’s too hot or buggy to be outside, or when I need to be at home with kids. I save my favorite podcasts for treadmill sessions. Lots more on this at my familyfitness.about.com site.”

The pool is a common theme! Natalie Schaffer O’Neill also suggests swimming laps at the pool, pointing out that there are lifeguards for the kiddos. She also suggests water aerobics. Water aerobics are a good cardio workout and are easy on the joints. In the class I’ve taken ages have ranged from 27 to 70!

Mary P Gilmour also says she has always used water – pool or beach. She said, “Works once the kids are old enough to swim a bit. When they were really little, my mother-in-law (bless her) would watch them while I swam.”

It’s a good idea if you don’t have access to childcare to do a tradeoff with a friend. Exercise buddies are great to motivate you and keep you on track, even if they aren’t necessarily working out with you.

Who hasn’t heard a lot about Eat This, Not That?  It’s the “no diet” weight loss solution, and although it doesn’t say so overtly, because it’s Men’s Health (the editor), I strongly suspect it’s the “guy’s version.” It just seems so much more practical than most of those diets aimed at ladies. Most of which prompt me to say that prisoners see better rations, which…I know, but it’s just a hyperbolic saying to make a point. What this book assumes is that we are surrounded by yummy, and largely unhealthy, foods that yeah, we’re going to want to eat. It also assumes we eat out. A lot. It correctly assumes, you see, that we live the lives we actually do. According to the Amazon synopsis

Americans spend more than $400 billion a year eating out, and behind each burger, turkey sandwich, and ice cream sundae is a simple decision that could help you control your weight–and your life. The problem is, restaurant chains and food producers aren’t interested in helping you make healthy choices. In fact, they invest $30 billion a year on advertising, much of it aimed at confusing eaters and disguising the fat and calorie counts of their products.

All of that has changed with EAT THIS, NOT THAT!. This book puts the entire food industry under the spotlight, and arms you with the savvy tricks and insider information it takes to eat well no matter where you are. With EAT THIS, NOT THAT! you’re the expert in every eating situation, from the frozen food aisle to your favorite fast food joint to your local sports bar. You control your food universe–and lose the pounds you want–because, unlike every other customer, you’ll know the smart choices to make–instantly!

Moreover, it’s not just asking us, the individual, to make better choices; it’s also asking the food industry to offer us better choices. The one-two punch.

And it’s working. Again, according to the Amazon synopsis

EAT THIS, NOT THAT! is the only book that holds the food industry accountable for the surreptitious loads of sugar, fat, and sodium stuffed into foods that were once reliable sources of lean nutrition. It arms you with the savvy tricks and insider information you need to eat well in today’s dangerous food landscape. With EAT THIS, NOT THAT! you’re the expert in every eating situation, from the frozen food aisle to your favorite fast food joint to your local sports bar. You control your food universe–and lose the pounds you want–because, unlike every other customer, you’ll know the smart choices to make–instantly!

Now get this: The pressure from EAT THIS, NOT THAT! is actually reshaping the food landscape to your benefit! Since it’s original publication in 2007, here’s how some restaurants have responded:

• Baskin Robbins eliminated its 2,300-calorie Heath Bar Shake.
• Outback Steakhouse downsized its Aussie Cheese Fries from 2,900 calories to 2,140 calories.
• Macaroni Grill replaced the 1,120-calorie Kids’ Double Mac ‘n’ Cheese with a more reasonable 670-calorie version.
• Restaurants such as Quiznos, Red Lobster, and Olive Garden began publishing nutritional information for the first time ever.
• And that’s just to name a few!

Did you know that Americans now consume about one-third of their total calories on foods prepared outside the home?

It’s the little details that get to me.

Did you know that a standard pizza in Italy contains 500 to 800 calories, but the same meal at Pizza Hut can top 2,100 calories? That’s more than most calories allowed per day, on average! Did you know that Macaroni Grill’s Grilled Teriyaki Salmon has more than three times your daily allowance of sodium? I’d have to walk for 20 hours to burn off the first, and get a heart check for the second. Wow. Just wow. So the book says, yes, but all is not lost. Some places have better choices.

For example, eating at McDonald’s with the kids? Get the 300 calorie Egg McMuffin® instead of the more than double that hotcakes. I carry Starbucks’ nutrition chart with me in my purse, and discovered that “skinny soy” based doesn’t make it lower calorie or fat in all cases!

Between this and so many reality TV show chef superstars’ efforts, it’s really raised consciousness. Color it a Food Revolution. And about time. Now, finally, the FDA is looking to require menus at food establishments to display nutrition information, primarily calories. Some are exempt, but I bet they opt in anyway.

