Entitled Vs Empowered

I was talking with a young friend of mine about her opinion of our countries health problems.  She is currently in medical school and when ever I get to chat with her she always has interesting and a fresh take on things.
I told her about working as a nutritional counselor and we were discussing how empowering it is to resist peer pressure to succumb to an unhealthy lifestyle and that fitness and healthy is empowerment.  Her response was that people don't know how to feel empowered because they are to busy being entitled so they buy a new car they can't afford.
I prefer empowered, It never stops being amazing and cost a lot less!

Fit Person Living in a Fat World

Amalfi, Italia

  One evening at a small gathering I was sitting in between an older obese man and a yoga practicing trim 30 year old woman.  The woman was drinking a glass of sparkling water and eating some fresh veggies and a small kabob of olives and marinated tofu.  The old fat guy was drinking his third beer and eating a large pre dinner plate of bacon, salami cheese and fried something. With a full mouth of food the old fat guy looked at the 30 year old and said " I don't know how you eat the crap, I would never eat tofu".  The woman was suddenly uncomfortable and not able to respond to the man's comment.  I waited a moment to see her reacting and I could sense her retreating into herself.  If you know me personally you know that I can verbally annihilate people instantly, it's a gift that I work on controlling . I looked at him and said, "That's ok, we would never eat your heart attack food and could you move over, your taking up enough room for two people. Would you like some more bacon?"
It did shut him up, I am sure just temporally. But it seemed to not penetrate very far.
I have a pet peeve about why in this world it is ok to insult a person for going against the grain-choosing to live healthy-but it's tabu to tell someone that they are fat?  Ask any fit/healthy person how much flack that they actually take from the fat people and you will get some stories!  Fit/healthy people are a very remarkable and helpful resource.
I came across this article in the New Yorker I want to share.


Hospitals have had to buy special wheelchairs and operating tables to accommodate the obese, and revolving doors have had to be widened—the typical door went from about ten feet to about twelve feet across. An Indiana company called Goliath Casket has begun offering triple-wide coffins with reinforced hinges that can hold up to eleven hundred pounds. It has been estimated that Americans’ extra bulk costs the airlines a quarter of a billion dollars’ worth of jet fuel annually.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/20/090720crbo_books_kolbert#ixzz1I5H2put5

Be careful when you buy personal care products

This came from  http://www.ewg.com

Too much to remember!

Know the ingredients in your personal care products

Better products are truthful in their marketing claims and free of potentially worrisome ingredients. Some products might make claims like "gentle" or "natural," but since the government does not require safety testing, personal care product manufacturers can use almost any chemical they want, regardless of risks.

How to read a label
Every personal care product must list its ingredients. Here's how to navigate the label:

• Start at the end, with preservatives. Avoid:
   
• Words ending in "paraben"
• DMDM hydantoin
• Imidazolidinyl urea
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone
• Methylisothiazolinone
• Triclosan
• Triclocarban
• Triethanolamine (or "TEA")
    
• Check the beginning of the ingredients lists, where soaps, surfactants, and lubricants show up. Try to avoid ingredients that start with "PEG" or have an "-eth" in the middle (e.g., sodium laureth sulfate).
    
• Read the ingredients in the middle. Look for these words: "FRAGRANCE," "FD&C," or "D&C."

For grown-ups
Many parents pay more attention to their kids' environmental health than their own, but adult bodies can be affected by toxic chemicals, too. EWG's Safer Shopping List has nine common-sense tips to reduce everyone's exposures. For instance, buy fragrance-free, skip the nail polish and use fewer products.

Just for kids
Extra caution is in order for kids because, pound for pound, they are exposed to more contaminants in everyday products than adults. Their immature metabolism and organ systems are typically less capable of fending off chemical assaults. Even subtle damage to young bodies can lead to disease later in life.

Follow EWG's top five tips for kids:

1. Use fewer products and use them less often.
2. Don't trust ad hype. Check ingredients.
3. Buy fragrance-free products.
4. Avoid the use of baby powder.
5. Always avoid EWG's top six chemicals of concern for kids:
    
   • 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3 Diol
   • BHA
   • Boric acid and sodium borate
   • DMDM Hydantoin
   • Oxybenzone
   • Triclosan

Fat Sick and Nearly Dead

http://bcove.me/kpjq1rq4
Click on this link to watch
Fat, sick and nearly dead

The best way to change the world is to change yourself.

Pompeii, Italia

Thanks Emily!

