The WELLalarm Blog

Friday Links: How Did Oprah Let It Happen?

The holidays are right around the corner--Happy Hanukkah! Here are a few interesting articles I've come across recently.

From another woman named Stephanie, I thought this post on the O Magazine "How Did I Let This Happen?" cover was fabulous, especially the way she re-writes the headlines (scroll down to the end of her post). Via Live Well 360, which also has a great post on the cover.

According to a new study, low-glycemic carbohydrates like beans and nuts appear to be an excellent food choice for Type 2 diabetics. Note the caveat that the glycemic index of a food can change depending on its preparation.

While you are reading the New York Times, check out these 6 Medical Myths for the Holidays. Take heed, revelers--there is no cure for a hangover. The best way to avoid one is to drink moderately (or not at all).

And the kookiest thing I've read lately: actor Jeremy Piven has pulled out of the Broadway play Speed the Plow because of mercury poisoning. Apparently he was eating sushi twice a day. Really. David Mamet was quoted saying Piven was "leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer.

Finally, check out our Holiday Gift Guide for Kids With Peanut Allergy on Peanutallergy.com!

Blog and Podcast Review: Nonna's Kitchen

If you're the parent of a picky eater, perhaps Nonna can help.

A friend of mine recently told me about Joann Bruso, author of the book Baby Bites: Transforming A Picky Eater Into A Healthy Eater. Bruso also has a related blog, Nonna's Kitchen, and produces a podcast called What's Cookin' With Nonna. Her mission is to help families cook and eat healthy food.

"Nonna" is an Italian word for "grandmother" -- Bruso is currently grandmother to six grandchildren. Before she had children she wrote a monthly nutrition column. Years later, after trying to feed her toddler grandson, Joshy, she she created her method for transforming a picky eater into a petit epicure.

The answer, as she explains in her post You Can Transform Your Picky Eater Into a Healthy Eater, is to encourage your child to play with his or her food! Bruso incorporates sensory learning and directed play to build familiarity with and curiosity in new foods. She also encourages parents to improve the nutritional value of their children's food, tossing out the processed junk in favor of fresh, home-cooked meals.

Bruso expands her method in her book, and it look like a terrific resource. So is her blog, chock full of recipes and useful nutritional advice. Her twice-weekly podcast is a delight.

Does her method work? I'll leave that for you to find out! But I think she's on to something.

Healthy tips for the fall

(Image via Cooking for Monkeys)

Are we really already looking at Labor Day Weekend? Where did the summer go? Here are some timely links I found that may ease your transition into fall.

Vital Juice reminds us that the warm weather isn't over yet with a list of workout tips to take into fall.

Next time stress has you reaching for the Häagen-Dazs, try these tension-taming foods instead.

For those of you heading off to college, here is some food and financial advice for college students.

Parents, you may be interested in Healthy Living's series, America's Healthiest Schools.

If you're looking for fun, healthy lunches to pack for your kids, check out the adorable bento lunches from Cooking for Monkeys.

For my pregnant friends, a conversation with ObGyn Sarah Maddison about what you can and cannot do while pregnant. I love that the writer quotes that Adam Ant song, "Don't Drink, Don't Smoke, What Do You Do?"

Are you worried about maintaining your health on a smaller budget? ABC News brings you Five Ways to Spend Less and Stay Well. (Via Fit Sugar)

Website review: The Date Safe Project

If you have a teenager you may have heard about Mike Domitrz. He is the Executive Director of The Date Safe Project, a program that uses lectures, books, DVDs, podcasts, newsletters, and posters to address healthy sexuality for young people. Domitrz is committed to "Changing America's Approach to Dating, Consent, & Sexual Assault." 

Mike Domitrz started the project after the 1989 rape of his sister. He was in college at the time and spent the next two years processing the event. He realized that "current dating practices were based on standards of disrespect" and that he needed to raise awareness and create dating practices that were based on mutual respect.

The "Can I Kiss You" program (part of the Date Safe Project) teaches teens to have a conversation before they engage in sexual activity. This sounds like a hard program to sell to teenagers. After all, part of the fun of sexual activity is the element of spontaneity. On the other hand, I think if you're not ready to talk about sex you're not ready to have sex!

