Weigh The FAQS

Greg and I went out to dinner last night with some old friends of ours from college. It was great evening all around; great food, great wine, great conversation. Everything was going swimmingly until the subject of healthy eating habits came up. As you well know, I pride myself on my healthy eating habits, which I’ve worked very hard to maintain in recent years. However, even my extensive knowledge of smart food choices wasn’t enough to silence the speeches that poured from our friends’ mouths the moment we began snacking on the prosciutto appetizer.

You see, our friends have recently become vegetarians. And not only are they newly converted, they have become that particularly righteous type of vegetarian that look down on all omnivores for relishing the taste of a bloody steak. Because, you know, omnivores are evil and unhealthy and drink the blood of puppies every full moon. What had been a jovial night out on the town quickly devolved into a trying lecture about the benefits of vegetarianism, of which there are supposedly many, including slenderness, increased energy, better circulation and overall improvement in constitution.

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Just in case all the Popeye cartoons from your childhood didn’t make this point clear to you, let me make it once again: Spinach is good for you. Really, really good for you. And if you still have a childhood aversion to it for that reason, give it another try! Like most leafy green vegetables, it’s relatively tasteless - except that it has a rich texture that makes it quite tasty when prepared well.

First, let’s dispense with the myths. You’ve heard that spinach is high in iron and calcium, but you’ve also heard that’s just a lie perpetuated by self-righteous vegans - so which is it? Well, both. Spinach is in fact high in both iron and calcium, but spinach also contains high levels of oxalate, which reduces the absorption of both iron and calcium.

So you won’t exactly get the most iron or calcium from your spinach, but don’t let that deter you from its green leafy goodness. Spinach is still an excellent source for vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, folic acid, magnesium and various antioxidants. With all that studies have shown spinach contributes to healthy bones, brain function, eyesight, and cardiovascular system. Oh, and it also fights cancer. How about that?

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Hi everyone, Greg here. Jane’s too busy to write this week, so she asked me to fill in. Ha, she thought she was asking a huge favor of me; little does she know that I’ve been thinking about writing this since my last post. In fact, I plan on weaseling my way into Weigh the FAQs at least every month from here on out! But onto the article: By prison workout, I don’t mean what can happen if you drop the soap. I refer, of course, to a complete, total body workout that can be performed in your prison cell or even the bedroom you share with a spouse (the same thing for some of you) using easily obtainable household items and your own bodyweight. There is no one definitive prison workout, but there are several extremely effective exercises that should be a part of anyone’s home workout arsenal, man or woman.

The official prison workout - as practiced by actual convicts - is the burpee. A strength-building, endurance-raising powerhouse combo exercise, the burpee targets the entire body and doesn’t let up until you vomit, weep, or lie motionless face down on the floor. The burpee is pretty much my desert island exercise; if I had to pick just one workout to do for the rest of my life, the burpee would be it. I linked to a video above that shows it in action, but the actual workout is quite simple.

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I knew regular soda was bad for me. (Of course, no surprise there, right?) But I didn’t know diet soda was bad for me. Sure, I knew it wasn’t good for me. Not like it has any vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein or anything else remotely nutritious in it at all - but at least it didn’t have sugar or calories, right?

Well, it turns out that scientists doing an expansive survey of people’s dietary habits and health have found that drinking one (just one!) can of diet soda a day leads to a 34 percent higher risk for metabolic syndrome… 34 PERCENT, PEOPLE!!! Even red meat and fried foods only increase your risks by a measly 18 percent in comparison. And metabolic syndrome is no small thing; it can lead to obesity, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, all of which contribute to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The jury’s still out on the causes, whether it’s some particular chemical in diet soda or something else in every diet soda drinker’s diet. Meanwhile, other studies have shown - and unfortunately, I can vouch for this personally - artificial sweeteners increase a person’s cravings for sweets and thus their tendency to overeat. Been there a few times.

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