Carole Carson

Is SALIGIA an Illness Requiring Medical Treatment?

In case you don’t remember your Latin, SALIGIA is a mnemonic device based on the first letters in Latin of the seven deadly sins. To provide moral guidance, the early Roman Catholic Church began classifying sins. The seven deadliest were luxuria (extravagance), gula (gluttony), avaritia (greed), acedia (sloth), ira (anger), invidia (envy), and superbia (pride).

In a controversial announcement, Dr. Hamish Meldrum, the head of the British Medical Association, cited greed—one of these seven deadly sins—as the cause of obesity. And he indirectly points his finger at several other related vices that result in excess weight—extravagance (reflecting a lack of moderation), gluttony (reflecting a lack of self-discipline) and sloth (indicating a sedentary lifestyle).

Dr. Meldrum rejects the “medicalisation of obesity.” He feels strongly that physicians should not take responsibility for solving obese patients eating habits by treating the problem with pills. Instead, he wants physicians to encourage patients to address their own eating habits—fewer indulgences, less gluttony, less greed and more movement.

“People like to put fancy labels that suggest things are a medical problem,” Dr. Meldrum says. Overeating becomes labeled a “hyper-appetite problem” rather than simply greed.

Is he right? When I look at my own experience, I have to admit that if I could have safely taken a pill that caused me to lose 62 pounds, I would have been sorely tempted. I say that even though losing weight with a pill would not have made my bones and muscles stronger, my back more flexible or my heart and lungs more efficient. In the absence of a magic solution, I did it the old-fashioned way: ate carefully and exercised regularly.

In the end, it may not matter whether Dr. Meldrum is right: the issue may be resolved indirectly. In England, the financial costs related to antiobesity prescriptions are rising each year, and the citizens may not be able to pick up the tab through taxes to pay for the medicalization of obesity. Will the same financial constraints be experienced in the United States? Will the cost of drugs become prohibitive because so many of us would require prescriptions?

What do you think? Is Dr. Meldrum on the right track, or is he unsympathetic because, judging from his photograph, he’s never personally had to deal with a weight issue?

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Nutrition but Didn’t Know Whom to Ask

In an effort to promote healthier food choices, the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, has created a new Web site loaded with nutritional information: MyFood-a-pedia.

You can type in individual foods or compare foods. For example, I typed in diet high-fiber bread and compared it with white bread after adding butter to each slice. The analysis gave me total calories, the food group and nutritional information.

Besides keeping this resource for your own use, share it with youngsters, families and friends. Educating ourselves about nutrition can help us make healthier food choices.

Photo courtesy of Ivan Prole

Where to Begin: Taking the First Steps on the Path to Fitness

If you are to reach your fitness goals, you’ll need to learn, grow and practice. In that spirit, pick one, two or all three of these assignments to experiment with this week.

 

F: Fix and eat a vegetarian meal one or more times this week, and replace white rice with brown rice. Researchers report that simply replacing white rice with brown rice reduces the risk of diabetes by one-third.

 

I: Introduce a new form of exercise into your routine. Without making a long-term commitment, decide to try something new and invite a friend to join you. Approach the exercise with an open mind—you are just going to see if you like it.

 

T: Target the one habit that most undermines your fitness and weight loss goals. Examine the habit in detail. Once you get the habit under your microscope, decide how to modify, abandon or replace the habit with a healthier one.

 

If none of these assignments appeals to you, create your own list. Improvising is always encouraged. Whatever you do, begin and then continue.

 

The Health Benefits of Being Happy

Are you happy? Admittedly, enjoyment and pleasure can be important components of happiness. But there's more. Beyond gratification is a level of happiness that psychologists describe as "eudaimonic well-being." At this point, positive emotions arise when an individual is working toward a meaningful goal. This person is continuing to learn, taking on new challenges and living purposefully.

Eudaimonic happiness is as good for our bodies as it is for our outlook. Dr. Carol Ryff, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, reports that women who tested high for this quality weighed less, slept better and had fewer stress hormones and markers for heart disease than those reporting hedonic happiness. Dr. Richard J. Davidson reinforces this idea: "Eudaimonic well-being is much more robust and satisfying than hedonic happiness, and it engages different parts of the brain. The positive emotion accompanying thoughts that are directed toward meaningful goals is one of the most enduring components of well-being."

