The Health Blog by Ryan Healy

Squatting Is Better Than Sitting

I've recently discovered that squatting to eliminate fecal waste is better than sitting.

My discovery was quite by accident. I was researching a copywriting project when I came across Nature's Platform, a web site that sells a platform to retrofit modern toilets for the squatting position.

As I read through the literature, two things stood out to me.

1. Squatting helps prevent colon cancer by encouraging complete elimination of fecal waste. (Sitting doesn't.)

2. Squatting is a highly effective, non-invasive treatment for hemorrhoids. (Sitting promotes hemorrhoids.)

You can read the seven benefits of squatting as well as the history behind the modern toilet here: "Health Benefits of the Natural Squatting Position"

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Starved

I saw a banner ad on Dictionary.com for Starved, a new TV sitcom coming out this fall. Here's what FX Networks has to say:

"Starved, created by Eric Schaeffer, chronicles the lives of four thirty-something friends who reside in Brooklyn and are battling various eating disorders. [...] This adult comedy series is an often poignant take on food addiction, which is the backdrop to the funny, romantic and personal lives of the four characters."

You know a country's got eating issues when TV sitcoms start using food addictions as a backdrop for humor.

You can read more about Starved here.

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I Need Your Help!

I just discovered there's a "Featured Weblogs" section on the home page of Typepad. And so I checked out some of the featured blogs. Then I got to thinking: "How does somebody get their blog featured on the Typepad home page?"

First, you gotta use Typepad. I do, so I'm good there.

Second, you have to fill out this form. I read it, and it looks like I can recommend my own blog. But I thought that would kind of defeat the whole purpose of being featured. Naturally, I believe my blog should be featured. But that doesn't really matter. The question is, do you think my blog should be featured?

If so, would you do me a favor and take two minutes to recommend my blog?

And, since I appreciate honest feedback, if you think my health blog should not be featured, please leave a comment and let me know why not. Thanks!

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Whole Grain White Bread

Sara Lee has created a whole new product niche with the introduction of their new "whole grain white bread." The launch of their new bread is well-intentioned. White bread still dominates the bread market and kids aren't getting enough whole grains. Just take a look at these two standout quotes:

1. "Whole grain bread sales have increased dramatically over the past few years, but more loaves of enriched white sandwich bread are sold than any other kind of bread in America."

2. "Studies have show that the average American consumes less than one serving of whole grains a day, and more alarming, four out of 10 teenagers and children never consume whole grains."

I applaud Sara Lee for their innovation and effort to broaden the whole grain bread market. But the bleaching process to turn the whole grains white makes this bread far inferior to natural whole grain breads.

Personally, I still wonder how anyone could possibly think white bread tastes better. Having eaten whole grain bread for the last few years, white bread tastes like a pale substitute. I can't hardly stand the stuff.

Two bakeries I recommend: Rudi's Organic Bakery and (if you're really adventurous) Food for Life, the bakers of Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread.

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Health Benefits of Hiking

Friday morning my brother and I headed up to Buena Vista to go backpacking. In case you're not from Colorado, Buena Vista is due west of Colorado Springs, nestled right at the foot of the Sawatch Range in the Rocky Mountains.

We packed in about eight or nine miles and set up camp in a valley between Harvard and Columbia on the south and Missouri, Oxford, and Belford on the north. (All five of these mountains' peaks are over 14,000 feet.)

While I was hiking, I was thinking of you. Because hiking is healthy. And I thought it would be appropriate to share with you some of the health benefits I've observed from hiking and backpacking in the mountains near my home.

1. Hiking is good exercise. It's not as rigorous as an intense 30-minute workout on a machine, but it's still a great workout. Ultimately, you'll probaby hike for at least one hour on a trip... more like three to four hours. Just one hiking trip can give you more cardiovascular exercise than you typically get in a whole week. That's a lot of calories burned!

2. Hiking clears your mind. Because you'll be distanced you from the noise pollution that's so common in suburbs and cities, hiking is a great way to clear your mind. Instead of the dull throb of traffic, you'll hear birds chirping, squirrels scrambling up pine trees, water rushing over rocks. There's a lot of silence, too.

3. Hiking refreshes your lungs. When you're out in the wilderness, you'll enjoy clean smog-free air. It's quite invigorating to breathe deeply of the oxygen-rich stuff.

