The 120 day plan

Recently I have started the 120 day plan.  A plan for myself in which in those 120 days I would eat no junk food only healthy eating, and an hour of dedicated work out.  A changing lifestyle for me, it’s going to be different and a lot of effort and dedication. 

                I started this plan to see what the results are for healthy eating and exercising, whether or not it will affect my mood, lifestyle, appetite, or stamina.  Before I started this plan, my lifestyle did not consist of healthy eating or daily exercise.  I was laggard and tired all the time, and had a big appetite also and just kept on eating and eating.  Although I have a high metabolism, I didn’t have to worry about gaining weight or losing weight.  I know eventually my metabolism will slow down and my fat cells with increase in size when I get older.  I develop this plan to maintain my healthy body weight and grow strength and endurance. 

                Since I started this plan, about a week ago, there were some challenges that I faced in following the plan.  The first challenge was craving for greasy fattening foods like fries, brownies, and pizzas.  They were so tempting and they looked so good.  There was one time when I gave into the temptation and ate two slices of pizza.  I broke the rule of healthy eating.  But later on I resisted the temptation, every time I was craving for junk food I would just eat an apple and chew a piece of gum and the temptation would just disappear.  It really helped me overcome the temptation.  The second challenge I faced was trying to fit in an hour of workout each day, so far I’ve been successful and had dedicated an hour of my time for each day.  But I know that’s going to be a challenge for me later on because sometimes I am just too busy to fit in an hour of work out into my schedule.  I was considering on bending a bit of the rules on the plan.  I’ll try to fit in an hour a day into my schedule and if I am just too busy and I can’t the workout will be shorten to a minimum of half an hour.  I think that fitting in half an hour of dedication would work out for those busy days. 

                So far I am on day 10 of the plan, and I can feel myself feeling healthier inside and out and I have gotten used to the plan now.  Hopefully by day 120 I would see more changes and results in how I feel and see the changes.  I will blog more about my plan at the end of the 4 months.

Health

     Most of us probably have tried to have a healthier diet but usually that does not last long, sometimes it lasts for a few day or a few weeks, but afterwards we get tired of eating healthy.  Why?  The problem is we don't like the taste of healthy food.  I mean come on, how many of you would rather choose a veggie smoothie over a plate of wings from Buffalo Wild Wings?  Some but not many right?  The thing is, eating healthier means not eating as much of the food we love, choosing lighter foods which often lacks flavor, eating a smaller portion, and usually you don't like the taste of healthy food.  However that doesn't mean that healthy food is bad or unappetizing.  Their are several ways that make healthy eating fun and more enjoyable.  Eating healthy doesn't mean that you have to avoid certain foods, or be guilty about it eating it.  Just remember to limit your portion and not eat it as often, remember to keep it in moderation.  For those of you who like to eat every couple of hours, well i have good news for you.  Studies shows that if you eat smaller portions of food every two to four hours, chances are your metabolism burns more calories and you are less likely to gain weight.  Why? Well let's put this way, your daily meal routine is eating twice a day, lunch and dinner.  You wake up and don't eat breakfast because your in a rush to get to school or work.  Your first meal of the day is at noon, then you don't eat for another 6 hours until it's dinner time.  Your body is living without food for hours, this is the time when your stomach is in starvation mode, because your not satisfying your stomach with food.  As a result, you begin to eat more, and your body begins to store those food that you ate as fat.  Your body doesn't know when the next time you will eat so it begins to hoard the food and store it as fat and use it when it needs too. By eat something every few hours, your metabolism is at work continuously breaking down the food, which builds a higher metabolism.
     Overeating is a big factor in obesity, stop eating before your full or you will begin to feel sick!   Your stomach is only the size of your fist, don't over stuff yourself.  I know sometimes it's hard especially when it comes to your favorite restaurant, but remember the restaurant is serving you more than your stomach can handle because your paying for your meal.  Here are some tips on not overeating as much.  Take smaller bites.  When you take smaller bites, your stomach can focus on digesting the small amount of food instead a mouthful of food, and you begin to feel full earlier.  Eat with your friends, that way your brain won't deceive you of eating the whole bowl of food.  Your friends will keep you distracted by talking and you will begin to eat slower.  Eat a variety of different kinds of food in your meals.  At a restaurant eat a salad or soup or an a appetizer before you begin eating your actual meal. When your at home make some broccoli, mashed potatoes, some type of grain and some protein.  That way you have  a balanced diet, and your body will be happy with you.
  

