How to Make Oatmeal . . . Wrong
By MARK BITTMAN
The New York Times
There’s a feeling of inevitability in writing about McDonald’s latest offering, their “bowl full of wholesome” — also known as oatmeal. The leading fast-food multinational, with sales over $16.5 billion a year (just under the GDP of Afghanistan), represents a great deal of what is wrong with American food today. From a marketing perspective, they can do almost nothing wrong; from a nutritional perspective, they can do almost nothing right, as the oatmeal fiasco demonstrates.
One “positive” often raised about McDonald’s is that it sells calories cheap. But since many of these calories are in forms detrimental rather than beneficial to our health and to the environment, they’re actually quite expensive — the costs aren’t seen at the cash register but in the form of high health care bills and environmental degradation.
Oatmeal is on the other end of the food spectrum. Real oatmeal contains no ingredients; rather, it is an ingredient. As such, it’s a promising lifesaver: oats are easy to grow in almost any non-extreme climate and, minimally processed, they’re profoundly nourishing, inexpensive and ridiculously easy to cook. They can even be eaten raw, but more on that in a moment.
Like so many other venerable foods, oatmeal has been roundly abused by food marketers for more than 40 years. Take, for example, Quaker Strawberries and Cream Instant Oatmeal, which contains no strawberries, no cream, 12 times the sugars of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats and only half of the fiber. At least it’s inexpensive, less than 50 cents a packet on average. (A serving of cooked rolled oats will set you back half that at most, plus the cost of condiments; of course, it’ll be much better in every respect.)
The oatmeal and McDonald’s story broke late last year, when Mickey D’s, in its ongoing effort to tell us that it’s offering “a selection of balanced choices” (and to keep in step with arch-rival Starbucks) began to sell the cereal. Yet in typical McDonald’s fashion, the company is doing everything it can to turn oatmeal into yet another bad choice. (Not only that, they’ve made it more expensive than a double-cheeseburger: $2.38 per serving in New York.) “Cream” (which contains seven ingredients, two of them actual dairy) is automatically added; brown sugar is ostensibly optional, but it’s also added routinely unless a customer specifically requests otherwise. There are also diced apples, dried cranberries and raisins, the least processed of the ingredients (even the oatmeal contains seven ingredients, including “natural flavor”).
A more accurate description than “100% natural whole-grain oats,” “plump raisins,” “sweet cranberries” and “crisp fresh apples” would be “oats, sugar, sweetened dried fruit, cream and 11 weird ingredients you would never keep in your kitchen.”
Since we know there are barely any rules governing promotion of foods, one might wonder how this compares to real oatmeal, besides being 10 times as expensive. Some will say that it tastes better, but that’s because they’re addicted to sickly sweet foods, which is what this bowlful of wholesome is.
Others will argue that the McDonald’s version is more “convenient.” This is nonsense; in the time it takes to go into a McDonald’s, stand in line, order, wait, pay and leave, you could make oatmeal for four while taking your vitamins, brushing your teeth and half-unloading the dishwasher. (If you’re too busy to eat it before you leave the house, you could throw it in a container and microwave it at work.
To Read the Rest of the Commentary
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Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Silas House: My Polluted Kentucky Home
My Polluted Kentucky Home
By SILAS HOUSE
The New York Times
Berea, Ky.
LAST weekend I joined 19 other Kentuckians in a sit-in at the office of Gov. Steve Beshear. We were there to protest his support of mountaintop removal, a technique used by coal-mining companies that, as its name implies, involves blasting away the tops of mountains and hills to get at the coal seams beneath them.
Since it was first used in 1970, mountaintop removal has destroyed some 500 mountains and poisoned at least 1,200 miles of rivers and streams across the Appalachian coal-mining region. Yet Governor Beshear is so committed to the practice that he recently allied with the Kentucky Coal Association in a suit against the Environmental Protection Agency to block more stringent regulations of it. In court his administration’s lawyers referred to public opposition as simply “an unwarranted burden.”
The news media and the rest of the country typically think of mountaintop removal as an environmental problem. But it’s a human crisis as well, scraping away not just coal but also the freedoms of Appalachian residents, people who have always been told they are of less value than the resources they live above.
