April is STD Prevention Month

Did you know that every April is STD Prevention month? Every year there are 20 million people that become infected by STD's. This costs us all collectively 16 billion dollars each year! Since half of all new STD's are among youth, make sure to talk to the young people in your life, or mention it to their parents as an important topic that should be addressed. 

Below is a great infographic from the CDC about the statistics about STD's. Learn something new, and then share with people in your community. Prevention is a great way to stay healthy!

 

CDC and Healthy Weddings

Who knew that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (commonly known as the CDC) was interested in your wedding day? I guess that just goes to show you how dangerous marriage can be! All jokes aside, there are some great, simple tips that the CDC recommends:

Wedding Checklist: 10 Tips for Physical and Mental Health

1. Get at least 2½ hours of physical activity a week. The more you do, the greater the health benefits and the better you'll feel—not only for the wedding, but beyond.
2. Do more physical activity if you want to lose weight. Physical activity increases the number of calories your body uses for energy—that is, how many calories your body burns off.
3. Plan your workouts. It may be tempting to cram in workouts to drop weight quickly right before the wedding day, but this can lead to unwanted stress and injury.
4. Love yourself and others with heart-healthy eating that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables and foods low in sugar, salt, and saturated fat. Avoid crash diets. Check out heart-healthy menus for the wedding, reception, and other celebrations.
5. If you smoke, quit now. It's a perfect gift to yourself and loved ones.
6. Learn ways to manage stress, including finding support and asking for help, connecting socially, maintaining a normal routine, setting limits, and relaxing. Talk with others about your feelings and take care of yourself by sticking to your normal routine.
7. Drink alcoholic beverages in moderation, which is defined as no more than 1 drink per day for women, and up to 2 drinks per day for men. Choose not to drink and drive.
8. Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
9. If you're going abroad for your honeymoon, get travel health information for your location. Know what vaccinations you will need for the trip.
10. Get your check-up. Don't put off exams and health screenings.

Preparing for Your Honeymoon

• Research ways to stay safe and healthy during your honeymoon. Keep up with latest travel information and safety tips from the U.S Department of State.
• Stay healthy on a cruise. Cruise ship outbreaks of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, primarily caused by norovirus, have been reported. The best way to prevent illness is frequent handwashing with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, alcohol-based hand sanitizer (containing at least 60% alcohol) is a good second choice. You will see hand sanitizer dispensers throughout your cruise ship—use them.
• Check the health scores for cruise ships. Vessel sanitation programs give information on everything from the cleanliness of cutting boards to food inspection reports.
• Whether you're going abroad or staying close to home, pack and use sunscreen, insect repellent, and appropriate safety gear for activities (such as helmets, life jackets, and knee pads). These steps may lower your risk for illness and injury.

Being True to Yourself

Ask yourself a few questions. Does your partner seem overbearing or controlling? Is there any abuse or violence in your relationship? Often, intimate partner violence starts with emotional abuse. This behavior can progress to physical or sexual assault.

• Pay attention to anything interfering with your ability to be safe and healthy or increasing your risk for disease or injury.
• Schedule an appointment to see your health provider, a counselor, or others for help if you are feeling depressed or anxious.

FDA and Sugar Limits

Over the last few weeks there have been a few articles written about health concerns over the amount of sugar that we eat in the US. The New York Times recently published an article by Mark Bittman, the lead food reporter for the NY Times, about sugar's toxicity. His writing sourced the "Center for Science in the Public Interest's" report on sugar levels, which can be read here: http://www.cspinet.org/new/201302131.html



In this article scientists are urging the FDA to create recommendations for sugar consumption to moderate daily intake. One of the culprits of this sugar overload is the large sized sodas sold everywhere in this country. Research supports that diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are largely preventable conditions that have been created and made worse by the consumption of large amounts of sugar. The argument for regulating these massive sized sugary beverages is based on public health concern.

Which ever side you are on the regulation of food and related products, the issue remains that the public does not seem to understand the seriousness of sugar toxicity on the body. Considering the amount of money these diseases place on our economy, it seem to make sense that the FDA should weigh in on the issue. As the public waits to hear the news on recommendation levels, which Science already knows, regulation is left up to the individual consumer to educate themselves on these issues. As a growing public heath concern continues, maybe one day the FDA will decide to do it's job and stand up to corporate interests to protect the American people.

FDA Let-down

Many of us have know for years now that the FDA has a conflict of interest when it comes towards review big business's food products. As such, we as the consumers of these items need, to be aware of what we are putting into our bodies. Below is a list of ingredients that have been banned by most other developed nations. Why we are so slow to catch on in the states? Because often profits come before people. That is an unfortunate consequence of unregulated capitalism.

Here is the list to watch out for:
1. COLORING AGENTS (BLUE 1, BLUE 2, YELLOW 5, AND YELLOW 6)
2. OLESTRA (AKA OLEAN) - Found In: Fat-free potato chips
3. BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL (AKA BVO) - Found In: Sports drinks (like GatorAid) and citrus-flavored sodas
4. POTASSIUM BROMATE (AKA BROMINATED FLOUR) - Found In: Rolls, wraps, flatbread, bread crumbs, and bagel chips
5. AZODICARBONAMIDE - Found In: Breads, frozen dinners, boxed pasta mixes, and packaged baked goods
6. BHA AND BHT - Found In: Cereal, nut mixes, gum, butter, meat, dehydrated potatoes, and beer
7. SYNTHETIC HORMONES (RBGH AND RBST) - Found In: Milk and dairy products
8. ARSENIC - Found In: Poultry

Happy and healthy eating!

RunKeeper

The app "Runkeeper" has been a really great tool to log my runs and for motivation. I occasionally will forget to start the app once I have began my run, and will not want to stop and restart. Some of it's features include playing your own music, incremental updates, and time updates. I often find that on the days that I expect to record my worst times, I end up recording the best times. Maybe I lower the bar just enough that I inspire myself? All in all, this is a great product that is affordable and user friendly.

Below are some stats about who is using this app. Turns out that USA uses it the most, and 60% of the users are male.

Let's Move

The organization started by Michelle Obama, "Let's Move" turns 3 years old this month. This initiative is aimed at inspiring children and families to create healthier lifestyles through fitness and nutrition. Mrs. Obama's goal to decrease obesity rates is such a nobel and needed goal that I just had to acknowledge the wonderful work. While at times it may seem that the road is just to long to travel for our country to turn around our obesity rates, it is nice to have reminders out there that their is a cultural shift in our eating and physical exercise patterns in the USA.

The Shelf Life of Food

How long will that vegetable last? While the length of time really depends of how fresh it was to begin with and whether it is a GMO product, here is a brilliant infographic as a guideline. I should say that this is based off of the FDA standards, and may not be the same as your experience, for example with the eggs.

Original image from: http://visual.ly

The Shelf Life of Food infographic by LindsaySnowOsborn.