Thirty-three-year-old Claire Simmons, of Notting Hill in London, is in a monogamous relationship with a dangerous partner: pizza.
For the last 31 years of her life, she has eaten nothing but plain cheese pizza for every single meal, she tells the Sun. And now, her doctors say that Simmons' monotonous diet could kill her.
Simmons says she exercises and drinks plenty of water. The problem is that her limited diet -- the result of a mental illness known as Selective Eating Disorder -- doesn't provide all the minerals and vitamins she needs for solid health.
Simmons exposed her difficult story to the public after reading the story of Stacey Irvine, sometimes called "Chicken Nugget Girl," a fellow Brit who was hospitalized after eating only chicken nuggets for a decade and a half.
This fall also brought to light the story of Jonathan McGowan, a British man who, for the past 30 years, has refused to eat any meat except roadkill. The BBC has even aired documentary-based multiple series on the topic of extremely picky eaters. Could there be something in English water that gives its drinkers Selective Eating Disorder? Maybe -- though it seems even more likely that there's something about English tabloids that helps these stories find an eager public.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Day 1 - Insanity 20 minute workout!
Whew! That's all I can say! Let's see what results I have in 60 days.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
More Salt In US Diet Comes From Bread And Rolls, Not Salty Snacks
More salt in the average US diet comes bread and rolls and not from salty snacks like potato chips, pretzels and popcorn, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released this week. Although salty snacks taste saltier, and weight for weight they contain more sodium than bread and rolls, because the average American consumes more bread and rolls every day than salty snacks, bread consumption contributes more to sodium intake.
Contained in the February edition of CDC Vital Signs, the report is timed to coincide with American Heart Month.
Too much sodium in the diet increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Experts say most of the salt in the diet of Americans does not come from that which they add when they prepare food at home or at the table: it comes from processed and restaurant foods.
The CDC report shows that average sodium consumption in the US is about 3,300 milligrams a day.
This suggests that only 1 in 10 Americans meets the dietary guideline of no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, which is about the same as in a teaspoon of salt. There is an even lower guideline amount of 1,500 milligrams per day for African Americans, anyone aged 51 and over, and for people with certain conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.
The report includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium in the average American diet. Number 1 on the list is bread and rolls: number 10 is salty snacks like potato chips, pretzels and popcorn.
The remaining types are cold cuts and cured meats such as deli or packaged ham or turkey, pizza, fresh and processed poultry, soups, sandwiches (including cheeseburgers), cheese, pasta dishes (excluding macaroni and cheese which is in a separate category of its own), and meat mixed dishes such as meat loaf with tomato sauce.
The report highlights that:
These ten types of food account for 44% of dietary sodium consumed each day in the US.
65% of sodium in the American diet comes from food bought in stores.
25% comes from meals purchased in restaurants.
Cutting the sodium in the 10 leading sources by 25% would lower the total consumed by more than 10% and could help prevent 28,000 deaths a year.
CDC Director Dr Thomas R. Frieden told the press:
"Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs."
Reducing daily consumption of sodium is not easy when it is present in so many of the foods we eat.
But people can lower their intake by eating a diet high in fresh or frozen fruits and vegatables without sauce, and by limiting the amount of processed foods without sodium, checking grocery labels and choosing products lower in sodium.
Frieden said the CDC were encouraged that some food companies are taking steps to reduce sodium in their products. He cited the example of Kraft Foods, who have committed to an average reduction of 10% over a two-year period. Dozens of other companies have also joined a national campaign to reduce sodium in foods.
"The leading supplier of cheese for pizza, Leprino Foods, is actively working on providing customers and consumers with healthier options. We are confident that more manufacturers will do the same," said Frieden.
Data for the report came from surveys of more than 7,200 people carried out in 2007 and 2008. Nearly half of those surveyed were children.
Contained in the February edition of CDC Vital Signs, the report is timed to coincide with American Heart Month.
Too much sodium in the diet increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Experts say most of the salt in the diet of Americans does not come from that which they add when they prepare food at home or at the table: it comes from processed and restaurant foods.
The CDC report shows that average sodium consumption in the US is about 3,300 milligrams a day.
This suggests that only 1 in 10 Americans meets the dietary guideline of no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, which is about the same as in a teaspoon of salt. There is an even lower guideline amount of 1,500 milligrams per day for African Americans, anyone aged 51 and over, and for people with certain conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.
The report includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium in the average American diet. Number 1 on the list is bread and rolls: number 10 is salty snacks like potato chips, pretzels and popcorn.