Summer time foods

      We are approaching summer soon and that means the food we eat is going to be different from the foods we are eating in the winter.  The summer heat can be exhausting and dry for our bodies and we got to make sure we are replenishing our bodies with liquids and refreshing foods.  Making sure that our body is refreshed and has enough water.           

            One of my favorite diets in the summer is eating cool salads or chilled homemade fruit popsicles (not the ones you buy at the store but the natural ones you make at home).  Fruits are one of my favorite treats in the summer because that’s when fruits are the freshest.  They taste so much different from the winter fruits you buy at the grocery stores.  Fruit salads are also good in the summer, they are refreshing, healthy and delicious. 

            Many times people don’t realize the fresh food that comes in to grocery stores from the farms.  They continue to eat all the junky foods, starchy foods, high fat foods.  I think they need to try some summer foods if really makes you feel better and less thirsty since often times you get more dehydrated in the summer.  Summer is the best time to dig in a big, beautiful green salad. All the ingredients will be fresh, and most of them will probably be available locally. This season, add more variety to your basic dinner salad recipe by using spinach, bitter greens and a variety of colored peppers. The more colors and textures you add, the more interesting and flavorful your simple salad will be.  Salads are one my favorite foods, high in vitamins and super low in fat.  Toss different types of veggies together and see what you like.  Be careful with the dressings that you buy in stores, they are often time high in fat so it’s best to make your own dressing if you can. 

            We all know that summer is great for the cold sweet ice creams and snow cones but watch out for the sugar because the popular summer cool treats are very high in sugar.  If it was me I would rather choose the chilled toss salad over the ice cream any time.  But it’s okay if you have it once in a while, just remember everything in moderation is key.  This summer have fun with your summer foods and get creative.

       

resources

  
It seems like in an age with technology and access to information, people are becoming more and more aware of how to cook.  There are so many recipes out there on the web or books that teach you how to cook and make food.  With so much access many people are able to make the same homemade food instead of going to a restaurant.

            You can buy books that has your favorite recipes from restaurants.  For example I love the Red Lobster’s biscuits that they serve and now you can make your own.  They are selling the dough and flour in stores now so I can make them at home.  With so many recipes possibilities it really makes a lot of people want to cook at home.  So if you ever don’t feel like dining out you can always cook at home.

            That’s good news for those people who like to cook, you can become a chef in your house.  Recipes are easy to follow and you can go at your own pace.  So there are endless benefits of all the resources available.  Although there are benefits for us as consumers or customers in making our own food, businesses will lose business.

            Just think about it, if all of us know how to make Olive Garden’s famous salad dressing I don’t think many of us would go to the restaurant and dine in.  As a result they will lose business.  See how it’s bad for their business?  Some business what they offer now is selling their dressing in stores so they can make some money.  What a good idea, a win win situation for the business and consumers.

            With so much resources we have access to we can seek endless possibilities of recipes and reviews on whether or not it’s appetizing.  It is really a good way for us to learn how to cook and make our own foods.  Because I personally like homemade, homemade is always better in my opinion.  You can make it how you like it.  In the age of technology and access to so many resources we can learn how to make foods and learn new things.  Of course there are difficulties in cooking at home.  But there are always pros and cons to everything.  It makes us our own chefs in our own ways in our own kitchen which is really exciting.   

Why is sushi so popular?

Sushi has become so popular throughout the ages in America.  Everyone seems to know what sushi is and people are daring enough to try it.  And surprisingly those first timers fall in love with sushi.  That comes to the question why?  Sushi is just seaweed and rice wrapped with other ingredients.  Although it sounds simple and is easy to make there are more reasons to why it’s so popular.

            Sushi is not heavy like your regular foods.  Sushi rolls are light and they are easy to eat.  Only consisting of a few ingredients they taste good when they are all combine together into one. 

          Sushi is filling.  Don’t get fooled by only 6 rolls because trust me they are filling.  Mainly because of the rice, rice is known for filling up your stomach.  They could act like a light snack or a full meal. 

            The way sushi rolls are presented.  Presentation is key when it comes to deciding whether or not it’s good.  I know some sushi chefs that don’t make good sushi but the presentation is just amazing which fools the customers into liking it.  Sushi rolls are placed in a certain way on the plates and with some decorative pieces you have a 5 star style sushi.  It's all about the presentation, if it looks good chances are you will probably enjoy it. 

            Some sushi rolls are Americanized.  Many of the rolls here in the U.S are Americanized just like Chinese food.  California rolls and other rolls are made so they do not look to extreme, if you go to Japan chances are you won't see much of the Americanized rolls.  The Americanized rolls are not too exotic for some people so it appeals to everyone.

