On Wednesday, the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group, (ConnPIRG), released the findings of its report Apples to Twinkies 2012, which showed that more of Connecticut taxpayer dollars go toward subsidizing junk food ingredients than fresh vegetables and fruits, like apples. At a gathering outside city hall in New Haven on Wednesday, the impact to taxpayers of funding junk food and the … [Read more...]
Buying food locally has a number of advantages for a community, from the added health benefits to boosting the local economy. For one, getting food from local sources cuts down on the need to ship food long distances, which decreases the use of fuel. The average food item sold in a supermarket travels more 1,500 miles from a farm to the kitchen. As a result, fruits and vegetables in grocery stores … [Read more...]
Jillian McKee is our guest blogger today. She is a Complementary Medicine Advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. Her time is spent mostly on outreach efforts and spreading information on complementary and alternative medicine use in cancer treatment. Following a healthy diet can boost your immune system, improve your healing time, lower your cholesterol and boost your mesothelioma survival … [Read more...]
Hartford often gets a bad rap for crime, poverty and the quality of its education, but it recently received high praise for its level of health and fitness. Among the nation’s 50 fittest largest metropolitan areas, the Hartford area recently was ranked 5th. Only the San Francisco, Calif. Boston, Mass., Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minn. areas ranked higher. The ACSM (American College of … [Read more...]
It really is quite amazing that a type of the seeds that sprout from atop the Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Pet, a holiday commercial mainstay, have grown into the latest superfood. The seeds from the Chia pets, laden with pesticides, are “not fit for human consumption,” said Dr. Jack Bukowski, of the Nutritional Science Research Institute, on faculty of Harvard Medical School, in an interview with Dr. Mehmet Oz … [Read more...]
Ten metropolitan areas across the U.S. can stake claim to being the least obese in the nation for 2011. The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn. metropolitan area is one of them, ranked second least obese with a rate of 14.5 percent. A recent report by Gallup identified the least and most obese metropolitan areas in the country. Among the 190 metro areas surveyed, Boulder, Colo. came in number one, … [Read more...]
Smartphone Apps and other mobile technology have proven to be powerful tools for tracking and managing health over the past few years. If my own explorations in the iPhone App Store in the last year are any indication, the number and variety of applications (and their scope of usability) will continue to grow exponentially in the years to come. Currently, there are apps that can take your blood … [Read more...]
Who says you can’t have your cake and enjoy it too? For many of us who are gluten-free, it can certainly be a challenge to find desserts that not only meet our dietary requirements, but please our taste buds as well. As someone who used to look forward to dessert as the highlight of a meal, I am especially selective about my GF sweet treats. When I came across this recipe for a chocolate cake … [Read more...]
Ever find yourself cranky and restless in the middle of the day for seemingly no reason? Then, after a stop to the water cooler in the office or to the tap in your kitchen, you seem to find your second wind, feel in better spirits and are more focused. Well, there’s scientific reasoning behind that, according to a study published in January's issue of the Journal of Nutrition. Researchers at the … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Stark anti-obesity ads in Georgia have generated fiery debate across the nation since they began appearing on billboards this past August in the Atlanta area. Now Alan Guttmacher, a leading child health expert at the National Institutes of Health has come out against the ads, saying they carry a “great risk of increasing stigma” for overweight children. The campaign, which has … [Read more...]