Healthy Vegan Caramel Slice

I've never seen myself as a particularly outgoing or even social creature really. It's not that I'm overly shy or anything, it's more of an active choice I've made to keep a smaller circle of close friends rather than being surrounded by a whole bunch of people whom I barely know at all. (Of course some people manage to have six hundred besties at once but needless to say, I'm not one of them. How do they even?) But thanks to Instagram I've had the opportunity to connect with and befriend so many amazing, inspiring and crazy talented girls from all over the world! How this little story relates to the raw caramel slice? Well this recipe would have never seen the light of day had it not been for one of these Instagram girls and her #twistmytreat competition.

 Who she is? Well the one and only EatLikeEloise of course! This slice was 100% inspired by hers and guess what? If you want in on this fabulous competition where you can win Loving Earth chocolates, all you have to do is reinvent or put a twist on Eloise's caramel slice! I'd do anything for chocolate hehe. Also, this is positively the best competition I've ever participated in. Look at that oozy caramel. Just look at it and tell me you don't agree.

One more thing before we get to the recipe: it looks longer and more complicated than it actually is! Mostly because I've included two different ways to make the chocolate layer. I was way too eager to get to taste this to bother making my own chocolate but if you want to keep this recipe raw, I highly recommend you spend those extra five minutes on this!

Base:

- 7 dates (around 80 g)

- 1/4 cup oat flour (30 g)

- 1 tbsp tahini (20 g)

Caramel layer:

- 10 fresh/soft dates (110 g)

- 2 heaped tbsp all natural peanut butter

- 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk

- 1 tbsp lucuma powder

Chocolate layer raw version:

- 1 tbsp melted coconut oil or cacao butter

- 1 tbsp cacao powder

- 1 tbsp liquid sweetener of choice

Chocolate layer non-raw version:

- 2 oz. (56 g) vegan dark chocolate (preferably refined sugar-free)

How to:

1. Blend all the ingredients for the base in a food processor until you're left with a ball of raw 'cookie' dough. Add more oat flour if the dough is too sticky and more dates or tahini if it's too dry. (This depends a lot on how moist the dates are!)
2. Press it out into a small rectangle to about 1/4-inch or 5 mm thickness on a non-stick baking sheet. Set aside.
3. Peel and pit the dates for the caramel layer. This is easier if they have been soaked in hot water for at least 10 minutes or if you're using really soft ones. 
4. Place all the ingredients for the caramel layer in a small bowl and blend with a hand blender until smooth. (This step could be done using a food processor but I prefer the hand blender.)
5. Spoon the caramel on top of the base and level it with a spatula. Place in the freezer to set for at least one hour.
Raw version: 
6. When the caramel and base have set, make your own raw chocolate by mixing equal quantities coconut oil, cacao powder and sweetener in a bowl until combined. Wait until it's not super runny, then spread an even chocolate layer on top of the caramel. This will hopefully set immediately as the caramel is frozen so go ahead and cut as many slices as you want before placing them in an airtight container to store in the freezer or fridge if you prefer a gooey caramel.
Non-raw version:
6. If you're a lazy ass like me, then melt your (store-bought) chocolate over a hot water bath and spread it out on top of the frozen caramel base. It can be a bit trickier to cut neat squares this way (as is shown by the cracks on mine) but they're just as delicious, I promise. Store in the fridge for gooey caramel and the freezer if you want it solid.

Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... the KFC Double Down Dog!!

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Healthy Meal Prep | Grilled Chicken Salad

Today (Thursday) marks Day 7 of our 40-day Fat Loss Challenge.  I measured in on Day 1 at 24% (calipers) and today was at 22%!  Woo-hoo!  A 2% difference in 1 week is a big deal!  I'll show you some progress pics soon so you can see what it looks like.  I'm also using my heart-rate monitor (twice) and have been surprised at how little amount of calories it says I'm burning during my workouts.  I'll get into more detail on that in another post soon too.