            There are so many other reasons why people like sushi I personally like the taste of sushi because it’s just delicious.  I know that there are certain sushi rolls that I don’t like.  Sashimi in general and raw sushi just isn’t my thing.  I just can’t imagine the fact that I am eating something raw or putting something raw in my mouth.  I just like the Americanized sushi rolls.  Another reason is that from one bite of sushi you can taste so many different flavors and foods so it’s a bit unique.  I just can’t imagine people who dislike sushi, I mean sushi is pure deliciousness that no one can resist. 

 

Too much

  How much is too much when it comes to eating, buying groceries or eating healthy?  I see many readings and food shows that stress so much on eating healthy buying healthy and eating less.  Although all those will help you change your lifestyle and lead you living a healthier lifestyle I feel like they are over exaggerating a bit. 

          You see many advertisements trying to promote all these healthy products, healthy this and healthy that for the consumers, and sometimes the consumers fall for it.  You see diet programs (like tons of programs) that supposedly would help you lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.  It almost seems like being healthy is becoming a marketing tool.  This is what capitalism America will do to you. 

         Too much is just too much, the term eating healthy has become a phrase that has been way over used.  I think we all know to eat healthy, buy healthy and stay healthy to the point it has become over exaggerated.  I see people who stress way too much on being healthy that they can’t even have some big juicy burgers with cheese and fries.  But with the regular meal of veggies and salads.  If people in America are so health conscious how come 60% of Americans are still overweight?  It really doesn’t make any sense at all.  I think that most Americans just want to eat whatever they want as long as it tastes goods.  Thanks to all the advertisements of the bad calories Americans have also fallen into the trap of buying bad foods.  See what the media could do to us?  Since us as citizens are stressing so much about being healthy, more than half of the population isn’t very health conscious.  Maybe we should just not over exaggerate the perks of being healthy but rather have the 60% of Americans experience how difficult it is to be obese. 

          It’s embarrassing enough to have Michelle Obama regulate healthy foods for school.  Can you believe that we have the government involve in trying to lower the obesity level in America?  I think they have other important issues to be stressing over but obesity has become a national epidemic. 

          I feel that the media should stop over exaggerating the health benefits of changing their sedentary lifestyle.  We all know how it’s bad for us cause we all have heard it before, but it’s up to the citizens whether or not they want to follow through it.  

Artificial sugar

           It’s already bad enough that more than half of the population on America are obese.  But what’s even worst is that almost more than half of the foods we buy in supermarkets have artificial sugar as one of the ingredients.  The most famous artificial sugar is high fructose corn syrup.  You probably seen on almost every single item in the grocery store that has fructose corn syrup as the leading ingredient.  The reason why we use so much high fructose corn syrup is because we have an abundance of corn here in the U.S.  We use corn for just about everything we could imagine.  No wonder why more than half of the population is obese!

            High fructose corn syrup is not healthy or good for you, it’s like sugar not like the natural sugars you get from fruits but artificial sugar.  High fructose corn syrup is chemically engineered to taste sweet and act as table sugar.  Too much can cause obesity and diabetes.  It adds to unwanted calories and your body will store the unwanted calories as fat, there’s no nutritional benefit from high fructose corn syrup.  Your body is not going to treat it any different than putting a tablespoon of pure sugar in your mouth. 

            What is really scary is that there’s an abundance of it, and we are ingested so much.  It’s crazy to not think of high fructose corn syrup as not one of the ingredients on foods that we eat every day.  Because high fructose corn syrup is cheap and corn is abundant, they are in everything we eat.  We just can’t miss it, it’s everywhere.  You can read online on how they are a major health concern and what it does to your body.  Studies have shown at Princeton, rats that are significant amounts of high fructose corn syrup are more obese than the ones fed with regular table sugar.  It makes since doesn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, sugar is bad but compared to high fructose corn syrup it’s not so bad.  If they cause problems for the lab rats that are tested, just imagine we are consuming more each day and how that impacts us.  I always read the back of labels and if high fructose corn syrup is listed as the first and top ingredients I simply just don’t buy it.  I don’t want to buy something if the damages outweigh the benefits.

Food stamps

Food stamps are useful in many ways, they provide food for those who don’t make enough money for food.  Especially those who have families and are making minimum wage.  While others who are only taking only what they need others are taking too much advantage of the food stamps.  It’s a question of whether or not it’s worth it having food stamps.  I know that it provides food for families that don’t have enough money to afford them.  But there are others who simply just ask for food stamps and just don’t find a job. 