The website for The Date Safe Project is a great resource for anyone wanting to raise awareness of sexual assault in their own community or for individuals like parents who are looking for ways to prepare their children to date responsibly.  There are links and resources including articles, tips, organizations dedicated to addressing sexual assault, and websites authored by sexual assault survivors. You can listen in on the bi-weekly podcast, sign the Pledge for Action, and sign up for the free newsletter (which comes with an excerpt from Domitrz's book, May I Kiss You).

There are two related blogs directed towards more specific audiences: Educators and Activists Share and Parenting Your Teen. Both are loaded with practical advice and ideas.   

I was thrilled to come across the Date Safe Project and am grateful to Mike Domitrz for leading such an important and effective mission. I love that someone, particularly a man, cares enough to dedicate his life to protecting the sexual and emotional health of young people.

Blog Review: The Happiness Project

How long have people been writing about the path to happiness? How many joyologists have you seen on television? How many life coaches have published books on seeking happiness? I cannot even imagine. However, I just found a fascinating new blog that sifts through them all called The Happiness Project.

Gretchen Rubin writes about her experiences as she gathers these various philosophies and reports on "what works and what doesn't." The Happiness Project is also soon to be a memoir published by Harper Collins in late 2009.

Gretchen is not being the least bit ironic or mocking with this project; this is an earnest, sincere project. But she is also a critical thinker who does not peddle in platitudes or treacle. She pulls from many different sources, like Tyler Cowan's Discover Your Inner Economist. What does economics have to do with happiness? Read the post. In fact, Gretchen can pull together Alicia Silverstone, G. K. Chesterton, and St. Therese of Lisieux in a way that completely makes sense.

Wednesday is Tip Day, with posts like 9 tips to make TV-watching a source of happiness and 17 tips for coping with a medical catastrophe. I was happy to read that Gretchen sends out a monthly newsletter with highlights from the blog. I may sign up for that.

Best of all, Gretchen believes everyone should have a happiness project. That will take considerably more commitment than reading her newsletter, but it is an intriguing idea. What do I have to lose? Meanwhile, I leave you with Gretchen's Twelve Commandments, which I love:

1. Be Gretchen.

2. Let it go.

3. Act as I would feel.

4. Do it now.

5. Be polite and be fair.

6. Enjoy the process.

7. Spend out.

8. Identify the problem.

9. Lighten up.

10. Do what ought to be done.

11. No calculation.

12. There is only love.

The Exercise Pill?

Have you hear they made a new pill that substitutes for exercise?

Now don't get too excited. The pill -- actually, two different pills -- have only been tested on mice and are not yet available for humans.

Here's what people are saying about it.

The New York Times points out the difference between the two pills and discusses alternate uses for the drugs.

I love Crabby's thoughts on the pill on Cranky Fitness. Cheating? Yes! Intriguing? I'm afraid so.

According to an article in Scientific America, "the pill may also be useful in treating debilitating muscular disorders such as muscular dystrophy as well as metabolic diseases such as diabetes, because it also appears to help the body use and remove sugar from the blood more effectively."

Wired's coverage of the story includes misgivings by Darrell Neufer, a professor of sports medicine specializing in cellular energy systems at East Carolina University.

Science Daily mentions that the drugs could be used as a new treatment and prevention of human metabolic syndrome, obesity and its harmful consequences. 

Finding Dulcinea states the obvious: mice are not men.

Ransom Riggs at Mental Floss doubts that a pill could replace all of the benefits of exercise, especially the mental benefits.

This article in the Huffington Post should extinguish any lingering hopes that the exercise pills are the next get-out-of-exercising-free card.

And now for something clear on the other end of the spectrum, have you ever considered the high price of raising an Olympian?

Blog Review: Junkfood Science

I read a lot of health-related news stories and I probably take their accuracy for granted too often. Did the reporter cherry-pick data points from a report? Does the reporter understand the subject well enough to represent it correctly? It's hard to know without examining the study or report itself. Lately I've been following up my health news reading with a perusal of the blog, Junkfood Science.

I found Junkfood Science while reading about a story that made headlines a few weeks ago, new clinical guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics calling for cholesterol screenings in children from age two and serving only low-fat dairy from age one, and approving cholesterol-lowering drugs for children. Junkfood Science made a strong, multi-faceted case for why the cholesterol guidelines are alarming.

