End of Juice Fasting Day 1

Juice fasting is one of those "your mileage may vary" kinda things. The more things that are wrong with you, the more side-effects and general sense of crappiness you will feel during the first few days. Luckily for me, since I eat pretty healthy already, I didn't experience many side-effects at all. I did feel a little tired with periodic light-headedness, but other than that, it went really well! No headaches or extreme fatigue.

I've heard a few accounts of people having to stay near a bathroom during their first couple days. According to the one lady from the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead film, she had to poop for an hour. In someone else's blog they said, "You can't talk about juice fasting without talking about pooping. A lot of poop." It was funny, but in my case, not applicable. My digestive system already functions as it should, with at least 3 regular bowel movements a day. So after I excreted what food was left in my system, there wasn't a whole lot left to push out. I did have to pee a lot though.

I expected to feel pretty bad the first day, and maybe even the second, but my first day was fairly uneventful. I did feel hungry now and then, and certainly missed eating. Food is one of the great pleasures in life. It'll taste so good when I resume solid food again! But my will is strong and I was able to resist grabbing a bite of anything. I think I'll have no problems lasting a week.

Trying a Juice Fast

When I first heard of juice fasting so many years ago, I quickly dismissed it as a silly diet fad. I imagined the participant languishing away because they were malnourished from doing nothing but drinking fruit juice. How quick I was to judge.

Recently I saw the documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It follows the 60-day journey of an overweight, autoimmune disease-afflicted man as he stops his detrimental eating habits and embarks on a quest to turn his life around, starting with juicing. Equally inspiring is an obese, depressed trucker who follows in the main character's footsteps to turn his life around. It's available on Netflix streaming if you'd like to get inspired.

The important points that I took away from the movie:

• The juices produced in the juice fast are 80% vegetables and 20% fruits. The high vegetable intake is incredibly nutrient rich.
• Because the juice you make (as opposed to store-bought) is super-fresh, all the nutrients and enzymes are still there instead of being destroyed by oxidation, pasteurization, preservatives, and other processing.
• Because there is no solid food during a juice fast, your body can quickly absorb all the nutrients from the juice and go back to "housekeeping". Digestion is a very intensive process and takes away from the body's ability to heal itself.
• By the end of the two participants' 60-day juice fast (monitored by a physician), they both no longer suffered from autoimmune disease and dropped an incredible amount of weight. Another participant's inexplicable migrains disappeared after one week.
• After the initial 2-4 day "detoxing" period, juice fasters remarked at an increased sense of mental clarity and focus.
• The weight loss is seriously impressive, as is the body's ability to heal itself once it isn't being inundated with junk.

All this information has inspired me to give juice fasting a try. I'm going to see if I can do one week, and if it goes really well, I'll stretch it out to two weeks!

Cool Whip DOES contain trans fats

For so long, ever since this post about foods that commonly contain trans fats, I've meant to see for myself whether Cool Whip really did eliminate it from their product. People had commented on my post stating that the package says "0 trans fats". If this were true, then it would make for a better product. It still isn't good for you with all its fat and sugar, but at least it wouldn't be making things worse.

Well years later I finally remembered to grab a carton of Cool Whip and take a look. I was right all along. Take a look at this bad photo I took of it:


Please pardon the blurriness, my cell phone wasn't designed for close-ups. If you squint hard enough, you can make out the ingredients list: water, corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil...! Ha! See? Never believe the large and colorful marketing statements on the front of the package. The FDA allows companies to make statements like "0 trans fats" if the amount is under a certain percentage. Their belief is a little bit won't hurt you. Well I disagree. Why not just cut it out altogether? Why do they have to deceive the general public who usually don't read ingredient lists?

All gloating aside, my point is, always read the ingredient list, no matter what claims they make on the front. Even better, read the ingredients especially if they make claims on the front! Then you'll know what kind of company they are. If they like to make legal yet false claims, then they are not to be trusted. Better to just avoid that company's products altogether. Is it a bit drastic? Maybe, but with so many choices when you shop nowadays, why support the companies that don't have your health in mind?