Today, I'm sharing one of the meals I've been eating- a Grilled Chicken Salad and I always make multiples at a time so I can just pull the assembled salad out of the fridge and I don't have to spend time reprepping.  

Step 1 is to always have grilled chicken on hand or prepare enough for several salads.  If I'm just cooking 4-8 chicken breasts at a time, I use a grill pan.  Spray that pan with cooking spray, and heat to medium-high heat.  I pound my chicken breasts a little so they are thinner and cook evenly.   My seasoning of choice is Mrs. Dash, which I put on both sides, then cook for about 4 minutes per side   or so until they are cooked through, and let rest before eating so they stay moist. 

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Creamy Chocolate Oats

Finally got this recipe up on the blog! A lot of you have asked how I make my everyday chocolate oats (literally every single day) and now the wait is over. It's not a revolutionising recipe or anything, just a simple but dangerously delicious and addictive one. Once you're stuck with one breakfast, it's hard to make a change. And let me tell you, I have been stuck with these oats for quite some time now. Hopefully you guys have more will power and determination than I have... 

Topped with banana slices, a peanut butter sauce and raw cacao nibs

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup oats 

- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

- 1/4 cup water

- 3 fresh dates (30-35 g)

- 1 heaped tbsp cacao or cocoa powder (or a tiny bit less if you find the taste too strong or bitter)

- salt to taste

How to:

1. In a small pot over low heat, bring the oats, almond milk, water and salt to the boil and let simmer. Stir often so the oats don't stick to the bottom.
2. As the oats are cooking, prepare your date paste. Peel and pit the dates, this is easier if you have really fresh, gooey dates or have soaked the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes beforehand.
3. Place the peeled dates in an itty bitty bowl or glass and mash them with a splash of water until smooth. (I like to use a shot glass for this!)
4. Transfer the date paste into the pot and stir until it's been well incorporated into the oats. 
5. Add the cocoa powder and stir again.
6. Let simmer until you have reached desired consistency, then spoon up in a bowl, add toppings of your choice and serve immediately!

Is Meat Unhealthy? Part VII

Looking at individual diseases is informative, but it can cause us to become myopic, making broad health-related decisions based on narrow information.  It can cause us to miss the forest for the trees.  In this case, the "trees" are individual diseases and the "forest" is total mortality: the overall risk of dying from any cause.  Does eating meat increase total mortality, shortening our lifespans?

Non-industrial cultures

Traditionally-living cultures such as hunter-gatherers and non-industrial agriculturalists are not the best way to answer this question, because their mean lifespans tend to be short regardless of diet.  This is due to ~30 percent infant mortality, which drags down the average, as well as a high risk of death in adulthood from infectious disease, accidents, and homicide/warfare.  It can also be difficult to accurately measure the age of such people, although there are reasonably good methods available.

However, there are semi-industrialized cultures that can help us answer this question, because they feature a somewhat traditional diet and lifestyle, combined with modern medicine and the rule of law.  The so-called Blue Zones, areas of exceptional health and longevity, fall into this category.  These include Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece.

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40 Day Fat Loss Challenge

At the beginning of last year (2014), I challenged myself to get in shape for my first ever NPC bikini contest and reached that goal after 5 months of training (July 2014).  Since then, I'd been pretty much slacking on the diet and workouts, but by October 2014, I was not liking how I felt physically when I had gotten used to being in great shape.  My weight was creeping back up and my muscle was turning into fat.  In November, I started back with my trainer and by December had started embracing my bikini meal plan again, but not nearly as strictly and not without lots of "cheats".  It was the holidays after all.  And I like to eat as much as the next person.

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Either You Give Your Patients a mHealth App, or They'll Get One Themselves

That's what the Population Health Blog learned after reading this research paper by Bauer and colleagues that recently appeared in the Journal of the America Board of Family Medicine.

It also confirmed that chronic care management apps are a business opportunity.

What was the research and what did it show?