Vegan Food Pyramid

You want to loose weight?  This is a healthy way to do it and it works!  Eating vegan you will get your weight down, your blood pressure down and your cholesterol down within weeks! Make sure that you eat a variety of foods, easy on the sugar and take a vitamin B12 supplement. Let me know how it goes!

Need help or have questions?   Go to: nundanutrition.com

Vegan Food Pyramid

Home From Europe

My Honey and I spent the last 2 weeks Skiing in Zermatt Switzerland, Cervinia Italy and touring the Amalfi area of Italy.
Traveling is a wonderful thing to experience but it seems you never spend enough time in one place to get all the experiences you are looking for.
One thing that I learned to really appreciate about living where we do is the diversity, mainly in food.  I loves the pasta in Italy but every day?  Our grocery stores and restaurants are remarkable for the food choices and thank God. Smelling stinky cheese and smoked meats was getting to me...
And I think that our gourmet pizza is better.

Amalfi

Buy American

My Honey skiing by the Matterhorn!

A friend of mind sent this email around, thought you might find it interesting:
Did  you all see that Diane Sawyer has a special report coming up  this week on this very subject.  They removed ALL items  from a typical, middleclass family’s home, that were not made in  the USA.  There was hardly anything left besides the  kitchen sink. Literally.  During the special they are going  to show truckloads of items – USA made – being brought in to  replace everything. And will be talking about how to find these  items and the difference in price etc.  
It was  interesting that Diane said that if every American spent just  $64 (more than normal) on USA made items this year, it would  create something like 200,000 new jobs.
Made ME  think! Check  the CanI  WAS BUYING FOOD THE OTHER DAY AT WALMART.
ON THE LABEL OF  SOME PRODUCTS IT SAID 'FROM CHINA'.
 
FOR  EXAMPLE THE "OUR FAMILY" BRAND OF THE MANDARIN ORANGES SAYS  RIGHT ON THE CAN 'FROM CHINA'.
 I  WAS SHOCKED!!  SO FOR A FEW MORE CENTS I BOUGHT THE LIBERTY  GOLD BRAND OR THE DOLE SINCE IT'S FROM  CALIF.
 TAKES  FOREVER JUST TO BUY FOOD AND DO LABEL READING  ! !
 Are  we Americans as dumb as we appear --- or --- is it that we just  do not think? While the Chinese, knowingly and intentionally,  export inferior and even toxic products and dangerous toys and  goods to be sold in American markets.
 
Yet  70% of Americans believe that the trading privileges afforded to  the Chinese should be suspended.
 Well,  duh..why do you need the government to suspend trading  privileges?
 SIMPLY  DO IT YOURSELF, AMERICA!!

Food Addictions

Cevinia, Italy

I have spent the past week sharing a breakfast and dinner table with a food addict.  It's disgusting.  There are 6 of us sharing these meals and 4 of use are fit and nutritionally aware.  We discuss healthy eating and share information on nutritional benefits.  The addict even though he is sitting with us seems to be completely oblivious to our conversations.  He is obese and is obviously physically uncomfortable.  We also get to listen to him complain about being sick, being tired and how hard his day is.  He eats bacon, eggs and cheese for breakfast with excessive sugar in his coffee and takes everyones butter.  I don't think that he eats any fiber and he won't touch anything green.  The ignorance of this person is dumfounding.
I guess we all have some type of addiction but hopefully not enough to effect our health and gross out the people around us.
Here is a really good article on food addiction:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/food-addiction-could-it-e_b_764863.html

Mercury in Our Fish

Read this article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/15/hitt.mercury.threat/index.html
It is a good idea to understand the mercury in fish and it's harmful effects especially if you are pregnant.

A real Swiss St. Bernard!

Eat Fresh!

www.doctoroz.com

Switzerland

The Matterhorn from my hotel window.

I'm enjoying my week in  Zermatt Switzerland!

It is a beautiful place to ski and the village is fun to walk and shop.  It is a challenging place to eat if you eat healthy.  Their main diet is smoked meats and cheese on everything!  It is hard to get a green vegetable at a restaurant, but the people are very friendly and very accommodating to dietary needs.  And the bread and fruit is plentiful! 

Suffering From Allergies?

www.godairyfree.org

My boyfriend went to his doctor for his physical last year, The doctor asked him if he was having any problems.  He said that he had horrible allergies and that he had suffered from them for most of his life.  The doctor said eliminate dairy.