            Although everyone has different reasons on why they need food stamps, others just want food stamps so they don’t have to pay for food.  They are not paying for the food stamps but the tax payers are basically feeding them.  I don’t think people want to pay for others who would not want to get an actual job but rely on the government for help.  Of course there are those who really are unemployed and are trying to use food stamps until they get on their feet.  And that’s understandable but I just can’t stand the fact there are people who just use food stamps as an opportunity to not buy food but they end up buying other unimportant materials.  I was working at a small restaurant a while back, and I remember when we had a customer that ordered some food but paid with food stamps.  That was okay with me but when I saw him scrolling through his phone, I was beginning to get agitated and judgmental, not because he had used food stamps but he had the new iPhone that just came out.  I was beginning to wonder, why are you using food stamps if you could afford an I Phone?  You need to know your necessities and priorities.  That really made me angry, it made me think of the food stamp system as corrupted and people are taking too much advantage of it.

            I am not for food stamps or against food stamps but I am just pouring out my thoughts on the system.  I feel like the government should make it harder for people to get food stamps so people won’t take too much advantage of it.  So that people will be more honest on whether or not they actually need food stamps.  We need to remember that the tax payers are paying for them and if they don’t need food stamps then why should we pay for them?

cakes galore

        I've been watching cake boss recently on TLC and every time I watch it I am just wowed by the fact that they made extraordinary cakes.  That's probably why they have they their own T.V show because they are just that good.  They are seriously amazing at making their cupcakes and if you have ever seen the show, you probably know that they could make any kind of cupcake imaginable.  I always wondered how long it took the group to make the cakes, probably a very long time.  I wished that the shows show the long rigorous process of making them.  Instead they show the troubles they have and not the process that it takes to make them.  

          Cake boss was on my top list of favorite T.V shows because it's really interesting seeing them make nothing out of something extraordinary.  I kind of want to go on the show for a day and experience all the baking and the preparing for the cake.  I bet it's super stressful and yet fun.  Since the cakes are probably one of the best in the nation it's probably has to look good and taste good.  Theirs one episode in which the bakers had to prepare a cake that could split open in the middle and a person made out of cake popped out.  It was really cool seeing the expressions on the children's faces when they saw what the cake did. I was really fascinated by how they did it.  Of course there were problems and obstacles that they had to overcome.  But eventually they did it and it was impressive. Not was the cake that they made were impressive but the tools they used.  They used simple tools to decorate the cake, they didn't use fancy tools.  

                Sometimes I wonder if the show is 100% real because it almost seems impossible to make such a magnificent cake in that short amount of time.  I bet that there were behind the scenes of making the cake or more people are involved than shown. I really want to see the behind the scenes footage.  Usually the behind the scenes or special delete scenes are more interesting and shows more. 

                We see the people on the show helping in events and fundraisers so the show does host events to raise money for certain fundraisers.  It’s really nice seeing them take their skill to do something beneficial for society.  

Genetically Engineered Foods

We as human beings could almost make anything now, from digital technology to foods.  We have the power to make foods more nutritious, better tasting, bigger, and better.  Instead of having natural crops, humans are controlling the foods.  There are pros and cons to it.  Of course we are living in a world where the population is increasing every day, so by genetically engineering the foods we can produce more in a short amount of time to feed the rest of the world.  But to everything there is a tradeoff, do we know that it's good for us?

        There is a reason why we genetically modify foods.  Foods that are genetically modified last longer, stay fresh longer and are more nutritious.  That's why researchers choose the good traits and modify the food.  On the other hand not all the genetically engineered foods are good for your health.  According to responsible technology theirs been incidents from rats that when they were fed GMO's for a month they found pre-cancerous cells in the rat's body.  There has been many studies shown the effects of genetically modified foods on one's health.

         Not only are genetically modified foods causes health problems, it also effects the environment.  They are harmful to the environment and the organisms.  With the plants resistant to herbicides and birds eating them really will kill the bird.

         GMO’s won’t affect us now but in the near future when we ingest more and more of it, there will be serious problems attached to it.  The disadvantages of genetically modified foods outweigh the advantages and we need to keep that in mind.  We need to find an alternative to genetically modified foods.  If researchers tested these GMOs on animals they had major problems, just imagine what they will do to humans.  We need to take into consideration of what we are eating and how they are affecting us. 

       

Is the world producing enough food for everyone?

