Is potassium in a sports drink of any relevance? Dr Mirkin has some thoughts…
Archive for the ‘Diet’ Category
The potassium myth
October 26, 2009Nanny State & Obesity Prevention
October 7, 2009In south Los Angeles legislation to minimise big fast food stores is mis-directed, with the area actually having less of these stores per-capita than other areas of LA. The probable problem here is large number of smaller fast food outlets.
I have heard a similar argument before regarding Fast Food vs Fine Dining. An often ignored fact is that the typical Fine Dining restaurant in your area produces meals every day that are as bad, if not worse than many Fast Food outlets. The reason one is condoned and the other celebrated is because of their absolute effect on the community. Simply put: more people eat at McDonald’s than any Fine Dining restaurant. In this regard it seems some Fast Food Outlets are really just a victim of their own success.
World Vegetarian Day
October 1, 2009Today is World Vegetarian Day.
Celebrate in an appropriate manner…
Food choice
September 27, 2009What determines what food choices you make at the supermarket?
For most it comes down to taste and price, with nutritional value “a little bit lower down” the list.
The challenge as I see it, is to make tasty & cheap foods that are good for you…
Turning Fast Food into Fine Dining
August 31, 2009Yeah, it’s still bad for you – but see how good it can look!
What a great interesting catch line from Fancy Fast Food. They take regular fast food and show you how to dress it up to look like a fancy restaurant meal.
Just proves there is a niche market for most things….
Thanks to NZ Herald for the original story.
Sport vs Diet for Childhood obesity?
August 16, 2009About a year ago I wrote about how diet was by far the most important factor in childhood obesity.
In a article out today commenting on a new government initiative to get more kids participating in sport, Leigh Sturgiss from the Obesity Action Coalition makes some similar points:
Promoting greater participation in sport is one of those wholesome ideas you can’t argue against. Schools will be given extra money to organise after-school sport. The funding could be used to buy equipment, uniforms, or hire sports co-ordinators. Fabulous. Great. Bring it on. But let’s not pretend it’s the answer to the childhood obesity epidemic.
Experts such as Professor Rod Jackson from Auckland University’s School of Population Health say it takes hours of hard-out activity to counteract just one meal in a fast-food restaurant. A 2 1/2-hour walk is needed to burn off a meal of fish and chips, he says.
Its the habitual traits that really makes the difference. I don’t think we need to make the local fish and chip shop out to be the devil, but rather realise that eating there a few times a week – every week – is not a good idea.
Bottled Water: At least it’s safe
July 17, 2009One of the benefits of drinking bottled water over tap water is that you are ensuring it is ‘clean’ and ‘safe’, right?
Probably not. As noted on Dietblog today
less than 2% of popular bottled waters disclosed where the water came from, how it was purified, and possible chemical pollutants.
What more
Unlike tap water, bottled water doesn’t have to be tested by a certified laboratory, and [bottled water companies] aren’t required to notify customers within 24 hours of finding high levels of contaminants
Boiling Carrots increases some nutrients
July 1, 2009Many think that fresh is best when it comes to fruit and vegetables. But in recent times this belief has been proved wrong more than a few times.
The most recent: The content of an “anti-cancer” nutrient increases when carrots are boiled whole.
However, the real kicker regarding this type of information is actually the importance of simply eating carrots – full stop! People who eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day are less likely to get a whole plethora of diseases – including many cancers.
What do you do everyday to ensure you get 5+ servings of fruit and vegetables?
If you answer “not a lot”, then perhaps you could try taking a carrot to work/school/bridge club.
Boil it if you feel the need.
One that we prepared earlier…
June 9, 2009A bit of light entertainment if you are looking for a quick 3 course meal:
[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pah2yk3Jx50]
Alternatively, if you are looking for a quick post-workout meal try this Tuna Melt recipe.
Why do you buy organic food?
April 23, 2009
Organic food is booming. In my local supermarket it has about half an aisle dedicated to it, excluding fresh organic foods and breads.
So why is it so popular?
Do people buy it for environmental reasons (‘it is better for the environment to eat organic’), animal welfare reasons (‘a free range chicken is happier than a barn raised one’), or for health reasons (‘organic is better for you’)?
The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a great book I finished recently that addresses some of these issues.
I think it is important that you can answer the following question if you do buy organic: Why? And then ensure that your ‘reason’ for buying organic is being addressed.
For example if you are buying organic because they are better for the environment, then consider where out of season organic vegetables come from. Probably flown and then trucked from a far away country (where they have to be refrigerated along the way, and then stored until they are out of season). An example in the Omnivore’s Dilemma is organic pieces of asparagus purchased in January in the States that are flown up from Argentina that week in a 747. Solution: Buy locally produced goods that are in season.
Or perhaps you buy organic for animal welfare reasons. To quote OD:
Organic raised chicken live in very similar conditions to regular birds. They do have access to an outside area after they are 5 weeks old, which sounds ok, but when you consider they are slaughtered at 7 weeks it does not really represent the picturesque ideal of chicken frolicking in wide open fields that we would like to believe from product packaging. By all accounts the chickens do not often make it outside as it represents a potentially dangerous unknown for them. This is fine by the farmers though, as going outside makes the chickens more susceptible to infections and diseases for which they are prone seen as they are not resistant.
Solution: Buy ‘Free Range Chickens’, not ‘Organic’.
And finally, maybe you buy organic for health reasons. The bad news is there is little scientific evidence to back this up. Personally I feel organic is probably better for you (certainly no worse), and some studies suggest organically grown food has more micro-nutrients that are good for us than regular fruits and vegetables, but this difference has not been shown to result in improved health markers. Solution: Do what makes you feel good. The science is still out on this one.
