Common Sense Tips for Eating

An article by Michael O'shea in Parade hits on many cylinders. Here's essentially what he has to say, in summary.

Avoid fad diets, particularly those that encourage drastic calorie reduction. Drastically cutting back on your daily calorie intake only tells your body one thing. That you're in starvation mode and your metabolism should slow down in the attempt to hold on to its fuel reserves, i.e. fat.

Reduce your intake of processed foods. Excellent advice and common sense advice as well. Processed foods typically contain lots of salt and sugar. And, from a dietary consumption standpoint, you need little of either added to your food. Too much sodium can, in fact, raise your blood pressure and too much sugar can spike your blood sugar, leaving you hungrier and feeling rundown.

Get more fiber in your diet. This is important for the sake of gastrointestinal well-being. How do you get more fiber? You can try metamucil. But a better approach is by replacing some of the low fiber foods in your daily diet with high fiber alternatives. And some of the foods he lists are foods that are high on my personal list of favorites, including spinach, almonds, and apples (green granny smiths are my personal choice and my ferret's as well).

More fiber in your diet can help you avoid constipation, can lower your cholesterol, and can help you keep "things moving along" in your intestinal tract. And that last item is important for not allowing carcinogens to sit for too long.

Realize that fat is a valid component of your dietary intake. There's no problem with fat, as long as its the good stuff. Omega-3 fatty acids, for instance, such as can be found in walnuts and fish.

Eat beakfast. This is the first meal of the day and, arguably, the most important one. Including milk in it is a good idea since far too many of us lack the proper amounts of calcium and vitamin d, and having your breakfast lean more toward lean protein versus carbohydrates is also a good idea (you'll feel more full, more satisfied, and you won't experience the sugar rush "pancake and syrup" phenomenon of feeling energized and then later listless.

All in all, his recommendations boil down to common sense and a lot of common advice that we've heard over the last couple of decades. In my own opinion, though supplements can be useful, particularly when certain nutrients in specific quantity are difficult to obtain from a standard diet, the best route to staying healthy and fit comes through A) healthy eating and B) a physical fitness regimen.

Ferrets and personal property

Chloe tunneling under the bedspread

They have no respect for it. Depending on the value of your personal property (to a ferret, that is), they may ignore it...shred it, bite it, or steal it. Oh, and if it's in a corner, they may poop on it. However, whether they have a true interest in your belongings or not, if its something "new" and out in the open, they will investigate it.

Ferrets seem to be nature's fuzzy little detectives. And they have all the required attributes, including good memory, determination (some would say obsessive-compulsiveness), and true problem solving ability. The bees are next in line to achieve sentience? No, I'd probably bet on the ferret.



Chloe the ferret - a Mini Blog about Ferrets

John Hopkins University Goes Latex Glove Free

Written by Opal Tribble

While I was listening to the radio yesterday a local new reporter stated that Johns Hopkins University, America's first research university, announced that is latex glove free. Why did they remove the gloves? Hopkins surgeons stated they removed latex gloves because of the rare reactions that some people were having to the latex.

The way that latex was made changed In the 1990’s. According to Hopkins officials, this was when they noticed that people were having severe reactions. Latex is also known as rubber or natural latex. Latex comes from the rubber tree.

According to research, the main source of the allergic reaction is latex gloves; however, latex is used in other items like condoms, feminine products, and certain medical devices. The renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, Ben S.Carson, Sr. M.D., practices at Johns Hopkins. Interestingly, Hopkins was believed to be one of the first to use latex gloves for surgery and now they are one of the first hospitals to stop using them.

Who Is Affected By Latex Allergy?

Research has concluded that health care workers have a 5 to 10 percent chance of developing a latex allergy. The cause of the latex reaction is unknown, but repeated exposure to latex can cause reaction symptoms. I found that to be interesting. I’m a soapmaker, and I found, after continually using latex gloves, I developed a skin rash. Figuring that I had a reaction to the gloves, I had to switch to non latex gloves.

According to WebMD, there are others who might be at risk for latex allergies. I’ve included the information below.

What People Are At Risk For Latex Allergy?

1. People with a bone marrow defect
2. People with deformed bladder or urinary tract
3. People who have a history of multiple surgeries.
4. People allergic to bananas, avocados, kiwis, or chestnuts


How Are People Exposed?