We are living in a millennium where cities occupy more land than farmland itself.  Where farmers are less than 40% of the population and people have higher occupations.  It almost seems like we are in food crisis.  If the proportion of the land is less than the cities, we will not be able to feed the billions of people around the world.  We are beginning to see these food crisis everywhere, it has already begun. 
         Many third world countries are malnourished while others are still lavishly wasting food.  Malnourishment is a global epidemic.  There are more less developed countries in the world than the more developed countries.  According to global issues, the world’s lowest income countries consist of 2.4 billion people.  That's more than half of the population in this world.  Many times those countries are farming and meeting our needs of food, clothing etc.  Since our demands are high they have to work extra hard to provide for us, this often means that they don't have enough necessities to satisfy their needs.  This problem includes food.  More people are living in third world countries than more developed countries, with so many people that could not afford food or have access to the shortages, it has become a problem.  Even if we have enough food for everyone in the world, we must cut back on the foods we need and want.  Not everyone needs to eat so much till they are upset to their stomach.  If we lower our demands on food, maybe those individuals in third world countries can have an opportunity to get some food.  
            Another problem that we've encountered is that even though we make a surplus of food, it won’t be enough to catch up to the growing population everywhere.  Nowadays you see people living younger, healthier because of the increase in medical advances.  If people are living longer as well as people that are born into the world at the same time, you have double the proportion.  As Thomas Malthus’s theory states that the populations of the world would increase in geometric proportions while the food resources available for them would increase only in arithmetic proportions.  The increase in medical advances are keeping people alive longer and babies being born into the world will increase the population.
            We are living in a world where there are better medical advances, better foods, and better living.  With those factors in mind overpopulation is a big cause and it will cause food shortages in the near future, making it a global problem. 

Horse meat in Europe

         
While skimming through the news, there was a hot topic on selling and eating horse meat in Europe.  Europe has always been the country well known for their fancy unusual modern delicacies, now horse meat is the new delicacy now.  I really don't know how to feel about that.  As I was searching online, apparently supermarkets in Europe are selling horsemeat, like how we are selling beef in America. 

          It's been a controversy because eating horse meat is like eating your own pet.  To some people, they consider horses as a type of pet, and eating them is controversial.  You would never eat your pet would you?  The scandal was how news media called it, researchers found horse DNA in most of the foods that were being sold in stores, such as Lasagna, and meatballs.  The U.K said that it was a fraud, and spent millions of euros to shush the media.  If researchers found that theirs proof of horse DNA, then it's not a fraud but real.  Just because horse meat is cheaper than beef, it doesn't give them right to replace or lie to the consumers that they are buying beef.  Most consumers don't know the difference.  Horse meat and beef look similar but it might taste the same since most consumers have no idea that they are eating horse meat. 

            It’s not right to label something that isn’t what it actually is.  After the scandal, the government tried to take down all the foods that have horse in them.  This controversy has lost many of the consumers trust in their foods.  It was a scare that most people didn’t know about until it was cracked down and publicized. 

            I think that it would be less shocking if they just let the world know that it was horse meat instead of hiding the horse meat in the beef.  Many citizens are upset because they don’t know about what they are buying, it’s basically a fraud.  As I was researching, what was more shocking was the fact that some meat contained not only horse meat but pork and other pig parts.  Talk about clueless consumers that are buying these types of meat.  This controversy was one of the top controversies of 2013.  Last year every news was talking about the fraud meat.  No wonder why some consumers begin losing confidence in their food.  Now we know the reason why. 

fruits fruits and fruits

             Recently I have been obsessed with eating fruits, I love eating them they are sweet and delicious.  Many of you are probably wondering why I am blogging about something so random like fruits.  Well here's the answer, I am trying to encourage those of you out there who don't like to eat fruits.  Because I was someone who hated eating fruits, I did not like them at all, and also part of it was that I was too lazy to go get some fruits.  The health benefits of fruits are endless, I know you have probably heard all your life that fruits are good, eat your fruits they are good for you but seriously they are really good for you.  And here are the reasons why:

            Many fruits are high in antioxidants which help stimulate the immune system.  Many of you heard the phrase, an apple a day keeps the doctors away.  Well there is some truth in it, apples are high in antioxidants which help make your immune system stronger, with a strong immune system you don't get sick easily or recover faster and as a result you won't have to go the doctor's office.

          Fruits make everything sweeter.  Fruits are natural sugars, they are already sweet, and so if you are craving something refreshing and sweet go and grab a strawberry, you won't regret it.  You can also replace the unhealthy alternative sweeteners with natural fruits to sweeten up your pancakes, cakes or muffins. Fruits are alternatives to artificial sweeteners.