All adult patients receiving care at six clinics in a northwest U.S. primary care network during a two week window of time (June 2013) were anonymously surveyed about their use of mHealth.

Depending on the clinic, 22% to 62% of the patients were insured by Medicaid.  More demographic info can be found here.

1363 surveys were distributed and 918 (67%) were completed. 

91% had a mobile phone and more than half (55%) owned a smart phone.

Among the smart phone owners, 70% had used "mHealth." 57% had downloaded at least one app. Of these, 69% used it less than 3 times a month, while 11% used it on a daily basis.

There was no association of mHealth participation with health literacy, chronic conditions or depression. Use was more prevalent among persons less than age 45.

One third used "general" health apps, while one quarter used fitness, diet or weight-loss apps. Only 3% used it for chronic disease management.

The authors asked respondents to use a 1-5 scale to rate the desirability of various app features. Appointment reminders came in first, followed by medication reminders and general health information.

10% learned about this from their physicians and only 31% "prioritized" their physician's involvement.

The PHB's summary:

Smart phone and app use may be more prevalent in the northwest, which may make the findings of this survey less generalizable to the rest of the United States.  With that caveat, approximately 40% of the patients sitting in the average primary care clinic waiting room are mHealth users and about 20% are using health apps. And what do patients most prize in their apps?  Reminders about appointments and medications.

What's more, most of this is occurring without the benefit of their providers' participation.

Last but not least, apps have not penetrated the chronic disease population.

The PHB's take?

1) If all those patients with smart phones are going to download apps, they might as well download ones that - at a minimum - are endorsed by their providers. Optimally, they should complement their providers' services.  Used right, they might be able meet their patient's desires for coordinated appointments and increased medication compliance. 

Providers and patients would benefit from better quality and lower costs.

2) And patients with chronic conditions have yet to discover apps.  That may be a function of age, but it may also be a function of the conspicuous silence of their providers as well as the failure of the currently available apps to meet their potential customers' desires. 

That spells opportunity.  Recall the adage of the two shoe salespersons who were sent to Africa.  The more pessimistic of the two found that none of the natives were using shoes and decided to return home.  The optimist likewise found that no one was using shoes, but he called back to the home office and asked for help.

The market for chronic care apps needs help.

Image from Wikipedia

MY SHOCKING AND PAINFUL COLONOSCOPY

It has taken me awhile to write about this subject and I also have a family medical crisis that I am dealing with, so blogging time has been difficult to fit into my schedule. I shared with the world on my Stay Healthy Fitness Facebook and Instagram that I was gearing up for my 50 club first experience at having a colonoscopy.  I took my husband a few years ago and all went fairly well, and I have also been re-assured by many that the prep is the worst part and the rest would be a breeze.  Sadly, this was not my experience.

Let me share that I have a very high pain threshold, had both of my children without drugs or epidurals, and in general it takes a great deal of discomfort for me to complain.  The prep for the colonoscopy was horrible, and I nearly vomited up the Moviprep solution each time I had to drink it.  I expected that so I was prepared that this was not going to be fun, and within an hour of drinking the solution, my frequent bathroom visits began.  It felt like self-induced stomach flu of the worst kind and I retreated under several blankets after each run to the commode. I had to drink more solution at 3:30am and continue the toilet runs up to the time of leaving for the hospital at 7:30am.  Needless to say by the time I was done, my poo looked like pee, and I lost 5lbs literally overnight, not the recommended or safe way to lose weight, but understand it needs to happen prior to this type of procedure.