Over the past six years I’ve visited dozens of people who live at the edge of mountaintop removal sites. They bathe their children in water that has arsenic levels as high as 130 times what the E.P.A. deems safe to drink.
Their roads are routinely destroyed by overloaded trucks; their air is clouded with pollutants. Their schools sit below ponds holding billions of gallons of sludge. Their children lose sleep worrying that the sludge dams will break, releasing the sludge down upon them. It happened 40 years ago at Buffalo Creek, W.Va., killing 125 people, and it could happen again today.
It’s a horrible way to live. And yet, as it does in many other impoverished quarters of America, the news too often avoids covering Appalachia as if it were a no man’s land.
When a 3-year-old Virginia boy was crushed to death in his crib after a half-ton boulder was accidentally (and illegally) dislodged by a mining company, it barely made the national news. Many people around here believe the omission reflected that the child lived in a trailer home in the heart of coal country.
In 2000, 306 million gallons of sludge — 30 times more than the volume of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez — buried parts of Martin County, Ky., as deep as 5 feet. Yet hardly anyone outside the region remembers the disaster, if they ever heard about it.
More recently, my friend Judy’s grandson was playing in a creek when he was suddenly surrounded by dozens of dead fish. Tests later proved that a coal company was releasing polyacrylamide — a cancer-causing agent used to prepare coal for burning — into the creek. When Judy complained to the state, no one replied. She recently died of brain cancer.
I’ve heard dozens of stories like these, but they rarely make it beyond the mountains. Is it any wonder then that Appalachian residents feel invisible?
In fact, invisible is how we’ve been taught to think of ourselves since coal was first discovered here. When I was little, teachers would stand over my desk and tell me that I had to change my accent if I wanted to get ahead in the world. Never mind that I had nearly perfect grammar and spelling.
We were also told the success of the mines mattered above all else, that if we complained about the dust, noise and disrespect pumped out by the mine in our community, people would lose jobs.
To Read the Rest of the Commentary
By SILAS HOUSE
The New York Times
Berea, Ky.
LAST weekend I joined 19 other Kentuckians in a sit-in at the office of Gov. Steve Beshear. We were there to protest his support of mountaintop removal, a technique used by coal-mining companies that, as its name implies, involves blasting away the tops of mountains and hills to get at the coal seams beneath them.
Since it was first used in 1970, mountaintop removal has destroyed some 500 mountains and poisoned at least 1,200 miles of rivers and streams across the Appalachian coal-mining region. Yet Governor Beshear is so committed to the practice that he recently allied with the Kentucky Coal Association in a suit against the Environmental Protection Agency to block more stringent regulations of it. In court his administration’s lawyers referred to public opposition as simply “an unwarranted burden.”
The news media and the rest of the country typically think of mountaintop removal as an environmental problem. But it’s a human crisis as well, scraping away not just coal but also the freedoms of Appalachian residents, people who have always been told they are of less value than the resources they live above.
Over the past six years I’ve visited dozens of people who live at the edge of mountaintop removal sites. They bathe their children in water that has arsenic levels as high as 130 times what the E.P.A. deems safe to drink.
Their roads are routinely destroyed by overloaded trucks; their air is clouded with pollutants. Their schools sit below ponds holding billions of gallons of sludge. Their children lose sleep worrying that the sludge dams will break, releasing the sludge down upon them. It happened 40 years ago at Buffalo Creek, W.Va., killing 125 people, and it could happen again today.
It’s a horrible way to live. And yet, as it does in many other impoverished quarters of America, the news too often avoids covering Appalachia as if it were a no man’s land.
When a 3-year-old Virginia boy was crushed to death in his crib after a half-ton boulder was accidentally (and illegally) dislodged by a mining company, it barely made the national news. Many people around here believe the omission reflected that the child lived in a trailer home in the heart of coal country.
In 2000, 306 million gallons of sludge — 30 times more than the volume of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez — buried parts of Martin County, Ky., as deep as 5 feet. Yet hardly anyone outside the region remembers the disaster, if they ever heard about it.