          Fruits are refreshing, sweet and it acts like refreshment.  If you are ever thirsty you can eat fruits to satisfy your thirst, the natural juice in fruits make you less thirsty. 

          If you ever find yourself hungry and want something that’s healthy and fulfilling, fruits can help you out.  Grab an apple or blueberries to satisfy your hunger.  It really helps; some fruits have less than 100 calories so they are a natural healthy snack to munch on. 

          It’s hard to dislike fruits, I mean after all they are healthy, juicy and delicious, there are many fruit flavored drinks or snacks.  But of course they are not as healthy as the natural fruit itself.  There are so many different types of fruits to choose from, each fruit has its own benefit for your body.  Try and eat a cup of fruit a day, you will be happy and your body will also too. 

           

Foods that are not what they seem

I’ve been hearing a lot from my grandma lately about being careful of what I am eating or choosing to eat, to always read the labels carefully because some foods are fake.  I always wondered how that could possibly be true, I mean I look around the aisle in the supermarket and the peanut butter looks like peanut butter, chocolate looks like chocolate.  How can they be fake? Even if it was fake, how would they make it so much like what we think we it is? So I began searching what kinds of foods that could possibly be fake and it was quite surprising.

          What I found was that sometimes chocolate can be fooling. Some chocolates aren’t naturally made from cocoa beans but a bunch of chemicals combined together with lots of sugar.  It’s basically eating a spoonful of sugar.

          The delicious cold tasting ice cream you think would be made of milk is actually not real ice cream at all.  It contains less than 10% of milk, so what does it contain? Loads of corn syrup sugar and whey.  Appetizing huh?

          Peanut butter is also not what it seems to be.  The thick creamy tan looking butter with peanuts? It actually contains lots of trans fat, hydrogenated oil. 

          Many times we get confuse of what’s healthy and what’s not healthy when we’re shopping for food.  What seems to be healthy actually isn’t all that healthy.  Everything is like an illusion, signs that are being advertised as healthy less fat chips, healthy less fat that.  Most of the time we are fooled to see that what we think is healthy.  Let’s take trail mix for example, contains a variety of nuts, raisins, and dark chocolate.  But do we actually know that it’s healthy and nonfattening just from reading the label?  The truth is it’s not, trail mix contains over 600 calories, the deep fried banana chips, the chocolate, and even the nuts.  We are all masked in this illusion of what we are eating, the food labels and everything.  It’s important to read all the labels to actually understand what is in the food we are buying. 

Obesity

      Different countries have different thoughts on nutrition, some countries take nutrition more seriously than others.  I would have to say in America since the majority of the population is more overweight than any other country in the world, that Americans are not taking nutrition seriously.  Of course there are people in America that do care about nutrition, but what I'm saying is that overall the majority of the people just doesn't seem to care about what they are eating.  Let's take America for example and compare it to some of the other countries around the world to see how the public thinks about nutrition. 

          Statistics show that more than 60% of Americans are obese, which is the leading cause of deaths besides smoking.  Japan's obesity level is only 3% according to statistics of health.  Only 3% of the population is obese! So that means that obesity is not even a problem in Japan.  America is taking the lead ahead of others in being obese.  So why is it that only America seems to be the country with the highest obesity level and not all the other countries?  The answer is simple, it's their diet.  When you look around the world, many people around the world are concern about nutrition and what they are putting into their body.  Take Japan for example, the overall diet in Japan is mainly rice and seafood since Japan is an island and they get most of their food from the ocean.  They eat in small portions and their meals don't consist of lots of sugar, high in fat, but mostly a soy diet.  The problem in America is that we rely heavily on convenient foods, or fast foods.  We also rely heavily on our cars for transportation, we are the biggest car consumers than any other country in the world.  With the bad diet and decrease in physical activity, as a result the obesity levels will increase.  You see that everything has gotten bigger just in the last decade. Cars have gotten bigger to fit those people, cup holders in cars have gotten bigger because of Americans choosing super-sized drinks.  You go to McDonalds or any other fast food joints and you see even the meals have gotten bigger.  Everything in America is getting bigger!

          This is an issue that needs to be resolved or the obesity level will continue to rise and rise.  We need to understand and watch what we eat. 

         

Are Bottled Water a Health Hazard?

