Category Archives: Health

With all the talk of late about pepper spray — meme, ecards, Bella toting it in Twilight (yes, I watched it again on FX) — I found myself wondering:

Is there a difference between pepper spray and mace?

Yes. Yes, there is.

Turns out they are two very different self defense products.

Mace is the brand name for an irritant similar to tear gas and usually has no effect on criminals under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Pepper spray is an inflammatory agent that will immediately take down and cause temporary pain to an assailant. It inflames the capillaries of the eyes and skin causing temporary blindness, nausea, breathing difficulties and an intense burning sensation.

Wow.

Makes you wonder why pepper spray was the self defense product ‘of choice’ at places like Walmart and Occupy Wall Street. Wouldn’t a simple irritant have been good enough?

(And wouldn’t nothing have been the best choice?)

Plus, this seems less funny now. And way more painful.

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Posted in Commentary, Health, Humor, News, Politics

Tagged alcohol, assailant, Bella Swan, blindness, capillaries, comedy, commentary, criminals, drugs, ecard, entertainment, Humor, inflammatory agent, Internet, irritant, life, mace, meme, nausea, news, Occupy Wall Street, pepper spray, self defense product, tear gas, Twilight, Walmart

Sweet success

Posted on November 12, 2011 | 2 Comments

Mark Haub, I want to shake your hand.

Or perhaps you’d prefer a snack cake.

Thanks to the research you conducted at Kansas State University — Go Wildcats — there is now empirical evidence that weight loss depends on the calories going in…and not the nutritional value of the food.

Haub, a human nutrition professor, put himself on the ‘convenience store diet’ as part of a class project, restricting himself to 1800 calories a day comprised of Twinkies, Nutty Bars, Oreos, and even Doritos.

Haub shed 27 pounds in two months, and his other health factors improved as well. Lower triglycerides. Lower bad cholesterol. Higher good cholesterol.

He did take a multivitamin and drink a protein shake each day, and tried to eat a vegetable serving as well — usually something green. But at least two-thirds of his daily diet came from snack foods.

In the CNN article, Haub sounds a little conflicted by his success. Personally, I feel vindicated. Although my diet is not as junkie as his study, I have never eaten as healthy as experts recommend, and have gotten my share of flack about it over the years.

Now, when I reach for Froot Loops as a snack, I’ve got scientific proof –

It’s diet food, people.

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Posted in Commentary, Dieting, Education, Food, Health, Humor, Life

Tagged bad cholesterol, class project, CNN, commentary, convenience store diet, diet, diet food, dieting, Doritos, food, Froot Loops, good cholesterol., Health, human nutrition, Humor, junk food, Kansas State University, KSU Wildcats, life, Mark Haub, multivitamin, nutritional value, Nutty Bars, Oreos, professor, protein drink, research, snack cake, triglyceride, Twinkies, weight loss

Cheap trick

Posted on October 26, 2011 | 4 Comments

Yesterday I mentioned I don’t dress up my dog for Halloween. Some might find that a bit fuddy duddy.

Well, I’ve found something that beats it.

A dentist in Mansfield, Ohio is offering to buy back Halloween candy from children. And he’s not the only one.

Dentists across the country are participating in the ‘Halloween Candy Buy Back’ program.

At Dr. Callen’s office in Mansfield, trick-or-treaters will receive $1 per pound of candy turned in (5-pound limit per child) and free toothbrushes. They will also be entered in a drawing for one of two children’s bicycles.

Now, I know the dentists’ intentions are good. Halloween candy is all about sugar, and sugar consumption promotes tooth decay.

But geez oh Pete.

Halloween only happens once a year! Shouldn’t every kid experience the rush — and resulting sweet belly — from overeating candy after a night of trick-or-treating? Believe me, it’s the best way to convince them to never do it again.

Plus, do we really want to turn Halloween into a money-making venture for kids? Cause this sure feels like it.

Five bucks is five bucks, after all.