The remaining types are cold cuts and cured meats such as deli or packaged ham or turkey, pizza, fresh and processed poultry, soups, sandwiches (including cheeseburgers), cheese, pasta dishes (excluding macaroni and cheese which is in a separate category of its own), and meat mixed dishes such as meat loaf with tomato sauce.
The report highlights that:
These ten types of food account for 44% of dietary sodium consumed each day in the US.
65% of sodium in the American diet comes from food bought in stores.
25% comes from meals purchased in restaurants.
Cutting the sodium in the 10 leading sources by 25% would lower the total consumed by more than 10% and could help prevent 28,000 deaths a year.
CDC Director Dr Thomas R. Frieden told the press:
"Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs."
Reducing daily consumption of sodium is not easy when it is present in so many of the foods we eat.
But people can lower their intake by eating a diet high in fresh or frozen fruits and vegatables without sauce, and by limiting the amount of processed foods without sodium, checking grocery labels and choosing products lower in sodium.
Frieden said the CDC were encouraged that some food companies are taking steps to reduce sodium in their products. He cited the example of Kraft Foods, who have committed to an average reduction of 10% over a two-year period. Dozens of other companies have also joined a national campaign to reduce sodium in foods.
"The leading supplier of cheese for pizza, Leprino Foods, is actively working on providing customers and consumers with healthier options. We are confident that more manufacturers will do the same," said Frieden.
Data for the report came from surveys of more than 7,200 people carried out in 2007 and 2008. Nearly half of those surveyed were children.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
UCSF scientists declare war on sugar in food
Like alcohol and tobacco, sugar is a toxic, addictive substance that should be highly regulated with taxes, laws on where and to whom it can be advertised, and even age-restricted sales, says a team of UCSF scientists.
In a paper published in Nature today, they argue that increased global consumption of sugar is primarily responsible for a whole host of chronic diseases that are reaching epidemic levels around the world.
Sugar is so heavily entrenched in the food culture in the United States and other countries that getting people to kick the habit will to require much more than simple education and awareness campaigns, said the UCSF scientists.
It's going to require public policy that gently guides people toward healthier choices and uses brute force to remove sugar from so many of the processed foods we eat every day, said Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at UCSF.
"The only method for dealing with this is a public health intervention," Lustig said in an interview. "Everyone talks about personal responsibility, and that won't work here, as it won't for any addictive substance. These are things that have to be done at a governmental level, and government has to get off its ass."
In response to the study, the food and beverage industries said in statements that sugar cannot be blamed for high rates of chronic disease in the United States and elsewhere.
Comparing sugar to alcohol and tobacco is "simply without scientific merit," the American Beverage Association said. "There is no evidence that focusing solely on reducing sugar intake would have any meaningful public health impact."
Lustig has written and talked extensively about the role he believes sugar has played in driving up rates of chronic illness such as heart disease and diabetes. Excessive sugar, he argues, alters people's biochemistry, making them more vulnerable to metabolic conditions that lead to illness, while at the same time making people crave sweets even more.
It's sugar, not obesity, that is the real health threat, Lustig and his co-authors - public health experts Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis - say in their paper. They note that studies show that 20 percent of obese people have normal metabolism and no ill health effects resulting from their weight, while 40 percent of normal-weight people have metabolic problems that can lead to diabetes and heart disease. They contend that sugar consumption is the cause.
In other words, not everyone gains a lot of weight from over-indulging in sugar, but a large proportion of the U.S. population is eating enough of it that it's having devastating health effects, they say.
"The gestalt shift is maybe obesity is just a marker for the rise in chronic disease worldwide, and in fact metabolic syndrome, caused by excessive sugar consumption, is the real culprit," said Schmidt, a health policy professor who focuses on alcohol and addiction research.
Americans eat and drink roughly 22 teaspoons of sugar every day - triple what they consumed three decades ago - and most people aren't even aware of the various ways sugars sneak into their diets, often via breads and cereals and processed foods.
Ultimately, getting those sugars out of the American food culture is going to require a massive shift in how foods and beverages are made in the United States, the authors say. In the paper, they say that the Food and Drug Administration needs to remove sugar from the list of foods "generally regarded as safe," meaning they can be used in unlimited quantities.
But the food and beverage industries have repeatedly denied that sugar is the main villian behind rising rates of obesity, or the increases in diabetes and heart disease. Instead, industry representatives say that a complex cultural shift - toward a more inactive lifestyle and increased calories overall - is to blame.
And not all scientists agree that sugar should shoulder the entire burden for the chronic diseases afflicting modern Americans.