I think this is what Helen Keller meant when she said, "Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."

This is why I encourage anyone interested in becoming fit to join a community, like the AARP Fat2 Fit online community. Contributing to others involves us in a worthy purpose: supporting each other in achieving fitness. This research assures us that our delight in helping each other helps us as well.

What’s the Link between Surplus Weight and Medical Problems?

In my role as coach for the AARP Fat 2 Fit Community Weight-Loss Challenge, I ask experts to share their insight on issues involving fitness. One such expert is Dr. Michael F. Roizen, who is regularly featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC’s Today, 20/20, Good Morning America and CBS News Sunday Morning.

I asked Dr. Roizen, “What’s the link between surplus weight and medical problems?” His answer follows:

 

A large waist leads to high blood pressure, arthritis, altered body image and low self-respect. Extra belly fat also causes more inflammation than sand in your swimsuit, and that inflammation causes insulin resistance diabetes (with an average 17-year lag), heart disease and impotence (average 25-year lag) and cancer (average 35-year lag). If those health concerns weren't enough, a sizeable girth also causes problems zipping up your pants.

Dr. Roizen confirms the statistic that 80 percent of our medical problems are a function of lifestyle. The deadly quartet (heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer) is increasingly linked to unhealthy eating and exercise habits that result in obesity and a lack of fitness overall. The statistic is worrisome, but it simultaneously reassures us that we can reduce our risk by adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Michael Roizen, MD

Michael F. Roizen, MD, has written four New York Times bestsellers, including You: The Owner’s Manual, which he coauthored with Dr. Mehmet Oz. Other popular books coauthored with Dr. Oz include You: Staying Young and You: On a Diet. Michael’s writing has also appeared in numerous scientific papers, textbooks and medical books. Besides holding patents on several of his inventions and being a prolific lecturer, Michael has produced four PBS fundraising television specials. He chairs the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. With his extensive experience in educating individuals on the care of their bodies to achieve optimum health, Michael guides and inspires individuals of all ages.

Food Rules by Michael Pollan

In our journey toward healthy living, we sometimes encounter confusing or even contradictory advice. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the volume of information bombarding us daily in magazines, on television and online. At times, we may find ourselves wishing for a clear, straightforward set of tips to steer us in the right direction.

Enter Michael Pollan’s new book, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. In this helpful and humorous little book, Pollan lays out simple and playful guidelines.

Food Rules, which includes sixty-four rules for healthy eating, is essentially organized into three sections:

1. What should I eat? Eat food.

2. What kinds of food should I eat? Plants, mostly.

3. How should I eat? Don’t eat too much.

Pollan asserts that eating real food (such as fruits and vegetables) and avoiding processed foods dramatically improves our health and well-being. As Pollan memorably points out in rule #19: “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.”

Other rules, such as rule #7, “Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce,” humorously remind us to use common sense in our approach to a healthier lifestyle.

Our health is perhaps our most valuable possession. Pollan’s witty rules help us remember that achieving our health and fitness goals can be delightfully fun.

What kind of humorous food rules can you come up with?

Photo courtesy of G & A Scholiers

Try Chilled Pumpkin-Carrot Soup on a Warm Day

When it comes to calories, soup is such a bargain that I hate to give it up when temperatures start to climb. But I must admit that a steaming bowl of soup loses its appeal when I feel hot and sticky. Rather than wait until cold weather returns, I developed a repertoire of filling soups that can be served either hot or cold.

My current favorite is Pumpkin-Carrot Soup, a recipe I created after experimenting with different ingredients. This recipe makes 8 to 10 generous servings, so I can easily keep a container or two in the freezer to use

when I’m rushed for time and I can’t figure out what to serve for supper.

Pumpkin-Carrot Soup

2 medium onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon water

1 1/2 pounds carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 1/2 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)

2 15-ounce cans pumpkin

1 1/2 cups white wine

2 14.5-ounce cans chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon sugar or sugar substitute

1 tablespoon lemon pepper

Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil and water in a heavy-bottomed pan until softened. Add carrots and stock. Cook carrots until they are soft. Add pumpkin and wine. Purée the mixture using a blender, food wand or mixer. Add chopped tomatoes, sugar and lemon pepper to the puréed soup. Stir and reheat thoroughly. Serve hot or chilled. For variations, add 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle if you prefer a spicier taste. For a creamier taste, replace the white wine with buttermilk.