“These proposals will ensure that consumers have more information when they make their own food choices,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Giving consumers clear nutritional information makes it easier for them to choose healthier options that can help fight obesity and make us all healthier.”

What can help?

Posted nutrition information (try Googling before you head out to eat, you can often find information online), guides, books like I’ve mentioned, and even apps can help. I’m testing out a new app called MealSnap that will tell you calories based on a photo of your food. Of course, it takes a few minutes and it’s a little late since you’ve already ordered. So do due diligence up front and learn how to make the best and healthiest choices for eating when you go out!

Next week I plan to talk about what you can eat instead when you crave something “naughty” so make sure to check back!

Yeah let’s admit that one of the biggest stumbling blocks to eating right if you’re a parent is, well, being a parent. Busy. Servant to many masters. Servant to many picky and choosy masters. Prone to small children leaping tall tantrums in a single bound. Susceptible to the call of the Happy Meal and its Happy Ending. One person I’ve long admired is Emily Rosenbaum, great writer, hilarious storyteller, and maker of delicious healthy recipes that her children eat, happily, and that also serve happy adults. She recently released a book that I’m greatly enjoying, all about her recipes and how they came to be. If there’s anything I like well, it’s a good, easy to make and eat recipe that comes with a fabulous story. Emily has graciously shared both with us here today!

Lilah loves beans of all sorts.  Benjamin likes most bean dishes, although white beans are hit or miss.  Zachary would not consider eating a bean if it were coated in caramel and dipped in chocolate.

Lilah thinks squash is one of the seven wonders of the world.  Benjamin likes squash unless a better offer comes along.  Zachary would switch seats on an airplane if a squash were sitting next to him.

Lilah loves to try new foods, except on the days she doesn’t.  Benjamin assumes that any new food must be a treat that we’ve been hiding from him, and usually that turns out to be the case, like when he tried scallops for the first time and adored them.  Zachary hasn’t tried a new food since the Bush administration.

The first Bush.  And Zach wasn’t even born yet.

One Monday morning, during some school break or another, I found myself at the grocery store with all three children, a situation I am usually far more adept at avoiding. Sometime between the first and third time the boys decided to wrestle on the grocery store floor, we went down the rice aisle.  “I’m making chickpeas tonight,” I told Benjamin.  “Would you like them on rice or with this?  It’s a special pasta called ‘couscous.’”

“Um, I want that!” Benjamin replied, assuming if he hadn’t had it before, it must be delicious.

Now, their father hates couscous, but, frankly, if I thought about that fact I was afraid my head would start to spin around and my nostrils would blow blue smoke.  So, I bought some whole wheat couscous.

Benjamin’s Couscous

• 1 tablespoon butter
• Olive oil – 2 tablespoons or so
• One chopped onion
• Several minced cloves of garlic
• Carrots – sliced in discs
• ½ – 1 bag cooked garbanzos, drained
• Two baked acorn squashes or 1 butternut squash (sliced in half, baked face down about an hour on 400 with a little olive oil on them)
• Chopped dates
• Chicken stock or water
• 2 cups cous cous
• Salt

1. Melt together the butter and olive oil.  Fry up the onions and garlic until translucent, doing the garlic Andrew’s way.
2. I poured in a little more than 4 cups of chicken stock to a boil because the couscous package said 1 ¼ cups water to 1 cup couscous, and I wanted a little extra in there since I was cooking up other things, too.  Bring it all to a boil.  Add the carrots and cook till soft.
3. Then, add the couscous (in this case, I used two cups) and the dates.  Mix up and cover.  After five minutes, fluff with fork, then mix in the cooked garbanzos and chopped up cooked squash.  Don’t worry if they’ve already cooled, as this particular dish is fine warm instead of hot.
4. Salt to taste, which usually means I forget the salt and then we all rush to add it at the supper table.

My husband actually loved it, despite his deep seeded prejudice against couscous, perhaps due to some childhood trauma involving a Moroccan restaurant.  Benjamin and Lilah loved it, much to the detriment of our dining room rug.

Zachary didn’t try it, but I had also made garbanzo muffins.  Because I’m not an idiot.

Emily Rosenbaum is a writer, mother, cook, and lousy gardener trying to live sustainably in New Jersey.  Her publications include Bitch, Glamour, Hip Mama, and Brain, Child. She blogs at Wheels on the Bus.

In middle school, on the last day of school, the classroom teacher gave us little balls that were hand-labeled Tuit. We were all perplexed. “Now,” she said to us, smiling, “You have a Round Tuit, and you can get done all those things you’ve been meaning to do. It’s always better to have done than mean to do. Go ahead, go into your summer and do!”