More recently, my friend Judy’s grandson was playing in a creek when he was suddenly surrounded by dozens of dead fish. Tests later proved that a coal company was releasing polyacrylamide — a cancer-causing agent used to prepare coal for burning — into the creek. When Judy complained to the state, no one replied. She recently died of brain cancer.
I’ve heard dozens of stories like these, but they rarely make it beyond the mountains. Is it any wonder then that Appalachian residents feel invisible?
In fact, invisible is how we’ve been taught to think of ourselves since coal was first discovered here. When I was little, teachers would stand over my desk and tell me that I had to change my accent if I wanted to get ahead in the world. Never mind that I had nearly perfect grammar and spelling.
We were also told the success of the mines mattered above all else, that if we complained about the dust, noise and disrespect pumped out by the mine in our community, people would lose jobs.
To Read the Rest of the Commentary
FORA TV: Michael Pollan on Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
Michael Pollan on Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
FORA TV
Michael Pollan, one of the best-known names in food-related issues, offers a guide about health and food. Food Rules: An Eater's Manual is a set of memorable ideas for eating wisely. Many of them are drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is for people who would like to become more mindful of what they are eating.
Pollan is the author of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire.
To Watch the Presentation
FORA TV
Michael Pollan, one of the best-known names in food-related issues, offers a guide about health and food. Food Rules: An Eater's Manual is a set of memorable ideas for eating wisely. Many of them are drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is for people who would like to become more mindful of what they are eating.
Pollan is the author of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire.
To Watch the Presentation
CrimethInc: Sex Tips for Restless Youth
Sex Tips for Restless Youth
CrimethInc.
Do you experience sexual problems? Do you have trouble getting aroused, or having sex that is fulfilling, or simply meeting the right partners to share that aspect of your life? Chances are you do—just have a look at the magazine rack in any grocery store, and it's clear from all the advice columns and feature articles just how sexually lost and frustrated modern men and women are. Unfortunately, these magazines only offer symptomatic treatment (otherwise, they wouldn't have to run the same articles over and over every month!), no real, radical solutions. And to date, few people have really dared to be open about their troubles, thanks to the social pressures to be "successful" in all affairs. So, in keeping with our general program of providing aid wherever it is needed, we offer some tips:
--Stop trying to make your sexuality serve in your efforts to be a good citizen (responsive lover, macho man, etc.)—it won't, it will just go on strike. Better to serve it, if serving must be done.
--Stop trying to make your sex life (or romance, or anything else, for that matter), by itself, provide you with qualities that should be intrinsic to every moment of your life. It is not the role of your sexuality to be your sole source of excitement, or intimacy, or pleasure—it is the role of sex to be just that, to be sex. If you feel trapped or insecure or bored everywhere else, you will probably have a hard time shaking off those feelings in bed.
--If your idea of seventh heaven is having perfect sex with a beautiful partner, dispel it. Heaven cannot be an isolated moment of life; it has to be a complete way of living, or else it will be just another barren myth to denigrate and impoverish the moments of our real experience. Better that we find ways to make every moment of life as exciting as great sex can be (and believe me, it can be done!), considering that we can't have sex all the time—such a thing would get boring, anyway, since living has so many facets we must not neglect! You can feel and share passion as deeply while building puppets for street demonstrations together, sneaking onto rooftops for late night conversations, or stowing away on ferryboats. Most people just haven't had the chance to be free and wild together anywhere outside the bedroom yet—and consequently, it hardly comes naturally between the sheets.
--Rescue your sexuality from the definitions and delineations slipped around it like a noose by external forces: the leering billboards and romantic comedies, the expectations of your friends and parents and paramours, the television programs and other social programming devices that would dictate desire and limit the erotic to the strictly sexual. The powers that be have everything at stake in keeping your sexuality emaciated and confined to the specific act of physical intercourse, to one routine and one partner and one ghettoized category, so you won't discover in it the freedom that you could be living around the clock, outside their control, beyond their target markets. But one step outside the lines, and the world is yours.
