Eat 2 Eggs, Lose 65% More Now that eggs have been put back on the good food list (see Eggs Are Back below) we also have a study showing that they have weight loss benefits. The study found that adults who ate two eggs in the morning lost 65% more weight, as opposed to those who ate bagels for breakfast. This was reported in the Health Day section of US News and World Reports. The study was carried out by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, part of the Louisiana State University system. And as you might guess, the study was funded by the industry-affiliated Egg Nutrition Center. (But then, who else would want to prove this point?) 65% more weight lost? Remember when everybody had eggs for breakfast? And obesity was rare? Might be worth a try. |
12,000 Calories a Day We all saw it on the news - Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has been putting away up to 12,000 calories a day. This Wall Street Journal Health Blog entry also has his daily menu. This is an extreme example, of course, but it brings up an interesting point. What if the obesity epidemic is not nearly as much about too many calories as it is about too little exercise? Michael Phelps' body is processing a huge amount of food every day, and getting along quite well. Yes, of course he's only 23 - but there are many people his age who struggle with obesity. What's the difference? It would appear that he gets lots of exercise and they don't. It's something to think about. Limiting calories does result in weight loss, of course, but there is obviously another way to approach it. |
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But Who's Counting? If you're not an Olympic swimmer, chances are you do think about calories and carbohydrates. There are many calorie counters online, but here are a couple of good ones. NutritionData has a very complete database with detailed information. There's lots to look through, but to get started, just type in a food item in the search box in the upper right hand corner of the main page. This website includes not only basic grocery store foods, but a large selection of fast food products by name. Whether you are diabetic or not, the American Diabetes Association has a well designed nutrition website called MyFoodAdvisor. You'll find help with recipes and meal planning, too. Want to check your body mass index? Throw in a little exercise? NutritionData also has that covered with a BMI & Daily Needs Calculator. |
Health Care Crisis? Marcia Angell, MD was previously the editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. She is now a senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School. In a recent interview on PBS' Frontline, she discusses what she calls "...incredible price gouging that's going on by the pharmaceutical industry." She also states that only 15% of the basic research for pharmaceutical patents comes from the industry. The remaining 85% comes from the National Institutes of Health publicly funded research done in academic medical centers. Or Pharmaceutical Triumph? Paul Howard is the director of the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Medical Progress. In the August 2008 edition of City Journal, he writes that we are in a blockbuster era of pharmaceutical innovation. He argues that the combination of profit based capitalism and modern drug research work best to bring about progress for today's ever changing health care needs. In response to people who say drug companies replace inexpensive generic drugs with new, expensive, but essentially identical copycat drugs - Howard replies that the new, improved drugs bring diversification to the marketplace, making available more personal therapy choices. |
Green Ratings Consumer Reports now has a website called Greener Choices. As they have for decades, Consumers Union tells the truth about a wide range of products from appliances to cars to electronics to food, but now, the truth includes how green the item is. In addition to the basic quality ratings Consumer Reports is known for, they have a wide range of green ratings - energy, water consumption, fuel efficiency, mercury contamination, etc. When you want to make a difference, and need the hard facts to make the right decision, this is the place to go.
Would the Hilton Plan Work? OK - we all know it was a joke. In response to John McCain using a brief clip of Paris Hilton in a campaign spot, Ms. Hilton responded (with help from Adam McKay, Chris Henchy, and Will Ferrell) with her own campaign spot, which included her proposed energy policy. It was the basic "all of the above" energy approach, but it sounded pretty good. Would it work? Eoin O'Carroll at the Christian Science Monitor's Bright Green Blog takes a serious look. |
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Skinny Water? It apparently didn't take long for our friends in the United Kingdom to see through the claim of a "scientifically proven" slimming aid. The Telegraph reports that Bio Synergy, producer of the product Skinny Water, quickly agreed to withdraw weight loss claims after experts at the Medical Research Council weighed in. Looking online, I see that here in the US we also have a drink called Skinny Water. They seem to have a selection of products, and obviously have no connection at all with the UK company above. Nice bottle design, too.