I'd avoid the brown M&Ms too

In the movie The Wedding Planner, Matthew McConaughey's character tosses out all but the brown M&Ms because food coloring isn't natural, and according to him, "chocolate is already brown," so the brown ones must be safe.

Yes chocolate is already brown, but remember that M&Ms, no matter what color they are, have a candy coating on the outside. That crunchy shell on the brown M&Ms isn't chocolate, it's colored sugar. So if you are avoiding food coloring like the good healthy person you are, don't bother with M&Ms at all. Stick with good ol' chocolate.

How I Cured My Eczema

I never did make myself start the UltraSimple Diet that I mentioned two posts ago. It requires quite a bit of planning and discipline... more effort that I've been willing to give. My primary reason for wanting to start this cleanse diet isn't for weight control, it's to find out exactly what I might be allergic to.

I've had eczema for as long as I can remember. It's been an itchy, life-long battle, and one I've never come close to winning... until now! One of the ideas behind this period of dietary restriction is that some foods cause mild allergies that manifest in the form of a delayed reaction. For some it's asthma, for others it's sinus congestion, for me it's eczema, mostly on my hands.

What I did instead was to cut out some of the food items listed as possible allergens for many people. What I found out was I'm allergic to wheat, milk and possibly chocolate. I was really hoping wheat wouldn't be a problem for me, because it's in so many foods that I love. Unfortunately this wasn't the case. For a week I refrained from eating bread, pasta, cookies, crackers, pizza, and cereal containing wheat. The irritating rash on my hands gradually began to clear up!

I was both thrilled and dismayed at the same time. I had some lasagna one day, and the next two days new itchy blisters appeared on my hands. No more wheat for me. I was sad, but at least now I know one of my problems!

After banning wheat from my diet, I would sometimes experience new rash breakouts... meaning there were one or more other items I might be allergic to. A friend had brought over a gallon of milk and I had been having that for breakfast with my corn-based cereal. (I normally drink almond milk.) I stopped using the milk and my eczema again began to clear. Yogurt and cheese don't seem to be as big a problem for me as milk, but I still have to be careful about my dairy intake.

Why couldn't it have been peanuts? That's easy to avoid. I wouldn't have been quite so affected if it had been something not quite so ubiquitous as wheat and dairy. It makes it increasingly difficult to be a vegetarian.

If you'd like to try this strategy of identifying possible allergens in your diet, be sure to carefully read ingredient lists on the foods you buy. Also, research what foods are wheat-based that might be called something else. For example, cous-cous, graham crackers, and semolina are all made from wheat. When you do start cutting foods from your diet, give at least a week to see results. Patience is key. Good luck!

How to get rid of cold sores (aka fever blisters)

Cold sores are one of those annoying and embarrassing things that people hate to deal with, and seem to pop up when you least want them. Let's face it, when do we ever want those damn things? It's a simple virus infection, but they can be persistent.

I never used to get cold sores much, and can't remember when it ever started. However, ever since I became vegetarian my the recurrence of blisters has more than quadrupled. I couldn't figure out why until I researched the virus a little more. Now that I know more, I'd like to share my knowledge and what has worked for me.

First of all, several things can trigger an outbreak:

• Sun exposure
• Excessive wind exposure
• Stressed immune system (like when you're sick)
• Foods high in arganine (like chocolate, nuts, and oatmeal)

The first two are easy enough to deal with. Just limit your exposure to wind and sun (my apologies if you're an avid skier, cyclist, whatever). That last item is what caused my more frequent blister outbreaks. When my diet changed, the nutrients I was getting changed as well, more than I realized.