1. Direct contact with the skin, such as when latex gloves are worn
2. Mucous Membranes such as the eyes, mouth, vagina, and rectum
3. Inhalation, Latex gloves contain a thin coating of powder that can be inhaled
4. Blood, some medical devices used during surgery contain latex


Immediate Reactions To Latex

Immediate allergic reactions can be manifested as cramps, hives, severe itching, and in severe cases rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, shortness of breath, tremors, and, in extreme cases, death. If you have an immediate allergic reaction to latex, contact your health care provider immediately.


To read articles written by Opal Tribble

Essential Oils and Colon Cleansing

Here are two new articles by Opal Tribble.

The first one is titled:

"Essential Oils: Follow Your Nose".

And the second is titled:

"Colon Cleansing: Eliminate the Backed Up Waste".

I found the information on both articles illuminating and I may personally look into colonic irrigation just to see for myself what the benefits might be.

Do ferrets come when called?

See the prior post "Do ferrets listen very well?". However, if you don't want to view that page, here's my answer. They come when called...when they feel like it.

Ferrets typically do everything "when they feel like it". They are nature's little hedonists and they have an incredible zest for life and living (sounds like a craig's list personals ad, huh?). But this is what makes them so endearing and so unique, which is why so many people want them for pets.

Unfortunately, most of those same people fail to research the behavior typified by ferrets---------HA! You may think I am making this up, but, just as I was writing that last line, I heard a crash in the living room. What was it? The sound of my ferret having knocked a drink glass off a table. That's one of her behaviors. She likes to push things off tables. Why? Just to see what happens next, of course.

Soda was spilled everywhere (thankfully, it was a diet soda so it won't stain). What was chloe doing when I got in there? Having a drink at her leisure. See? That's what I mean when I say that potential ferret owners may not be prepared for all the things that ferrets do.

But this is an example of how demanding it can be to own a ferret. Before I let Chloe out this morning, I closed certain doors in the house (for rooms I keep off limits), I removed the potted plant from a table she can climb onto (because, otherwise, she will employ her handy-dandy digging claws on the soil in the pot), I made sure the cat was not in (the cat is afraid of Chloe who will chase Cleo the cat all over the house), I closed the door to the front loading washer, etc, etc, etc. But, still, I forgot to take that drink glass off that table.

Ferrets are great. But they're not for everyone. And certainly not for passive pet owners.



Chloe the ferret - a Mini Blog about Ferrets

Do ferrets listen very well?

Depends on what you mean by the question. Can ferrets hear very well? They seem to be able to. Do they listen very well? A different kind of question all together. Answer: a ferret is like a cat. And, consequently, ferrets will heed you at their leisure. This can make for an exasperating kind of pet.

Cats, of course, are fairly exasperating in the way they ignore you when it suits them (My cat, Cleo, does this---chloe, cleo---it can get confusing). But ferrets can be even more exasperating since they---

1. will ignore you when they please.

2. will ignore you and continue on about their merry way causing havoc and chaos in your house.

So, if you can't handle this sort of behavior, don't get a ferret.



Chloe the ferret - a Mini Blog about Ferrets

Ferret Proofing never ends

I began to alter the way I think about my home and how I move within it a long time ago. When you have a ferret, you have no choice but to do this. In a zen-like way, I suppose, you must allow yourself to bend to the predilections of the ferret.

What does ferret proofing include? You name it. For the most, ferret proofing boils down to giving consideration to everything that happens within your home and how it might affect your furry little detective friend, i.e. how it might catch the interest of your ferret, even to its detriment.

As soon as the front loading washer in the photo above was delivered, I knew that I could never again walk away from the washer with the door open. It would simply be too inviting for a curious ferret who might like to curl up in a pile of clothes, blithely unaware of the wash and rinse cycle that might follow.




Chloe the ferret - a Mini Blog about Ferrets

Ferrets are Determined if nothing else

At one point, Chloe concluded that she was dissatisfied with being confined to the exterior surface of my living room couch. She decided, much like Jules Verne's explorers, that it was time to begin an exploration of the interior space deep within the couch.

What you see in the photo above is evidence of one highly determined ferret. Which is to say, she is simply the average ferret. What you see to the right of the photo is metal mesh that is about to be stretched over those holes and stapled in place.




Chloe the ferret - a Mini Blog about Ferrets

Weight Gain: Can Friends Make Each Other Fat?