--And that means throwing out your pornography. Pornography isn't obscene because it's sexual, but because it's not—replace the representation with the real, in every instance, for maximum possibility. Masturbation is a beautiful thing, but don't let the pornography industry buy out your libido. A two-dimensional woman, no matter how trangressively posed, will do exactly what you command her and no more: that means she can never challenge you with her own needs or perspectives, never open new doors to you, never assert her selfhood. That refusal to be challenged is a rejection of the vast expanses of freedom that can only be reached with others. We should be wary of giving our fantasies such slaves to rule over, lest we learn to fetishize the violence of domination implied by such one-sided sex—and end up living in the sterile, determinist world of control mania. Do you want to explore, to reach unimaginable climaxes, to try out things you've never seen in movies? Do it with other people—they are out there. Let them know you're ready.
Sexuality as art—now there's a start. But more art "about" sexuality? It's doubtful that the world of images will ever belong to us again . . . that's just another diversion of our attention to that domain from this world, where we should be practicing doing, being, feeling with one another, not with the dangerous safety of an object. Make love and speak about your best kept secrets, your blackest needs, the demands the culture of fear places on your sexuality, held hostage as it is (never fear, you're not the only one who thinks you have things to hide—your secret's safe with all of us!) . . . We can get out of here, together, but first we have to be honest to figure out where the fuck we are!
To find indulgences that simultaneously satisfy and subvert our programmed, poisonous desires, and thus remake ourselves—that is the key.
Link to the Text
CrimethInc.
Do you experience sexual problems? Do you have trouble getting aroused, or having sex that is fulfilling, or simply meeting the right partners to share that aspect of your life? Chances are you do—just have a look at the magazine rack in any grocery store, and it's clear from all the advice columns and feature articles just how sexually lost and frustrated modern men and women are. Unfortunately, these magazines only offer symptomatic treatment (otherwise, they wouldn't have to run the same articles over and over every month!), no real, radical solutions. And to date, few people have really dared to be open about their troubles, thanks to the social pressures to be "successful" in all affairs. So, in keeping with our general program of providing aid wherever it is needed, we offer some tips:
--Stop trying to make your sexuality serve in your efforts to be a good citizen (responsive lover, macho man, etc.)—it won't, it will just go on strike. Better to serve it, if serving must be done.
--Stop trying to make your sex life (or romance, or anything else, for that matter), by itself, provide you with qualities that should be intrinsic to every moment of your life. It is not the role of your sexuality to be your sole source of excitement, or intimacy, or pleasure—it is the role of sex to be just that, to be sex. If you feel trapped or insecure or bored everywhere else, you will probably have a hard time shaking off those feelings in bed.
--If your idea of seventh heaven is having perfect sex with a beautiful partner, dispel it. Heaven cannot be an isolated moment of life; it has to be a complete way of living, or else it will be just another barren myth to denigrate and impoverish the moments of our real experience. Better that we find ways to make every moment of life as exciting as great sex can be (and believe me, it can be done!), considering that we can't have sex all the time—such a thing would get boring, anyway, since living has so many facets we must not neglect! You can feel and share passion as deeply while building puppets for street demonstrations together, sneaking onto rooftops for late night conversations, or stowing away on ferryboats. Most people just haven't had the chance to be free and wild together anywhere outside the bedroom yet—and consequently, it hardly comes naturally between the sheets.
--Rescue your sexuality from the definitions and delineations slipped around it like a noose by external forces: the leering billboards and romantic comedies, the expectations of your friends and parents and paramours, the television programs and other social programming devices that would dictate desire and limit the erotic to the strictly sexual. The powers that be have everything at stake in keeping your sexuality emaciated and confined to the specific act of physical intercourse, to one routine and one partner and one ghettoized category, so you won't discover in it the freedom that you could be living around the clock, outside their control, beyond their target markets. But one step outside the lines, and the world is yours.
--And that means throwing out your pornography. Pornography isn't obscene because it's sexual, but because it's not—replace the representation with the real, in every instance, for maximum possibility. Masturbation is a beautiful thing, but don't let the pornography industry buy out your libido. A two-dimensional woman, no matter how trangressively posed, will do exactly what you command her and no more: that means she can never challenge you with her own needs or perspectives, never open new doors to you, never assert her selfhood. That refusal to be challenged is a rejection of the vast expanses of freedom that can only be reached with others. We should be wary of giving our fantasies such slaves to rule over, lest we learn to fetishize the violence of domination implied by such one-sided sex—and end up living in the sterile, determinist world of control mania. Do you want to explore, to reach unimaginable climaxes, to try out things you've never seen in movies? Do it with other people—they are out there. Let them know you're ready.
