Crack! The egg bursts onto the pan and shines like the sunrise.  A familiar visual for many, eggs are an integral part of the American diet, but many of us don’t think twice about what kind of hens those eggs come from.   In a recent New York Times article, and across the media, the discussion of caged hens has become an important debate.

Farmers with large egg farms (farms that house 4 million hens, yielding 3 million eggs per day) believe that caged chickens are just as functional as hens kept outside of cages.  However, “extreme caging methods” are being banned in California and are up for review in Ohio, calling into question the factory farming methods that are used. 

Many animal rights advocates believe that the lives of these caged chickens are subpar. They can hardly move, let alone roam free as they would in their natural habitat.

The debate is contentious, especially because eggs create a large portion of school lunches and 90% of eggs consumed by the American population come from these large farms.  Is there a way to feed our population while still respecting the animals that provide for us?  What do you think?

                                                                                                                                                                                           One of the major health problems facing our country today is the epidemic of obesity. Unfortunately, experts on obesity are turning toward an unsustainable and potentially dangerous solution to this problem.  According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, citing the June issue of the medical journal Obesity, doctors are recommending a “minimally invasive weight loss surgery” to combat the obesity problem.

This is disappointing news; not only because the number of overweight children in the United States has tripled in the last 30 years.

Since obesity has hit alarming rates, physicians are scrambling for a quick fix.  The solution is actually very simple: start in the early years and create a diet for your child that is full of whole foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals.  Make sure they get physical activity everyday and diversify your meal choices.  Instead of white rice or other refined grains choose quinoa, bulgur, or buckwheat.  Processed foods that contain additives, like high fructose corn syrup, will only perpetuate the obesity problem in our country.

Remember that quick fix solutions do not generally result in long-term success. If you fix the problem at its source, you are more likely to create a lasting change. In this case, the diets of children in the US must be changed or an entire generation will remain at risk of diabetes, heart disease, and countless other problems. 

What are your thoughts on weight loss surgery as a soulution to the obesity problem?

 Being thin doesn’t always equate with being healthy.  Living in a society that is hyper focused on media generated perceptions of beauty, can be counterintuitive to what being truly healthy really means.  Eating a balanced diet that is comprised of whole grains, a variety of proteins, vegetables (lots of green leafy ones), water and fruit is important.  However, it should be combined with regular physical activity, a connection with others through meaningful relationships, and a fulfilling career as main ingredients for a healthy body and life. 

There’s no doubt that obesity is a serious problem causing the increase of chronic health issues like diabetes and heart disease.  However, there is a difference between carrying a little extra weight and being obese.  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal states that researchers and doctors “are starting to understand that eating healthy foods and getting exercise can matter more than the number that appears when you step on the scale.”

How about using how you feel as the gauge for good health?  Your body is intelligent and wise, it can express when it needs rest, when it has eaten too much or too little or the wrong thing.  Do you listen when your body speaks to you?

Did you know that eating junk food can change the chemistry in your brain?  A recent article on CNN.com reports on scientific findings that junk food is addictive.  Addiction comes in many forms, and food addiction is nothing new.  The article states “high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction”.   Food is made more addictive when it is stripped of its nutrients, and we end up eating bad food not because we’re hungry but because we think we need it.

Morgan Spurlock demonstrated fast food addiction in his documentary film, Super Size Me.  During his 30 day fast food binge, Morgan began to experience the addicting effects of subsisting on an all fast food diet; in particular, he craved his daily fix of fast food at every meal and felt ill when he did not get it. 

Just like drug addiction, this study explains that when eating too much junk food, we overload the “pleasure sensors” in the brain.  The junk food makes us feel good for a short time, but once the pleasure sensors crash, we need more and more of the food to feel that sugar “high” again.  Imagine your body needing a certain amount of junk food just to function normally?

It’s not surprising that processed, chemicalized foods alter brain chemistry.  What’s surprising is that fast food is still the number one choice for many people.  How do we help people overcome fast food addiction?  Awareness is the first step.  People need to be informed of the harmful effects of fast food.  Transitioning to a diet of whole foods is the key to helping a junk food junkie overcome the addiction. 

Can we program ourselves to become ‘addicted’ to healthy, nutritious foods instead of high-calorie, processed, junk foods?

Dining can be a very social experience.  Gatherings with friends after work, family on the weekends, and coworkers at lunch are how many people spend mealtime.  We like to eat with others, whether the people are with us at the dinner table or on the television.  Many people do not dine alone, ever.  Many people would never go out to a restaurant alone.

However, eating alone can be a meditative experience that helps to control over-eating.  Martha Rose Shulman references “Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life,” by Lilian Cheung, a nutritionist at Harvard, and Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist teacher, in her New York Times article, that focuses on eating alone.   Eating alone allows you to contemplate and focus on your food.  You can count chews and be mindful of when you feel full.  When you cook for yourself you can practice mindfulness, which is something you need when using a knife!

