Alright, so I’m not twenty years old anymore. So I can’t eat a pint of ice cream and chase it with a Guinness before going to bed and not gain an ounce. Not too long ago friends would laugh as they asked me what I had for dinner last night because I would usually respond by saying something like, “I had a roasted chicken.” As in, I ate an entire roasted chicken by myself in a one sitting. Yeah, those were the days.

In the past few years I have definitely felt my metabolism “downshift” a bit. And I have been officially tagged as having high-cholesterol. So I watch what I eat, sort of. Not really.

…A little meat won’t kill you, though it’s better approached as a side dish than as a main. And you’re much better off eating whole fresh foods than processed food products. That’s what I mean by the recommendation to eat “food.” Once, food was all you could eat, but today there are lots of other edible food-like substances in the supermarket. These novel products of food science often come in packages festooned with health claims, which brings me to a related rule of thumb: if you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food and food is what you want to eat.” ~ Michael Pollan, Unhappy Meals

I have actually heard this angle before, and honestly, I agree with it. It seems to be based on common sense rather than being a precursor to some “new” diet plan. This whole food approach is also the basis of the Dr. Oz approach to dieting and lifestyle. What I find most intriguing about this article is that it seems as if the author is taking the perspective of the Western/American Diet as a pandemic of sorts. Which, by in large, is not a bad one (is that a pun?);

What we know is that people who eat the way we do in America today suffer much higher rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity than people eating more traditional diets. (Four of the 10 leading killers in America are linked to diet.) Further, we know that simply by moving to America, people from nations with low rates of these “diseases of affluence” will quickly acquire them. Nutritionism by and large takes the Western diet as a given, seeking to moderate its most deleterious effects by isolating the bad nutrients in it — things like fat, sugar, salt — and encouraging the public and the food industry to limit them. But after several decades of nutrient-based health advice, rates of cancer and heart disease in the U.S. have declined only slightly (mortality from heart disease is down since the ’50s, but this is mainly because of improved treatment), and rates of obesity and diabetes have soared.” ~ Michael Pollan, Unhappy Meals

This view is quite disconcerting as an American and more importantly as a HUMAN BEING. So the advice of my Dad’s generation, “everything in moderation” is no longer applicable. We are now haunted by the new Voice of Reason which would need to include a clause about avoiding high fructose corn syrup, bleached flour, enriched flour, hydrogenated oils and of course trans-fat. Oh yeah, and there would need to be something in there about walking 10,000 steps (that’s a little over five miles) a day!

This is actually a critical point in the discussion of health, diet and lifestyle. In the last couple of generations there has been a dramatic shift from physical labor (working in the factory or in the field) to more passive ones (sitting in a cubicle or on a forklift) for the most part. I am not saying we as a country do not do our share of physical labor on the job. Not exactly anyway, but technology has changed the way we do things at work in the past hundred years, whether it is the invention of the hay baler or fax machine. Meaning, we simply do not require the same level of physical labor to achieve the same results as we did 100 years ago. I do think we as humans (as animals dare I say) are built for walking and for labor but we don’t need to do as much. We are definitely not designed for sitting for long periods of time. All of this affects our physiology over time in profound ways because we are consuming the calories but we are not matching it with physical labor and activity.

Part of the problem for me is the distinction between dieting and “lifestyle. “Dieting” implies that you are changing your eating habits to achieve a short-term goal of losing weight and once that goal is achieved you will go back to your usual ways. I tend to agree with the approach outlined by Dr. Oz, that a “diet” should be viewed more as a lifestyle change, assuming it is based on balancing your eating (input) and your activity (output) levels. I begrudgingly try to remind myself that when I get stuck parking in the outer portion of the parking lot at the mall which inevitably means I will need to walk five or ten minutes just to get to the mall. I just remind myself of those 10,000 steps a day.

