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A few weeks ago my daughter and I were at the mall doing some back-to-school shopping and walked by a kiosk selling what looked like cigarettes.  We both thought it was odd, but we assumed it must be some type of “quit smoking” devise.  But, on the way out we actually saw a man demonstrating this product which looked exactly like a cigarette (including the smoke).  I have to admit, it was very strange seeing someone smoke in a mall, you just don’t see that anymore (except for right outside the mall).  As we walked by I noticed a sign that claimed it was a “clean” way to smoke.  At the time we just rolled our eyes at the ridiculousness of it all, and wondered why anyone would want to pay money for something that looked like a cigarette but wasn’t?

Fast forward to a few days ago when I was asked to write a post about the controversy surrounding the e-cigarette.  I hadn’t heard of an e-cigarette, but after researching it, I realized it was the same thing we saw being sold at the mall.

After reading more about e-cigarettes, I have mixed feelings about their benefits.  On one hand, the manufacturers of the e-cigarettes are claiming they only want to give smokers an easier way to quit smoking.  But on the other hand, they are marketing the product by glamorizing a new “cleaner” way to smoke.  So what is it?  It’s clear the real motivation (as always) is in making money, not so much the health or best interest of the consumer.  And that’s why I’m happy to hear that the FDA is cracking down on these “questionable” products.

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TIME recently reported on a new study that suggests heavy drinkers outlive non-drinkers.  However, as usual with these studies, it’s not as cut and dry as the title suggests.

This latest study is a bit very misleading, especially for women.   First, it had less than 2,000 participants.  Second, only 37% of the participants were women (that’s just a few hundred women).  Considering the fact that there have been other studies on the harmful effects of alcohol on women, and that these studies have had over a million women participants, I’m not inclined to take this latest study very seriously.  It certainly wouldn’t be advised that a woman start drinking or increase her drinking based on this study.

Here are a few facts about the dangerous effects that alcohol (even in small amounts) can have on women…

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It’s no secret that I’m not fond of diet pills, and I’ve written quite a bit about my disdain for “Alli:  The Diarrhea Diet” over the last few years.  And it is now being reported that the prescription diet pill “Meridia” increases a person’s risk of heart attack and stroke.  Didn’t we learn anything from the whole “Fen-Phen” debacle?

When it comes to taking any medication, the first thing you have to do is determine if the benefits outweigh the risks of taking it.  So let’s take a look at the benefits.  It seems that Meridia offers less than a nine pound reduction in weight.  But is this really a benefit?  This is a drug that is prescribed by physicians to “obese” patients (people that need to lose a lot of weight before they will see any health benefits), so a nine pound reduction in weight hardly seems to be worth the risk.

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What are you doing right now?  Aside from reading this post, you are most likely sitting somewhere.  On your couch?  At your desk?  In a chair?  Wherever you find yourself sitting, I’m sure that it won’t come as a surprise to you, that sitting isn’t good for your health.  But did you know that it is so bad for your health that it could be taking years off of your life?

It’s true.

Unfortunately, I can’t even say that I’m setting a good example for any of you by doing something other than sitting on the couch with my laptop myself.  However, this new study did get me thinking about ways I might be able to do less sitting, and I think I am going to give a few of them a try (tomorrow).

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These days we need to do everything we can to help ourselves look and feel healthier. We have more work, more worries, more responsibilities — and all of this can take a real toll on how we look and feel.  But there are simple things we can do to rejuvenate ourselves inside and out.  Here are my top ten tips for looking and feeling healthier.

1.  Drink enough water

This is a big one, because there is no way to be healthy and dehydrated, our bodies need water.  Make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day, and remember that soda, coffee, and alcoholic beverages don’t count as hydration.   Also See:  Staying Healthy And Hydrated

Another benefit of drinking water.  Drinking Water Before Meals To Lose Weight – A new study found that middle-aged and older adults who drank two cups of water before each meal consumed fewer calories and lost more weight than those who skipped drinking water.

2.  Eat more healthy foods than unhealthy foods

You don’t have to be a health nut, but at least try to incorporate healthy foods into your diet whenever possible.  Try this – For a week keep track of what foods you’re eating each day.  At the end of the week examine your list and determine if you are eating more healthy foods than unhealthy ones.  Then find ways you can replace some of the unhealthy stuff with healthy stuff.  Also See:  Getting Reacquainted With Health Food

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I recently wrote a post about the controversial proposal of making birth control pills available over-the-counter, and in even more controversial news, on Friday the FDA approved a new (prescription only) emergency contraceptive.  This new emergency contraception is not the morning after pill, but it’s not an abortion pill either.

From The New York Times…

Federal drug regulators on Friday approved a new form of emergency contraceptive pill that prevents pregnancies if taken as many as five days after unprotected intercourse.
. . .
Women who have unprotected intercourse have about 1 chance in 20 of becoming pregnant. Those who take Plan B within three days cut that risk to about 1 in 40, while those who take ella would cut that risk to about 1 in 50, regulators say.

