News of an obesity epidemic does not seem to have reached America’s chain restaurants. The good news is that more chains are publishing nutrition information online, prompted in part by threat of government legislation. It might be a shot that Ruby Tuesday’s Colossal Burger has more than a day’s worth of calories and fat, weighing in at a whopping 2014 calories and 141 grams of fat.

To limit the damage without curbing your enjoyment during your next restaurant visit follow the following tips:

Customize Your Meal

Many entrees will fit into a heart-healthy diet if prepared with low-fat ingredients and less salt. Restaurant chains will usually allow you to skip mayo, substitute skim milk for whole, ask for no salt and limit dressings and sauces or serve them on the side. There are more menu items for vegetarians, diners cutting carbs or fat, and offer gluten-free meals. Even Cracker Barrel, not known to be the healthiest of restaurants, offers Egg Beaters and sugar free syrup. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers lets you customize your burger down to the amount of meat and calculate its nutritional profile. Regardless of where you go, ask that steak be trimmed of excess fat and that skin be removed from poultry. Drink iced tea instead of soda and substitute fries for vegetables.

Don’t Over do it

The easiest way to accomplish this while still having a delicious meal is to split an entree with a dinner partner. If eating alone, make a point to leave some for a doggie bag or order a soup or appetizer for your meal. There are even some chains that offer smaller portions at lower prices and others offer a line of food with lower calories.

Know the Menu Jargon

When you see the words au gratin, battered, creamy, crispy, crusted, fired, mashed, sauteed or stuffed, it usually means high calorie and fattening. Better to go for words like baked, blackened, broiled, poached, roasted or steamed. Avoid fatty sauces/oil/butter and ask for it dry, au jus or topped with citrus, salsa or vegetables.

Avoid Temptation

Pre-meal breads and bread sticks can be upwards of 150 calories a piece and who can stop at just one? If your chosen chain offers these pre-meal freebies, ask for smaller portions, better yet, keep them off the table. If you have a sweet tooth, order fruits or sherbet. If you still have to have your favorite desert, spit it!

These few common sense tips should help you reduce the fat yet allow you to still have an enjoyable time during your next restaurant visit.

Nanobees are one of the latest examples of how nanotechnology may change the way mankind treats disease. In one of the latest examples, nanoparticles known as Nanobees are being tested in the fight against cancer. These nanobees contain a synthesized version of a toxin called melittin that is found in bees. The toxin, which would otherwise destroy red blood cells and other healthy tissues, is being used to target and destroy cancer cells by delivering it directly to a tumor. These nanoparticles are engineered to travel directly to tumor cells without harming otherwise healthy tissue. The particles are covered with special compounds to prevent them from being attacked by white blood cells. The result is a laser guided missile of sorts that goes directly to the affected region.

So far nanobees have been tested only on mice, with promising results. Researchers anticipate that this therapy could become widely available for humans in about five years. Two treatments making use of nanoparticles have already been approved for cancer treatments. An ovarian cancer drug Doxil, approved in 1995, and breast cancer drug Abraxane, approved in 2005.

It’s a known axiom that we all have stress and life involves stressful situations. There are stressors everywhere some of which really take a toll on us and others which we can handle easily and with nearly zero affect on us. Stress can have both negative mental and physical effects on us to the point where our defenses get lowered and we are more prone to disease including heart attack, stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, ulcers, and poor teeth health (grinding due to nerves).

How to master your stress can mean the difference between success and failure. While this is a general way of looking at stress, it pretty much boils down to how you handle stress and how you let stress affect your decisions and your daily outlook on things.

There are a few things you can do to control stress and keep it at bay during difficult times:

1. Convert bad stress into good stress

This may sound strange but if you take a potentially negative situation and turn it into an opportunity, you have done just that! You have taken bad stress and changed it to good stress.

2. Work on breathing

Breathing!? Yes breathing! Slow deep breaths can help your concentration and you could become less accident and poor decision making prone. Use a technique called diaphragmatic berating. This involves slow deep and rhythmic breaths.

3. Attitude

How you perceive things can make a big difference on the end result. If you think you are going to do poorly, then you have already lost.

4. Stay healthy

This includes diet, relaxation, and exercise. Join a gym if you have time or take up jogging or even some home training can help improve your physical and mental health. Take a look at this portable masseuse for less than $60.00.

5. Put things into perspective

Often times stress can make our problems seem much bigger than they really are. If you put things into perspective, you may find while problems still exist, they are not as bad as you first thought they were.

Overall, learning to control stress can greatly improve lifestyle and overall well being.

In a historic bill, the FDA has been granted the ability to regulate tobacco products with the goal of preventing kids from smoking and also regulating the levels of nicotine used in tobacco products. The bill does not include electric cigarettes yet however since it only addresses tobacco products.

Electric cigarette regulation is not far from becoming reality since the FDA and other supporters want to desperately limit tobacco influence to minors and many feel the electric cigarette is a tobacco related product. While electric cigarettes are promoted as a much safer alternative, nicotine is still present however you may choose a non nicotine cartridge.