Sexuality as art—now there's a start. But more art "about" sexuality? It's doubtful that the world of images will ever belong to us again . . . that's just another diversion of our attention to that domain from this world, where we should be practicing doing, being, feeling with one another, not with the dangerous safety of an object. Make love and speak about your best kept secrets, your blackest needs, the demands the culture of fear places on your sexuality, held hostage as it is (never fear, you're not the only one who thinks you have things to hide—your secret's safe with all of us!) . . . We can get out of here, together, but first we have to be honest to figure out where the fuck we are!
To find indulgences that simultaneously satisfy and subvert our programmed, poisonous desires, and thus remake ourselves—that is the key.
Link to the Text
~SJP Is A Red Carpet Hit At The “Did You Hear About The Morgans?” London Premiere~
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“I like my money right where I can see it... hanging in my closet.” -"Carrie Bradshaw" SATC
Sarah Jessica Parker is one of my favorite red carpet darlings and she never disappoints... At the London premiere of “Did You Hear About The Morgans?” she wowed the crowd and lit up the red carpet in a fuchsia L’Wren Scott jacquard mini dress, phenomenal Charlotte Olympia platform heels and a stunning S. J. Phillips reptile necklace...
Some Pix Courtesy of "Red Carpet Fashion Awards" <~GREAT site!!
Kisses Bitches...
Glamour Whore...xoxo
“I like my money right where I can see it... hanging in my closet.” -"Carrie Bradshaw" SATC
Sarah Jessica Parker is one of my favorite red carpet darlings and she never disappoints... At the London premiere of “Did You Hear About The Morgans?” she wowed the crowd and lit up the red carpet in a fuchsia L’Wren Scott jacquard mini dress, phenomenal Charlotte Olympia platform heels and a stunning S. J. Phillips reptile necklace...
Some Pix Courtesy of "Red Carpet Fashion Awards" <~GREAT site!!
Kisses Bitches...
Glamour Whore...xoxo
~Just In Case...~ http://www.justincaseinc.com/
Follow my blog with bloglovin´
Ok, no more excuses!! That's right, you no longer have any excuse not to take charge and be in control...of your sex life!! You read it right. Yes, normally Glamour Whore is where you read about the latest beauty products, jewelry, fashion and all that glitters...well today that list includes SAFE SEX. Yup. Look, there is nothing sexier or more glamorous than a woman in control. It is 2009, and I still have friends who are embarrassed to buy, let alone carry condoms. I will even admit to blushing while purchasing the oh so necessary "latex accessories" (Glamour Whore's lingo for condom). However, thanks to a fabulous company called "Just In Case", I'm actually anxious to go out and make an illicit purchase... Yup, I said it, I wanna pick up some latex accessories to put in my GORGEOUS lil condom case. "Just In Case" makes the most darling lil condom cases, so chic you will be running to CVS just to have a reason to carry one. So discreet no one will ever know, but you'll wanna tell because you will be dying to show all of your girlfriends that even your birth control/protection is trendy and fashion forward. Take a look...
http://www.justincaseinc.com/
My favorite is the "Classic Bling"
Kisses Bitches...
Glamour Whore xoxo
http://www.justincaseinc.com/
My favorite is the "Classic Bling"
Kisses Bitches...
Glamour Whore xoxo
Patrick Swayze's Pancreatic Cancer Confirmed
Patrick Swayze's pancreatic cancer ailment rumor is true, the beloved Hollywood actor's rep has confirmed in a statement to TMZ.com:
"Actor Patrick Swayze has been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. Patrick's physician Dr. George Fisher states, 'Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far. All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic.' Patrick is continuing his normal schedule during this time, which includes working on upcoming projects. The outpouring of support and concern he has already received from the public is deeply appreciated by Patrick and his family."
Pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest of all cancers, is the formation of malignant cancer cells and tumors in the tissues of the pancreas. The average life expectancy for the disease is six to nine months, with only four percent of patients living more than five years. Source
Patrick Swayze Cancer: Patrick Swayze Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer and Has 5 Weeks to Live?