The controversy surrounding emergency contraceptives comes mainly from the pro-life (or anti-abortion) community, which is confusing to me because there are hopes that these medications could someday reduce the need for clinical abortions.  The main sticking point seems to be that this group of people believe that life begins the moment of conception (or fertilization), and that these emergency contraception medications “abort” a fertilized egg.

Read the full post at BlogHer Health & Wellness

Are you honest about your weight?  Although I would prefer not to be asked, when I am asked, it never occurs to me to lie about it.

It used to be that women were thought to always lie about their age and weight, but a new CDC study finds that Americans are becoming more honest (at least about) their weight.  To be honest, I didn’t even know that there were studies measuring the number of people who lie about their weight.  It seems a little odd, but who am I to judge?

The new report also found that in nine states at least 30 percent of the adults were obese in 2009. The states were Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Mississippi, the highest at 34 percent. In 2007, only Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee topped 30 percent.

No states met a national goal for 2010 of limiting obesity to 15 percent. Only Colorado and the District of Columbia were lower than 20 percent, and just barely.

It did get me thinking a bit  about why?  Why are Americans becoming more honest about their weight, especially considering that obesity is on the rise?

Could it be that we are finally getting to the point of loving and accepting ourselves, even with our perceived imperfections?  That wouldn’t be so bad, maybe those Dove ads (you know, the ones using average and plus size models) are having an impact on how we see ourselves.  What ever the reason, if women are feeling better about themselves, I think that’s wonderful.  Anyway, that’s my idealistic way of looking at this story, and I think it could be true.

However, it seems the researchers have their own opinion (go figure), and it does make sense.  They believe that because of all the press coverage over the ever growing obesity epidemic (and the health problems associated with it), that Americans are becoming more aware of their weight and therefore more honest.  The benefit to this observation would be that Americans are becoming concerned about the health risks of being overweight (rather than the stigma), and are keeping a closer eye on it.  In the long run (idealistically), this change in behavior may actually prove to be the catalyst to American’s changing their eating habits from unhealthy to healthy, and that would be a good thing.  Wouldn’t it be great to go from a society facing an obesity epidemic, to a society facing a healthy living epidemic?

*cross-posted to BlogHer Health & Wellness

Is it time to start selling birth control pills over-the-counter (OTC)?

The easy answer is, yes.

But is it really an easy question to answer? No. Remember, we are living in a country where many parents are still against condoms being available to students, and where many schools are teaching abstinence only in place of sex-ed classes. I’m thinking this isn’t going to be as easy of a switch as some of these articles make it appear.

From The New York Times Op-Ed — Let the Pill Go Free:

The pill meets F.D.A. criteria for over-the-counter medications. Women don’t need a doctor to tell them whether they need the pill — they know when they are sexually active and want to avoid pregnancy. Pill instructions are easy to follow: Take one each day. There’s no chance of becoming addicted. Taking too many will make you nauseated, but won’t endanger your life, in contrast to some over-the-counter drugs, like analgesics. (There are even side benefits to taking the pill, like reduced risks of ovarian and uterine cancer.)

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Would you take a pill that promised to make you smarter?  That could help you do better on tests?  Give you the energy to be more productive?  Make you feel more alert?

It is possible, but not without risks.

What are smart drugs?

Smart drugs are really just prescription stimulants (Dexedrine, Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta) that have been used to successfully treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) for many years now. However, when a person without one of these medical conditions takes these drugs, it’s basically a prescription “upper” that gives the user a feeling of being able to conquer any task, along with the ability to stay up longer to complete it.

There is another class of drugs known as eugeroics (ie: Provigil) that work to block chemicals in the brain that cause fatigue and in-turn provide the user with a feeling of alertness.  These medications were originally used to treat narcolepsy, and excessive sleepiness due to medical conditions or shift-work.

You can see why college students are gravitating to these drugs, but do they give them an unfair advantage over students that aren’t using them?

It’s important to remember that these are addictive narcotics with many dangerous side effects. Even so, students and professionals are still using them to get an edge over their competition.

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Getting Reacquainted With Healthy Food- This is a post I originally did for BlogHer in 2008, but since it still applies now, I thought I would share it here on the Choose You Blog.

For the last few weeks I’ve been making an attempt at eating healthy. And usually this is where I would tell you that I’ve failed miserably. But, I’m happy to report that I have actually been doing pretty well. I think it is in part because, around the same time I decided that I couldn’t afford to gain another pound, I got an email from Elaine Magee. Funny how we get what we need, just when  we need it.

Anyway, Elaine is the Healthy Recipe Doctor at WebMD, and she wanted to tell me about her newest book Food Synergy. Even better, she said if I wanted a copy she would send me one. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Evidence is mounting that certain components in the food we eat and drink (minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals, fiber, smart fats, etc.) interact to provide our bodies extra disease protection and a higher level of health. This advanced nutrition science is called food synergy.

Food synergy is like adding 1 plus 1 and getting 4 or 6 instead of 2; the total is greater than the sum of the individual parts (or nutrients).

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