Viruses seem to thrive on arganine, so naturally foods high in that amino acid will be feeding your virus infections. On the other hand, lysine seems to impede the virus' ability to absorb arganine. Therefore, foods high in lysine and low in arganine are ideal for keeping your cold sores at bay.

The reason my outbreaks became more frequent after I cut meat out of my diet is because meats naturally contain high amounts of lysine. Couple that with the fact that I relied more on nuts for protein than in the past, and you can see how I developed a bit of an imbalance.

It's not just about avoiding foods high in arganine. You also want food high in lysine. This chart will help you identify the foods with the highest and lowest lysine to arganine ratio.

Additionally, I have been taking Lysine supplements. I take one 500 mg pill a day, unless I feel that familiar tingling in my lip, then I increase it to two a day. If the area starts to feel slightly rough, like the blister is about to form, then I increase to three pills a day (over the course of the day, not all at once). I've found that this usually prevents the outbreak and the blister site smooths out and becomes normal again.

I'm so relieved that I've found this solution to my problems. I was starting to feel like some kind of leper with cold sore outbreaks every two months. I always thought I was eating healthy, and I hardly ever got sick. Turns out my diet was too low in lysine to stop the virus from flaring up.

As a final note, bear in mind that I am not a doctor or nutrionist. Please don't down a bottle of lysine in one day and then wonder why you have diarrhea. If you have doubts or experience anything unexpected or worrisome, do talk to a doctor about it. I'm just a regular person sharing her experiences in the hopes of helping someone else.

Trying out the UltraSimple Diet

I've been reading this book called The UltraSimple Diet, by Mark Hyman, M.D. I've been reading it not because I'm interested in losing weight, but because it's more about detoxifying and clearing up allergies. I've been a lifetime sufferer of hand eczema as well as mild asthma. Traditional Western medicine is all about treating the symptoms, and have only given me creams and inhalers. Eastern medicine attempted to treat me with herbs, but the dedication required to continually brew and quaff that nasty, bitter stuff is more than I have in me.

The main goal of this book is a 7-day detoxifying diet, where accumulated pesticides, PCBs, trans fats and other toxins are flushed from your system. The other effect that it claims is to clear up skin conditions, allergies, fatigue, sleeplessness, and numerous other maladies that a lot of people suffer from and doctors only dole out pills for. The author asserts that all these afflictions are caused by toxin buildup and delayed reactions to certain foods.

Traditionally most people and doctors think of allergies as an immediate reaction to an allergen. But this book says that there's another kind of allergy that could take up to 72 hours to manifest reactions. If this is true, then it's no wonder I can never figure out what is causing my problems. Cutting out a food item for a day or two just isn't enough.

My main goal for trying out this 7-day diet is to find out exactly which food is causing my problems. I really hope it isn't eggs. Or corn. Or wheat. Or dairy. Shoot, I just listed the top 4 food allergens listed in the book. Can you see me pouting? Well anyway, one step at a time. Assuming my problems clear up after this diet, I can then slowly reintroduce the foods one at a time and see which one causes a reaction.

The book says part of this process includes journaling, so I'll probably use this blog to do that. Hopefully I don't get lazy.

Update - May 15 - Sorry, as you probably guessed, I never did get around to trying out this cleansing diet. It's a radical change in eating habits that requires quite a bit of planning, preparation and dedication. If I ever do get around to it, I'll be sure to post my results.

Conclusion about chiropractors

I know, I know, I disappeared for months and forgot all about this blog. No I didn't forget, I just got busy. You know, life happens sometimes. Anyway, I stopped seeing the chiropractor. After a month of seeing her 2-3 times a week, I wasn't feeling all that different, to be honest. The best part of each visit was back massage by the on-site massage therapist. My always-tense shoulder muscles needed it.