I went into the procedure thinking that after the toilet trauma was complete, the rest would be smooth sailing, so I was ready for my short nap and passing with flying colors colon report.  The doctor was great and explained everything thoroughly and the nurses took really good care of me. I was covered with warm blankets, IV in place and ready to move to the procedure room.  Once the IV anesthesia was administered, I fell asleep quickly but what happened next was like an excerpt from a horror movie.  All of a sudden, extreme pain in my stomach started happening and I felt myself screaming that “it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, and to stop, stop, stop”   and I felt trapped in my mind and my body was enduring pain equivalent to child birth.  In the distance, I did hear a loud voice say “do you want us to stop” and I do remember saying “wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute”, and I was thinking if they stop, I would have to do this again and there was no way that was going to happen.  I do not know what I sounded like or how I moved during this process of extreme pain under IV sedation and was hoping someone would help me.  It could be more pain relief was placed in my IV, but I do not know that.  What I do know is that the pain was unbearable and unbelievable.  My colonoscopy was far from a breeze and I felt traumatized by the event.  The doctor did explain in my haze state upon check out that my colon is very compact with many bends, which caused a rigid application of the scope and caused pain similar to childbirth during the procedure.  His recommendation was that I go under general anesthesia for my next colonoscopy. 

It took my body a couple of days to recover from the anesthesia and I did not feel good physically or emotionally about what happened to me.  I had to know if others experienced extreme pain during a colonoscopy and began my research online and discovered that yes, I was not alone.  What a relief that I could read forums of so many sharing my same story and I think this is what bothers me the most.  I believe that in the paperwork received prior to the procedure that it should be outlined that extreme pain with colonoscopy can be experienced, and that measures will be taken to make the patient comfortable in that event.  I went in to my colonoscopy with a positive attitude and came out with post-traumatic stress about the event. 

I am not writing this to say that I am now against having a colonoscopy and do believe in preventative medicine.  I am happy to report that my colon is clear for ten years, but will be investigating different avenues of colonoscopy approach the next time.  I am writing this to inform people that extreme pain can be experienced, and it is not always a breeze for everyone.  I am in the percentage of those who do not respond well to colonoscopy and for those who have undergone and share my experience, you are not alone.  I was shocked to discover this about myself and now as I have always been, remain a voice of information about health related subjects.  It is important to be informed and your own health care advocate and hopefully the documents pre-colonoscopy will be revised to include a thorough statement of colonoscopy procedure expectations.

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list, or if you want to receive my free updates, use the button below to select your feed preference. I look forward to responding to your comments and appreciate your shares.

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Stay Healthy!

Darla

UK Committee calls for halt on fracking in the UK

The Environmental Audit Committee of the UK Parliament published a report today in which it called for a moratorium on fracking until the climate and environmental health impacts had been investigated further.

The report is a summary of the statements made, and responses to questions, by a range of stakeholders and the conclusions that the Committee reached on the basis of those statements and answers. It is a useful summary of the key issues in relation to the environmental and  health impacts and what key stakeholders considered the risks and dangers are; or are not. It is not a scientific review of the evidence.

The committee re-affirms the importance of key mitigation measures that have been identified in a number of other fracking reports and papers. Two key ones are monitoring health impacts across the lifecycle including post closure and being open about the chemicals used.

Despite the assurances from some that environmental risks can be safely accommodated by  existing regulatory systems, an extensive range of uncertainties remains over particular  hazards — to groundwater quality and water supplies,  from waste an d air emissions , to our  health and  to  biodiversity,  to the  geological integrity of the areas involved, and  from  noise  and disruption.  Uncertainty about their significance is in part a reflection of the fact that fracking operations have yet to move beyond the exploratory stage in the UK. It is imperative that the environment is protected from potentially irreversible damage.

Fracking must be prohibited outright in protected and nationally important areas.

Full containment of methane must be mandated.

Fracking should be prohibited in all  water source protection zones.

Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... barbecue ribs!!

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Could mHealth Apps Be a Reprise of the EHR? The Need for Clinician Input

While the Population Health Blog continues to delight in the emerging science of "mHealth" as a newly minted start-up Chief Medical Officer, it ran across this interesting article on risk and patient safety.

Authors Thomas Lewis and Jeremy Wyatt worry that "apps" can lead to patient harm. 

