Living Well

Restaurant List - Fast Foods and Franchises. - DietFacts.com

Restaurant List - Fast Foods and Franchises. - DietFacts.com  A great site to check out the nutritional content of restaurant food.

Yahoo! News - Survey: Children Are Not Sleeping Enough

According to this article and survey, Yahoo! News - Survey: Children Are Not Sleeping Enough, children are not getting enough sleep. And, neither are their parents, which I am sure is not a surprise to any parents out there.

The National Marrow Donor Program

I would like to encourage everyone who is able to sign up as a bone marrow donor with The National Marrow Donor Program. Only 30% of people in need of bone marrow find a match within their family. The rest of them rely on people in the donor database.

One of my collegues is currently still looking for a donor for his treatment scheduled in the spring.

Diet substance may have killed elk

Elk in Wyoming have been dying of a mysterious malady. CNN.com says it may be from usnic acid, a substance found in both lichen ... and weight loss drugs.

FDA warns prenatal portrait studios

CNN.com has an article about the growing number of prenatal ultrasound studios. These businesses own a 3D ultrasound and charge couples to see and take pictures of their babies. The FDA is worried that because the businesses do not hire people with medical training, they might misuse the equipment (using it for longer and with more power than tested) and that they might not correctly diagnose problems. Since they don't pretend to be offering medical care, I don't think it's an issue that they might miss medical problems or be unable to help a couple properly if they do find one (as long as they refer them to a medical doctor). However, if ultrasounds do cause a reaction in tissue, such as heating it up, then I think they should be regulated by the FDA.

Doctor 'Scorecards' Proposed

On CNN.com. 28 large employers are working together to create a scorecards for doctors to help their employees select physicians.

U.N.: Lack of Vitamins Eroding Brainpower

This New York Times article says that the shortage of vitamins in developing nations is affecting their IQs as well as the rate of birth defects.

Why Americans are losing the fat fight

This CNN.com article talks about a group of experts that got together this week to discuss why Americans are gaining weight. While the article didn't come to any conclusions, this tidbit was interesting: "Most Americans gain about two pounds a year between the ages of 20 and 60." Wow!

Study partly blames fructose for obesity jump

This CNN.com article says that the beginning of the use of high-fructose corn sweeteners corresponds to a large jump in obesity rates.

The premise of the study is based on this comment, "The debate over high-fructose sweeteners centers on how the body processes sugar. Unlike glucose, a major component in table sugar, fructose doesn't trigger responses in hormones that regulate energy use and appetite. That means fructose is more likely to be converted into fat, the researchers said."

However, the article also stresses that it's the total number of calories consumed that contributes to weight gain. So, you don't gain weight from eating fructose, you gain weight because you ate too much. You might have eaten too much because you liked the fructose ...

Personal Health: Sane Weight Loss in a Carb-Obsessed World: High Fiber and Low Fat

A New York Times article advocating high fiber, low fat, high carb diets with moderate portion sizes and exercise as the best weight control method.