The whole neck-cracking and spine straightening I'm still doubtful about. Occasionally I would feel some pain in one hip joint, which would go away when she adjusted my pelvis, but that's about the only helpful thing I noticed. I totally think the frequency of the visits was just a scam to get more insurance money out of me because I happened to have a carrier that would cover chiropractic care. After that first month, she said once a week would be enough. Again, too much, I think. Even the insurance refused to pay anymore because they were suspicious. I read somewhere that once or twice a month was sufficient for maintenance.

My conclusion? I can't generalize for all chiropractors since I do believe some actually are good and actually do care about your health instead of your insurance money. But as far as this particular one is concerned, lay off you greedy witch! I got really annoyed at how pushy she was about getting me to refer others or to make future appointments whether or not I wanted it.

I think chiropractors should be judged on a case by case basis. Give them a chance, but definitely beware of the greedy scammers. I let this one take me for a ride for too long, which is my fault really. I kept thinking, "Well maybe it takes time for these treatments to make me feel completely normal." But the fact that I woke up feeling stiff in the neck and shoulders all over again every day was a testament to the contrary. Something else was causing my problems, and it wasn't my spine, as this chiropractor led me to believe. I mean, she didn't even take any x-rays, so accurate could her diagnosis be?

It's been a couple months now since I stopped seeing that chiropractor, and I don't feel any worse. I feel a bit like a sucker for having tried it, but at least now I won't wonder about it.

Fruits are our friends (and veggies too!)

The new recommendation for an optimal healthy diet includes 5-8 servings of fruits and vegetables. I don't know about you, but that's kind of a tall order considering I tend to eat only three -- lunch, dinner and maybe a snack. I'm trying, but it means a change in eating habits.

Snacking is probably the easiest place to start changing our habits. I'm keeping more baby carrots around to munch on, which are very easy to grab and go. The key is to stock your fridge with the things you're supposed to eat, and have them ready to go when you need them. Costco sells a three-pack of organic veggie platters complete with organic Ranch dressing for only $9.99. I drag them out when I watch TV so I'll munch on those instead of M&Ms or chips.

Fruit is another handy thing to keep around. Right now it's summer and fruit is bountiful. Later on they'll be more scarce and expensive, so one way to stock up is to use your freezer. Strawberries, blueberries, and peaches all freeze well. I like to sclice up the strawberries and peaches into useable portions and put them into baggies in the freezer. Later on I can take them out and throw the frozen fruit into a blender to make a yummy fruit smoothie.

We tend to grab what's available and snack on that. If we can make sure we have the right sorts of snacks on hand, then we can help ourselves meet that goal of 5-8 servings a day!

2 weeks and 6 visits later

I'm still waking up extremely stiff from the shoulders up. The chiropractor emphasized the importance of doing the stretches she showed me 2-3 times a day. I'm also endeavoring to find an ideal sleeping position (it would be quite convenient if my head were detachable).

I just got back from one of my visits, and I feel extremely loose and relaxed. It's such a rare feeling for me these days. Too bad it doesn't last more than a day yet.

One thing that I've been experiencing that I did not mention to the chiropractor is a pain I had in my hip. In the last month or so a pain has been developing in the hip joint of my right leg. I would move it a certain direction and a sharp pain would result. I thought maybe it would go away as inexplicably as it appeared, so I didn't bother seeing a doctor about it.

During the course of the treatments that the chiropractor made during my visits, she would sometimes include tapping on my hip bone in a certain direction and checking on the alignment of my feet (to see that they were even with each other). If they were uneven she would make a few more adjustments. Well, believe it or not, that pain is slowly starting to recede. It's not completely gone yet, but it definitely isn't as sharp as it was before I started seeing the chiropractor. Perhaps there is something to the proper alignment of your bones.

The right pillow

I finally did remember to mention my daily stiff neck and if changing pillows would help. She said it was likely my head was at an angle while I was sleeping. If the pillow is too tall, the head could be pushed up too far. If it's too flat, the head could be angled down when I'm on my side. The goal is to maintain a straight neck that is even with the rest of the spine so that the muscles around it can properly rest.