We were silent for a minute sounding it out and then the whispers became murmurs, and the murmurs became hoots of laughter. Our teacher had taught us a really valuable lesson: don’t say you’ll get around to it…just go do it.

I kept that ball for years until I finally lost it during a move. It sat on my bookshelf over my desk, reminding me to just do it, because I already had a Round Tuit.

Have you been meaning to make a Choose You commitment? Maybe you’ve thought you’d get around to it, getting a health check, starting a healthy eating and exercise regime, quitting smoking, wearing sunscreen…as soon as [something] has come to pass. Making a good choice for yourself and your health has no perfect timing, sort of like falling in love, starting a family, or leaping into a new career opportunity. When the chance comes, you choose to take it.

It’s hard to make a change, especially a lifestyle change, and trust me I know how amazingly overwhelming it can seem with an overfull plate or a lot of other shifts happening at the same time. That’s why I always say some is better than none. Instead of getting caught up in a complicated diet with lots of rules and tools, try cutting back your portions. Instead of sinking money into a costly gym membership, try taking a fifteen minute walk in the morning. You can start with small steps, and gradually lengthen them.

In case you need more motivation, here’s a new study from the American Cancer Society:

ACS Study Finds Following Cancer Prevention Guidelines Lowers Risk of Death

NHO Media Relations is distributing a nationwide news release highlighting a new American Cancer Society study that finds nonsmokers who followed recommendations for cancer prevention had a lower risk of death from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-causes. The study appears early online in Cancer Biomarkers, Epidemiology, and Prevention, and was led by American Cancer Society epidemiologists.

For their study, researchers led by Marji L. McCullough, ScD, RD, strategic director of nutritional epidemiology, used diet and lifestyle questionnaires filled out in 1992 and 1993 by more than 100,000 non-smoking men and women in the Cancer Prevention Study (CPS)-II Nutrition Cohort. The participants were scored on a range from 0 to 8 points to reflect adherence to the American Cancer Society (ACS) cancer prevention guidelines regarding body mass index, physical activity, diet, and alcohol consumption, with 8 points representing adherence to all of the recommendations simultaneously. After 14 years, men and women with high compliance scores (7-8) had a 42% lower risk of death compared to those with low scores (0-2). Risk of cardiovascular disease death were 48% lower among men and 58% lower among women, while the risk of cancer death was 30% lower in men and 24% lower in women. Similar associations, albeit not all statistically significant, were observed for never and former smokers.

Link to study abstract.

This:

Organic’ Label Seems to Make Food Taste Better

SUNDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) — An “organic” label on foods is enough to make people believe the food items are healthier and tastier, new research suggests.

The study included 144 volunteers who were asked to compare what they believed were conventionally and organically produced chocolate sandwich cookies, plain yogurt and potato chips. All of the products were actually organic, but they were labeled as either “regular” or “organic.”

The participants used a scale of 1 to 9 to rate each of the products on 10 attributes, such as overall taste and perception of fat content. They were also asked to estimate the number of calories in each food item and how much they would be willing to pay for each product.

The investigators found that participants preferred almost all of the taste characteristics of the foods labeled as “organic,” even though they were identical to those labeled as “regular.”

The food items with “organic” labels were also perceived as being lower in fat, higher in fiber, significantly lower in calories and worth more money, according to study author Jenny Wan-chen Lee, a graduate student in Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.

But more so, this:

In addition, chips and cookies labeled “organic” were judged to be more nutritious than those believed to be non-organic.

Has me perplexed.

Has there been an unintended consequence of food labeling, which is meant to help us be more educated about what we eat? Has it instead taught food makers better ways to market and taught us we don’t know but need to be told what food is nutritious?

Certainly food selection has expanded. I think back to the 1984 Robin Williams scene in Moscow on the Hudson when he passes out in overwhelmed ecstasy at all the choices in a grocery store. Stores are even bigger–including big box stores with food!–with even more choices. And we’re really confused about what to eat and how much of it, what with daily recommendations changing and portion sizes at restaurants growing. It’s confusing, overwhelming! We’ve become the  comedic moment in our own space.

Here’s a few rules of thumb:

1. Organic is fine, but there’s no proof it is any more likely to prevent cancer.

2. You’ve probably heard that it’s best to go organic for some fruits and vegetables, such as those you eat the skin of. You’ve probably worried about additives to beef and dairy. That’s reasonable. The definition of organic, the one you need to meet for the FDA to approve you labeling food organic, is: plant foods grown without pesticides and genetic modifications, and for meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products that come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Also, you should know that there are different levels and types of “organic.”