They posit that the likelihood of harm is mainly a function of 1) the nature of the mistake itself (miscalculating a body mass index is far less problematic than miscalculating a drug dose) and 2) its severity (overdosing on a cupcake versus a narcotic).  When you include other "inherent and external variables," including the display, the user interface, network issues, information storage, informational complexity and the number of patients using it, the risks can grow from a simple case of developer embarrassment to catastrophic patient loss of life.

In response, they propose that app developers think about  this "two dimensional app space" that relies on a risk assessment coupled to a staggered regulation model.  That regulation can range from simple clinical self assessment to a more complex and formal approval process.

What's clear to the PHB is that hidebound mainframe entities like the Food and Drug Administration are no match for the app "ecosystem".  Rather than try to formulate a one-size-fits-all "not function as intended" model like this, maybe it should triage its oversight using the Lewis and Wyatt framework.

In addition, the PHB agrees with Lewis and Wyatt that safety is also a function of clinician input.  Docs and nurses can assess possible mistakes, their downside severity and the impact of all those variables.

The PHB couldn't have put it better:

".... many app developers have little or no formal medical training and do not involve clinicians in the development process and may therefore be unaware of patient safety issues raised by inappropriate app content or functioning."

Without the insights of seasoned real-world doctors and nurses, apps could end up with the same safety issues that are plaguing electronic health records, many of which were also developed with little regard to physician or nurse input. 

In other words, just because it's a "health" app doesn't mean its necessarily so.

Image from Wikipedia

Pinwheel Cookies

Pinwheel Cookies

- 1/2 cup whole wheat spelt flour (65g)

- 1/3 cup almond flour (50g)

- 2/3 cup oat flour (87 g)

- 1 chia egg (1 tbsp ground chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water)

- 3 tbsp melted coconut oil (42 g)

For the chocolate dough:

- 1 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder

- 2 tbsp date syrup or any other dark syrup of your choice (40 g)

For the vanilla dough:

- 1 generous pinch pure vanilla powder (could sub for 1 tsp vanilla extract)

- 2 tbsp brown rice syrup or any other light syrup of your choice* (40 g)

How to:
1. Make the flour blend by mixing all the flours together with a fork. If you have to make flour of your oats and/or almonds, place the oats, almonds and spelt flour in a food processor and process until you get a well-ground flour.
2. Divide the flour mix into two different bowls. Transfer about 1/2 tbsp of flour from one bowl to the other. To this bowl, add the vanilla powder and to the other bowl (the one with less flour in it), add the cacao or cocoa powder and mix well.
3. Make your chia egg by mixing/whisking the ground chia seeds with 3 tbsp of water. This will swell pretty quickly if you're using ground chia seeds but if not, let the seeds swell for a couple of minutes before proceeding.
4. Melt the coconut oil and pour half of it into the chocolate bowl and the other half into the vanilla bowl. This is much easier if you have access to a kitchen scale so that you can tell when half of it has gone in. Also add chia egg into two and add one half into each bowl.
5. To the chocolate bowl, add the date syrup and stir until you have a thick dough. Repeat with the vanilla bowl but add brown rice syrup instead. *Note: Since brown rice syrup isn't as sweet as other syrups, you may want to add 1/2 tbsp of coconut sugar as well but that is completely up to you.
6. Wrap the doughs in cling film and chill for about 20 minutes in the fridge or until they're fairly firm.
7. Make one rectangle out of each dough by rolling it out with a rolling pin to 1/8-inch thickness. Put one on top of the other and roll lengthwise to create the swirl. Once again wrap the dough in cling film (reuse the old ones!) and place is in the freezer for about ten minutes.
8. Remove the dough from the freezer and slice into separate cookies (1/4-inch thick). At this stage I like to press down on the cookies using the bottom of a glass to flatten them out a little.
9. Bake in the oven (175C) for 18-20 minutes and let cool completely. Store in a cookie jar!

The PHB is Back

The Population Health Blog received a gratifying number of "Where'd ya go?" reader posts, emails.  Thank you......