   

I grew up in a family of seven children. Four boys. Three Girls. I’m the youngest, which means I became a good punching bag and an even better runner. I love my brothers and my brothers love me. We definitely did plenty of rough-housing when we were kids. Nothing crazy. Nothing serious. I am sure blood was drawn more than once, honestly, I can’t remember. I do remember a few concussions. No grudges. I’m sure we drove our parents crazy. My brothers and I collectively specialized in beatings that “didn’t leave a mark.” No mark, no penalty. Now as a dad I definitely view the idea of horseplay differently. Especially nowadays.

…Juvenile play fighting has been found to stimulate the release of certain chemical growth factors in the cerebral cortex, an area the authors describe as the “social brain.” Among the structures in the social brain is the orbitofrontal cortex, an area known to be involved in social discrimination and decision. As logic would tell us, the less growth is promoted in this area, the greater the likelihood of impaired movement coordination, perception of social cues, and the like.” ~ ScienceDaily.Com, Your Mom Was Wrong: Horseplay Is An Important Part Of Development

   

- In 2006, the 61 U.S. poison centers handled more than 2.5 million reports

- Poisoning is the second most common form of unintentional death in the U.S. In any given year, there will be between 2 and 4 million poison exposures, 60 percent involving children under 6 in their own home.

- More than 70 percent of the cases handled by the poison centers were managed safely at home, resulting in dramatic cost savings — estimated at nearly a billion dollars in 2005 — over visits to the emergency room. ~ ConsumerReports.Org, Poison Control Centers: A Vital, Fragile Resource

Okay, this fact is a bit chilling - between 4 and 10 p.m. is known as the “arsenic hour” at most poison control centers because that is when call volume peaks. They attribute it to the fact that the parents tend to be distracted by dinner and other end-of-day tasks that leave their young ones unsupervised more than any other time of the day.

Here is a comprehensive list of Tips to Help Reduce Unintentional Poisonings in the Home. As they say, education is the best prevention. What I found helpful was the list of common household items like baby oils and sunscreens that are listed as oily hydrocarbon products which can suffocate children if drawn into the lungs when ingested.

- Each year, poison control centers receive more than 1.1 million calls about accidental poisonings among children ages 5 and under.

- Only 30 percent of caregivers are able to accurately measure a correct dosage of over-the-counter medications to their children.

- More than 90 percent of poisonings in children occur in the home.

- In children, approximately 60 percent of poisonings involve products other than medicines such as plants, cleaning products, cosmetics, pesticides, paints, and solvents; 40 percent of poisonings involve medications. ~ M.U.S.C. Children’s Hospital, Common Childhood Injuries and Poisonings

It is clear to me that general awareness and education is the best prevention.

   

Here is a blog-style listing of the most recent government recalls of children’s products - Consumer Reports - On Safety. Also there is the Consumer Reports complete list of recalled children’s products. Wowsers! There is a lot of stuff here. And surprisingly, it is a lot of name brands like Graco, Carter’s Clothing, L.L. Bean, Target, Disney, Fisher-Price, et al.

A more complete list, including (what seems to be a historical database going back 10-15 years) can be found here at the U.S. Product Safety Comission. Also, here is a direct link to the government’s product recall site which seems to be the most current (meaning most recent product recalls); notice the children’s products under the Consumer Products section.

   

So if you have to buy a baby shower present and you’re new to the world of babies or are choked for an idea - I compiled and ESSENTIALS list of the good schtuff HERE. Stay tuned, I am working on an ESSENTIAL List specifically for Baby Shower Gifts as well.

   

Advice to young men from an Old Guy (on CraigsList, San Fransisco)…

   

When the kids are belly-achin’ about brushing their teeth, you can throw this tidbit at them. Because, you know, it is all about having “ammunition.” Actually, this is good for all of us.

This is the first time a direct link has been made between treatment for gum disease and improved circulatory function, which is relevant to some of the UK’s biggest killers - heart attack and stroke.” ~ Professor John Deanfield, from the UCL Institute of Child Health, Brushing Teeth Is Proven To Cut Heart Risk