50 Easy Ways to Lose Weight I don't think there is even one easy way to lose weight, but this article in Reader's Digest has some interesting ideas related to weight loss. Most of them sound good - eat several small meals instead of three large ones - keep a notebook and write down everything you eat during the day - walk 45 minutes a day, etc. But then we see idea number 10. Eat dinner on a blue plate? The color blue is supposed to suppress the appetite. OK. Give it a try. |
Solar Power 24/7 Solar power is good, clean energy - as long as the sun is shining. Cloudy days and nighttime have always been something of a problem. But that may be changing. Very smart people at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led by Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT, have developed a simple and efficient way to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, to be reunited later in a fuel cell providing electricity. "This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said James Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated ...." Nocera is hoping the process will be ready for residential installation within ten years. |
Beautiful, Healthy Food If you are not familiar with the food blog delicious:days - now is the time. Nicky and Oliver prepare elegant, wonderful meals in Haidhausen/Munich, Germany. Their blog has received international acclaim. Start with this recipe for muesli bread. Just a simple wheat and rolled five grain cereal bread filled with dried fruit. Notice that the recipe's measurements are not only metric, but all amounts are given by weight - far more accurate for baking. All kitchen suppliers now carry good quality, inexpensive digital scales. Get one. Flourless chocolate cake with mango jam, passionfruit, and heavy cream dusted with cocoa powder? Go take a look. How about churning up some strawberry ice cream with balsamic vinegar? You'll find it and much more at this beautiful website. |
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Live 1000 Years? Improvements in health and nutrition have greatly increased lifespans in recent decades. There is still great disparity throughout the world, but some people are looking far beyond what anyone would consider a good, long life. Aubrey de Grey (Wikipedia listing) is a British researcher who thinks human aging is a disease that can be cured. Rather than being inevitable, he approaches growing old as simply an engineering problem. This idea is not simply one man's curious belief. His theories of tissue regeneration, although widely challenged by the scientific community, have never been disproven. Take 24 minutes and watch this TED video of Aubrey de Grey explaining his position on human aging. Has the first person who will live to be 1000 years old already been born? |
Migraine Somebody at the New York Times must get headaches. I usually list a variety of sources on any given topic, but the Times has such a large amount of information about migraine headaches that it is a single source with more than enough for a broad overview of this painful subject. First, a quick look at the risk factors for migraines. Jane E. Brody outlines the basics of current medical thinking. Then you'll find that the New York Times has a separate blog just about migraines. Read not only the entries, but also the readers' comments after each posting. Many comments have valuable information. Keith Mulvihill writes about the numbers of undiagnosed individuals who miss out on new advances in migraine treatment. Judith Warner tells us about living with frequent migraines. Be sure to look through the hundreds of comments after the article. The musician Jeff Tweedy tells his personal story about depression, panic attacks, and migraine. Peter Jaret writes about the overuse of common pain relievers, and the fact that we now know those pain relievers themselves are often the cause of a migraine. Meanwhile, electronic devices are being tested for migraine pain relief. Occipital nerve stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation are both techniques that show promise. Two writers from the New York Times migraine blog, Siri Hustvedt and Paula Kamen, are interviewed on this National Public Radio audio clip, discussing the fact that migraines are more than just headaches. They may include hallucinations, sometimes require hospitalization, and they can literally last for months. Want more? Go to the New York Times main page, put the word migraine into the search box, and you will find thousands of links are returned.
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MSG - Monosodium Glutamate The majority of people can consume MSG and get along fine, but certain individuals are very sensitive to MSG and have serious reactions. Start learning more at Truth in Labeling.org. There is a long list of symptoms that people have attributed to MSG - including headache, dizziness, chest pain, urinary problems, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome - many more. The problems arise not just from MSG itself, but from any manufactured form of free glutamic acid - which can be found in many different ingredients you've seen on food labels. Hydrolyzed protein, yeast extract, sodium casienate, gelatin, textured protein, etc. Information is also available at MSGTruth.org. Although the mainstream medical profession does not recognize any problems with MSG, The Mayo Clinic acknowledges that certain people may be sensitive to MSG and should avoid it. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in a 1995 report, first assures us that "MSG and related substances are safe food ingredients for most people when eaten at customary levels." Scroll further down the page, and the FDA quotes a 1992 report as saying, "An unknown percentage of the population may react to MSG and develop MSG symptom complex." It then gives a list of 11 related symptoms.