In a negative turn of events, A well known Florida based electric cigarette distributor is being sued for allegedly selling or attempting to sell electric cigarettes to minors at local malls. While the acts of this company which we are not naming in order to prevent further negative publicity do not represent all electric cigarette distributors, they certainly set them back some.

The electric cigarette is a next step product and while so many are receptive to it, there are equally the same number of folks ready to oppose it.

Not many people think about the feet and yet we depend on them for practically everything.  They are there to transport us from place to place, keep us balanced, and without them life would obviously be pretty crappy.  Every once in a while though, the feet are the most important issue in people’s lives (when something goes wrong)!  When something goes wrong, we scurry to find a quick fix (to avoid the doctor) and we rush on line to find a home solution but often times by then its too late.  When something goes wrong, the foot is the priority and everything else is secondary.

There is so much that can go wrong with our feet.  From sprained ankles to surgical amputation due to a diabetic complication.  You might be surprised to know feet problems are more common than you might think.  The foot is built to last and it is engineered to support and to be sturdy for life.  However either due to neglect, poor hygiene, injuries, or disease, the feet can be quite problematic.

It tends to be a taboo subject since no one wants to talk about bunions, hammer toes, or nail fungus but it is a reality and there are companies ready to provide treatment, support, and solutions to all possible feet problems.  Did you know there is such a thing that can improve your arch?  The arch is a tendon that can become weak and loose causing pain and other health issues.

The shoes we wear also contribute to foot health.  If you use a poorly made shoe or a shoe that is not properly fitted, the pressure or lack of support can cause foot deformation, calluses, and painful ball pressure.  The foot is the keystone of our lives.  It is neglected and ignored but is provides support, structure, and we cannot afford to neglect them.

Take a moment to massage your feet and do not let a simple pain go untreated because as with most health issues, feet problems can get worse overnight.

Chances are you either have a family member or know a family friend who smokes heavily.  According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 26.2 million men (23.5 percent) and 20.9 million women (18.1 percent) are smokers.  The cigarette addiction has been compared to heroin addiction “…In another survey, 36 heroin users entering treatment were asked to compare their strongest cigarette urge to their strongest heroin urge. Most said the heroin urge was stronger, but two said the cigarette urge was, and 11 rated the two urges about the same.”  -The surprising truth about heroin and addiction.
Jacob Sullum | June 2003 Print Edition

Now to the issue:  How to deal with a chronic smoker in the family.  There is a major problem when only one family member or friend smokes and they like to do it around others in social settings or casual events.  The problem increases in severity if there are children around since the smoker is so used to it, they may not consider the kids.

There are ways to approach the person without causing conflict or offending them depending on how sensitive they are.  Ideally, if you have good rapport with them, you can simply ask them to take the cigarette outside or to another area or you can ask the kids to move and mention its due to the smoke.  After doing this a few times, the person should get the hint.

What if the person is a long time smoker and they don’t plan on changing?  Now you have a new issue and a more difficult one to deal with.  You need to make a decision to either break ties over a cigarette or agree to disagree and save the relationship but move away during the five to ten minutes it takes to finish a cigarette.

There are plenty of quit aide products and substitutes that may also help including gums, pills, and even an electric cigarette! All these products deliver nicotine (the addictive substance in cigarettes) and some can even help the person quit smoking all together.

The most important thing you need to remember is this person has an addiction and often times it can be very controlling.  Have patience and take thought to how you act when trying to get your point across.

Sources:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4559

http://www.reason.com/news/show/28809.html

28 Day Swine Flu

A week ago, I thought I was in the movie Outbreak. This week, all is well again. So what happened to the latest threat to the human race- The Killer Swine Flu? Where are the walking dead all over America’s greatest cities like in 28 Days Later? Here we are some 2 weeks later and still nothing, zip, nada. I haven’t seen any yet. And here I was looking forward to not having to come to work for a while, but here I am at work, bored, writing this little article.

So it seems, that the great Swine Flu or to use the politically correct term as to not offend any jews or muslims, the H1N1 Weaponized Killer Virus, has turned out to be another dud and not the great pandemic we thought it was just a short week ago. I guess the CDC can file H1N1 with pandemic wanna bes like the Monkey Pox, Bird Flu, West Nile Virus, SARS, Mad Cow, etc, etc. So for now, I guess we wait until CNN breaking news tells us about the next great threat to mankind and if it turns out to be another dud, we always have 2012 to look forward to.

One would not normally think that a person could give advice on why intimate relationships are a bad idea at work unless they’ve had experience, right? Well, you’re wrong. I haven’t personally been involved with a co-worker, but I’ve been the therapist to those that have. Before you let those dreamy eyes with the “come-hither” look, that seductive smile and the breathy voice telling you everything you think you want to hear, seduce you into a regrettable and possibly embarrassing situation, you may want to read a little further.