The author behind Junkfood Science is Sandy Szwarc, MSN, RN, CCP. It is her mission to examine health-related stories reported in the mainstream media. As she puts it:

Science is being misused for marketing and political purposes. Evidence is being distorted and bias has inundated media, research, government policies and clinical guidelines... And all of this is costing, frightening and hurting people... I believe people deserve to know the truth and not be taken advantage of, needlessly terrified or put at risk.

Szwarc brings with her the weight of her 30-plus years as a health professional: as a nurse, researcher, and most recently, a writer. She is a contributor to science and policy institutes in Washington D.C. She has over fifteen years' experience in professional and consumer medical publications and she has published articles in magazines and newspapers such as The Washington Post, Saveur, Los Angeles Times, and Gourmet.

Junkfood Science jumps into plenty of controversies and Szwarc has some very strong opinions. Many of the posts are about debunking long-held beliefs about health, such as advice to drink 8 glasses of water a day and to limit salt. Szwarc even takes on sugar.

It only takes a few minutes of reading to discover Szwarc's opinion on nutrition in the media: we worry too much about fats, cholesterol, and obesity. In fact, she fears our obsession is unhealthy, teaching counterproductive attitudes towards food and even depriving people of much-needed benefits from fat in food. Szwarc joins other writers like Nina Planck and Connie Leas who believe that the dangers of high-fat foods and of obesity are overblown and that it's more beneficial to just relax and enjoy a wide variety of foods.

In a post on a Time Magazine article about school lunches, Szwarc takes on the calorie/fat/salt-limiting approach to healthy eating, pointing out assumptions not supported by evidence. What's missing from the article, she says, is "the scientific information that could help parents and young people better understand the range of nutrients growing bodies need, and the heartening information to help them develop healthier, more relaxed relationships with food, eat normally and enjoy food."

I want to believe... and because Szwarc take such a thorough and critical look at the evidence, I find myself being persuaded by her point of view much of the time.

Most posts on Junkfood Science are on the long side. This is not the place for a quick read. Then again, her purpose is to inform, so she's giving you as much information as possible. There are no tags or archives, which makes searching for topics somewhat harder, though you can do the usual blogger search. Towards the bottom of the page you will find the "Obesity Paradox Series," a collection of Junkfood Science posts addressing the topic of obesity. 

Now when I read an article about children's diets or the dangers of cholesterol I wonder, "hmm, what does Suzy think?" I don't always have the time to find out, but I'm glad there's a knowledgeable, critical thinker out there reading health reports with a grain of salt.

Blog Review: MizFit

Since fitness blogger MizFit has been stopping by to say hello here at WELLalarm I thought I'd check out her blog, MizFit Onilne. What a treat! MizFit Online is almost like having your own personal trainer, giving you tips and encouraging you to keep going.

MizFit actually is a personal trainer offline with her own boutique studio and she shares her experience with the world at large through her blog. Her philosophy is that "the key to lifelong fitness success is a healthy helping of education, motivation and HUMOR." All three definitely come through on the blog.

One of the best things about MizFit Online are the videos. Every week MizFit does Monday Face Time, in which she talks directly to us with her musings or suggestions. In other videos she demonstrates the most effective way to do certain exercises, which I find especially helpful. She recently compiled several of these demonstration videos in this post. 

Tuesday is Tips/Trends day. On Tuesdays MizFit may give you a tip, like stocking your car with healthy, non-perishable snacks so when you're too busy to eat properly you won't be tempted to nosh on junk food. Or she may discuss a trend, like this hilarious rant about celebrities who make much ado about eating before their magazine cover shoot.

MizFit also loves food. She often uses the phrase "clean eating," which means consuming "High quality foods which are as free as you can get them of not-found-in-nature additives." Her philosophy is that clean eating is more satisfying -- MizFit does not believe in going hungry! She sometimes hosts guest chefs who share their favorite healthy recipes.