Three months later he went for his follow-up visit with the doctor.  He lost 25 lbs., reduced his cholesterol by 30 points and said the it was the first time in his life that he could breathe through his nose.
Milk contains 59 hormones and Of those 59 hormones one is a powerful GROWTH hormone called Insulin- like Growth Factor ONE (IGF-1). By a freak of nature it is identical in cows and humans. Consider this hormone to be a "fuel cell" for any cancer... (the medical world says IGF-1 is a key factor in the rapid growth and proliferation of breast, prostate and colon cancers, and we suspect that most likely it will be found to promote ALL cancers).

IGF-1 is a normal part of ALL milk... the newborn is SUPPOSED to grow quickly! What makes the 50% of obese American consumers think they need MORE growth? Consumers don't think anything about it because they do not have a clue to the problem... nor do most of our doctors.

80% of the protein in milk is casein. Casein is a powerful binder... a polymer used to make plastics... and a glue that is better used to make sturdy furniture or hold beer bottle labels in place. It is in thousands of processed foods as a binder... as "something" caseinate.

Casein is a powerful allergen... a histamine that creates lots of mucus. The only medicine in Olympic athlete Flo-Jo's body was Benedryl, a power antihistamine she took to combat her last meal... pizza.

Cow's milk is allowed to have feces in it. This is a major source for bacteria. Milk is typically pasteurized more than once before it gets to your table... each time for only 15 seconds at 162 degrees Fahrenheit.
To sanitize water one is told to boil it (212 degrees F) for several minutes. That is a tremendous disparity, isn't it!

PUS:
ONE cubic centimeter (cc) of commercial cow's milk is allowed to have up to 750,000 somatic cells (common name is "PUS") and 20,000 live bacteria... before it is kept off the market.
That amounts to a whopping 20 million live squiggly bacteria and up to 750 MILLION pus cells per liter (bit more than a quart).

LEUKEMIA
According to Hoards Dairyman (Volume 147, number 4)... 89% of America's dairy herds have the leukemia virus

"Milk is a very strong pollutant: it is about 400 times more polluting than untreated sewage. To put it another way, 1,000 gallons of milk has the same polluting potential as the untreated sewage from a town of 7,000 people." Morlais Owen. Chief Scientist for Welsh Water. North Wales Weekly News. 24.3.88.

  

10 Reasons To Give Up Soda

This is a good article by Steve Edwards

10. Soda may cause cancer. According to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who didn't consume soft drinks. As reported, the study "followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years. During that time, there were 140 pancreatic cancer cases. Those who consumed two or more soft drinks per week (averaging five per week) had an 87 percent increased risk compared with individuals who did not."
    
    Then why, you're probably asking yourself, is this number 10 on our list, and why is soda still even on the shelf? Not that I'd challenge the ability of such large corporate power to hide such a thing but, in this case, the study slit its own throat. As one of the researchers noted, "Soft drink consumption in Singapore was associated with several other adverse health behaviors such as smoking and red meat intake, which we can't accurately control for," meaning that we have no way of knowing for sure if soda was the culprit. Still, it doesn't hurt to know that when you drink soda it lumps you into a fairly unhealthy user group.¹
9. It's not just about calories. Calories grab headlines, but recent science is showing that diet soda drinkers are still in the crosshairs. A 2005 study by the University of Texas Health Science Center showed there's a 41 percent increased risk of being obese—and a 65 percent increased risk of becoming overweight during the next 7 or 8 years—for every can of diet soda a person consumes in a day. Admittedly, this one should be higher on the list, but I wanted to make sure the article-skimming crowd knew the score up front: that diet sodas are very much a part of the problem.
8. It's the water . . . and a lot more. Okay, so that was a beer slogan, but soda is also made up mainly of water, and when you're slinging as much of it as they are, and you need to sling it cheap, sometimes you can't help but run into problems with your supply chain. In India, Coca-Cola^® has found itself in hot water, and not the kind they thought they were purchasing rights to. Two of their factories have been closed, but one continues to run amok. 
   
   According to a report in The Ecologist, "They accuse the company of over-extracting groundwater, lowering the water tables and leaving farmers and the local community unable to dig deep enough to get to vital water supplies. Since the bottling plant was opened in 2000, water levels in the area have dropped six metres, and when a severe drought hit the region earlier this year the crops failed and livelihoods were destroyed."²
7. BPA: not just for water bottles anymore. Nalgene^® and other water bottle companies took the heat when the dangers of bisphenol A (BPA) were made public a couple years back. While these companies went to great lengths to save their businesses, the soda companies somehow flew under the radar and continue to use it in their products. A recent Canadian study has found that BPA exists "in the vast majority" of the soft drinks tested. Most of these were under the national limits set for toxicity, but some were not. And remember how much soda the average person consumes, meaning odds are most soda consumers are at some risk.
   