My pillow situation could be easily solved if I would sleep only on my back or only on my side. But the fact is I switch back and forth during the course of the night. What's ideal for back sleeping isn't great for side sleeping, and vice versa. It seems what I need is a pillow that will correctly support my head in the right place regardless of what position I'm sleeping in.

In my case, it needs to be flatter when I'm on my back, and higher when I'm on my side. Can any pillow do that? Not sure, but I'm about to give one a try. I found one called the Mediflow Water Based Pillow. Supposedly it provides continuous support as it adjusts to your movements. You can also set your preferred firmness by adjusting the amount of water inside. Will this actually work for me? No idea, but I will definitely be posting my thoughts about it here once I get it!

Starting to have doubts

It's been about a week and a half now, and to be honest, I don't really feel any different. I've been told it's a gradual process, so it may just be too early. Here's what the process is when I go in for treatment:

• She asks me what levels of pain I am feeling (there isn't usually pain, just a lot of stiffness)
  
• She puts these "muscle stimulator" electrodes onto the trouble spots on my back
  
• After 10-15 minutes of this, I am sent to another room where a massage therapist works out the numerous knots around my shoulder blades.
  
• Finally the chiroprator "aligns" my spine by either manually pressing or using a little device like a hand-held jackhammer (not really a jackhammer, since it's manually operated at a much slower rate). The most alarming part is when she twists my head to either side, usually producing numerous loud cracks.
  

I'm still trying to think through the logic...

For the past several years (about 10!) I've woken up with a stiff neck and shoulders. It's worse if I try a pillow that is a little more elevated than usual. If a misaligned spine were the cause, wouldn't a couple weeks of treatment start to show at least a tiny bit of gradual improvement in the morning neck stiffness? Wouldn't the rest of my body feel more beat up and stiff, not just my neck?

To be honest, I feel very limber and relaxed after the chiro visit, but I think it's because of the massage. The massage therapist really works hard at the knots, and it's really the muscles that are stiff. If I'm waking up with stiff muscles already, then it means they did not get a chance to rest all night like they were supposed to, which indicates some sort of incorrect sleeping position.

Come to think of it, the chiropractor has never asked me what kind of pillow I use or how I prefer to sleep. She's only recommended rolling up a towel and placing it at the base of my skull and putting a pillow under my knees (or if I'm on my side, between my knees). That towel was really uncomfortable and was not a reasonable solution since I couldn't sleep at all.

I keep forgetting to mention that the towel roll doesn't work, hopefully I'll remember when I see her later today. If she just keeps on doing the same thing, then I'm going to start thinking she's not really dealing with my problem at all. In the meantime, it occurred to me that I might be using the wrong kind of pillow. If certain pillows make my condition worse, then there has to be one that makes me feel better, right?

Chiropractors - valid medicine or not?

Because of my daily prolonged computer use at work (and sometimes at home), my shoulders and neck feel like they're constantly tense and tight. My neck has become weak and gets tired easily. I know frequent breaks are the key to not getting repetetive stress injuries, but it's easy to skip when you're in the middle of something, or lots of somethings.

Someone suggested I see a chiropractor before I get some kind of damage from all this. So I went. According to the chiropractor, some damage has already been done. My neck seems to have lost its natural curve and is on its way to further degeneration, which would involve worn out spinal discs and bone spurs. She evaluated my range of motion and indicated that my neck was the most limited, due to my constantly tense muscles. She also said that I had mild scoliosis, which is a sideways curvature of the spine.

This was news to me, but it's possible that that this unnatural curvature was my spine adapting to constant muscle stress. I'm scheduled to see her 3 times a week for a couple of months to realign everything, then I will need to change my habits in order to prevent this from happening again.