4. Hiking revives your spiritual connection. From Emerson to Thoreau, many wise men have extolled the spiritual virtues of time spent in nature. No matter what your personal beliefs, you'll likely find that your spiritual life is revived during your time of hiking in the wilderness.

These are the four health benefits of hiking that came immediately to mind. Maybe there are more. But these should be enough to inspire you to get out there and hike. Happy trails.

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76 Sugar Dangers

Dr. Mercola's web site is an excellent source of health information. In fact, he is so prominent that I've sometimes wondered why I write my own health blog. (I guess I do it because it's just as much to educate you as it is to educate me.)

So it is with some hesitation I point you to Dr. Mercola. But, like I said, he's the king of Internet-based health information...

In this particular article, one of his contributors shares "76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health." It's a quick read. And if you've never investigated the negative side effects of sugar, then this article will shock you. It will probably force you to pick up a book about sugar just to get the whole scoop.

I remember when I first read William Dufty's Sugar Blues. I laid off sugar for three months straight and people thought I was crazy. "What's so bad about sugar?" they wanted to know.

Here is your answer. Make that 76 answers. [Link to Health Risks of Sugar.]

Confession: reading this list has re-inspired me to kick sugar all over again. I slipped up when my wife became pregnant with our son last year, but now that he's four months old, we really have no excuse for persisting in some of the bad habits we relearned during the pregnancy....

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You Don't Have to Finish

If you're having trouble losing weight, then these admittedly simple suggestions may come as a revelation to you (as they did to me a few years ago). That is, you don't have to finish everything that's on your plate... or take a larger portion just to finish the "last little bit" that's leftover.

I grew up in a family where you had to finish everything on your plate. If you were full, it didn't matter. You still had to finish everything. I remember fighting my Dad over the fat and gristle I left on chicken bones. I refused to eat it; my Dad believed I should finish it.

If you (like my Dad) harbor a stubborn belief that you have to finish all that you take, then don't be surprised when several pounds of fat take up permanent residence around your middle and on your thighs.

A second common habit I've observed is that of finishing the "last little bit" that remains in cereal boxes or casserole dishes or whatever. It seems there's this natural human urge to "finish things"... to "follow through"... as if it were virtuous to polish off various food items to make room for newly purchased groceries.

I'm here to tell you—you don't have to finish that last little bit. Don't force yourself to overeat for the sake of that vain feeling of accomplishment you get when you throw an empty cereal box away or remove a large dish from the fridge and put it in the sink to be cleaned. Just save whatever's left for later... even if it's a very small amount.

If you have a spouse that asks, "Why don't you just finish that?" the answer is simple. "I'm just not that hungry," you say. And let it go at that.

Follow these two simple guidelines and it'll make your quest to lose weight a whole lot simpler.

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Atkins Suffers Financial Heart Attack

Atkins Nutritional—the company responsible for manufacturing and marketing Atkins diet products—filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy last night. Fickle consumer preferences plus an enormous $300 million debt load finally caught up with the privately owned company.

Read the complete Atkins bankruptcy article here.

I've never been a fan of the Atkins diet. I personally believe the large amounts of protein advocated by the diet put too much strain on your organs.

Given my personal beliefs about Atkins, I thought I'd note an important observation buried in the last paragraph of the article referenced above: "In June, the Advertising Standards Authority called for an advertisement for the Atkins diet to be pulled because its claims that followers could 'enjoy a healthier lifestyle' could not be proved."

I guess it all depends on what you're comparing to. I'm sure Atkins is healthier than the Standard American Diet (SAD), but probably not as healthy as something like the raw diet. Your thoughts?

Update 8/3/2005: Loyal reader Kurt notified me to some misinformation I had published in my blog. Dr. Atkins did not die of a heart attack; he died because of a head injury. I got my information from the article linked to above. I just rechecked the article and they, too, have set the record straight. The old paragraph has been modified to read: "Atkins Nutritional lost its most effective spokesman when Dr. Atkins died [...] after slipping and hitting his head on icy pavement." On my honor, this same article, on August 1, said that he had died of a heart attack. You can read a full statement regarding Dr. Atkins' demise here.

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