   "Out of 72 drinks tested, 69 were found to contain BPA at levels below what Health Canada says is the safe upper limit. However, studies in peer-reviewed science journals have indicated that even at very low doses, BPA can increase breast and ovarian cancer cell growth and the growth of some prostate cancer cells in animals."³
6. Can convenience. As in the 1950s colloquialism: Can it. Speaking of the 1950s, those were the happy days when most of our soda was consumed at soda fountains, obesity was a term hardly anyone had heard of, and the most feared epidemic was one involving atomically mutated insects taking over the world. Now instead of hoofing it down to the corner confectionery for one soda, we fill trucks with pallets of shrink-wrapped cans or bottles and quaff the stuff by the six-pack. Not only does this ensure that our diets will be out of balance, it wreaks havoc on the world around us. The bottled-water industry (which is mostly owned by the soda industry) famously uses 17 million barrels of oil a year, and the aluminum industry uses as much electricity as the entire continent of Africa. Not only that, aluminum mining accounts for a ton of toxic chemicals left behind for every ton of the metal produced.⁴
5. The Frankenfood factor. Whether you consume diet or regular soda, you're getting all the genetically modified food you need and more, via high fructose corn syrup or aspartame. Both of these are under plenty of scientific as well as anecdotal scrutiny. Findings aren't pretty, but so far this multibillion-dollar industry has kept these sweeteners on the shelves while alternative sweeteners meeting cost requirements are explored. Since it's almost impossible to read health headlines without finding one of these ingredients in some type of controversy, I'll just use one example:
   
   "The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition and food safety advocacy group, called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to review the claims, which stem from research conducted by the European Ramazzini Foundation in Italy. The foundation reported that rats who consumed aspartame in exceedingly large quantities were more likely to develop cancer. CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson considers this an important finding that should not be overlooked." ⁵
   
   I know, there I go again with the cancer. But some people need to be shocked in order to take action. For me, seeing the Diet Coke^® and Mentos^® experiment was all I needed to swear off the stuff.
4. Foreign news cares how much soda we sell in our schools. How bad is your country's problem when the whole world is watching its daily actions? "Nearly one in three children and teenagers in the U.S. are overweight or obese and health experts say sugary drinks are part of the problem.^"6 Yep, bad. The world is well aware of the problems soda is causing and is looking to us to lead. And we certainly are trying. Are you with the program?
   
   "Under the voluntary guidelines, in place since 2006, full-calorie soft drinks were removed from school canteens and vending machines. Lighter drinks, including low-fat milk, diet sodas, juices, flavoured waters and teas were promoted in their place."⁶
   
   And, while great and all, it appears that no one got the memo about diet sodas.
3. Diet? Um, that's just like your opinion, man. When it comes to soda, treat the word "diet" as a slogan. A study at Boston University's School of Medicine linked diet soda with increased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. To be more specific, the study "found adults who drink one or more sodas a day had about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome," which is a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other symptoms that lead to heart disease and/or diabetes. And, for those of you only concerned about how you look in the mirror, "Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese."
2. Soda outkills terrorists. A study out of the University of California, San Francisco, shows that soda has killed at least 6,000 Americans in the last decade.
   
   From ABC News: "The new analysis, presented Friday at the American Heart Association's 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, offers a picture of just how horrifying the damage done by excess consumption of sugary drinks can be.
   
   "Using a computer model and data from the Framingham Heart Study, the Nurses Health Study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers estimated that the escalating consumption between 1990 and 2000 of soda and sugar-sweetened beverages, which they abbreviated as 'SSBs,' led to 75,000 new cases of diabetes and 14,000 new cases of coronary heart disease. 
   
   "What's more, the burden of the diseases translated into a $300 million to $550 million increase in health care costs between 2000 and 2010."⁷
1. It's the "real thing" . . . not exactly. Should having the number-one source of calories in the world come from something that's entirely manmade be a metaphor for a dying world? It doesn't have to be this way. After all, there's nothing in soda that we need. In fact, there's nothing in soda that even comes from the earth except caffeine, and that's optional. It's a mixture of altered water (injected with carbon dioxide gas), artificial flavors (yes, "natural flavor" is artificial), artificial color, and phosphoric acid, along with its sole caloric source that is a by-product of genetically modified corn production and offers virtually no nutritional value. It's about as real as The Thing.