Most medical doctors don't recognize chiropractic as a valid form of treatment for health problems. They consider it to be "alternative medicine" like accupuncture, herbalists and homeopathy. Many consider alternative medicine to be nothing more than quackery. I say how pretentious can you be? Such blatant displays of snobbery serve no one, except maybe the medical doctor hoping not to lose patients to other forms of treatment.

I'm willing to give alternative medicine a chance. Standard treatments for scoliosis are back braces and surgery (where they fuse pieces of your vertebrae together). I don't know about you, but these seem very backwards to me. Why not see if manual manipulation has any effect? I'm going to try the chiropractic treatments and see how my neck feels afterwards and post my results here.

Dedication

Since I started to go to the gym during my lunch break instead of after work, I've been able to go fairly regularly. When you go around the same time every day, you start to notice other people who are there the same time as you. I don't particularly care who these people are because they're doing their own thing while I do my own thing. But I have been noticing this elderly lady who is always there.

She doesn't look to be in particularly good shape. She's a little chubby, is slightly stooped over, and her walk is more of a shuffle with a slight limp. I don't know if it's arthritis or what it is that has caused her decrease in mobility. She looks uncomfortable as she shuffles from one weight machine to the next, yet she persistently goes at it day after day.

Maybe she got a late start on her commitment to fitness, but she's committed now. It would be easier for her to sit in a rocking chair, knitting. But she's decided she's not going to go down without a fight. She's a picture of determination. It doesn't matter what age you are, it's never too late to be dedicated to your health.

Good use of badly cooked salmon

You probably already know that salmon is a great source of omega 3s, which is vital for healthy cell walls and other things. You hear all these great things that salmon is good for health-wise, but they don't tell you how tricky it is too cook it.

Salmon is really yummy when cooked just right, but it is very easy to overcook, whether you are baking it, grilling it, or pan-frying it. Overcooked salmon, like most overcooked fish, becomes dry, rubbery, and generally unpleasant to eat.

Over the weekend I found a great use for accidentally overcooked salmon. Instead of tuna salad, make salmon salad. The mayo (I substitute half the mayo for ranch dressing because I love the flavor) eliminates the dryness of the fish, and after you mash up the fish meat, you don't really notice the rubberyness of it anymore.

You'll usually have already seasoned the fish when you first cooked it, so that means you don't need to do anything other than chop up some celery to throw in with the mayo and dressing. Mash it all together and it's done. It turns something that you were likely throw away into something you actually want to eat.

Cleansing with lemons, maple syrup and cayenne pepper

I said some time ago I'd look into some kind of a detoxification program. One that's surfaced recently and gaining popularity is known by various names, such as The Lemon Diet, The Lemonade Diet, The Maple Syrup Diet, Lemon Cleanse, and Lemon Fast. Whatever you want to call it, they all come from Stanley Burroughs' book, Master Cleanse. (This book was written in the 70s, but made popular again as a reference by Peter Glickman's book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days.)

Lots of people are using this formula to lose weight, but make no mistake about it, it's a fast, not a diet. A diet is restricting yourself to certain quantities or types of foods. A fast means no solid food whatsoever. (And how can you not lose weight if you eat nothing?) I used to be very skeptical of fasts because it's not natural. Your body needs fuel. However the vast majority of food we eat nowadays is unnatural, full of chemicals, hormones and who knows what else.

I read a little more on the ideas behind fasting, and it seems to make sense. When you stop eating solid foods for awhile, your organs don't need to crank so much to process it all. This gives them the opportunity to clean house a little bit, get rid of toxin buildup or whatever. I was able to get ahold of a free copy of Master Cleanse but haven't had the chance to read it yet (I've put it on my server for you to download, just click the link). I'm interested in what it has to say about detoxifying and hope it has clear explanations on how everything works. I like to know why and how a plan works before putting my body through it. I don't trust anything that simply tells you to take this or do that and you will magically feel better. (Kinda like Herbalife.)

If I decide to try it, I will definitely post my results here!