Getting involved with your boss/supervisor - good idea? Absolutely not. No matter where you think it will take you professionally, usually the only place it takes you is on the tongues of your co-workers as the office gossip. I have had 3 work friends at my current job sleep with the same man…..their boss. All three girls were fooled by his charm and thought they were “the one”. Only I knew the truth and it was not good.  He had no respect for them and had no feelings for them other than sexual. They were not furthered in their career and 2 of them even lost their jobs. Both of those girls ended up in bad situations and left on bad terms from their jobs, but not from news of the relationship. You see, that was all kept hidden, at least from the ones that mattered to “the boss”. He was never found out and still has his job and his good name to those in charge. It was the girls who had their credibility questioned.

Girl #1: Let’s call her Mary. She was a self-conscious 24 year old who was going through a rough time in her marriage and sought out the attention of someone she thought was into her for her “inner goodness”. Please. What really happened was that “Boss” found out Mary’s weakness and pounced on it. He told her everything she wanted to hear and gave her what she needed but wasn’t getting from her husband. Not to say that Mary was innocent in this situation. She had her own set of problems and went into this full-force, but still, she was a victim in this relationship.  In the end, Mary was pretty much the laughing stock of the office, went a little nuts - seriously, took personal leave and was eventually fired with the entire office knowing everything that “Boss” wanted them to know and nothing he didn’t. In the end, he came out smelling like a rose.

Girl #2: Let’s call her Beth. Beth seemed to have it all. She was a striking beauty, a fashion plate and surprisingly very easy to talk to. Below the surface, and what “Boss” seemed to catch onto when no one else did, she was a seriously self-conscious woman who questioned everything, and I mean everything that she did. She had to get approval from friends and family just to make sure that what she chose or was going to choose for lunch, was okay. So “Boss” made his move and again told her the things she wanted to hear, gave her the things she needed and to Beth, life was good. Until “Boss” started getting tired of the same-ol, same-ol and began to move on. This in turn led to a similar situation as Mary, although not quite as public. He made her look crazy to his friends and co-workers and in the end, she was also fired. Once again, “Boss” was smelling even sweeter.

Girl #3: Let’s call her Susan. Susan was a bright, bouncy 20-something girl who the minute she was hired, “Boss” was scoping her out. Poor girl never had a chance. She was also going through a rough spot in her marriage and actually was working on a divorce. “Boss” saw his chance, felt her emotions out, got to know her and “befriended” her. He turned on his charm, was his oh so cool self and even dated Susan’s friend. Susan actually introduced them even though she was quite interested in “Boss” and in a genuine way. Once again, poor Susan. She never saw what hit her. “Boss” knew her feelings even though she hadn’t vocalized them, used her friend as a way to get close to Susan and then when things didn’t work out between her friend and him, he confided in Susan about the relationship with her friend and used that time to get closer to her. So, the story goes that “Boss” told her what she wanted to hear and gave her what she needed.  Susan continues to work at this job, as he still has her on tap for whenever he chooses. She holds out hope that it will evolve, but she is a joke to him. Little does she know, at least 3 people at work know intimate details of their relations and know exactly what he thinks of her. FYI, it’s not good.

So this brings me to the point. Work relations are NEVER a good idea. Not only does it jeopardize your job and credibility at work, but most importantly it demoralizes your character. None of the girls that I have mentioned have gotten anything good out of this experience. Severe heartache, many sleepless nights, fear of coming into work and being found out, fired from their jobs and extreme regret. In some instances, a short stay at a clinic. Yes, one was checked into an institution for the emotional havoc this relationship put on her.  Even though “Boss” is still working with the same company and he has been promoted to the manager of the branch, even though he has quite a following (male, I might add), that thinks he is the brains of this branch, I still hold out hope and truly believe that what goes around comes around. He will get his just desserts. I just hope I’m there to see it.

Its a pretty known fact that if you wash and keep your hands clean you significantly reduce the spread of germs.  Clean hands equal clean kids and adults as well as clean workspace and homes.  Some people think germs are transmitted through touch alone and this is not accurate.  If you touch something you are not likely to become infected at all.  You see, unless something can penetrate the dermis, you’re pretty much safe.

The skin on the palm of the hands particularly have an extra layer of protection (this skin is known as “thick”) and mostly consists of dead skin cells.  For something to penetrate this layer, it would have to be pretty nasty stuff!

The main reason you want to keep your hands clean is because it is the main tool we have to do things.  Since we have opposable thumbs, we practically do everything with our hands and that makes it a perfect carrier of disease and germs.  Imagine for a moment that you touch a surface with germs.  Once its on your hands, you’re pretty safe but all of a sudden, your eye itches and you guessed it, bam you’re infected.

Next you visit a friends desk and touch his mouse.  Your friend now touches the mouse and then he has lunch with other friends and licks his fingers and you guessed it, bam, your friend is now infected.

So you see, the cleaner the hands, the less likely for contamination and the lower the risk for disease.