           This question has been brought up several times by people.  I never believed that bottled water gives you cancer because I drink it everyday.  I also don't believe that it's a really big health hazard for us to be concerned about, because I mean how does refreshing water could possibly give you cancer?  I am writing about this to prove if bottled water is as harmful as many claimed it is.  Out of my curiosity I did some research on this topic.  After looking up information online, here's what I've found:

         Tap water might be better for you, instead of paying thousands of dollars a year on bottled water, tap water may be safer.  In Mother Nature, the article talks about the reasons to not drink bottled water because studies have shown that the FDA doesn't have as of a stricter rules on bottled water since tap water has to be filtered out for contaminants.  It also shows that tap water and bottled water are regulated by two different administrations, so if one company has certain regulations on tap water the same company can't enforce the rules on bottled water.  So why do we buy bottle water instead of drinking regular tap water?  Many people don't know about the issue with bottled water, they assume that it's a better option and that the water has been treated better than tap water.  How much do you know about bottled water?  The average bottle water is not made locally but being shipped for other states.  Tap water on the other hand is treated locally, so you know more about what's going on with your water.  The CDC reported a couple of outbreaks of contamination from bottled water.  In 2004, they found that the contamination was caused the gasoline byproducts.  What's even worst was the fact that in 2000 one of the reported contaminants was salmonella.  This really shows that we in fact don't know the origin of our water and how it's being treated.  

           

            The fact that I was wrong about bottled water being safer and treated better was shocking.  I am a regular bottled water drinker, and I haven’t had any problems yet.  After doing some research online to learn more about what kind of water I have been drinking, it’s really baffling.  All this time I had no idea of what I have been drinking.  There are no reported deaths from people drinking bottled water but there studies that shows that bottled water are contaminated with just about anything you could think of.  That's still dangerous to think that water could have these harmful contaminants in them.

Childhood Obesity

        

The United States has the highest childhood obesity in the world.  Studies show that more than 50% of kids in America are obese! That's half of the nation!  With restaurants and fast food franchises super sizing their meals, it's having a lasting impact on the children, super-sizing them too!  Childhood obesity is probably one of the biggest problems that need to be solved in America.

         One of the biggest causes of childhood obesity is the food the children choose to eat.    Bad, junkie foods that contain high in Trans fats, saturated fats, bad oils taste good but aren't good for the body.  Without regulation of diet kids choose these kinds of food over healthy bland food. The bad junkie foods are being advertised all over magazines, and TV.  With kids surrounded by these influences they begin to fall into them, eating the bad calories. 
            Parents are also an influence on the child’s diet.  By restricting the bad calories and regulating the child’s diets.  Children are less likely to be obese. Sometimes parents are bad role models for their kids.  The parents choose to replace the good calories with bad one, thus the child follows their parents. 
           
            Some families are financially incapable of always buying healthy foods.  The bad calories are cheaper than the good calories so if there are a lot of kids to feed you would want to buy the cheap affordable ones. 
            Often it’s not only the kid’s diet that makes them obese, being active and staying active is another reason for obesity.  Kids are just not getting enough exercise every day, with that and on top of it a bad diet, results in obesity. 
            Kids also have access to sugary drinks in vending machines at school.  With some school lunches that aren’t very healthy kids still eat them because of hunger.  Recently, the school lunches has gotten better.  With the regulation passed by Michelle Obama trying to lower the obesity level, schools are serving healthier lunches.  Since kids are in school more than they are at home, regulating school lunches does help lower the levels of obesity. 
            America has the biggest problem of obesity.  Not only the adults are obese but we see a high amount of children that are also obese.  The government has pitched in to lower the levels of obesity in kids.  Parents also have to pitch in and be aware of childhood obesity and control it before they start getting all these diseases like type 2 diabetes.

The media and I

 We are often not happy about our image or weight, we are not satisfied with ourselves.  The media isn’t helping our self-esteem making us feel comfortable in our body and with our image.  The media sets an ideal body image and weight where all of us have to follow in order to feel pretty and confident in ourselves.  With the powerful media around us it’s hard to not feel ashamed about our weight or how we look.  We have high standards of how we look because of the media’s influence in our lives.  It makes females and males alike become self-conscious of their bodies. 