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Posted in Business, Children, Commentary, Food, Health, Humor, Life, Relationships

Tagged bicycle raffle, Business, candy, cavities, commentary, dentists, dog Halloween costumes, Dr. Craig Callen, food, Foods, Halloween, Halloween candy, Halloween candy buy back, Halloween costumes, Health, Holiday, Humor, life, Mansfield Ohio, Relationships, sugar, sugar consumption, sweet belly, tooth decay, toothbrushes, trick or treat, trick-or-treaters

Testing

Posted on October 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’m having an MRI done today.

My left shoulder is injured (no doubt a result of daily blog postings to The Egg).

When my doctor put in the order with my insurance company, I made sure it said “open MRI” on all the paperwork. And when I later made the appointment with the radiology center, I re-confirmed that I was scheduled for an open MRI machine.

I would have to be sedated to go through the tunnel in the regular MRI machine.

Yep, I’m one of those claustrophobic types. I don’t just talk the talk; I really am claustrophobic. And unfortunately, my fear of tight spaces has reared its ugly head in public places in the past.

Most memorably, I panicked in the tiny, windowless elevator at the St. Louis Arch. If you ever been, you understand. If you’ve never been and you’re claustrophobic?

Don’t go.

Of course, going into my appointment today, I wonder if my chart has special notes on it because I specifically requested the open MRI.

Do you think there’s a medical code for ‘wuss?’

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Posted in Blog, Blogging, Commentary, Health, Humor, Life, Relationships, Travel

Tagged blog, blog posts, claustrophobia, closed MRI, commentary, doctor's appointment, doctors, Health, Humor, injured shoulder, injury, insurance company, life, medical chart, medical code, MRI, open MRI, phobias, radiology, radiology center, sedation, St. Louis Arch, St. Louis Arch elevators, The Sticky Egg, Travel, wuss

Childhood demons

Posted on October 5, 2011 | 2 Comments

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.” — Helen Keller

Yesterday, en route to Boston, I smelled it.

I hadn’t encountered the aroma since my early teens, but the moment it hit my nostrils, I knew –

Underwood Deviled Ham

Someone was eating it. And I was suddenly a child again, sitting at my mother’s kitchen table on a summer day, eating ham spread and crackers for lunch. I loved that stuff, back when processed foods were new and convenient, not the thing that was going to kill us all.

I like the logo, too. To this day, I could pick their brand out on the supermarket shelf when others from my childhood are long forgotten.

Good ol’ Underwood Deviled Ham.

I have to admit, I checked out FreshDirect.com — where I order the majority of my groceries — to see if they carry the stuff. Of course, they don’t. (It doesn’t exactly match their fresh food philosophy.)

But the kid in me is curious to see…

What the devil did I like about the stuff?

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Posted in Commentary, Food, Foods, Health, Humor, Life, Shopping, Travel

Tagged advertising, Boston, brand, Business, canned meat, childhood memories, commentary, crackers, family, food, food philosophy, Foods, Freshdirect.com, ham spread, Helen Keller quotes, Humor, kitchen table, life, logo, lunch, New York City, processed food, shopping, smell, smell and memories, Travel, Underwood, Underwood Deviled Ham

Everything in moderation

Posted on October 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

I don’t run. I don’t spin. I rarely ‘feel the burn.’

But I can walk tremendous distances…and living in New York City, often find myself doing so on a daily basis.

Lucky thing.

Researchers from Penn State recently found that women ‘of a certain age’ have more energy and confidence after 30 minutes of moderate exercise than those who make strenuous workouts their routine.

Told ya.

The study also revealed that women who exercise at moderate levels were more likely to stay active over time — take that! — and those who worked out more vigorously reported feeling ‘sad or anxious’ afterward.

(It’s that burn thing — I’m telling you.)

But does more ‘energy and confidence’ mean that moderate exercisers are more fit? Not necessarily, says Penn State.

Well, DUH.

All you have to do is take a look at the arms of a super exerciser like Kelly Ripa or Madonna to know that a woman who kicks it harder is gonna be more ripped.

But is she happier? Penn State says no.

And to make myself feel better, I’m going to go with that.