Dirty Dancing star: Patrick Swayze (photo source: DailyMail)
Sad news! It seems that the movie goers in the world will soon lose a great actor. He is Patrick Swayze! According to National Enquirer, the American actor who the hearts of audiences worldwide for his Dirty Dancing and Ghost has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has only five weeks to live.
Patrick Swayze has five weeks to live, The NATIONAL ENQUIRER has learned.
In a shocking world exclusive, The NATIONAL ENQUIRER has uncovered the devastating news that the beloved Hollywood actor and dancer was diagnosed in late January with pancreatic cancer that has spread to other organs.
For the past month, Patrick, 55, has been traveling to Stanford University's prestigious cancer center in Palo Alto for radical chemotherapy, but his doctors are no longer optimistic that the treatments will be successful.
Patrick and his wife Lisa Niemi — who both have pilot's licenses — have been flying their private Beechcraft plane into Palo Alto's airport, minutes away from the Stanford Cancer Center, where the actor has received outpatient treatment.
He received three doses of chemotherapy and the tumor shrank, but less than his doctors had hoped for — and Patrick was told he should prepare for the end.
"He was told he could have two more treatments, but his cancer was not responding. In short - they held out little hope for a cure," said an insider.
Update: Patrick Swayze might not have cancer, Perez Hilton writes:
...a very good source just told us the following:
"Patrick has been at rehearsals for a new cheer leading movie at century city studio frequently lately, and he definitely does not look like he has 5 more weeks of life left…im not sure of his medical condition(s), but if he is gravely ill, he is hiding it very well."
Amy Winehouse Impetigo: Bacterial Rash Blamed For Amy Winehouse's Swollen Face
The truth behind why Grammy-winning singer Amy Winehouse had a swollen face has been revealed. The drug addicted star has been diagnosed with impetigo, a bacterial skin infection resulting in blistering and an itchy rash.
Amy's spokesman told the News of the World: "Amy has been diagnosed with impetigo which she's been told can be highly contagious. Because of that se's been put on antibiotics and may have to stay home alone for the next few days."
Dr Hilary Jones agreed and speculated on other causes of such swelling and bruising:
"I think the most likely explanation is a direct blow, either accidental or deliberate. A skin complaint wouldn't cause swelling."
"It could be she's walked into a door or fallen over--which is very likely with her drug habit."
Jennifer Marnell, the Woman Lost 180 Pounds Without Surgery Or Diet Pills
Jennifer Marnell weighed 300 pounds before ( picture left) and weighs 120 pounds now (right) via
Jennifer Marnell, 30, who had weighed at a whopping 300 pounds, dropped her weight down to 120 pounds in the past two and a half years!
Marnell struggled with her weight by exercising in group fitness classes at gym and ate a low-fat, low-calorie diet. She lost 180 pounds eventually.
Now she is a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor and provides personal training advice on her Web site http://www.fitbyjen.com/.
According to Marnell's own weight loss experience, one of the most important lessons is emotional eating.
"You've got to learn to talk through your problems instead of using food. An alcoholic can't just have one drink. I will never eat a Snickers bar because that is my one weakness ... the one thing I won't have." CNN quoted Marnell as saying.
Swollen Amy Winehouse
Click here for one more picture of a swollen Wino. So far nobody knows what caused Amy Winehouse to have inflammation in her face.
High Dose Vitamin E May Raise Lung Cancer Risk
Picture credit: Lifespan.org
Vitamin E [wikipedia] is well-known to be an antioxidant for protecting cell membranes from oxidation by reacting with lipid radicals produced in the lipid peroxidation chain reaction. Usually it is believed harmless, but now you need to think again!
In a study led by Dr Christopher Slatore of the University of Washington in Seattle, it was found taking high doses of vitamin E supplements can increase the risk of lung cancer. The research results was published the March Issue of American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
The US study of 77,000 people found taking 400 milligrams per day long-term increased cancer risk by 28% - with smokers at particular risk.
The researchers followed people aged between 50 and 76 for four years and looked at their average daily use of vitamin C and folic acid, and vitamin E supplements.
Over the course of the study, 521 people developed lung cancer.
