Health Affixed

Health Is Limitless

Weakness: Mixed Nuts

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Have you tried the “THA Supermix©,” yet? Well, if you like trail mixes, then you are in for a treat. The problem is over consumption and caloric suicide. A quarter cup of nuts can range from 120 to 200 calories and that’s barely a handful of nuts.

Portion control is the solution to keeping your calories down while consuming nuts. Use a quarter cup to separate the mix into 1 oz containers and store the containers in the refrigerator.

If you leave the mix in a large container, you may be tempted to snack on multiple handfuls. Being mindful of the portions will prevent or limit mindless snacking. Be proactive, not regretful.

Thoughts of a Salad

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You are not limited to Caesar, garden, or whatever variation you’ve seen on a restaurant menu. A salad can be whatever you choose. A salad is nothing more than a mixture of different things. You don’t even need dressing just throw some gravy on it.

Create your own hodgepodge. There are no rules to salad making and you don’t even need lettuce. Cubed steamed sweet and yellow potatoes topped with sautéed chicken sounds like a pretty good salad to me. You could even toss some honey glazed carrot pieces in there!

Bottom line: Cut down on grains by eating more salads.

Warning: Fish Disease

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Ciguatera sounds like an exotic product, but it is a harmful toxin that infects a variety of fish. If a person ingests fish contaminated by the ciguatera toxin, he/she may experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tingling, pain (muscle, abdominal, and general), numbness, dizziness, vertigo, drooling, paralysis, skin rash, chills, itching, trouble breathing, seizure, confusion, and/or abnormal skin color. Death due to heart or respiratory failure occurs in very rare cases.

In other words, ingesting a contaminated fish is very harmful to one’s health. Thus, fish known to be contaminated with the ciguatera toxin should be avoided. These fish include:

Lyretail
Black Fin Red Snapper
Cubera Snapper
Dog Snapper
Flowery Grouper
Black Grouper
Black Saddled Coral Grouper
High Fin Grouper
Tiger Grouper
Speckled Blue Grouper
Areolated Coral Grouper
Potato Grouper
Leopard Coral Grouper
Yellow Fin Grouper
Hump Head Wrasse
Moray Eel
Barracuda
Greater Amberjack
Horse-eye Jack
Hogfish
King Mackerel

General Information

- Background: The ciguatera toxins originate from a marine micro-organism which attach and grow on coral reef and marine algae (seaweed). Small fish eat the toxic surface, the larger fish eat the small fish, and humans eat the large fish. These contaminated fish tend to be located in tropical and subtropical areas. Try to eat only a few coral reef fish and only buy from reputable vendors.

- Infection: Seek medical advice and treatment immediately; call the National Poison Control Center; do not drink alcoholic beverages; and do not eat nut or seed products.

Warning: Chopsticks

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Chopsticks, please! Whenever I eat at an Asian restaurant, I request a pair of chopsticks. If I didn’t, the practice spent on learning to pick up rice with chopsticks would have amounted to nothing more than a waste of time. Now, however, I may have to bring my own chopsticks to the restaurant, and you may want to consider doing the same.

Apparently, chemical substances such as sulfur, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium sulfite are commonly used to make disposable chopsticks. While the verdict is still out regarding the magnitude of the health risk, the above list of chemicals arguably imply that the use of disposable chopsticks may pose a health risk. Accordingly, it would be best to avoid the use of disposable chopsticks.

Also, it is important to note that, in California, manufacturers are expected to issue a warning on products that contain certain toxins. If you visit an Asian grocery store that sells chopsticks, you may see the following label on certain chopsticks:

Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

Generally, this label can be found on wooden chopsticks. To avoid the dangers of an unlabeled potentially toxic product, it would be wise to purchase stainless steel chopsticks.

Thoughts of a Burger

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Ah, the classic burger and fries. Burger is a bad word and a bad thing for your waistline especially when coupled with fries, but it is an American classic and some would say it is unpatriotic to denounce the burger. So, let’s not denounce the burger. Let’s improve it.

First, does one truly need a patty larger than 4 ounces on a burger?

Second, does one need the bun?

Third, does one need two different meats?

Fourth, does one need multiple cheeses?

Fifth, does one need multiple sauces?

Sixth, does one need all of the above?

The real classic American hamburger consists of a beef patty served inside a sliced bun and typically garnished with condiments. So, the only required items for an American hamburger are a patty and a bun; everything else is un-American. Ok, that’s extreme, but you get the gist. A burger does not have to be the caloric monstrosity that it has become.

Let’s opt for a healthier hamburger – a normal sized beef patty, a veggie patty instead of beef, one slice of cheese, lettuce buns instead of bread rolls, etc. There is an infinite amount of ways to simplify a restaurant burger and avoid eating one sandwich that contains the total caloric intake for a whole day.