Longer Life, Anyone?

     Everywhere you look there are more ways to grant one's self longer life. Countless websites and TV programs love to display new health trends that "extend" life-span.  
  
     While some ideas are far-fetched and unpractical, some are reasonable and manageable. For example, in an episode of Dr. Oz, the good doctor explained a few ways to lengthen your life-span.
  
     He addresses the following methods for increasing life-span:

                                                   1. Blood Pressure

                                                   2. No Toxins and Cigarettes

                                                   3. Exercise 30 mins./day

                                                   4. Easy-to-love Healthy diet

                                                   5. Stress Control

  
     What do you think about this? Do you think these solutions are enough? What would you add to the list?
  
     It seems to me that these ideas to promote lengthy living are simple and realistic. (No gypsy magic here!)  If we follow these steps, who knows how much time we'll add to our lives? Maybe we'll add thirty minutes of time to our lives or perhaps a few years. This stuff might not even make a difference. The only way to find out is to try them!

     The following link guides you to footage is from the Dr. Oz Show. Copyright infringement not intended.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUxyt4ahCRM

Please Don't take Away my Ramen (Aka: Salt)!!

     I have always loved Ramen Noodles. This is the ultimate snack-food. It has the appearance of a healthy treat since it is soup.

     Yet, you just know it is bad for you, because of its high sodium content. Why not just cut to the chase and pour a salt shaker down your throat? 

     I can't just turn my back on this snack even though it has 860 mg. of sodium. What it has in sodium, it lacks in other nutritionally bad qualities. It isn't particularly high in sugar or fat. So the only thing I have to worry about is stroking out at a young age! If I eat this snack sparingly, I suppose it wouldn't be as threatening. So once in a while, I know I can take a bag of Ramen Noodles for my lunch breaks at Walmart.

For Nutrition Facts: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/soups-sauces-and-gravies/7979/2

     However, I recently discovered that there are worse foods with higher sodium content than my Ramen Noodles. Today, I was contemplating what to take to work for lunch today, when I discovered a small box of Simply Asia Soup. 

     This soup shares many of the same characteristics as the popular Ramen, however it has an Asian blend of seasoning and a sweet and sour tang. Simply Asia has 1260 mg. of sodium! This was a definite shock to me since I always considered Asian food to be on the healthier side.

     I was going to take it for lunch, but when I saw that 1260 mg. of sodium there was no way I could  consume this without some kind of negative after effect. That being said, I am not saying that a person shouldn't eat this product, but due to my family's history of high blood pressure, it is not a good idea for my lunch plans.

    No matter what you eat, always check the nutrition facts on the back of the packaging. It could save you from a future of high blood pressure! Also, remember to eat Ramen Noodles responsibly!

Mmmm Death tastes so good!

     Growing up, I used to love going to McDonald's. It was something that I valued to such an extent that when my parents started using McDonald's Happy Meals to reward me for good behavior. One of my favorite foods at McDonald's was easily there small fry. Those fries just have that taste that keeps you coming back for more! As a kid, I just loved those golden-brown twiggs of potato. I loved them so much, nobody could have persuaded me to think that they were bad for me. Now my eyes are open to what McDonald's fries really are.      
    
     They are the worst things on the menu. Forget the over-salting and the deep-fried greesiness. These things aren't even worthy of being called potatoes anymore. Watching a study conducted during the documentary; Supersize Me, Morgan Spurlock (the star and director) placed several different burgers and some fries in jars and let them sit for extended periods of time. The fries lasted for ten weeks, even though they didn't spoil. They were accidentally thrown out. Only the good Lord knows how long these fries would have lasted. Needles to say, if I can help it, I am not going to eat as much McDonald's fries as I used to!

Check out this experiment! Maybe even try it out yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wmac-INoXg

Food vs. Sleep: Which one will be Champion?

     In a recent episode of Dr. Oz, the good doctor, himself pointed out that sleep was directly related to healthy weight. He said that if you don't get the correct amount of sleep in the evening, your body will try to compensate by replacing sleep with food.

     You will feel the hunger or a strong urge to eat more than you need because the body will overly compensate treating food as the fuel it needs. You'll find yourself nourishing your body with too much food instead of the sleep that it craves. This can easily lead to weight gain and health issues that result from it. This explains so much about my eating habits as well.

     While I do eat healthy foods (as of now), I find myself overeating at times. To prove I don't sleep as much as I should, I am finishing this blog entry at 2:47 A.M. I must stop this! Oh well! I'll stop someday, I guess.

Take a quick look at this interesting article! (Your Life = Changed)
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20101004/sleep-loss-hampers-weight-loss-efforts

Grocery Store Madness!

     This past Friday, I made a run to the Shop "n" Save in Rochester. During my travels inside the store, I made a rather frightening discovery. Most of the fruits and vegetables cost more than the junk food slathered throughout the store. I actually compared the prices of Little Debbie Zebra Cakes  to the prices for pineapple, grapes, apples, and bagged salads.

     All of the healthier foods were pricey in comparison to these cakes, potatoe chips, and candy bars. As if it isn't already difficult to eat healthy foods, people have to have echoing wallets as well? I always thought there were no negatives to eating healthy! Organic foods are even more expensive. Because of this I only buy organic foods on sale.
    
     All I can truly say is that I hope to find a well-paying job upon my graduation because I am going to need a substantial amount of money to pay for healthy eating habbits! Instead of Buggs Bunny pulling out a carrot from the ground, the animators should have considered giving him dollar bills to eat instead. Don't worry Buggs! I hear the paper which dollars are made from provide a good source of roughage!

To Illustrate my point even more here is a link:
http://www.uicc.org/general-news/chronic-diseases-poor-find-unhealthy-choices-are-cheaper

Sugar is Deadly

     This is the first blog I have ever written, so I figured I would talk about something that I consider quite annoying. While sitting in Penn State Beaver's game room, yesterday, I came across an episode of Dr. OZ. The theme of his show was the deadliest food in the household. Oz said that sugar was linked to almost all health problems, Americans commonly struggle with, such as, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, etc. This episode left me a little concerned. Diabetes runs in my family and my own father is a type 1 diabetic.

     I realize that my chances of becoming a diabetic are increased, and that sugar is terrible for people, but my kitchen is filled with sugary foods. Besides that, almost all foods contain some form of sugar. On top of this, I think I may be addicted to soda. People commonly find me with a Dr. Pepper in my hand, but lately I have found ways to limit my sugar intake.
    
     I'm not actually cutting soda out of my diet, but I have cut my soda drinking drastically. I now limit myself to one bottle-a-day. I only break this limit when I study, because soda keeps me awake. Hopefully,  cutting back on the sweets will allow me to avoid diabetes at a later age. I truly hope this works, since I can't completely rid myself of Dr. Pepper.