Countdown to Fitness

I’m dedicating this to some family members who have age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  AMD is a disease that strikes older adults and results in vision loss in the macula, the center of the retina.  According to the National Eye Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years and older.

Normal Vision

Two Types:
There are two forms of this disease: “dry” and “wet.”  In the dry form, also known as central geographic atrophy, the macula typically degrades gradually, so people may not realize that their vision is being impaired.  While the most common symptom of the dry form is blurred vision in the center of the field of vision, according to the “Dry macular degeneration” article on the Mayo Clinic website, a person may notice the following changes: (more…)

You may want to reconsider eating that piece of bread or sandwich. While most everyone knows that white flour is not healthy to begin with, the bleaching agent, itself, creates a dangerous by-product that actually causes diabetes.

It’s well known that refined flour is not healthy because it is bereft of most nutrients.  In the refining process, the bran — outer layer of grain, which contains dietary fiber, essential fatty acids, starch, protein, vitamins, and dietary minerals — is removed. Also, the cereal germ, or reproductive part of the plant that contains many nutrients, is also removed to prevent the flour from going rancid. What’s left, the endosperm, is a simple carbohydrate that quickly converts to sugar in the body, which spikes insulin.  It’s almost as bad as eating table sugar straight from the bowl. (more…)

Because Americans are eating less high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the makers of HFCS want to change its name to “corn sugar” to improve its image and sales.  On September 14, 2010, the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use the new name on food labels.

While the FDA could take a couple of years to decide whether to accept the change, the CRA is already using the name in a new, aggresive marketing campaign on its website and in TV commercials. (more…)

Orange Juice - Could It Kill You?

“That orange juice will kill you,” said a French waitress to my husband’s boss years ago, when the boss was in Paris on business, eating his normal breakfast at the hotel. Later, the boss related the incident, and we all thought that was really funny.  How could orange juice kill people?  (The French have a lower incidence of heart disease.  Is there a connection?)

Well, the joke was really on us.  I related this incident about a week ago to a visitor as we talked about nutrition and she mentioned drinking orange juice and eating oranges, thinking she was eating healthily.  Yes, I used to think this way too, until I realized how much sugar and carbohydrates were in one orange 2- 7/8″ in diameter.  According to NutritionData.com, there are 18 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of sugar in that orange. If you ate it, you just consumed about 2 1/2 teaspoons of sugar.  OUCH!  The American Heart Association is suggesting no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day for women and 9 for men, although I now think these values are way too high, as these numbers will probably promote insulin resistance. (more…)

Cancer - Lymphoma

I’m dedicating this series of articles to a friend  — who just went through cancer surgery and is undergoing chemotherapy — because much of the mainstream wisdom on diets and their effects on cancer, just like other Western diseases, isn’t true or is so vague as to be useless.  While I couldn’t possibly cover the broad range of information in just a few articles, I will cover a few important areas to look at because I want to help wade through all the confusing and overwhelming information to get to the important topics for people to consider.

My personal philosophy is to understand nutrition as best as possible, so I can make informed choices about my health.  I may know what I should do but am not ready to do it at that time, but at least in the future I have the option to choose the most healthful path as I become ready to accept the change.

High-fat diets, low-fat diets, high-carb diets, low-carb diets, I’ve heard various information about how these diets may contribute or prevent cancer, but how accurate is the information?  (more…)