It didn't need a handgun to know it wasn't going anywhere.

Rather, the PHB recharged over the holidays, continued to build its Twitter followership and, best of all, was busy with medSolis.

It's paid off. We've closed 2014 with a solid product, two customers, one investor and more than a dozen employees. Looking ahead to 2015, it's gonna need shades.

Speaking of a bright future, it recently got to surf the JP Morgan Health Care Conference ecosystem, described by CNBC as the "biggest health care investing event of the year." In addition to some promising additional investor leads, the PHB came away with two memories:

1) San Francisco's Union Square is usually populated by a pleasant mix of tourists, shoppers and natives. During the conference, however, it was thick with (mostly white male) suits, most of whom were staring off into space while pressing the latest handheld technology against the side of their heads. They moved very little.  The PHB knows this because it watched them very closely.

2) Overcome by the bursts of electromagnetism, the PHB retreated and sought out quiet time in those oases formally known as "hotel lobbies." They too were packed with suits, but they were excitedly clustered around open lap tops or lustfully stroking some piece of monitoring gadgetry. Open seats and cheap coffee were nowhere to be found.

And what has it learned in the last two months? In addition to discovering that the PHB spouse doesn't believe $400 San Francisco hotel rooms are a "biggest health care investing week" bargain, the PHB also confirmed that the most promising population health technology solutions are simple and scalable.

More on that in a future post.

Does high protein explain the low-carb "metabolic advantage"?

In 2012, David Ludwig's group published a paper that caused quite a stir in the diet-nutrition world (1).  They reported that under strict metabolic ward conditions, weight-reduced people have a higher calorie expenditure when eating a very low carbohydrate diet (10% CHO) than when eating a high-carbohydrate diet (60% CHO)*.

In other words, the group eating the low-carb diet burned more calories just sitting around, and the effect was substantial-- about 250 Calories per day.  This is basically the equivalent of an hour of moderate-intensity exercise per day, as Dr. Ludwig noted in interviews (2).  The observation is consistent with the claims of certain low-carbohydrate diet advocates that this dietary pattern confers a "metabolic advantage", allowing people to lose weight without cutting calorie intake-- although the study didn't actually show differences in body fatness.

In Dr. Ludwig's study, calorie intake was the same for all groups.  However, the study had an important catch that many people missed: the low-carbohydrate group ate 50 percent more protein than the other two groups (30% of calories vs. 20% of calories).  We know that protein can influence calorie expenditure, but can it account for such a large difference between groups?

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DIRECT TV STEALING FROM CONSUMERS

I know my platform revolves around health and fitness and being our best self each day, but I also feel that it is important to share stories that will inform and protect others from illegal and criminal activity which in a way is taking care of ourselves through this journey of life.  My share is personal and is a consumer horror story that has happened to me and my husband.  My goal is always to reach out to help and support others going through the same scenario and at the very least provide awareness especially if you are considering becoming involved with this company.  I filed the following report today with an online dispute service:

