Pollution a Big Cause of Death

A researcher at Cornell University says that air, water, and soil pollution can be blamed for 40 percent of deaths worldwide.

Pollution is a big contributor to disease in people, David Pimentel says, and the increasing world population makes disease even worse. Pimentel and colleagues studied 120 published reports on pollution, malnutrition, population growth and other factors for their report, published online in the journal Human Ecology.

They found that about 57 percent of the world’s population is malnourished, compared to just 20 percent in 1950. Half the world’s people live in crowded urban areas, and more than a billion lack safe drinking water. Waterborne illnesses account for 80 percent of all infectious diseases.

More than three million people die each year from air pollution, and microbes in water and soil are becoming more resistant to drugs.

As we in the more developed world think about living healthier lives, its a good idea to stop every now and then and get a little perspective on what healthy living really means.

Convenience Foods Aren’t Really

A very interesting study published in the British Food Journal watched two-income Los Angeles families for four days and looked at what they ate for dinner. The study found that 70 percent of the dinners were home-cooked, but convenience foods dominated.

Most families used some kind of pre-prepared items such as frozen entrees, vegetables, frozen bread products, canned soup or prepared pasta sauce in their meals. On the other hand, less than 15 percent of families had meals consisting entirely of takeout food, and about 5 percent combined takeout with food made at home.

What makes this study so interesting is that people who cooked with convenience foods and those who made meals from scratch took about the same time to cook. Average meal preparation time was 52 minutes, and there was no statistical difference in time between those who used mostly convenience foods and those who used fewer of those products.

There was, however, time saved when you look at hands-on cooking time. Meals made from scratch needed about 34 minutes on hands-on time, while those who used prepared foods could step away from the stove for 10 or 12 of those minutes.

Researchers said the reliance on convenience foods comes more from not having a plan when you go to the grocery store than any actual convenience. And with all the sodium and uncontrollable levels of calories and fat in prepared foods, you’ve got to wonder what that “convenience” is costing.

Is Organic Worth It?

More and more people are choosing organic foods all the time, but this trend leaves a lot of people wondering if the extra expense is really worth it. Many organic foods cost up to twice as much as their conventional counterparts, but experts say there are some organic foods that are worth the money.

The main thing to think about when choosing whether to buy organic is the pesticide load that the conventionally grown produce is likely to have. Some fruits and vegetables are very highly sprayed, while others are not.

The Environmental Working Group’s rankings of the most pesticide-laden foods are pretty universally accepted as the ones that should be followed when choosing foods to buy organic:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Imported grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

If you have a limited food budget but would like to bring some organics into your life, this list is a great place to start.

Whole Grains to Curb High Blood Pressure

WebMD had an interesting article recently about how the regular consumption of whole grains may help lowering the risk of developing high blood pressure. I always being up and going first when it comes to finding healthier alternatives to the foods I already eat, whole grains are something I’ve integrated within my diet for years, even though I admit still consuming refined grains at times (now you can’t shun that kind of things all the time when having dinner at friends’, can you?).

The study followed 29,000 women 45-years old or more, of which 8,722 were newly diagnosed with hypertension, for ten years, and reported that eating four portions of whole grain a day would lower their risks of developing high blood pressure during the study by about 23%. Eating refined grains brought no particular benefit in that area. The study also tried to keep all the involved factors consistent, although it isn’t known (like in many studies, I suppose) if the involved women accurately reported their grains intake, or if other dietary changes played a role as well.

Are those fantastic findings? I don’t know, but still, it does make sense to me that whole grains containing more nutrients (after all, they are less refined–is it possible to have entirely non-refined food, anyway?–than their white counterparts), they must wield more benefits, whatever those may be, for our bodies. If it can help lowering blood pressure, it’s all the best.

As for introducing more whole grains in your diet, lots of these, I’ve found out, can easily replace your former white grains habits: brown rice can be used and eaten just like white rice, whole-wheat pasta like egg-pasta, etc. And there are plenty of other grains, such as oatmeal, buckwheat or quinoa, that can be involved in delicious recipes, whether for breakfast or for the other meals. As usual, make sure to carefully read the list of ingredients, to make sure those are indeed whole grains, and not just “multigrain” or “made with 100% wheat”, which doesn’t mean the same thing. (I’ve also noticed that in our stores here in France, real whole grains often don’t even need to be advertised with such words: they’re self-sufficient, so to say. But I don’t know how it goes in other countries.)