Many people find that cooking for one can also be a challenge.  Obviously ordering take-out is much easier, but finding creative ways to stretch a meal or work with a recipe that feeds 4 is a great way to save money, skip unwanted calories and put meditative eating into practice.

Shulman will be hosting a series with recipes for one beginning with Pan-Seared Tuna with Asian Coleslaw.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett hopes so.  He wants to inspire the residents of his city to be healthier and lose weight.  Mayor Cornett’s appeal is in response to his city listed as of one of the unhealthiest in America.  The OKC Million community challenge to lose a total of 1,000,000 pounds is open to all and everyone is encouraged to join.  Individuals, families, friends, corporations, churches, local organizations, community groups, sports teams, police departments, fire departments and schools are all welcome. 

When Oklahoma City residents join the site www.thiscityisgoingonadiet.com they have access to nutrition information, recipes, weight loss programs and success stories.  Sounds like a recipe for success! 

Watch this report from NBC Nightly News to see how Mayor Cornett’s city is accepting the challenge.

How healthy is your city?

Is your pantry stocked with Fruit Roll-ups, Goldfish, Twinkies, and Cheez-it’s?  Could you describe your family as “grazers” who walk by the refrigerator or pantry and grab a handful of whatever looks appealing several times a day?  Have parents gotten used to snacks as a way to stop whining or avoid tantrums?  It’s not unusual to see children snacking at recess, after school, before and after sporting events; basically at every extracurricular activity.  Parents are getting bombarded with requests for snacks and quite often the preferred choice is packaged processed foods:  cookies, crackers and sodas. 

With the increase in activities, marketers target busy parents and kids with mini packs of cookies and other junk foods.  This makes it easy for moms to toss into backpacks for afterschool snacks.  The New York Times reports that, “According to the Agriculture Department, American children get 40 percent of their calories from food of poor nutritional quality.” 

Perhaps it’s time to reassess snack time.  Please comment and let us know how your family snacks.

The New York City Mayor is at it again.  In the past few years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was successful in getting chain restaurants to visibly display calories, and remove trans fats.  Now the Mayor has turned his attention to curbing the salt intake of city residents.

The mayor’s plan, which is voluntary, aims to cut the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant foods in the city by 25 percent over five years.  Since the sodium in salt causes high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, the Mayor’s plan is to improve the overall health of New Yorkers.

It sounds like the Mayor is on the right track in his quest to help New Yorkers get healthy, but will a voluntary plan do the trick?  If “Eighty percent of the salt in Americans’ diets comes from packaged or restaurant food,” as the New York Times reports; is the answer for better health to reduce the salt in those foods or to reduce those foods?

Counting calories to lose weight is a tedious way to accomplish the goal.  Weighing food, reading labels, and feeling hungry are all part of the frustrations that go along with a calorie restrictive diet.  Restaurants in New York City and across the country have even started to post calorie amounts on menu items in an effort to help people make healthier choices.  However, a recent study in the New York Times shows that many restaurant foods and frozen meals contain much higher calorie content than what they stated.  The Times reports that “at Denny’s, a serving of grits, listed at 80 calories, tested at 258. The label on Lean Cuisine’s shrimp and angel-hair pasta says it has 220 calories, but the researchers measured it at 319. They found 344 calories in a Wendy’s grilled chicken wrap listed at 260.” 

If you want to lose weight and you are relying on restaurant food and frozen meals, you may want to think again.  An apple has only 44 calories, a banana 65, broccoli 32 and spinach comes in at only 8. 

Eating food that is naturally low in calories but high in nutrition is the way to go when you are looking to lose a few pounds.  Fast food and frozen meals will only keep you starving for more. 

What do you do to keep the pounds off? 

Are you someone who knows what you should be doing for better health, but you’re just not doing it?  Do you set lofty goals for yourself that you know you’ll never reach?  Do you eat foods that you know are hard to digest or give you an allergic reaction?  You aren’t alone.  Many people are well aware of the steps they need to take to feel better and live a life that is free of chronic health issues.  Quite often we sabotage ourselves and complain that a healthy lifestyle is out of reach.  That’s where a support system is very useful.  Take this quiz with Christi Collins, The Boston Health Coach, to help you identify any areas where you may be sabotaging your health (either intentionally or subconsciously) and provide you with easy changes you can make immediately to start improving your health. 

Christi is an Integrative Nutrition graduate.  She suffered with severe stomach pain that couldn’t be explained by any doctors or specialists, throughout her college years.  After being diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Christi spent 8 years trying desperately to get rid of it.

Christi now lives almost completely symptom-free. She is an author, speaker, mother and a health counselor. As the Boston Health Coach, Christi guides others on their journey to vibrant health and happiness. Join us on Thursday to hear about Christi’s incredible journey.