            With a generation of teens where their whole lives are dependent on the internet, the media plays a huge role in the adolescents becoming Bulimic, or anorexic.  In PMC, statistical evidence concludes that more and more kids are becoming anorexic or bulimic because of the media’s influence.  There are many teens that are already dissatisfied with their weight.  The media is only pushing their confidence further down. 
          The result of the media’s influence on teens is being thin.  Being thin has become the prominent goal in anorexics or bulimics that they don’t care about the measures they take in becoming thin and maintaining it. 
          Although the media is so powerful in making people think a certain way, and usually that way isn’t safe.  There are many commercials and shows that promote healthy body weight and lifestyle.  They glorify healthy weight and image instead of the ideal thin model image.  Recently I’ve seen the Special K commercials, how they incorporate healthy looking women that aren’t overly thin looking.  They show the women’s confidence in their own bodies and their healthy ever day diets. 
          Not only is the media influencing the lives of teens, but people in general are also contributing in many teens wanting to be skinny.  Often times we automatically judge a person if they are not super skinny or we say that straightforward.  They become self-conscious and embarrassed about their weight.  So they begin to find ways to cut some of that weight off
          By changing the faces of the media, it could really boost up many teens confidence in their body.  By seeing real everyday people on T.V and not the exaggerated thin looking girl, teens having an eating disorder can drop by a lot.  With the media being all powerful, why not have what they are portraying influenced teens to be comfortable in their own body?

Curing through food

        
  You may believe it or not, but many foods do cure sicknesses.  Food acts like a natural form of medicine that will help stimulate your immune system to fight off diseases.  Food is basically a type of medicine, a natural form of medicine with no additives or preservatives that you see in some over the counter pills.  If you know the right types of food for the right type of sickness their is no need to go get medicine for just something so little as a cold.

        From my personal experience relieving the common cold that we all dread just takes only about a day or two.  Common colds last up to 2 weeks, but from what I've learned is that what you eat when you're sick plays a huge role in how long you're going to be sick.  Drink lots and lots of water, water is very very very beneficial in getting rid of the common cold.  It gets rid of all the harmful toxins in your body.  Eat different kinds of fruits, they are high in vitamins which will help your immune system fight off the common cold.  If you don't have an appetite for food, don't just not eat, force yourself to eat something so your body isn't too weak.  I suggest something light, like a salad, or soup, they are easy to digest and healthy at the same time. Eating right is good for your body and for yourself.  Many people who eat right don’t have to take medications, because they are curing from what the foods they are eating.

         Many types of medicine are made from herbs, fruits or some kind of food product that are grounded up into a pill.  Plant Based Drugs and Medicine has a list of all the types of medicine that are made from plants.  It's shocking to see how much of our medicine are made from plants.  If we eat well and know how to eat, we wouldn't need some types of medicine.  For example if you don't get enough fiber, you're bowel isn't probably going to function properly, thus constipation occurs.  There are medicines that help move the bowel, but those medicine really isn't necessary if you are eating enough fiber (fruits and veggies)!  Some types of problems don't need medicine at all, eating the right type of food and regulating your diet is enough to not have to eat pills. 

 

The Value of Nutrition

  

      Nutrition is an important part part of a person's diet.  Especially in third world countries where many kids and adults are malnourished.  Nutrition makes our bodies healthy and functions properly.
         Eating healthy is a part of having a good nutrition.  By changing the bad habits of your eating lifestyles and replacing it with a healthier diet will make you feel better and look better.   Here are a couple of tips that will help you get started on eating healthy.
          Many people don't eat healthy because they simply don't know how and what is healthy.  Here are a couple of tips to help you out.  Choose olive oil over other kinds of oils, you can cook with olive oil or put a teaspoon of olive oil in your grains.  By just consuming a teaspoon of olive oil a day can prevent cardiovascular disease in the future.  Although it's a little pricey, but it's worth it for the future and the benefits for it are endless.  Choose lighter, healthier salad dressings or make your own salad dressings.  Many salad dressings are heavy and are not good for you.  Vinaigrette dressings are the healthiest, but are careful, many vinaigrette salad dressings have other things added to them.  Choose low fat salad dressings if you want something like ranch,or a thousand island.  Eat at home.  When you’re cooking at home, you know exactly what your putting into your food and you could create healthier food.  At restaurants there are not many places that serve healthy food, because they lack flavor and are lighter.  Even if you do go to a restaurant that serves healthy food, it's not exactly the way you want it.  At home you can cook the way you want it and know what you are putting into your food.  Some people have no clue of how to cook healthy food.  Rachel Ray is well known for her cooking, her web has some recipes that you and your family will like, they are easy to make, healthy and they taste great.  Martha Stewart also has some nice dishes that you will love; she has chicken, salmon, dessert and many other recipes too.  Always remember the most important thing to eating healthy is to love what you eat, don't force your body to eat something that is healthy but you don't like it.  Explore the foods and see what kinds of food you love.