Protect Your Pet

I like it when I learn something new!
From www.ewg.org

Sixty-three percent of Americans own at least one pet, and they are virtually unprotected from toxic chemicals. But The Environmental Working Group, which is dedicated to protecting both people and pets, offers great tips for lowering pets’ exposure to toxins.

• Serve organic: Choose organic or free-range pet foods. Check labels to avoid the chemical preservatives butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and ethoxyquin, and switch your cat’s food regularly to limit the exposure to mercury in seafood.

• Clean drink: Give your pet the same filtered water that you enjoy.

• Throw out Fido’s bed: Crumbling foam that contains flame retardants can adversely affect pets. Replace their old bedding and make sure your furniture doesn’t pose a hazard.

• Vacuum often: Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter, and take off your shoes at the door to minimize your pets’ exposure to toxic chemicals in the house that have been introduced from the outside.

• Poison on the deck: If you suspect that your backyard deck was made with arsenic-treated wood, treat it with a sealant every six months, and don’t let pets play or sleep underneath it. Wash it with mild soap and water, but never power wash it.

• Skip the stain repellant: Pass on the optional stainproof treatments on couches, carpets, and car upholstery—they’re loaded with toxic chemicals.

• Switch to cast iron: An overheated nonstick pan can kill pet birds, and it gives off chemicals that may be bad for other pets and people, too.

• Green lawns: Care for your lawn without using insecticides, which may cause nervous system damage in pets that walk on the treated lawn, eat the grass, or breathe in the chemicals.

• Lose the litter: Use kitty litter made of plant sources such as wheat or recycled newspaper. Clay-based kitty litter is strip mined, causing extreme environmental damage during extraction.

• Ask the vet: Flea collars are generally ineffective and contain lots of chemicals. Ask your vet about safer treatments and repellents.

• Safe suds: Use baby shampoo on your dog. Pet products are not required to list potentially harmful ingredients on labels.

Get enough Calcium and Skip the Dairy

I am not an advocate for dairy products.  Most Dairy is high in sat fat which causes heart disease and it is loaded with antibiotics, hormones and other meds the vets shoot them up with. Also don't forget the huge negative environmental impact dairy farmers have and the abuse of the animals. I know what I am talking about, my husband was a dairy farmer and I have seen it all.  And he died of cancer. Coincidence? Maybe.
One interesting thing that I hear the most from people is, "Oh I could never give up my cheese!"  The side effects of cancer and heart disease just isn't worth it to me.  There are way too many other pleasures in life then being sick and being internally invaded by the medical environment.  It sucks, it's painful, it's beyond expensive and takes a huge emotional toll on your family.
So if you decide to eliminate dairy from your life please be proud of yourself for doing so. And don't let outside influence change your mind, just don't live in their unhealthy world, choose your own path.
Here's to your new ways to get enough calcium:

First, let's look at ways you can stop your body from losing the calcium you get:

• reduce your caffeine intake (coffee, tea, pop, chocolate) - it causes increased calcium loss in urine
• reduce intake of refined sugar - it also increases calcium loss through urine; as well, it reduces the body's ability to absorb calcium
• reduce phosphorous (POP is the biggest source in most people's diets; also cow's dairy, red meat) - it binds to calcium and makes it less absorbable
• reduce salt - increases calcium loss through urine
• Make sure you get your Vit D (eggs, liver, mushrooms, 20 min of sun exposure several times a week, or supplement) - calcium can't be used without Vit D
• don't overeat protein - it is acid forming; the body will protect the pH level of blood by pulling minerals (especially calcium) from the bones to buffer the acidity
• smoking, alcohol, and corticocosteroid medications also contribute to calcium loss

Alternate Sources of Calcium
1 cup of cow's milk provides 288mg of calcium. Other sources and the amount you can get from a typical serving are:

Nuts and Seeds

Almonds 1/4 cup 150mg
Hazelnuts 1/4 cup 106mg
Sesame Seeds 2 tbsp 264mg
Walnuts 1/4 cup 54mg
Sunflower Seeds 1/4 cup 65mg

Butters and Milks made from nuts and seeds are also be great sources of Calcium. And since these products are not heated or cooked, the calcium is highly absorbable.