Written by Opal Tribble

The two of you spend a lot of time together. You congratulate each other when you’ve achieved your goals and, more important, you support one another when times are rough. You mutually respect each other. You’re friends. Whether you get together in person, phone or email, you always have a great time. With all the fabulous things you’ve shared, have you managed to put on weight together?

In July 2006, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study. The study demonstrated that a person's chance of becoming obese increased by 57% if their friends were obese. This research was conducted over a period of 32 years on 12,607 people.

Weight Gain: The Research Discovered

1. Friends of the same sex had more of an impact on weight gain than friends of the opposite sex, including spouses.
2. When friends emulated each other, the likelihood of them gaining weight increased to 171%.
3. Friends that lived far apart had the similar impact on those that lived in the same town.

Why is this? Researchers have determined that friends have a major impact on what is socially acceptable. People look to those who are similar to them as a point of reference. Although the study didn’t show individual cases of friends that lost weight, the study suggests that losing weight and keeping it off can be more effective if done in a group.

If you and your friend have gained weight, encourage each other to shed those unwanted pounds. Change the way you view foods and start adding more whole foods into your diet. Also, make sure the foods you eat are low on the glycemic index. Foods high on the glycemic index can pack on the unwanted pounds. Don’t forget to exercise and look for ways to alleviate stress. You’ll shed those unwanted pounds and improve your health. Regardless of whether you’re fat or thin, start making healthier choices.


To read articles written by Opal Tribble

"We hit on the idea of a chewing gum because obese people like chewing"

The title of this post sounds like a poor joke, to be sure, but it's a quote from a BBC article that discusses an appetite-suppressing chewing gum. Chewing gum can reduce one's appetite? Preposterous?

Perhaps not. Apparently, the human body produces a hormone, pancreatic polypeptide, that helps to control appetite. This hormone is produced after each meal, but some people have more, or less, of this hormone. And here's the kicker: becoming overweight actually reduces the amount of the hormone that is produced in an individual.

Upon reading this, I couldn't help but think of type II diabetes. Not everyone who develops type II is overweight; however, becoming overweight is a huge risk factor for the onset of type II. And nearly every doctor will tell their patients that to fight type II, you should get drop weight and get rid of as much abdominal fat as possible.

Apparently, according to the article, becoming overweight can hormonally predispose you...to becoming more overweight.

The good news is that even moderate doses of pancreatic polypeptide can help with satiety and decrease food consumption, leading to weight loss. The delivery system? Chewing gum.

Chewing gum to reduce appetite

A believer in the low carb approach

Too many people misunderstand the whole low carb approach to eating. Here are some of the misconceptions I've come across myself.

"It's not healthy to cut out carbohydrates"

"Eating meat all the time is not healthy"

"You'll get too much fat in your diet".

In actuality, its not healthy to eat as much carbohydrate as the typical person does, mainly because the vast majority of an individual's carb intake comes in the form of highly processed carbohydrate rich food. We're talking about foods that often contain little nutritional value, are low in fiber, contribute to fast rises in blood glucose, and contribute to insulin resistance. And if you think about it, ancient man, prior to agriculture, did not have access to this sort of food. He ate a paleolithic style, hunter-gatherer diet. And he did just fine on this. With modern medicine, including vacinnations and antibiotics, his life expectancy may have exceeded ours.

The meat thing. Just because you decrease your consumption of carbs does not mean that you necessarily increase your intake of protein. In my own case, I consume as much protein as I always have. The reduction in carbohydrate has simply meant reducing my overall calorie intake.

Finally, regarding fat intake. Too many people conceptualize low carb dieting as a free pass for eating all the sausage and bacon you might want. And why that is, I haven't a clue. Low carb eating doesn't, by necessity, equate with increased protein consumption and there's no reason why your protein can't come from practical plant and lean-meat sources.

Now, here are some factoids to chew on:

1. Protein takes longer to digest and can make you feel full.

2. From a CNN article - "A study of 100 women from Australian researchers found that overweight women who ate reduced-calorie diets rich in protein from red meat and dairy lost more weight than those whose reduced-calorie plans had little meat and more carbs".

3. A Pennington Biomedical Research Center study found that overweight women who ate eggs for breakfast lost two times as much weight as dieting women who decided to start their day with a bagel.

Personally, I would stick with fish and chicken as my primary sources of animal protein and, for morning eggs in your breakfast, eggbeaters are a great solution since they contain zero fat and cholesterol.