The Health Blog by Ryan Healy

Look For Produce That Smells Good

According to new research, produce that smells and tastes good has greater nutritional value.

In the study, certain nutritional compounds that affect flavor were compared with wild-grown and conventional tomatoes. The wild-grown tomatoes had readings 3 times higher than the conventionally grown tomatoes.

That's a big difference.

The article says, "Except for one chemical that also affects color, the sugars, organic acids and volatile compounds associated with tomato flavor were reduced in the commercial product."

You can read the complete article here: Smelling Good May Mean It's Good for You

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Exercise Anyway

I have a few friends who've expressed that they'd rather not go to a gym or recreation center to exercise because they're embarrassed.

They're overweight... and they don't want other people watching them.

Although I'm not overweight, I can understand the hesitation.

When I first started lifting weights... and grabbed the 20-pound dumbbells to do bicep curls... I was embarrassed.

Here were all these ripped guys curling 40- and 50-pounders!

I felt like a weakling.

Here's the thing. No matter where you start, there's going to be someone firmer, slimmer, sexier, stronger.

There's just no way you're going to avoid that.

My advice: get over your embarrassment and start exercising.

Your emotions will diminish... your gym will start to feel like home... and you'll start making visible improvements.

And that's the real goal anyway: results. Not a warm fuzzy feeling inside. You can get that when you take a hot shower after your workout. :-)

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Blog Update

Yesterday, I posted for the first time in 3 months. Or at least it appears that way.

I've actually been posting a lot on the new Health Blog.

But I got to thinking... here I have this Typepad blog that's chock full of articles... and that's still receiving quite a bit of traffic from the search engines. What should I do with it?

So I posted a mirror article. It's on this blog and the new Health Blog. Then I checked my traffic stats.

Apparently, at least two people still subscribe to this blog via Bloglines. And I'm sure there are others.

On the new version of The Health Blog, you'll notice there are two other writers who sometimes post articles of their own. Their names are Sarah Parker and Jacqleene Meyers.

So what I plan to do is this.

From now on, I'll be posting my new blog posts in both places. On my Typepad blog and my Wordpress blog.

Sarah's and Jacqleene's posts will only be on the new Health Blog (unless they choose to make mirror posts of their own).

If you're reading this, and you would like to stay current on the latest posts at The Health Blog, I suggest you subscribe to our email feed.

Basically, enter your first name and email below and hit submit. Then, anytime we make three posts, you'll automatically receive an email with the titles and summaries of each post. If you want to read more, there's a link to the full article.

Pretty cool, huh?

If you're not tech savvy, it's a lot easier to use than a RSS feed reader.

Interested? Fill in your information here:

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Of course, I'll never rent, sell, or share your email information with anyone else. :-)

Polite or Healthy?

A few nights ago we hosted a potluck dinner at our house for three other couples who attend our church.

We had the main meal and assigned salad, bread, and dessert to the other couples.

What I've found in situations like this is... you can be either polite or healthy. Not both.

The couple we assigned the dessert to loves to make desserts. Absolutely loves it. When we told her she got dessert, she replied that she was hoping she'd get assigned that.

So when she came over with two moist cakes topped with Cool Whip, my wife and I couldn't say no.

I guess we could have... but that would have been impolite. Our guest probably would have gotten her feelings hurt.

This isn't the first time I've been in a situation like this. In fact, there have been many times I've wanted to say no, but felt obligated to say yes.

I mean, how do you say no to your grandmother-in-law who adores you and just wants you to keep eating more and more and more? How do you explain to someone you're trying eat healthier when she can't even comprehend a definition of health as strict as the one you have?

It can certainly be awkward.

Do have experiences like mine? What have you done to be polite and healthy at the same time?

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New Health Blog

I've got some important news for you regarding The Health Blog.

In case you didn't notice, I didn't post anything new in October. That's because I was busy with other writing projects and felt I needed a break from my Health Blog. Now I feel rested and am back at it again. Where are the new posts you ask...?