Direct TV has committed fraud and unauthorized removal of funds from our bank account. We have been loyal customers since 2009, never late on a payment, and out of contract with them since 2011.  We have been dissatisfied with their services for quite some time and over the past year have spent many hours negotiating bill reductions as every three months they would increase the bill and reduce the service.  Our Direct TV box failed and was no longer operational, which forced us to contact them once again for assistance. They offered to bring a "replacement" box at no charge and apology for the disruption in service...blah blah blah. They installed the replacement box and all seemed back to the normal increase of fees, reduction of service, etc. We decided to cancel service tired of going through the same song and dance of disenchantment and hours of BS on the phone.  Upon cancellation, Direct TV informed us that there would be an early contract cancellation fee applied of $340.  We have not been in contract with them since 2011, however they stated that the box installed in our home was a requested upgrade and put us in a 2-year contract.  This is a blatant lie and we have been good about documenting all conversations, names, specifics, etc.  In addition, we signed no 2-year contract when the replacement box was installed. After hours of trying to explain that this was an error on their part, they stated that there was nothing that could be done even up to the supervising end and we were given an address to submit a dispute of billing.  Direct TV would not provide phone numbers to their Legal Department and they were to only be contacted via letter.  That in itself is absolutely ridiculous that the Legal Department of Direct TV is unreachable by phone to resolve a conflict.  The Direct TV supervising staff informed us that we were right and it could be resolved at this level.  We drafted a letter to the Legal Department, Office of the President, Direct TV, INC, P.O. Box 6550, Greenwood Village, CO 80155-6550 which still has not been responded to.  The worst was to come when we opened our American Express statement and saw that Direct TV had made an unauthorized charge to our card in the amount of $340.  Direct TV is a company filled with liars, scammers, and thieves and we are more than upset about what has happened.  We have researched this subject via the Internet and have discovered that Direct TV is performing this scam nationwide and stealing from their consumers whenever a cancellation of service occurs.  We will be following the guidelines of many others and filing a Civil Lawsuit in Small Claims Court to recover our money and also will be charging them loss of wages and court filing fees.  The actions of Direct TV are criminal and we are hoping that our voice will be able to help others out there going through the same thing, and to inform people to not subscribe to Direct TV, and if you are leaning in that direction DO NOT PROVIDE ANY CREDIT CARD to hold on your account because they WILL steal from you. 

I am interested in hearing from anyone who has had this occur, are going through it, and those who are in need of a platform to voice their complaints.  With everything that I am reading online with the malpractices of Direct TV, this has been an ongoing issue along with many other criminal actions committed by Direct TV on their customers.  Several voices can create BIG WAVES and I am sure your comments will provide support and relief to many.  Let's put a stop to unfair business practices against innocent consumers.

Post your comment or complaint below and Stay Healthy!

Healthy Afternoon Snack -Yoplait Greek 100 Yogurt

Hi friends!  I'm definitely back in the workout/eat healthy grind, training with my trainer 3 times a week and doing 30 minutes of cardio 4 times a week.  It feels good to be back to it and I'm already noticing my jeans fitting better again, but being back on my meal plan where I eat every 3-4 hours is where I feel the most benefit.  If you're like a lot of women, you might actually skip meals (and I'm guilty of that too!) but eating consistently throughout the day keeps my energy level constant and there's no energy dip mid-afternoon.

If I'm in a pinch and can't eat a whole meal (or I'm just not hungry enough) around 3:00 p.m. (the time I'm typically heading out the door to pick up my son from school), I'll grab a Greek yogurt because it's delicious, low calorie, and full of protein.  

I was asked by Yoplait to try their Yoplait Greek 100 Yogurt, and since it's something I eat anyway, was happy to try their brand and flavors.  I didn't realize Yoplait made Greek yogurt, so I was surprised to see the varieties of flavors they had.  To name a few:  Coconut, Honey, Banana Caramel, Orange Crème, Apple Pie, Strawberry Cheesecake, Mango, and Key Lime.

My favorites are Peach and Honey.  My husband likes Strawberry Cheesecake and Mango. So yummy!  

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UQ - Mining and resettlement research initiative

Mining for the Common Good

As a multi-party, industry-University research collaboration on mining and resettlement, ComRel will build knowledge for practical application. This initiative is the first of its kind.

The aim is to:

•  improve understanding of how mining and resettlement risks are being managed by the industry.
• identify strategies for improving outcomes for people affected by mining and resettlement.
• conduct applied research that informs future policy and practice.
•  contribute to debates about social due diligence and the development of social safeguards.    

For full article: click here

Frank Body Scrub - A Review

For the last two months or so, I've been using this unique body scrub called Frank. He's a pretty cool guy if I may say so myself. Not only because of his good looks but his inside as well. Frank is all natural, paraben-free and smells absolutely scrumptious. So forget about those nasty chemicals that you can't pronounce anyway. Pardon my French but this is the real shit that we're dealing with here.