3. It’s not necessarily healthier, as in containing more or better nutrients, or more healthful ingredients such as higher fiber and lower fat. You should always consider a variety of factors when choosing your food, including sodium, fat, protein, calories, added sugar, etc.

4. If it’s in a box or package, it’s probably processed, and not terribly healthful — it’s probably more of a treat.

Just keep in mind that what’s on the front of the package is a selling point. It’s what’s on the back (or side or bottom, wherever the details about the nutrition are) that matters. And in the end, we always recommend eating whole, fresh food, vegetable and fruits, whole grains and so forth along with exercise. That’s what is true good health.

If you’ve ever read an article about exercise, you’ve heard that doing the same type of exercise over and over isn’t very effective. It’s important to mix it up — plus that makes it more interesting.

Everyday Health says:

If you’ve been doing the same type of exercise for a while, chances are your body has gotten better at doing it. While it’s great that you’ve been working out regularly, the downside is that you’ll stop getting the results you’re looking for, such as weight loss or athletic performance, says Gregory Florez, a certified personal trainer in Salt Lake City, Utah, owner of FitAdvisor Health Coaching Services, and a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise. The solution: Switch your workout plan about every six to eight weeks.

I’ve been noticing a decreasing interest in walking, and decreasing results. So I’ve been shaking it up, adding in half the plus and twice the yoga, some strength training, some Wii Fit games, and now…tennis.

It’s something I did the other day with my husband, kids, and a family we’re friends with. The adults played teams and so did the kids. I’m going to join my friend at weekly drills. I noticed right away that it worked very different parts of my body (read: new soreness).

Active.com says there are a lot of benefits of tennis, and here are some of the best (in my opinion) (read the article for more details and source citing):

• Three hours of tennis a week cuts your risk of death in half — from any cause.
• Tennis improves your vigor, optimism and self-esteem while decreasing depression, anger, confusion, anxiety and tension.
• Tennis may generate new connections between nerves in the brain.
• It’s one of the best exercises, giving a better workout than most aerobics, including inline skating.

According to the article, “scientists and physicians world-wide view tennis as the most healthful activity to participate in. . .[it] received such acclaim for its great benefits physically, mentally and emotionally.”

What sport have you picked up recently?

Liz Scherer of Flashfree

I was fortunate recently to get to know Liz Scherer through a group related to our work, and from there I grew to like her enormously. When I discovered we shared a common interest in women’s health, I immediately began reading her blog. My respect only grew. Liz has a practical and insightful plus interesting way of finding great evidence-based information and sharing it. She tackles an area of women’s health that I think gets too little attention and too much marketing: aging in a healthy way. It felt like a perfect fit for Choose You, and I’m so happy to introduce you to Liz and her thoughts:

Question: I love that you have a site, Flashfree, dedicated to women’s health. Tell me a little about your site and endeavor, the title of the site (that’s got to be a good story), and what motivated you too.

Liz: My interest in women’s health harkens back to college, when I took a class called “Women and their bodies in health and disease.” Today, I specialize in health and medical writing, although ironically, up until my mid-20s, I never had an interest in science or medicine and my writing was strictly creative. However, life presents strange opportunities and early in my professional career, I happened upon a position that literally fueled what would become a life-long path.

Throughout my career, my writing, including tone, topic and formula, has been dictated by whatever I was being hired for, whether it was an article, a report or a website. When the blogging world opened wide, I realized that I finally had an opportunity to write in my own voice and follow my personal passion: to empower women to take care of themselves and their health through education.

On a more personal note, I started having night sweats and when I researched the type of information that was out there I realized that it did not speak to me, my generation or my preference to use alternative strategies and hormone replacement. Voila!  Flashfree was born. The site is a labor of love; I don’t accept advertising and I don’t get paid. But over time, reader comments have proven that there’s a need for sites like mine that contain health information that is evidence-based, friendly and supportive, outside the “box,” and providing options that most practitioners don’t take the time to learn about. The “not your mama’s menopause” tag comes from one place: I’m a Boomer tailgater, born at the end of the Boomer generation and at the start of Gen X. I want to be respected, empowered and informed; I don’t want to be talked down to, taken for granted or ignored.

Q: A lot of women are deeply affected by how “change of life” (do we have a better term??) negatively impacts their quality of life (*raising hand*) and would love the promised relief of HRT, but are concerned about side-effects and cancer risk. I read a great article recently that really clearly explained who is tracked and studied for HRT use, and where the stats come from. Do you have a good resource you trust for women to explore to augment information they get from their doctor? Do you have a personal checklist or major things to consider you use personally when considering HRT? What would you tell your best friend?