Exercising Outdoors In Winter

Yes, yes, I know we’re still in summer–although if you’ve been living in France these past three months, you may find it hard to believe. But one might as well write about it while the idea is fresh, and while we still have enough time to figure it out, and prepare for the cold season, right?

Constant exercise is a key in keeping in good health: you can’t just go jogging for four months, then give up your physical activity just because it’s a little too cold. However, if you’re remotely like me, exercising outdoors in winter (mainly in the case of cardio-like exercise) may really be a problem: while I’m not afraid of the weather, I tend to very easily catch colds, and every time I haven’t been extra careful in that regard, I’ve always caught something and been down for the following weeks. That’s neither pleasant nor convenient for me, and I’m not expecting it’d be for you. So here are a few things to keep in mind, especially if you’re new at exercising regularly and hasn’t had to do it during the cold months yet:

• Finding indoors alternatives: If you can go to a gym, a closed swimming pool, use fitness DVDs in your living room, or get a stationary exercise machine, then by all means, do it.
• Dress appropriately: Dressing in layers is the answer. Even outdoors in winter, you’ll be sweaty in no time, but if all you can remove is one huge layer of clothing that will then leave you with close to nothing, you’ll very likely become sick. A thin layer of synthetic material close to your skin, followed by insulating material, then waterproof clothes will help. A scarf or mask to warm the air you breathe is also useful–although, if you’re wearing glasses, you may want to switch to contacts, otherwise you won’t see anything (speaking of experience much, anyone?). And don’t forget gloves and a cap.
• Water! Because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean your body will need much less water than in summer. As said, you’ll sweat all the same (unless you’re not doing things properly), and you will risk dehydration, which cold air may even help to accelerate.
• Sunscreen (and potentially sunglasses too): If it’s been snowing, don’t forget that snow reverberates the light of the sun, so be careful, and don’t think it’ll be less aggressive for your skin and eyes just because it’s winter.
• End your workout with the wind in your back if possible. You’ll feel less cold.
• Be on the look-out for frostbite and other symptoms. If you notice hard, white patches on your skin, or worse, are starting to feel numb, stop running/skiing or whatever other activity you were doing, and go back to a warm place to seek assistance.
• Finally, learn to recognize your limits as well as that of the weather. If it’s really very cold and/or windy, swap to an indoors activity no matter what. There’s no use overdoing it and acting the brave guy or girl if it means straining your body too much (and fighting a real cold weather and chilly wind will strain your body with or without exercise anyway).

Walking and Aging

I’ve been thinking about all of this for quite some time. I can’t deny that I am trying to lose weight, but I am also focused on living a healthier life as a whole, whether in terms of foods or of exercising, and more and more, I’ve tried to research how all of this could influence not only my present self, but my future, older self as well.

We cannot know how we’ll be twenty, thirty, fourty years from now on. However, one thing I know is that I don’t want to be 60 and already needing a walking stick if I can avoid it. I can’t control the potential broken bones and other accidents I might get into in years to come; I can control my general level of fitness, and the kind of exercise and eating that are mine to prepare my old age, and preserve my ‘health capital’ as much as possible. And that’s why I’ve been paying more attention to an activity that everyone, save in the case of very heavy health problems, can probably perform from the moment they’re able to stand up all by themselves until they get really old: walking.

Walking is the most basic physical activity for a human being. We learn to walk at about 1.5 years old, and even earlier for some babies. Our feet and legs can carry us almost everywhere. We have actually been designed by evolution to walk all day long if needed. If for a reason we find ourselves unable to walk, we suddenly realize how painful it is, how frustrating. And the benefits of walking can be felt at every age, in every period of our life.

It helps strengthening your muscles and improving your balance and flexibility. It will make your blood circulation better. And if you walk often enough, and at fast enough a pace, more muscle mass in your lower body will also mean less strain on your bones and joints, as well as less lower-back problems (myself, I’ve never had as little problems in that area as since I’ve started to use my legs more). Not to mention that a better balance and more lean mass will prevent you from easily falling and fracturing a limb.