The ingredient list is actually so simple that I can write it all in this post without boring you to death. Which is exactly what I intend to do. Frank contains: coffee, almond oil, water, salt, brown sugar, orange oil, vitamin E and natural fragrances. That's it. Are you impressed yet? As if that's not enough, this scrub leaves you with a scent as if a ginormous coffee bean with arms and legs were to give you a long, cuddly hug, and leave its dark, musky aroma for you to keep. Oh, it even brings out the hugely embarrassing poet residing deep within me.

How does it feel on your skin then? Well, amazing. There's no irritation at all plus the scrub leaves you soft as a baby's bottom even if you forget to apply body lotion afterwards. We have the almond and orange oils to thank for that I guess. I could also add that I have very sensitive, dry skin that won't stay silent if treated badly. I swell up like a balloon, get glowing red marks everywhere and physically hurt if I use the wrong products. Though I can't speak for everyone, I can certainly assure you that Frank has been very kind to my skin, unlike many of his counterparts.

I know what you're thinking now, "She is totally getting paid to write this!" Let me be 100% honest and say that I will not receive any compensation whatsoever for this post. Frank Body did send me a free sample of their scrub to try and review but that was it. Mark my words, I will never ever recommend anything that I don't believe in. Ever. I do turn down product proposals on a daily basis, just because I don't believe in what some companies have to offer. Anyways, I hope this post wasn't all too boring to read and that some of you might even find it helpful.

Have a great day!

Is Meat Unhealthy? Part VI

In this post, I'll examine the possible relationship between meat consumption and cancer risk.

Is cancer risk even modifiable?

Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled division of a population of rogue cells in the body.  These cells essentially evolve by natural selection to escape the body's multiple anti-cancer mechanisms.  

To a large extent, cancer appears to be a numbers game.  The human body contains about 37 trillion cells.  To get cancer, all you need is one cell that develops key mutations that allow it to shed its built-in restrictions on cell division.  The older you are, the more time you have to accumulate mutations, explaining why cancer risk rises sharply with age.

Unlike other common non-communicable diseases, we don't know to what extent cancer is caused by modifiable diet and lifestyle factors vs. bad luck that's completely outside our control.  Some cancers, such as lung cancer, are typically linked to lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking-- yet the majority of cancers aren't so easily understood.

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Health impact assessment of traffic noise in Madrid, Spain

Environmental Research Volume 137, February 2015, Pages 136–140

Highlights 

• The results obtained tend to question the WHO health protection threshold values. 

• This study highlights the importance of traffic noise to the health in large cities. 

• These results serve to highlight the need to implement noise-abatement measures.

Abstract

The relationship between environmental noise and health has been examined in depth. In view of the sheer number of persons exposed, attention should be focused on road traffic noise.

The city of Madrid (Spain) is a densely populated metropolitan area in which 80% of all environmental noise exposure is attributed to traffic.

The aim of this study was to quantify avoidable deaths resulting from reducing the impact of equivalent diurnal noise levels (LeqD) on daily cardiovascular and respiratory mortality among people aged ≥65 years in Madrid.

A health impact assessment of (average 24 h) LeqD and PM_2.5 levels was conducted by using previously reported risk estimates of mortality rates for the period 2003–2005: 

For cardiovascular causes: LeqD 1.048 (1.005, 1.092) and PM_2.5 1.041(1.020, 1.062) 

For respiratory causes: LeqD 1.060 (1.000, 1.123) and PM_2.5 1.030 (1.000, 1.062).

The association found between LeqD exposure and mortality for both causes suggests an important health effect. A reduction of 1 dB(A) in LeqD implies an avoidable annual mortality of 284 (31, 523) cardiovascular- and 184 (0, 190) respiratory-related deaths in the study population.

The magnitude of the health impact is similar to reducing average PM_2.5levels by 10 µg/m³. Regardless of air pollution, exposure to traffic noise should be considered an important environmental factor having a significant impact on health.

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