"When you get into this argument about sugar in the diet, you also have to look at the type of food that has a high sugar content," said Jo Ann Hattner, a San Francisco registered dietitian who teaches nutrition courses at Stanford. "Those foods have few nutrients and little fiber, and that's not good for you. So is it sugar itself, that's harmful?"
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That said, Hattner added, there's no doubt that people in general consume too much sugar and that everyone could benefit from eating less - and especially looking out for "hidden" sugars in their diets. Those sugars are often found in processed foods like sodas, cereals and breads. Even cookies contain much more sugar than they did a decade or two ago, nutritionists say.
But while individuals certainly can make small changes to their diets to eat more nutritiously, that alone is not going to effect major public health improvements, Lustig and his co-authors said.
In their paper, they argue for taxes on heavily sweetened foods and beverages, restricting advertising to children and teenagers, and removing sugar-ladened products from schools, or even from being sold near schools. They suggest banning the sale of sugary beverages to children.
Schmidt noted that those policies could nudge people toward healthier choices - but only if, at the same time, healthier choices are made widely available. Such policies have worked in reducing alcohol consumption and smoking rates, she said. There's no reason they can't work with sugar too.
Lustig said he realizes that there will likely be heavy resistance to the idea of largely removing sugar from American diets - and resistance not just from the food and beverage industries, but from the public at large.
"Everybody yells, 'Nanny state, this guy is trying to control our food,' " Lustig said. "But it's already being controlled. It limits consumer choice when so much of our food is controlled by these industries. I'm actually trying to undo the nanny state."
But while individuals certainly can make small changes to their diets to eat more nutritiously, that alone is not going to effect major public health improvements, Lustig and his co-authors said.
In their paper, they argue for taxes on heavily sweetened foods and beverages, restricting advertising to children and teenagers, and removing sugar-ladened products from schools, or even from being sold near schools. They suggest banning the sale of sugary beverages to children.
Schmidt noted that those policies could nudge people toward healthier choices - but only if, at the same time, healthier choices are made widely available. Such policies have worked in reducing alcohol consumption and smoking rates, she said. There's no reason they can't work with sugar too.
Lustig said he realizes that there will likely be heavy resistance to the idea of largely removing sugar from American diets - and resistance not just from the food and beverage industries, but from the public at large.
"Everybody yells, 'Nanny state, this guy is trying to control our food,' " Lustig said. "But it's already being controlled. It limits consumer choice when so much of our food is controlled by these industries. I'm actually trying to undo the nanny state."
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Worked hard in January.
Numbers came in strong in January. Now ready to move forward on my skinny campaign. Between the holidays, birthday and other celebrations, I fell off my mark. I'm back in full effect starting tomorrow.
No More Fast Food!
Today I made sure I ate fast food. For lunch hd Mcdonalds and for dinner had Popeyes. That's it, all done. Now hopefully I will banish bad foods forever.
People who eat several fast-food meals a week are significantly heavier than those who don't eat fast food very often, according to a new study released Monday.
People who eat several fast-food meals a week are significantly heavier than those who don't eat fast food very often, according to a new study released Monday.
Each additional fast-food meal packs on pounds, so someone who consumes one fast-food meal a week is on average 1½ pounds heavier than someone who eats no fast food, says Kelley Borradaile, an obesity researcher at Temple University in Philadelphia. She presented her research at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society.
"These results largely confirm commonly held perceptions about the relationship between fast food consumption and body weight," she says.
Borradaile and colleagues analyzed national survey data on about 4,600 adults who reported their height and weight and eating habits in 2006.
Respondents said they purchase about five meals outside of their home a week, either take-out or dining out. Other research shows a similar trend. About 252 meals per person were purchased away from home in 2007, according to NPD Group, a leading market research firm.
The Temple study found fast-food places are the top choices for breakfast and lunch; casual dining restaurants and fast-food are top picks for dinner.
Among the findings reported Monday:
•The weight of people who consumed three to six fast-food meals a week was significantly greater than those who consumed no fast food or ate one to two such meals a week.
•Every additional fast food meal during the week was associated with a 1½ pound higher body weight. "We don't know if this is a direct cause-effect relationship," Borradaile says. "There may be other factors at play here, including sedentary lifestyles of people who tend to eat fast food."
•About 50% of respondents say they would be more likely to order healthful items if they were offered as part of a value/combo meal, and 41% would like to have nutritional information on menus. "These data reveal some important clues about what factors may help people make healthier choices at restaurants," researcher Gary Foster says
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