Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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I think we have all heard of vinegar’s miraculous uses, including that one ounce at least once daily can decrease cravings and appetite. Some of the claims are true; some are not. First of all, vinegar’s technical name is acetic acid, which might give you a clue why it works in some situations. According to a 2014 study in the American Society for Microbiology, a 6% vinegar solution was used to kill resistant strains of tuberculosis. The vinegar, or acetic acid, was more effective with some strains than was bleach. The vinegar took about 30...
I went to an all-day seminar yesterday for updates on dementia in general including Alzheimer’s disease. The speaker was a neurologist who is also a researcher in the field. Among the topics explored were whether any particular foods could slow or detour the onset of Alzheimer’s and what other measures could be taken to avoid dementia. His responses on this made sense. There are certain conditions that seem to increase the risk, especially of vascular dementia where the brain is damaged because of multiple strokes or clogged/ damaged blood ves...
The summer has unofficially started and the heat is upon us. Now is the time to be more active and more careful. Many of us use the warmer weather to re-start the exercise programs we resolved to have in January or look to salads and lighter foods to lose weight. With these activities, there needs to be more caution taken. When increasing, changing or especially beginning a new exercise program, start with talking to your doctor. While I think exercise is good for everyone, talking to your doctor before you start anything new, is always a good...
My sister and I visited Ireland this past week. While we thought that the country was beautiful and the people were both gracious and friendly, we were both surprised by two things. First, there was a discussion on the BBC that many of the British surgeons wanted to make it mandatory that obese English citizens obtain a gastric banding to combat the problem. Not surprisingly, there also were many physicians who thought mandatory surgery went a bit too far too fast. I have to agree with the second opinion: surgery should be the last resort, not...
Every year most of us make an ambitious list of what we want to change in the coming year. The problem is that the list is usually more motivated than we are after the first couple of weeks. Why not use last year’s list and make it more realistic and less painful. For example, if you made the resolution to “exercise more,” make it more focused. Try “exercise for 30 minutes per week,” especially if your idea of exercise is using the TV remote. Does 30 minutes sound like too much or too hard? That averages to less than 5 minutes per day or what y...
The holidays aren’t coming; they’re pretty much here for the next month. Between work celebrations, visiting family and friends, and those irresistible goodies around, every day until New Year’s Day is a potential holiday. I could tell you to resist all of the good tasting stuff, but that is why they are called “irresistible” goodies. How can you survive the holidays without blowing your intentions or resolutions? First, figure that you are going to blow it, at least occasionally. Food can be a comfort and this is a stressful time. The corti...
Some folks say that stuffing and dressing are the same. Actually they’re not. Like real estate, it’s all about location. Stuffing is baked within the turkey. Dressing has the same basic ingredients, but is baked in a separate container. The question isn’t which tastes better, but which is safer to eat. One of the biggest problems this time of year isn’t whether your turkey is over cooked or under cooked, but whether it and your stuffing will make you full or sick. ALL poultry have Salmonella bacteria which can make even the best feast a memor...
I tell my nutrition students that food is VERY personal to everyone. This might explain the reaction to the announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) that eating processed meats and red meats can be related to certain cancers, especially colorectal cancers. The question then becomes: After eating hot dogs and grilled meats all summer, am I doomed? What can I eat? What the WHO actually released was that after looking at the studies already performed, 22 experts from 10 countries found that those folks who ate more processed foods,...
For some of us, any time we exercise it has to be accident, because we definitely wouldn’t do it on purpose! Contrary to this thought, is the actual concept called “accidental exercise.” I heard about this on a news program and found it interesting. Bottom line: our modern conveniences and step-saving mindset are literally adding to our bottoms and lines. Think about it: Obesity has always been with us, but not to the current extent. Many of our grandparents and great grandparents might have been heavy, but it was more due to cooking and eatin...
On Saturday, Oct. 3, Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District will be holding its annual Health Fair. I have been working at these fairs for the last 4-5 years. I have watched folks pass by the various booths: some actively taking part in what’s offered and others just picking up whatever literature or goodies are available. While I normally write about all things nutrition and exercise based, dietitians are also concerned with everything dealing with a person’s overall health. Health Fairs are great opportunities to speak to the experts inv...
I have a number of patients and family who tell me that they would like to exercise but their arthritis, back, knees, or whatever, hurts too much to move. Being of an age to have done many stupid things to my body over the years, as well as having had knee surgeries, I do understand pain and the body whispering for rest, not activity. Unfortunately, this is not always good advice. Extensive studies have shown that exercise can decrease the pain of arthritis, as well as promote recuperation after many surgeries. It can shorten or ease labor...
The phrase that many of us have heard is that “music has charms to soothe the savage breast” (no, not “beast”). Over the past several decades there has been a multitude of studies on how various types of music can have beneficial health effects. Its importance to nutrition is twofold: first, many people use food to self-medicate for stress, anxiety, and pain; second, music can make exercise easier and more fun. Often people eat, not because they are hungry, but because they are using food to feel better. We have discussed before that sugar h...
There seems to be so much information “out there” on just about every topic imaginable. Being a dietitian, I get asked about the newest nutrition item on the internet or on the TV news. Depending on the claim being made, I do what I advise everyone to do: look up the research behind the claim. I know what to look for. Do you? First, look at the source of the information presented: CBS news or Alien Abduction Weekly. Many online sources will cite the original study or at least the name of the researcher or the journal in which the study was prin...