Smoking, family history and age all had unsurprisingly strong links to cancer risk.
And while neither vitamin C or folic acid use had any effect on lung cancer risk, vitamin E use did.
The researchers extrapolated their findings, and concluded that over a decade, there was an additional 7% increase in risk for every 100 milligrams taken per day.
The vitamin E trend was most prominent among smokers, but was not confined to them.
But the US researchers speculate that, in high doses, it may also act as a pro-oxidant - causing oxidation and therefore damage to cells.
Source: BBC
Ashleigh Morris, A Girl Who Suffers WATER Allergy
Ashleigh Morris (picture below), a teenager girl from Australia Melbourne, suffers from water allergy, an extremely rare skin disorder called Aquagenic Urticaria [also known as Water Urticaria and Aquagenous Urticaria, wiki]-- that there are fewer than 30 cases documented in the world. She was prescribed a heavy dose of penicillin that rid her of the tonsillitis in 2003 but left her with this such an unusual condition by changing the histamine levels in the body. How miserable she is!
Teenager Ashleigh Morris can't go swimming, soak in a hot bath or enjoy a shower after a stressful day's work - she's allergic to water.
Even sweating brings the 19-year-old out in a painful rash.
Ashleigh, from Melbourne, Australia, is allergic to water of any temperature, a condition she's lived with since she was 14.
She suffers from an extremely rare skin disorder called Aquagenic Urticaria - so unusual that only a handful of cases are documented worldwide.
When Ashleigh gets wet her body explodes in sore, itchy red lumps that take about two hours to ease.
...
Ashleigh spends a lot of time explaining her condition because few people have heard of it. Most doctors and dermatologists have never seen a case of it. "Many people don't even believe me when I tell them," said Ashleigh, who hardly believed it herself at first.
Best wishes for Morris! Source: Daily Mail
"I'm Feeling Lucky" Condoms
"I'm Feeling Lucky" is a button on Google homepage which automatically takes one to the first web page returned for his/her query. You know? It can cost Google $110 million in annual revenue! Even though Google still refuses to remove it. Why? Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president for search products and user experience, said "If we took it away, there would be mass protests worldwide."
Apparently, "I'm Feeling Lucky" is not just a button, but also something else. The famous sex blogger/columnist/writer Violet Blue (bio below) has shown "I'm Feeling Lucky" condoms. Ghee!
Violet Blue is the best-selling, award-winning author and editor of twenty books on sex and sexuality, all currently in print, a number of which have been translated into several languages; she has contributed to a number of nonfiction anthologies. Violet is a sex educator who lectures at UC's and community teaching institutions, and writes about erotica, pornography, sexual pleasure and health for major publications and blogs. She is a professional sex blogger and Femmebot; an author at Metroblogging San Francisco (Metblogs); a correspondent for Geek Entertainment Television; she is on the Gawker Media payroll as girl Friday contributor and editor at Fleshbot; in January 2007, Violet was named a Forbes Web Celeb 25. She is a San Francisco native and human blog. Violet is the sex columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle with a weekly column titled Open Source Sex, and has a podcast of the same name that frequents iTunes' top ten.
Don't miss Miss Violet Blue's "Abstinence Does Not Make the Heart Grow Fonder" lecture video in Googleplex this Valentine's Day:
LinkBeef Recall Records 143 Million Pounds In US
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recalled 143 million pounds (65 million kg) of beef produced by Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., California on Sunday (Feb 17), marking the nation's largest meat recall in history.
From Xinhua:
The recall was ordered because the plant violated (USDA) rules barring the slaughter of "downer" cattle in almost all cases as a precaution against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow disease. Downer refers to cattle unable to walk.
The recall affects beef products dating back to Feb. 1, 2006 that came from the company, because the cattle didn't receive complete and proper inspection.
From ABC:
Westland/Hallmark provides meat to the National School Lunch Program and about 150 school districts have stopped using its products. Now officials are scrambling to prevent the questionable beef from reaching school lunch counters. They estimate about 37 million pounds of the beef has gone to schools.
Westland/Hallmark also provided products to two fast food companies. Both Jack-in-the-Box and In-N-Out said they would not use beef from Westland/Hallmark.