They have been published on a new domain: www.TheHealthBlog.com.  This is another reason you haven't heard from me in a month. I was busy moving the new Health Blog to a separate domain and installing the new blogging software.

I'm happy to report that the move was a success. The new blog is up and running. And there are new posts for you to read.

A couple of changes you'll notice:

• The blog is now powered by Wordpress. So the web site will look different.

• I am no longer the only author. Sarah Parker has joined me in writing for The Health Blog, and I'm looking for at least one other blogger to join us. If you are interested, please send me an email at rhealy at gmail dot com.

To make this transition as smooth as possible, please update your bookmark to point to www.TheHealthBlog.com instead of the current domain. Also, if you happen to link to this site, please update your link to point to the new domain.

Thanks for reading—and I look forward to seeing you at the new Health Blog!

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TV Moderation Tips

Just came across a brief article that discusses strategies for cutting back on television. It's called "10 Ways to Live TV-Free."

For me, tip #3 ("Don't make it center stage") rang true. One of my goals is to put our TV into an entertainment center or armoire with closing doors. That way the TV won't be visible all the time.

Sometime in the future, it'd also be nice to have the TV in a room that's not highly trafficked. Maybe a room in the basement.

It's my experience that the mere site of television triggers an animal instinct in children. Like a drug, if they see it, they've got to have it. That's why an "out of sight, out of mind" approach works well with TV.

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Heart Disease #1

From The Week Magazine:

"Heart disease is the leading cause of death throughout the world, killing more people than AIDS, malaria, pneumonia, or lung cancer. One out of every three deaths is caused by heart disease."

It's seems to me that heart disease is not a glamorous cause of death. AIDS and cancer... these are glamorous to the American public. These are the diseases that make headlines and receive research dollars.

But given the numbers, it seems Americans would be better served to focus on reducing instances of heart disease. I don't think that will happen though. Here's why...

Research can't cure heart disease; exercise and improved diets can. And those are things Americans are just not interested in. They'd rather not think about taking responsibility for their own health. It's easier to give that responsibility to researchers and big pharma.

Agree or disagree? Post a comment.

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Riff on Booths

Stephanie and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on Sunday, September 11. We ate at one of our usual "special occasion" restaurants and got a couple hours away from the kids.

While we were there I was reminded of a particular aggravation I have with the restaurant biz. That is, the gap (or should I say "gulf") between the booth and the table is way too large. Just to get near my plate, I have to sit right up on the edge of the seat, which is not comfortable for a two-hour dinner. There's no back support, and all the pressure of sitting is directed right into the middle of the hamstring.

This is one reason why I prefer tables. I can move my chair as close or far away from the table as I desire.

FACT: Restaurants do not build booths just to annoy me. Rather, they build them to suit their best customers, which happen to be people who are grossly overweight.

I guess I can't blame restaurants for accomodating those who spend the most on dining out. It's just sad that America's obesity epedemic is so rampant that there's a subtle form of "reverse discrimination" against people of normal size and weight.

With education (through blogs like this) and commitment to health, maybe we can have a positive effect on our communities and help reverse the trend toward obesity. We'll know we're making progress when the table/booth gap begins to shrink.

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No More Soft Drinks in California Schools

On September 1, California made a landmark decision to ban the sale of soft drinks in public high schools. This was just one day after they also banned the sale of junk food in all K-12 California schools.

The Governor is expected to sign both bills into law, which is great news for health advocates everywhere. You can read more about this legislation at the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.

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Sarah's Health Questions

I have a personal philosophy that asking questions is far better than providing answers. That's why I really enjoyed Sarah's health questions on her raw food blog. She asks a number of questions that automatically cause me to start pondering. These are questions that should be thought about, researched, and answered.

No way would I have time to research and answer them all, but maybe I could for some of them. And maybe Sarah will continue to write and provide some of the answers herself.

Let me note that I have a five-month-old son. Since my wife and I are currently debating about when to start him solids, some of the same questions Sarah poses have also been rolling around in my head. :-)

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