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CoQ10 update Are you aware of the nutrient Coenzyme Q10? If not, here are the basics from the University of Maryland Medical Center. CoQ10 is a very vital nutrient without which we wouldn't last an hour. Beyond that, it helps with things like heart disease, cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. It is an anti-aging breakthrough. What's new is that Bruce Lipshutz, a professor of chemistry at UC Santa Barbara, has found a way to mix CoQ10 with water. CoQ10 is a fat soluble nutrient, much like vitamin E, and when taken in softgels, only a small percentage of the enzyme gets where it needs to go. Making it water soluble would double its effectiveness. Professor Lipshutz has done that. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is. Read all about it. |
Eggs Are Back Remember when every medical problem known to mankind was blamed on eggs? Not any more. In fact, eggs are once again considered to be good, healthy food. (Isn't that what our mothers told us all along?) Dr. Mark Liponis writes in Parade Magazine about several foods, including eggs. In a UPI report, researcher Nikhil V. Dhurandhar at Louisiana State University says eggs for breakfast are good for weight loss. The UK Mail Online corrects some myths about cholesterol in the diet. UC Berkeley is more worried about saturated fat than the dietary cholesterol in eggs. Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard University talks to Tara Parker-Pope about the mix of fats in the diet vs. the actual cholesterol in your food. |
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Grande Questions What's the latest on coffee? Is it good for you? Bad for you? Jane E. Brody tells us in the New York Times that the answer is - yes. Coffee is a complex mixture of ingredients that produce a range of effects. Caffeine. Hydration. Heart disease. What are the facts? What are the myths? There's actually a lot of good news.
Not Much to Talk About The new trend in psychiatry seems to be less talking about problems and more reliance on psychiatric drugs. As reported by Amanda Gardner in the Washington Post, psychotherapy is rarely practiced by psychiatrists these days. Managed care has reduced their role to simply prescribing and monitoring medications. |
All of a Sudden, For decades, it's been known as "the sunshine vitamin" that "builds strong bones." There's a lot more to it these days. Over the past few years, several studies have been released linking vitamin D to a wide variety of health benefits. Jane E. Brody has a good article in the New York Times that outlines the basics of what's been happening. She mentions studies that suggest low levels of vitamin D are connected to malignant tumor growth, Type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. Robert Langreth writes for Forbes, adding information about vitamin D bringing significant reductions in colon cancer, as well as the skepticism found among certain doctors. The Mayo Clinic is always a good place to look for the mainstream fundamentals on any health related topic. They also keep an open mind toward the value of nutritional supplements, as you will see on their vitamin D page. Want more detail? The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University has information on the function of vitamin D, risk factors for deficiency, sunlight and food sources, and more on disease prevention. There's one place to get the complete story. What other vitamin has its own website? Vitamin D does. The Vitamin D Council has a very complete website with all the latest information.
A Weight Loss Implant? Yes, there is one. Called VBLOC, it is attached to nerves near the stomach and modifies feelings of fullness and hunger. Implanting the device is far less invasive than bariatric or lap-band surgery. Patients often go home later the same day. CBS2 Chicago has all the details. |
Diet Study Compares Low Fat, Atkins, and Mediterranean In what is regarded as a highly credible weight loss study soon to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Atkins diet came out on top. As reported by the Associated Press, over a period of two years, 322 people were involved in a comparison of the traditional low fat diet, the Mediterranean style diet, and the low carb Atkins diet. After two years, the low carb group had lost an average of 10.3 pounds, the Mediterranean group had lost 10 pounds, and the low fat group had lost 6.5 pounds. No sooner was this report released than the vigorous criticism arrived. Dr. Dean Ornish writes in Newsweek, strongly defending his life's work with the low fat diet. He makes a very good point that the program participants who were on the Atkins diet were actually encouraged to get their fat intake from vegetable sources. One might agree with Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times that this detail is in direct conflict with the Atkins plan altogether. The Atkins diet traditionally includes "liberal amounts" of animal based fats. Do calories from fat make you fat? How about calories from carbohydrates? A recent article in TIME Magazine says it doesn't matter. A calorie is a calorie. We've all heard that a pound of fat equals 3500 calories. Consume 3500 extra calories and a pound of fat goes on. Take in 3500 fewer calories and a pound of fat comes off. The numbers prove that dieting really will work, it's just a matter of finding a good diet and staying on it. Getting back to the original study, read those numbers again. After two years of dieting, the average weight loss was between 6 and 10 pounds. That's it after two years? A weight loss of 10 pounds over two years works out to 48 fewer calories per day. Is that the best we can do? What does that tell us about dieting altogether? Tara Parker-Pope brings up this question for discussion in her blog Well in the New York Times. The bottom line appears to be that diets don't work because people can't stay on them. We seem to find the calories we crave whether they come from proteins, fats, or carbohydrates. So if diets don't work, what does? Permanent weight loss seems to require a completely new lifestyle. Reasonable amounts of nutritious food must be part of the plan, along with exercise and stress reduction. Everything that is good for us will also bring us to a healthy weight. |