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Dieting, Entertainment, Exercise, Health, Humor, Life

Tagged celebrities, comedy, commentary, confidence, energy, feel the burn, Kelly Ripa, Madonna, moderate exercise, New York City, Penn State, Penn State researchers, Penn State study, ripped body, run, spin, strenuous exercise, super exerciser, walk, women of a certain age

Bear it

Posted on September 28, 2011 | 4 Comments

Yesterday I attended an advance screening of 50/50, the new Seth Rogen film starring Joseph-Gordon Levitt as a 27-year old cancer patient.

It’s obvious from the marketing that this movie is taking a more lighthearted approach to this terrible disease.

(Actually, Seth Rogen’s involvement alone is a pretty big clue.)

I smuggled my bear Snuffles into the theatre with me. As you may recall, Snuffles was a huge help to me and my family when cancer changed our lives forever 20 years ago. And I valued his opinion of the movie’s success or failure in its quest to portray a cancer patient as he encounters the painful hurdles (and unexpected hilarities) on the road to wellness.

Snuffles posted his movie review below:

Shockingly, we are in agreement on all points. That’s some bear.

(We’ll work on the lighting next time.)

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Posted in Animals, Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Health, Humor, Movies

Tagged 50 50 movie, 50/50 movie, advance screening, advertising, animals, cancer, cancer movie, cancer patient, celebrities, comedy, commentary, entertainment, Health, Humor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, life, lighthearted approach, movie marketing, movie poster, movie theatre, movie trailer, Movies, Relationships, road to wellness, Seth Rogen, sickroom, stuffed animals, stuffed bear

Dark ages

Posted on September 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

New Yorkers love wearing black. It’s our uniform…our identity. It makes us look thinner.

But does our obsession with the color black extend to drinking it?

Blk Beverages certainly hopes so.

Blk is a blend of Canadian spring water and fulvic acid, a plant matter derivative. The fulvic acid makes the water black. According to the company website, it also allows for the “fast absorption of over 77 different trace minerals and elements, powerful electrolytes, antioxidants, and free radical scavengers.”

Now, I can agree the bottle looks cool. It’s clear; remember, the water is black. And as you empty the bottle, words printed on the bottle in black appear with additional product messaging.

Very clever.

But I’m still not sure I want to drink water that is blackened with dead plant matter — especially when I can get my minerals and antioxidants and the like from other sources.

Call me old-fashioned, but I like my spring water clear…and my winter wardrobe black.

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Posted in Commentary, Design, Fashion, Food, Health, Humor, Life

Tagged antioxidants, beverages, black, black clothing, black wardrobe, black water, blk water, bottled water, canadian spring water, commentary, design, drinks, Fashion, food, Foods, free radicals, fulvic acid, Health, Humor, life, New York City, plant matter, product messaging, spring water, trace elements, trace minerals, water

Buggin’

Posted on August 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’m okay not knowing everything.

For instance, I had never heard of the Asian long-horned beetle. Then I saw this poster in the subway.

Now I not only know what the gnarly bugs look like, but that they’re killing our trees. And we need to stop them…and never move firewood.

Never move firewood? Okay.

Hardwood trees in my adopted state of New York have been destroyed; trees in Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey, too. Trees in forests and cities all across America are at risk.

I went into the subway for a ride, not an education on scary bugs. But unfortunately, you can’t erase unwelcome memories Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-style in real life.

So, if I have to have this tree killer’s image in my head, so do you.

If you see one, report it to 866-702-9938. Better yet, they recommend you catch a few in a jar and freeze them, or take digital pictures. Both will aide officials in identifying the beetles.

Got it? Good. Now go de-bug your brains. Pet a warm, fuzzy puppy…or read celebrity dish in US Weekly.

That’s my plan.

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Posted in Advertising, Animals, Business, Education, Environment, Green, Health, Humor, Life, Travel

Tagged advertising, animals, Asian long-horned beetle, beetlebusters, beetles, bugs, Business, commentary, erase memories, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind movie, family, firewood, Humor, Illinois, life, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, subway, subway advertising, subway poster, Travel, tree killer, trees

Category Archives: Health

So-you-can rest

Spray say

Sweet success

Cheap trick

Testing

Childhood demons

Everything in moderation

Bear it

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