I estimate that one cup of soup contains approximately 50 calories. Add a fresh salad and some hearty bread, and your meal is complete. Bon appétit.

To Live Long, Keep Moving!

A study of 9,000 men and women in Australia found that being a little overweight didn’t impact mortality. The groups that were most likely to die were persons who were underweight or obese. However, the amount of exercise a person engaged in, rather than what the scale read, was the most critical factor in determining longevity.

Women who had a sedentary lifestyle had twice the mortality risk of others in the study; for men, it was 28 percent higher. In light of this research and his own conclusions as a physician, Dr. Andrew Weil encourages us not to stress if we can’t reach the ideal weight in the actuarial tables, but instead to focus on maintaining optimum health by eating right and being physically active. This is the focus of our Fat 2 Fit community, and this study supports our strategy.

Photo courtesy of Ariel da Silva Parreira

For Your Health’s Sake, Hold the Salt!

Experts advise healthy Americans to eat no more than 1 teaspoon of salt a day, and they recommend that individuals with high blood pressure consume even less. Yet the average American consumes 2 teaspoons a day. Surplus salt is dangerous because it increases blood pressure that can trigger heart disease, stroke or kidney disease. Too much salt also increases the risk of stomach cancer and makes us feel bloated.

How do we end up eating too much salt? Not from the salt shaker on the table. Up to 80 percent of our salt is hidden in processed foods. Here are four ways that you can use to moderate your salt consumption:

1. Avoid the saltiest foods: deli and processed meats, canned soups and salty condiments, like soy sauce.

2. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables along with whole grains. Most unprocessed foods are low in salt.

3. Eat at home. Restaurant food, whether fast food or fine dining, typically contains more salt than home-cooked meals.

4. Read labels. Many food manufacturers are voluntarily reducing the salt in their products with no loss of flavor. For instance, low-salt soy sauce is available.

One recent study concluded that if each one of us ate one-third less salt a day (a change we would hardly notice), we could prevent 100,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths every year and net $240 billion in health care savings. I’m willing to give up some salt to achieve this goal and improve my health. What about you?

Photo courtesy of Zsuzsanna Kilian

Is Fat Good for Us?

If you've been playing the dieting game for any length of time (a game I hope you've given up), you can remember food trends. One year, a food is deemed good for us. A few years later, we're told to avoid it. Do you remember when margarine was supposed to be better for us than butter? Later, because of trans-fats in margarine, we were encouraged to avoid it. Eggs, at one point, were bad for us because of their high cholesterol. Now, many experts tell us that eggs are an excellent source of protein and should be a part of our diet.

For years, fat has been on the do-not-eat list and has been systematically removed from food. Many items labeled nonfat or low-fat did not exist 20 years ago―today they number in the hundreds, if not thousands. Yet during this period of fat removal, adults and children kept getting heavier.

Along comes more research that contradicts the notion that fat is bad for us. Studies suggest that fats are good for us―at least some of them are―and that we should include modest amounts of healthy fats in our diet.

I have wondered about this issue for some time. Since moving to France, my son has eaten fat as part of his diet, and yet he has lost 30 pounds. He's in the best shape ever. My son was always a pudgy American child until he began eating the typical French diet, which does not include nonfat or low-fat products. (I can't even find nonfat or low-fat cottage cheese in the grocery store when I visit him.)

And a friend of mine (now in his mid-seventies) who moved to China has lost at least 40 pounds if not more. He recently returned to the United States for his annual physical, and his tests were perfect. My friend sent me a photograph of his typical breakfast―two fried eggs slathered with peanut butter (not a dish I found appealing but one he seemed to relish). The combination would send many a cardiologist into a frenzy, yet my friend is more fit than ever.

Of course, this information is anecdotal information but researchers are starting to rethink the notion of fat in our diet. If you are interested in the topic, read this article in the Boston Globe and tell me what you think. I hasten to add, however, that independent of the latest food trends, you and I ultimately have to be the judge of what is best for bodies.

Photo Courtesy of Brybs