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Could the Bicycle Do you think that millions of Americans will change their ways, park their cars, and start riding bicycles for basic transportation? No, not millions. A few might. You could do it. And if you did, it would definitely make a difference in your life. Commuter cycling is happening all over the world. Mikael Colville-Andersen is a strong advocate of bicycling as a form of transportation, which is very common in Denmark. You can learn much more about it from any of Mikael's blogs, Copenhagenize, also Copenhagen Cycle Chic, and The Slow Bicycle Movement. The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. ran a very informative article about Mikael's work. There are some Americans riding bicycles to get around town. Bill Cunningham at The New York Times brings us a series of photographs about the new look of bicycling in the city. National Geographic's Green Guide has a good article on biking to work, as well as information about biodegradable lubricants for bicycles. Interested in the science of bicycling? (For example, riding a bicycle 20mph takes eight times more energy than riding 10mph.) You can find everything you need to know at the Exporatorium's Science of Cycling. Remember that we're not talking about bending all hunched over a skinny little racing bike, dressed up in a skin tight fluorescent spandex outfit, wearing some bizarre abstract sculpture on your head. We're talking about sitting comfortably upright on a solid bicycle - wearing normal clothes. Check out these commuter bicycle suppliers . . Dutch Bike Co. These websites will tell you more . . . CommuterBicycle.com |
And Speaking of Eggs ... Now that they're OK to eat again (see above) here are some excellent books all about eggs. Eggs Marie Simmons, previously the senior food editor at Cuisine magazine, is a highly experienced, award winning cookbook author. One of her several books is The Good Egg: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Breakfast to Dessert Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes
Puppy Prozac? Yes, and a whole lot more than that. Take a minute and read what's happening in the high end animal care business from Heidi Blake at The Guardian. Then take a look at Chateau Poochie. |
Left Brain, Right Brain We've heard the terms, but how well do we understand them? Neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a genuine brain scientist - who had a ringside seat at her own stroke as a blood vessel in her brain ruptured. Her left brain shut down, requiring an eight year recovery period. Watch this 19 minute TED video as she explains how our brains work, and what she learned from her own personal experience.
Simple Living Kimberly Palmer at US News & World Report interviews Tim Kasser, associate professor of psychology at Knox College, about the ideas in his book, The High Price of Materialism. The basic premise of the book is whether money and possessions bring happiness. Kasser says all people have four basic psychological needs, and that people who try to fill those needs with material possessions find little success. What we need to find is balance. A new plasma TV or an organic garden? A good question for all of us to ponder.
Taste or Values? Jonah Lehrer writes a quick, interesting, two paragraph blog posting about people's perceptions and preferences regarding the question of beef versus vegan sausages - which could apply to many other choices in life. Make sense? It will only take you about 60 seconds to read it, then you'll get the idea. |
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Raw Food Is All Grown Up Remember when a raw diet meant chomping broccoli stalks with a side of carrots and celery? Times have changed. The raw food movement now includes well dressed, responsible adults with Blackberries and Platinum cards. Let's start with Alissa Cohen. She is a well known raw food chef and consultant who has helped many people with weight loss and health issues, all through the magic of a raw diet. Her book Living on Live Food has brought her worldwide radio and television attention. She has expanded her empire into raw clothing, and has a great restaurant Grezzo in Boston. Interested in lots of raw information? Robert Ross has it on his website Raw Food Life. This is an extensive website with many articles from both the scientific and consumer perspectives. Information about the raw food lifestyle, weight loss, nutrition, even raw food for your pets. Last, but certainly not least, the raw food movement now has the inimitable presence of Sarma Melngailis. Double degreed in economics from Wharton, previously with Bear Stearns and Bain Capital, Sarma co-authored the book Raw Food / Real World |
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About Covisi |
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Covisi brings you the ideas and tools we all need to create new lives for ourselves and those around us. You will find information about health, fitness, nutrition, environmental issues, and alternative solutions. Feel free to send an email with your comments and ideas, particularly about websites or articles
Michael Covisi
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Video Links Big Think is a video website filled with hundreds of hours of "direct, unfiltered interviews with today's leading thinkers, movers and shakers." The video library is searchable, and new clips are added regularly. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. This website has short videos of presentations given at their annual conference bringing together the "shining lights" from those three disciplines.