Of course, other types of exercise–swimming, biking, and more generally, an active lifestyle–will be just as good. But think about it. Walking is the very basics, it’s cheap, it’s convenient, and you don’t need much material to do it, except a pair of decent enough shoes. So please don’t keep it out of your mind, and think about the benefits it will bring you now and in the future. You may very well be suffering from arthritis, for instance, like many people in your old age; but keeping on moving (which is what every doctor will tell you to do in that case anyway!) will help you delay more important sufferings. And it is always good, for your morale and your quality of life, to be able to move (almost) freely as long as possible.

Foods Gone Bad

I’m a regular reader of the Mark’s Daily Apple blog, and even though lots of its articles catch my interest, this time I paid even more attention to one of its most recent posts: When do foods really go bad?

See, I am the kind of person who tends to not pay enough attention to those things. Unless the milk in its carton starts to turn yellowish, or my meat smells more like fish than anything else, I can let something become a little less healthy than recommended, simply because I’m a total airhead who has no clue about those things. But healthy living goes through the fridge as well, and having plenty of fruits and vegetables under the hand isn’t everything there is to it: produce also need to remain edible, after all.

So, first of all, this article will define the difference between “Sell by” and “Use by/Best if used by” (I learned something today, for sure). It then proceeds to let the reader know about dairy, eggs and produce, and for how long/under which conditions they may be kept in the fridge. Leftovers can be land mines in their own way (what’s that brownish stuff in the Tupperware box, there, at the back? Hasn’t it been there for the past two months?). As for meat and fish, these you really need to keep a close eye on, especially fish–when I get it fresh, I know I’d better eat it on the very day I’ve bought it, else (nasty) surprises start to appear. The article ends on a few more tips, and on a general rule that everyone should make sure of keeping in mind: “When in doubt, throw it out!” Sure, that’s money thrown out of the window, but it’s better than being sick. Or maybe it means it’s time we start to properly recognize our needs, and not buy too much food at once?

In any case, this is an article worth reading, and I hope you’ll find it as useful as I did.

Mall Walking

After a pleasant July, August is more than making up for it with hot days and humid nights. It’s just unbearable to be outside for any length of time. When it’s too hot to do much of anything outside, it can really put a dampen on any walking routine.  Usually I just walk around the neighborhood, but on unbelievably hot days, I travel to the mall.

As a beginner mall walker, it can be hard to keep a pace because it is easy to get distracted by the sights, sounds, and the smells of the mall. Temptation can be resisted and a good walk in the mall can be had. Here is how I get the most out of my mall walking.

Most malls unlock their doors way before the mall officially opens, allowing walkers to get in their walk way before it becomes crowded. This makes a great time to walk at the mall. Most of the time this is when I walk at the mall. Sometimes it can be challenging to get moving this early, so I have to walk when the mall has officially opened.

When I have to walk during open hours, I keep to the outside track of the mall. This helps to avoid some traffic and get the most out of my walk since I will be able to keep a faster pace. Taking along my MP3 player will block out a lot of the mall noise from distracting me from my walk. Unfortunately, there isn’t a nose plug so that I don’t smell those delicious cookies being baked. With our mall, it is very hard to avoid the food court since it is in the middle of the mall. Avoiding the food court is easier in some mall layouts that put the food court at one of the ends.

Some malls have walking clubs where people meet up and walk together. Our mall walking club is done through one of the local hospitals. Check with your local mall to see if such a club exists.

Eco-running

Eco-running is something I had never thought of, and now I really wonder why, because it is good for the health, and good for the environment as well.

So what is eco-running? That’s simple! Put on your running shoes, take a couple of empty trash bags with you, start running, and whenever you see some trash lying on the road, the pavement or wherever you are, pick it up and put it in your bag. At the end of your run, not only will you have done some more exercise (picking up stuff while running IS a stride-breaking challenge when you’re not used to it), but you will also have helped keeping your area cleaner–or less dirty, depending on whether we want to see that glass half-full or half-empty.

Eco-running is nothing new in itself, but this movement doesn’t seem to be very well-known yet, and I think it’s a shame (Wikipedia didn’t even have an article about it until recently!). Of course, it also implies that you have to throw your trash bags in an appropriate place once you’re done, but that is sort of an evidence, isn’t it?

In any case, it is something I definitely want to try out. I’m already adding a little bit of my share to the spheres of ‘daily exercise’ and ‘keeping my planet clean’ by using a bike rather than the bus or a car, so why not push it just a little further? After all, a healthy living doesn’t have to include only ourselves–we can help in other areas by paying attention to what we do.