For some time there have been concerns about the safety of artificial sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (NutraSweet), acesulfame K (Ace K ), neotame (Sunett), etc. One of the most maligned artificial sweeteners, saccharine, even has the warning that it can cause cancer. This statement is true IF you are a Canadian white rat who drinks the equivalent of six cases of diet soda per day for several months. At the end of such an ordeal, would it matter if you had cancer? If you are reading this article, I doubt that you are a rat,...
Earlier this month the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement that: “Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) are not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)” and that the food industry has three years to remove these fats from their products. The part of the PHOs which is not safe is the type of fat known as “trans fats.” Looking at some of the comments that were made from online citizens is that the government should not, and does not, have the right to ban these fats. This is another reality check moment. First, the FDA has been tr...
Years ago, a designer of male clothing was at the same conference I was at. He stated that the belt size on a man never changes; his in-seam gets shorter. Nowadays this phenomenon is called “Dad Bod.” Instead of having six-pack abs, some men have a keg and women reportedly find this change more appealing. The rationale seems to go to that the man gets flabbier as he is trying take care of his family, as well as deal with the demands and stresses of being a grown-up. This new body type is supposed to communicate to the female population tha...
Of the common diets provided by physicians and nurses to their patients, two would seem to be easy to understand and follow: clear liquids used for g.i. tests such as colonoscopies and the diet for diverticulitis/diverticulosis. Unfortunately, sometimes the specifics of the diets get lost in the moment. A clear liquid diet is designed to be the easiest on the stomach and intestines. It is also designed to leave the intestines, especially the colon, “clean” without food film or residue. What is considered to be a clear liquid? Anything you can...
Of all the vitamins needed by the body, the easiest one to get in sunny California is vitamin D because the greatest source of vitamin D comes free of charge in the everyday sunlight. Actually, vitamin D already exists in the skin and becomes active (think “more usable”) vitamin D3 when sunlight hits the skin for about ten minutes daily. Fish, eggs, and cod liver oil, as well as fortified milk, are food sources of vitamin D. In the last few years, there has been more information, and speculation, on what vitamin D does for the body. It has bee...
I recently read an article online about everyday things people consume which might be harmful. According to the article, you would have to eat or drink an abnormal quantity for the items to be fatal, such as 85 full size chocolate bars; 48 teaspoons of salt; 120 cups of coffee or the caffeine equivalent; or the seeds in 20-24 apples. If you think about it, who in their right mind would eat 85 Hershey bars in a day? With that much chocolate in the system, poisoning wouldn’t be the only problem; think Ex-Lax on steroids. While I am certain t...
I was talking, as always, to a neighbor about someone with terminal cancer. Her concern was that he was getting too thin. His children did not want him to eat any junk food, especially sweets because they weren’t healthy foods. I have heard this comment before from the families of patients or residents. OK folks, let’s get real. I am the first to advocate good eating habits, safe foods, avoiding excess. However, there does come a time for common sense. If I have someone who is not eating anything, anything they will eat is a good thing. I am...
The other day we were discussing “junk food”. Someone brought up how bad a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made on white bread was. Now, dietitians tend to see foods differently than most folks. Ask dietitians about “junk food” and most of us will agree on foods such as those with “empty calories” (think soda, candy, cookies, donuts and the like) and high fat fried foods (fast food hamburgers, French fries, commercial fried chicken, etc.). However, most dietitians say: “There are no bad foods; some are better for you than others, and i...
As I get older, I agree more with Bette Davis’ statement that aging is not for sissies. Aging has taught me that my muscles and joints have more opinions, sometimes rather painful ones, than I ever thought possible, especially first thing in the morning. Then there is the matter of memory. I know that I once had a memory, but I can’t always remember when. Finally there is Alzheimer’s and other dementias that seem to be more common as time passes. Kind of depressing, isn’t it? Studies done in the past few years have shown that there is a way t...
It is amazing how a clogged drain can ruin a day and then comes the expense of unclogging the drain. Because my house is only a couple years younger than I am, and I was far younger last millennium, I asked how much it would cost to replace the pipes. The estimate was between $2,000-$3,500. A friend of mine has to have the pipes in her house in Arizona replaced and that estimate was about $6,000. Either quote seems like a lot of money to me and I doubt that I am alone in that thought. What does the cost of plumbing have to do with nutrition?...
This week I saw an article on TV about how good Christy Brinkley looked at the age of 60. The first thing I thought was that she did look good and that she was my age. Next I thought that I wouldn’t mind looking like her. Then I remembered that I have never looked like Christie Brinkley. The point: like many people I know and many of my clients over the years, when the New Year nudges me to take better care of myself, I go to a “memory” of what I was like. Only problem is that it wasn’t a memory as much as it was a wish. How many of us would l...
I read in a magazine a question from a woman with high triglycerides on how she could lower her triglycerides and still enjoy the holidays. For many of us with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and/or triglycerides, etc., the holidays are either a time of denying ourselves or believing that whatever our problem, our bodies won’t notice the difference if we go off of our diets for a few weeks. Trust me -the body ALWAYS knows when we forget to take care of ourselves. Also, there is no magic cure that will allow us to eat t...