Energy An online community to help us understand the goals of clean energy, The Energy Collective has many active conversations on topics ranging from biofuels to nuclear to oil to wind - climate and government policy issues, too.
Good People Doing Good Work Kiva allows you to participate in micro-loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries so they can start or develop their businesses, enabling them to lift themselves out of poverty. Heifer International makes it possible for you to give developing world families the gift of self-reliance in the form of sheep, goats, water buffalo, rabbits, and yes, heifers. Establishing bilingual libraries, computer and language labs, and publishing children's books in the local language, Room to Read believes World Change Starts with Educated Children®. Malaria has been eliminated throughout much of the world, and yet it still kills 3000 children each day in Africa. Malaria No More has a simple mission - to end deaths due to malaria. With offices in New York, Hyderabad, Karachi, and Nairobi, The Acumen Fund makes investments in organizations that serve those people in need of the very basics of life. |
Food Blogs Jules Clancy comes to us from Sydney, Australia with her wonderful food blog called stonesoup. It's full of beautiful photographs of "all good things to eat." David Lebovitz brings us books, recipes, and a stream of consciousness from an American living in Paris. Nicky and Oliver write, photograph, and design - and do it very well - from Munich/Haidhausen, Germany for their blog delicious:days. Béa, a French expatriate living in Boston, has beautiful photography of great food in her blog La Tartine Gourmande. Mark Bittman is a bestselling cookbook author and New York Times columnist. Look for The Minimalist in the NYT Dining section, as well as his column Bitten. Also be sure to see his TED video What's Wrong with What We Eat.
Slow Food / Urban Gardening In what may be the ultimate urban homestead, the Dervaes family of Pasadena, California produces over 6,000 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables each year from a 1/10th acre (3,900 square foot) garden in the middle of the city. Spend some time on their website, keep up to date with their progress through their journal, and watch their videos on You Tube. Good, clean, fair food. Defense of biodiversity. Caring and learning about where your food comes from. With 85,000 members worldwide, Slow Food leads the way, along with dozens of subsidiary groups, including Slow Food USA.
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Bicycle Links Interested in riding a bike, but without the spandex costume or the back and neck pain? Only in America is bicycle riding confused with bicycle racing. The rest of the world uses bicycles for quick, easy transportation. These links will take you to websites devoted to safe, sane, commuter and city bicycling. You can wear comfortable clothes, sit upright, and enjoy the ride. Copenhagen, Denmark is the world's capital of classic, stylish bicycle riding. 36% of the population rides a bike to work or school each day. Mikael Colville-Andersen has three well known websites about cycling in Copenhagen. Check out the Copenhagen Bike Culture Blog, Copenhagen Cycle Chic, and the Slow Bicycle Movement. Lots of people around the world have blogs about bicycling: Amsterdam - London - Montreal - Seoul - Milan Commuter cycling is not just a "foreign" thing. New York City has a few people making the statement, and many of them are women. Bill Cunningham and the New York Times bring us a slide show of New York City cycling. Think you might be interested in bicycle commuting? Paul Dorn has a list of ideas and links that will help you out with all the basics. Austin, Texas' most famous cyclist (well yes, he's actually the world's most famous cyclist) is opening Mellow Johnny's Commuter Club in downtown Austin. It's devoted to - not bicycle racing - but commuter cycling. They are still putting things together, but you can check out the website. Cage Free Family These folks gave away their stuff, sold the house, packed up the kids, got in an RV and took off for the countryside. You can follow along as their daily blog gives all the details. They are out on the road now, so you might want to check the archives to get caught up. |
Copyright 2008 Covisi.com All Rights Reserved Some of the postings on Covisi.com are on nutrition, health, fitness, or weight loss topics. No information contained on Covisi.com is intended to replace the advice of a licensed medical practitioner. Always consult with your health care professional before changing your diet or starting any health, fitness, or weight loss regimen. Covisi.com does not offer any advice or make any suggestions in nutrition, health, fitness, or weight loss matters. All material on Covisi.com is for information purposes only. The links contained on Covisi.com take you to external websites. Covisi.com cannot be held responsible for the content or accuracy of information found on external websites. Your use of Covisi.com indicates your acknowledgement and acceptance of this policy. |
. Whether you are boiling a single egg for breakfast, making a quick lunch quiche, or creating an exotic soufflé, this is a wonderful book full of recipes and ideas.
is a beautiful hardcover edition that was chosen as one of
with Matthew Kenney. The two also started the highly acclaimed New York City raw food restaurant 