Hormone replacement is a loaded gun. I rely on data and when it comes to any HRT news, I pay close attention. There has been a lot of attention on timing, duration and age but what is being ignored in many of these discussions are personal risk factors, which also play a role. Morever, it’s sad but most clinicians have not been trained in complementary medicine and don’t pay much attention to the evidence-based alternative strategies that are effective for many people, myself included. The link between HRT and breast cancer has been unequivocally proven. Other associations, such as deaths from lung cancer, an increase in ovarian cancer, an increase in stroke and heart disease and an increase in cognition issues are less clear. However, major associations, such as the Canadian Medical Association, have recently come out with a firm warning that HRT should only be used for short time periods and only as a last resort.

I don’t personally use a checklist because I won’t ever use HRT. I don’t respond well to estrogen and I happen to reside in the high-risk group for breast cancer. I have also been fortunate to use a prescribed strategy of Chinese herbs and western herbs that have literally shut down any perimenopausal symptoms I started to have. And when those symptoms change, I speak to my practitioner and change my prescription.

Nevertheless, in my opinion, research shows that the HRT risk/benefit ratio is too extreme. I’d tell my best friend the same thing I say on Flashfree: do your homework, ask the hard questions, learn about your individual risk based on family history, age, preexisting conditions and symptoms. Then make an informed decision.

Q: I read an article in O Magazine recently that talked about little known ways that hormone shifts can affect our bodies. What do you think health care for women and doctors need to improve on for better quality of care for women during this time? How can women even know what symptoms to mention to their doctors? Any advice for talking with medical professionals during this time of life?

Liz: An open dialogue and a trusting relationship is a must as we age. I select practitioners who are well versed in a variety of western and eastern medical strategies and who are able to communicate and more importantly, listen. However, I don’t believe that “this time” is any different than any other time, i.e. a woman needs a healthy relationship with her practitioners at all times during her adult life because changes occur in our bodies continually.

Q: You made the comment, and I fully agree, that a support system is crucial for women to choose health, and weather health challenges. How can women build this support system? How can we ensure, too, that we spread facts in our support versus perpetuating myths?

Liz: I truly believe that there is no area more important for full engagement than women’s healthcare, especially because the system has been gender-focused for so long. Clinical studies had long focused on men, insurers favour males over females for certain coverage (even pregnancy is a preexisting condition in certain cases!) and the reproductive system is still incompletely understood. We have a huge opportunity to take responsible charge of our bodies and ourselves, and that’s through education and communication.

As you imply, research has shown that women in particular, rely on support networks for their wellbeing.  However, it’s naive to think that these support systems are not already in place. The key lies in learning how to take advantage of them, in sharing our concerns, our health issues, our questions and our answers. There is no time like the present to start crowdsourcing women’s health. Why not start with menopause and start taking back control?

With regards to your point or question or about myths versus facts, there is no doubt that we have a problem. Yet, I believe that some of it actually lies within the medical profession itself. Just look at women’s health; whether it’s hysteria or medicalizing normal reproductive changes or creating diseases, many of our most trusted healthcare professionals (and pharmaceutical manufacturers) have led the charge in trivializing female issues. In my opinion, I think we need more women to step up and take the lead in challenging the status quo and demanding better , more accurate information. Again, that starts with education, not being afraid to ask questions, and learning how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Q: How do you Choose You for good health? Tell me a little about your own good health choices and how you stick to them, and how you would persuade a good friend to do the same.

Liz: Healthy living was instilled in me at a very young age so it truly is part of my DNA. I work out daily, I try to make healthy food choices that work for my body type and my age, such as upping intake of good fats, eating lots of fruits and veggies and choosing whole grains. Most of that is pretty intuitive. However, most importantly, I don’t deprive myself; if I want a brownie or candy or a bloody mary, I go for it. And although I feel better when I am active and eat right, I don’t beat myself up when I fall off the healthy wagon. Life’s too short to colour inside the lines all the time. And as my grandma always said; “everything in moderation.” And sometimes the definition of moderation changes!

Look, my commitments and responsibility to my health are just that: mine. My role is not to persuade my friends how or what to eat. We’re all adults and have to live with our choices. If I see a good friend who is making choices that are harmful, I may say something or I may not. It depends on the situation. On Flashfree, I share the facts about health and diet and food and alcohol and mental stress and the ramifications or lack thereof. But I am hardly a saint and I’m not perfect. The only thing I try to do is make sure that I take responsibility for the choices that I make for myself.