Understanding the Body

An interesting article came out in the Wall Street Journal called What Your Body Is Telling You. It talks about symptoms to watch, such as white nails near the cuticle that are red/brown near the top. Fun article... but not one for hypochondriacs.

Top Foods to Buy Organic

One of my reasons for buying organic - pesticides are originally derived from nerve gas agents used in WWII. Why would I ingest remnants of nerve gas agents? That cannot be good for a body.

CNN.com has an article by CookingLight on How to buy the best organic foods. The article mentions a study that found organic foods may contain more nutrients than their non-organic peers. The most useful item from the article, was a link to a myrecipes.com article on the top 12 foods to buy organic (because of the high-levels of pesticides they absorb). The 12 foods are:

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Lettuce
9. Grapes
10. Pears
11. Spinach
12. Potatoes

Exercising with Pets

I love taking long walks and running with my dog. I especially like it when he breaks into a game of "Chase me" randomly along our walks. I came across a cute article on CNN that talks about exercising with animals... This article goes a bit further than my pup and I go, in terms of working out together. It talks about people who lift cats as weights and doga (yoga with your dog). I will admit my dog does like to try to do yoga with me, when I am working out at home.

A Little Mercury with Your Corn Syrup?

My grandmother sent along interesting link from elements4health.com. (Yes, my grandmother is still cooler than your grandmother.)

A quote from the article: "Just published in the Environmental Health journal is a science commentary reporting that mercury was found in 9 of 20 samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a common sweetener of foods and beverages."

Corn syrup is one of my life enemies. I mean this literally, because I am allergic to corn and because corn syrup is everywhere. I am constantly finding it in items that have no need for corn syrup (or any other sweetener). Also scary from the article mentioned above, is that it lists that a specific type of oatmeal is high in mercury, too.

Tops for Gluten-free Bread

I found a new gluten-free bread brand that is so good, even my husband asks me to buy it so he can sneak a roll out of the freezer every once in a while. A company called Against the Grain Gourmet has mastered making gluten-free pizza crusts, rolls, and baguettes. Their foods also exclude corn and soy, key for me.

These bread products have a lot of calories due to containing cheese, but wow do they taste yummy! Their pizza crusts are super easy to throw a topping on and pop in the oven. So far my favorite pizza toppings include:

• A little tomato sauce
• Fresh baby spinach
• Halved cherry tomatoes
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese

10 Pounds, 10 Weeks

My mom is still kicking it. She has lost a total of 17 pounds this year. She is now setting a goal of losing 10 pounds in 10 weeks. She is also changing her focus to getting stronger by eating right and exercising. Weight loss will be a side benefit. Fantastic attitude, if you ask me.

She is pushing me to get a personal trainer, like her. I think I may stick with taking yoga classes. I finally started on a local project a week ago and will be working in town for the next three months. That means that I can take yoga lessons during the week! A luxury.

My mom is now up to walking/running an average of 3 miles. Great progress! This week her exercise included:

• Walking on Monday
• Core training Tuesday
• Walking after work Wednesday
• Thursday core training
• A long walk this weekend

Working Too Much and Weight Gain

My grandmother sent me the link to an interesting article. (That's right. My grandmother is more tech savvy than your grandmother.) The article highlights a study that found that 1) more than 40 hours per week and 2) work fatigue lead to weight gain.

These findings are completely in line with my own experiences. I find I tend to gain weight and/or hold weight I want to get rid of when I am working a lot of hours (tends to be steady-state for my job). This is especially the case when I am travelling.

The article notes four suggestions for avoiding weight gain:

1. "Take a break from your television"
2. "Simplify and consolidate"
3. "Evaluate your work schedule and tasks"
4. "Take a good hard look at your job"

#1, check. I don't watch too much television... perhaps, it is the Internet I need to stay away from... The other suggestions are worth consideration.