It was not sure how much of the recalled meat had been consumed. And so far, no illnesses have been linked to the recalled beef. But there was a very remote chance of anyone becoming ill from consuming these products.
Nancy Reagan Hospitalized after Fall
Nancy Reagan, wife of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, fell at her Bel-Air home in Los Angeles on Sunday morning and is staying overnight at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica for observation, her spokeswoman Joanne Drake said. The 86-year-old former first lady was determined by the doctors she did not break a hip as feared.
"As a precaution, her family physician felt it best to admit her ... for overnight evaluation. She is doing well and is visiting with friends in her room," Joanne Drake said in a statement.
Kim Sjostrom Is A bride Who Dies During First Dance
What a sad story--Minutes into marriage, bride dies in first dance!
It was the first dance of a marriage that was not to be.
Kim Sjostrom and Teddy Efkarpides (pictured above, credit:AP) had been married for less than an hour on January 19 when the bride crumpled in her husband's arms during a rendition of a Greek song that means simply "love me". At 36, Ms Sjostrom was dead from heart disease.
The couple were married in Davie, Florida, three years to the day after their first date.
Ms Sjostrom had wanted a real-life version of the film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which played in the background as friends fixed her hair and make-up before the ceremony.
The wedding was a project at Davie Elementary School, where Ms Sjostrom taught first grade. Fellow teachers provided the wedding gown, the flowers, decorations and one of them, an ordained minister, performed the ceremony.
Ms Sjostrom carried blue and white flowers during the ceremony - the colours of the Greek flag. As they exchanged vows, Mr Efkarpides, a 43-year-old carpenter and navy veteran, wept with happiness.
The joyous mood of the celebration was soon transformed when Ms Sjostrom complained of being lightheaded during the couple's first dance.
Mr Efkarpides thought his wife, a diabetic, needed sugar. She collapsed.
Efforts to revive her by wedding guests, paramedics and doctors at a nearby hospital all failed.
Our sincerest condolence goes to Mr. Teddy Efkarpides, his family and friends!
Tom Lantos Dies of Esophagus Cancer Complications
Tom Lantos, Democratic Congressman from California, died Monday of complications from esophageal cancer at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Maryland. He is 85. Tom Lantos is the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress and was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus last month.
Lantos, who referred to himself as "an American by choice," was born to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary, and was 16 when Adolf Hitler occupied Hungary in 1944. He survived by escaping twice from a forced labor camp and coming under the protection of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who used his official status and visa-issuing powers to save thousands of Hungarian Jews. Source: AP
World Jewish Congress Mourns Loss of Rep. Tom LantosVictoria Beckham Shows Painful Bunions
Victoria Beckham was photographed with painful bunions on her feet while performing in Canada over the weekend.
Yah, it is the result of your penchant for towering heels, Posh! Link
Phill Novak Walks off 192 Pound
Phill Novak, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan originally weighing 387 pounds, has shed nearly half of his weights to 195 pounds. The way Novak has taken is by walking!
Two years ago, Phill Novak weighed 387 pounds.
He wasn't happy with his weight and neither were his doctors. In addition to taking medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol -- his physician warned him that he was on track to become a diabetic.
He began simply [his weight-loss journey] by walking -- one mile a day and eating a low-carbohydrate diet of 15-30 grams a day.
"I walked off my first 100 pounds," he says. "Walked it off, an hour a day. I lost 100 pounds in seven months."
Novak continued to lose weight and as he built up his endurance he started jogging. Even though he had never belonged to a gym, he wanted to incorporate strength training. But the first time he went to the gym, he was intimidated by the loud music and weight lifters. He says he quickly "scampered" out and tried a few other places until he finally found a club where he felt comfortable.
Two years later, Novak has lost a total of 192 pounds. Today, he runs 30 to 40 miles a week, works out two to three hours a day, does yoga in the morning and squeezes in a push-up whenever he gets a chance at work.
Now maintaining his weight at 195 pounds, Novak says he's made a lifestyle change and rarely takes a day off from exercise.
If you are a woman who worries about the weight, maybe you can try Fuze Slenderize gloss which is a lip gloss newly created by Californian make-up company Too Faced to help lose weight. Source: CNN
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