Deodorants and rumors about cancer

I've wondered off and on about deodorants and whether they have any harmful side effects. First let's make a distinction. There are deodorants, which deal with the odor and not the sweating; and there are antiperspirants, which keep you from sweating in the first place. The vast majority of the products you see on the shelf are antiperspirants. They will say so on the front, usually in small letters. If you look on the back you will usually see an active ingredient, usually some form of aluminum. The most common is aluminum zirconium.

Considering it's some kind of metal compound, I wonder if it causes anything bad. I mean, we get lead poisoning and mercury poisoning, might aluminum cause something similar? So I did some quick online research to see what I could find.

It turns out that there are a lot of rumors about antiperspirants causing cancer or Alzheimer's. However these rumors don't seem to be backed up by any kind of research or evidence. I can see the line of reasoning... if you block the sweat from coming out, you have a buildup of toxins right by the lymph nodes under your arm, which could, according to this line of thought, increase the risks of cancer there. However it seems to be mostly heresay. This discussion contains a few links to research articles discussing the matter, if you'd like to read more details about it.

My conclusion? I think it's safe to continue using antiperspirants, but maybe sparingly. You never know what's going to come up in research later.

The importance of having alternatives

Someone brought donuts to the office. Again. I usually have no problems resisting, but they seemed to be calling more loudly than usual today. Every time I passed by them I would hear their call and stare longingly into the box. "Just one," I would think. I haven't had one in years.

It's hard. There is no doubt that junk food is habit forming and easy to succumb to. I finally managed to tear myself away from the donut box by repeating to myself that I have cookies in my desk. Cookies that do not contain trans fats. And although it just wasn't the same, it was enough to pull me away from the evil donuts.

One of the easiest way to avoid succumbing to bad foods is to not keep them stocked. But this doesn't mean depriving yourself altogether. Buy foods that are free from trans fats and high fructose corn syrup and keep them handy. You never know when someone (who obviously doesn't know any better) will bring something tempting yet evil to share.

Girl Scout Cookies and Trans Fats

By now I hope you know that trans fats are evil -- they increase your bad cholesterol, lower your good cholesterol, and there's nothing natural about them. I'm not exaggerating when I say the stuff is worse than lard.

Most cookies you see on the snack shelf contain trans fats. The same goes for Girl Scout Cookies, although they have made improvements. According to this article, they've lowered the partially hydrogenated vegetable oil used in their cookies to the point where they are legally able to use the "Zero Grams of Trans fat!" label on their packaging, as allowed by the FDA.

This is a great improvement, but bear in mind that this is a misleading label. "Zero" in this case does not mean none. If you look at the ingredients list, you'll still see "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" listed there. Under FDA rules, less than half a gram per serving is allowable. Shame on the FDA for caving in to food manufacturers' whining. Shame on the Girl Scouts for not making this an even higher priority. Why not cut them out altogether? As always, it's about profits. And I think that's sad.

Getting sick? Cut out the sweets!

Remember when you were a kid, when you got sick your mom wouldn't let you have any candy? Well whether they knew it or not, there was a very good reason behind this. Sugar actually impairs your immune system.

According to this article, sugar slows down immune system activities. There are certain white blood cells called neutrophils. These things specialize in destroying cold viruses and other unwanted intruders. However the neutrophils become lethargic when you eat sweets.

In one study, researchers had volunteers consume 100 grams of sugar, the equivalent of two cans of soda. Then they took blood samples from the volunteers. They found that neutrophil activity in the volunteers had plummeted by 50 percent after consuming the sugar. Five hours later, neutrophil activity still remained substantially below normal.

Anything that contains any form of sugar-including sucrose, fructose, and corn syrup -- can impair neutrophil activity: The worst offenders are candy and sweets, which are almost pure sugar and have virtually no nutritional value.

So if you're tired of getting sick so often, do your immune system a favor and cut down on the sugar-laden junk food. You might find yourself fighting off the colds more effectively.