Regardless of the subject, MizFit keeps the tone fun and light. When I saw the post title "Don't Lie" I thought it would be about being honest with yourself about your health goals, etc. Nope. It's about Valerie Bertinelli's appearance on an episode of Oprah and the silly fitness vest she introduced. I love those kinds of surprises -- and I love that MizFit 1) admits to occasionally watching Oprah and 2) doesn't think you need the vest. Some of her readers did think the vest is a good idea, and that's all right with MizFit, too. She's here to support you in your quest to find the right kind of fitness for you.

Website Review: Peoplesmd.com

There are times when I sit down in front of my laptop to research a health issue and I feel like I'm completely on my own. I enter a topic and get hundreds of links -- but which ones are the most relevant to me? And how do I know if those websites are reliable? Is anyone else out there searching for the exact same information I am?

I've recently come across a website that can help all of us feel less alone in our searches: PeoplesMD. Founders Carl Sandler and David Alport created PeoplesMD to help people with similar health interests collaborate with each other while researching specific topics on the web.

Here's how PeoplesMD works: the website is organized by "communities" built around medical conditions and lifestyle & wellness topics -- anything from autism to weight loss. Within a community, members can create a "project," a more specific topic or a question. Members can then recommend websites for that project and vote for or comment on recommendations. You can also subscribe to a project and track comments and additions to it.

For example, in the Insomnia community there are three different projects: Finding a cure for insomnia without pills, Getting back to sleep naturally, and Help! I want to sleep better. Under each of these projects is a list of three or four recommended websites.

One of the features I like about PeoplesMD is that members must explain why their recommendation is important for a particular topic. This is what makes researching a topic on PeoplesMD different from looking up a topic on an Internet search engine: PeoplesMD members provide some context and justification for a recommended website. Many of the members are patients in process of educating themselves; other members are doctors who want to share their information with as many people as possible.

I also like that you don't have to be a member to take advantage of the information gathered on PeoplesMD. You can just show up and lurk! But you do have to sign up in order to start a community or project, recommend a website, or vote for a website. That said, in signing up you can maintain a high degree of anonymity if you want to.

PeoplesMD's graphics make it easy to navigate between communities and projects. The website also provides some Digg-like tools to make participating even easier. For example, the Peoplesmd toolbar enables you to recommend a website to a project whenever you're online, even if you're not on PeoplesMD. There's a PeoplesMD blog as well.

The founders of PeoplesMD have been careful in the wording on their website. This is "a knowledge platform built by people" where members "gather, discuss and rate the best web resources for any health issue." PeoplesMD is not a replacement for professional medical advice, and in fact many of the members make reference to the importance of discussing health issues with your doctor.

As with Trusera, PeoplesMD will become a more helpful helpful website in the future as greater numbers of people participate. Right now it is still in Beta form, though plenty of seeds have been planted since its inception in January of this year.

(Speaking of Trusera, I'd like to thank Jude for clarifying a few points on my post on Trusera.)

Blog Review: Cranky Fitness

Does exercising make you... cranky?

Fitness advocates love telling us about how good exercise makes us feel, how much energy it can give us, the endorphins! But honestly, fitness can be a real drag sometimes. There are days when you really have to motivate yourself to work out, and that last thing you need is some smiley swimsuit model urging you to keep going.

This is what I like about health and fitness blog Cranky Fitness. It's contributors, Crabby McSlacker and Merry Sunshine (um, not their real names), put fitness and health advice into perspective: yes, you should try to live fit and healthy, but be realistic in your expectations. I love the advice Crabby gives in her post, Biggest Diet and Exercise Mistake You Can Make: "In order to succeed at any worthwhile long-term health goal (exercise, diet, stress reduction, whatever) you have to Give up on Being Perfect."

Crabby and Merry do not try to pass themselves off as professional authorities on health and fitness, however, they do their homework and let you in on the sources of their advice. They're also very honest about their own frustrations and challenges. Yet for all the serious, frank talk what really makes Cranky Fitness a joy is the wry humor of Crabby and Merry, starting with the cupcakes in their masthead.

Cranky Fitness has a number of great features, including giveaways. The guest posts, like this one on why we should care if women hate their bodies, are excellent. Cranky Fitness will occasionally answer readers' questions. And there is an annual Cranky Fitness Exercise Review. I love Cranky Fitness just for Crabby's 10 Health Commandments. For all its ironic snarkiness, Cranky Fitness has a very earnest agenda: helping you feel good about yourself and your fitness efforts.