Vegetables Most vegetables (especially GREEN ones like leafy greens and broccoli) provide between 20 and 75mg per half cup.  Sea vegetables (agar, kelp) provide about 60mg andWakame provides 150mg

Beans (1 cup servings)
Chickpeas 80mg
Navy beans 128mg
Soybeans 460mg
Tofu 258mg
Tempeh 172mg
Pinto beans 82mg



Molasses (1 tbsp)
Blackstrap 137mg
Barbados 49mg

Meeting Daily Requirements
You can see by the above values, it's really not that hard to get your Calcium with non-dairy sources. The average daily intake recommended in Canada is 1000mg (male and female adults). If you had a serving of almonds (150), 2 cups of leafy greens (150-200), a serving of salmon (338mg), a serving of broccoli (100) a serving of tempeh (172), and some almond butter (225mg) and you would exceed the DRI values. As well, for those who are vegetarians, less intake is required because it is more absorbable without animal foods in the diet.

Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant

Congratulate me!  I have just received my AFPA Nutritional andWellness Consultant Certification!!

www.nundanutrition.com

Is Your Sunscreen Safe?

I found this website www.ewg.org Environmental Working Group.  After reading about how sunscreens can do more damage then the sun I started looking for what sunscreens to buy.  This is a great reference site that I found and here is an article from it:

Published July 11, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif. -- You may think you're doing the right thing by slathering sunscreen on yourself and your children before heading outdoors, but a new study shows many of the most popular brands of sunscreen may not live up to their protection promises.

Unusually hot weather around the bay area has drawn big crowds to local beaches and public swimming pools this summer. Most people you talk to are serious about sunscreen.

"I have a seven-year-old and a five-year-old, and every time I come to the beach I put sunscreen on them," said Michael Fields as he lounged at his local beach in Alameda.

But what do you really know about your sunscreen? A public interest group reviewed about a thousand different sunscreens and says many -- especially the most popular brands -- fall well short of recommended levels of protection.

"We found four out of five of them either provide inadequate UV protection or contained ingredients that we're concerned about,” explained Environmental Working Group spokeswoman Rebecca Sutton.

Current FDA rules don't require testing for UVA protection. UVA is a part of sunshine that research indicates may cause skin cancer (along with UVB). This might possibly explain why skin cancer rates have not decreased despite a billion dollars a year in sunscreen sales.

Activists are also concerned about sunscreen ingredients such as oxybenzone.

"Each dose you are going to apply to your skin is going to penetrate into your body and possibly cause hormone disruptions or other health concerns," said Sutton.

Ingredients zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which do not penetrate the skin, and a new one called mexoryl were found in the sunscreens that earned the best ratings. But consumers need to look at product labels carefully to stay informed when making purchases.

Manufacturers say they comply with FDA rules and the FDA has promised since 2007 to tighten labeling regulations on sunscreens. So far, no target date has been set for more stringent sunscreen rules, leaving it up to consumers to take the proper precautions.

Eating While Traveling

I am on my way home from a ski trip to Mad River Glen Vermont.  I had a great time, skied with my old boss from my Sugarloaf days and couldn't have asked for better conditions.
One of the things that I find rather challenging is to eat healthy while traveling.  First of all the restaurant choices for healthy eaters suck and there is more of us out there then you might realize.  We must just lurk in the shadows.
But I do plan for this.  I packed my breakfast (see my breakfast blog), Oatmeal (the real stuff), berries, nuts and real maple syrup.  The hotel was kind enough to microwave it for me.  I also packed my lunches, PBJ, fruit, salad, soy nuts and some kashi bars. Eating out for supper was another story!  When ever I order a salad it seems to be a big plate of lettuce and not much else.  The particular one I ordered had 2 grape tomatoes, 1 slice of cucumber and on olive and all for $9.  Seriously!  I also got a veggie burger on a nasty roll.  Read the ingredients on the veggie burgers package, not all that good.
Now on my drive home on the NYS thruway we (my boyfriend and I) stopped at a rest stop to use the rest rooms and maybe get something to eat.  We pulled in and the offering was Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts and some artificial cookie company.  So to NYS: how is this helping our ever growing health and obesity problem?  If we offer healthy food people will eat it, but if we don't uneducated eaters have no other choice.
Luckily I had some left over salad and PBJ.  Note: all natural PB, no sugar added jelly and homemade wheat & oatmeal bread.
My commitment to this cause is that every time I have to eat on the road I will always ask the person serving me why they don't offer more and better nutritional choices. I will also send emails to places like Nunda's horrid grocery store and the restaurants in my area.  If enough of us ask things will eventually change in these small rural areas. I hope that I can make a positive effect.