An excellent presentation about cultures around the world who eat a health-promoting diet. 

Hold the pasta! Replace it with zucchini. Things to note:

1. This takes about 5-minutes to make
2. Per person, I recommend two nice-sized zucchinis 
3. Here's a recipe from the New York Times
4. For preparation, take a look at the video below
5. It's delicious

Interesting video from Soda Free Summer. Also visit: Have a Coke and a . . .

Not only is Dr. Katz one of the most knowledgeable people about all the issues related to our obesity dilemma, he is also a very eloquent speaker.  

To gain insight into our nation's weight and health problem, listen to this interview. I recommend fast-forwarding to the 22-minute mark of  the interview.

Note: The framing of the conversation is about the recent brouhaha over removing severely obese children from the home. However, he discusses much more than that.

Finally: A study that says: "Eat More". That's my mantra!

From the New York Times (I agree):

The foods that contributed to the greatest weight gain were not surprising. French fries led the list: Increased consumption of this food alone was linked to an average weight gain of 3.4 pounds in each four-year period. Other important contributors were potato chips (1.7 pounds), sugar-sweetened drinks (1 pound), red meats and processed meats (0.95 and 0.93 pound, respectively), other forms of potatoes (0.57 pound), sweets and desserts (0.41 pound), refined grains (0.39 pound), other fried foods (0.32 pound), 100-percent fruit juice (0.31 pound) and butter (0.3 pound).

I saw this tweet this morning (actually, I had already read the article)...
Robyn O'Brien (@unhealthytruth) 7/18/11 7:14 AM
Preventing Cancer via Your Diet: And while Dr. Weil suggests 8 Steps, you can easily pick one or two to get started=> http://t.co/P1TUeQT

My advice: Be very skeptical about these types of claims. While the advice Dr. Weil provides will assist with living a healthy lifestyle, there are many factors that can lead to cancer. I would take this quote to heart when reading health claims:

There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. - Donald Rumsfeld

How many times have you said that or heard it? If you believe in that catch-phrase, please read this article by Andy Bellatti. 

It's an article that addresses many misconceptions that people have about living a healthy lifestyle.

Most experts would agree with the above statement. Dr. Ornish explains...

When watching a commercial for any medication, for example, *Lipitor, it's important to know the following:

1. Absolute vs Relative Risk
2. Number Needed to Treat

This site, The NNT, goes into great depth about the Number Needed to Treat.

Most likely, you will learn that a medication that is advertised on TV or in print is not as effective as stated because it will use the Relative Risk percentage.

My site: Life without Lipitor