Do Low Fat Foods Contain More Sugar Than Non-Low Fat Foods?

Do Low Fat Foods Contain More Sugar Than Non-Low Fat Foods?

So-called low fat foods can contain a similar number of calories as the standard versions - and might have more sugar, according to a study.

Which? found six out of 10 consumers eat low-fat and light foods several times a week thinking they are a healthier option. But a "snapshot sample" of 12 low-fat, reduced and light products compared with their standard counterparts found some minimal differences in calorie content, the consumer watchdog said.

A standard McVitie's chocolate digestive contained 85 calories and a light one had 77. The difference of eight calories could be burned off in less than a minute of swimming or running.

A Tesco low-fat yoghurt had more calories per pot at 130 than a standard Activia version at 123, while the Tesco option contained more sugar at 20.2g - more than four teaspoons - than the 16.9g in the Activia pot. The high fat and saturated fat content of cheese meant Cathedral City lighter cheddar was still rated red under the traffic light labeling system.

• Serving Size

  "The entire food label is based on one thing, and that's serving size," Blatner says. "It is the most underestimated, under-written about, under-talked about thing on a food label." And so, accordingly, this should be the first thing you look at when scanning the back of a package. Planning to eat all three servings in a bag of pretzels? You'll need to remember to multiply all the numbers below by three. Learn more about <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/serving-sizes_n_1822551.html?utm_hp_ref=health-problems" target="_hplink">how serving sizes are determined here</a>.

• Calories (And Calories From Fat)

  Now that two thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, Blatner says calories should be your next stop when evaluating a label. "Calories make the world go round with weight," she says. Forty calories per serving is considered "low," 100 calories is "moderate" and 400 calories and beyond is "high," <a href="http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HeartSmartShopping/Reading-Food-Nutrition-Labels_UCM_300132_Article.jsp" target="_hplink">according to the American Heart Association</a>. Food labels are based on a 2,000 calorie diet -- you might need more or less depending on your age, weight, gender and activity level. For reference, calculate your recommended daily calorie intake <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598" target="_hplink">by clicking over to the Mayo Clinic</a>, and speak to your doctor for specific recommendations. As for that "calories from fat" line? Skip it, Smithson says. "It's confusing and it doesn't give as much great information as the other parts of the label."

• Fat (Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Trans Fat)

  In the past, Blatner says, people obsessed about the "total fat" line on the label -- but now we know there are actually <em>good</em> fats we need in our diet, namely the heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (found, for instance, in fatty fish). So instead of focusing on the total fat count, look for saturated fats, which raise blood cholesterol levels and increase risk for heart disease and stroke. <a href="http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/FatsAndOils/Fats101/Saturated-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp" target="_hplink">The American Heart Association recommends</a> limiting these fats to 7 percent of total daily calories -- that adds up to 16 grams for someone on a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet. Too complicated? Try the 5 and 20 trick: 5 percent of your daily value is considered low and 20 percent is considered high, anything in between is moderate. So aim for 5 percent or less on the things you don't want (like saturated fat) and 20 percent or more on the things you do. Trans fats are especially dangerous, as they raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol at the same time, <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trans-fat/CL00032" target="_hplink">according to the Mayo Clinic</a>. Fortunately, many manufacturers have scrambled to remove trans fat from their products. But Smithson points out that a label can say it has 0 g of trans fat as long as it actually contains .49 grams or fewer -- meaning that if you consume more than one serving size, you might still go beyond the daily limits. Look for the words "partially hydrogenated" on the ingredient label, which is another way of saying trans fat, <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trans-fat/CL00032 " target="_hplink">the Mayo Clinic says</a>.

• Cholesterol

  "Saturated fat is tied even more to your actual body cholesterol levels than cholesterol in food itself," Blatner says, so when doing a quick label scan, you're better off to look for the former rather than the latter. That said, you should still keep the amount of cholesterol as low as possible (5 percent of your daily value or less according to the 5 and 20 rule). And remember that cholesterol only occurs in animal products -- if a bag of peanuts, for instance, is boasting being "cholesterol free," that's no great feat.

• Sodium

  The average sodium intake among Americans is 3,436 mg a day, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssodium/" target="_hplink">according to the CDC</a>, more than 1,000 milligrams above the recommended upper limit of 2,300 mg for the general population. And too much sodium can increase blood pressure and, in turn, risk for heart disease and stroke. Sodium is one stop you'll definitely want to make on the food label, Blatner says. While you might be able to spot a calorie-rich or a carb-heavy food in the store, it can be surprising how many foods contain salt (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/how-much-salt-is-in-cereal-cake-ketchup_n_1687403.html" target="_hplink">breakfast cereal anyone?</a>) The 5 and 20 rule definitely applies here -- aim for foods that have 5 or fewer percent of your daily value of sodium. But Smithson points out that those percentages are only based on the 2,300 mg recommended for the <em>general</em> population -- people over age 51, African Americans, and those with high blood pressure, diabetes and chronic kidney disease should curb their intake to 1,500 mg of sodium a day. In fact, those "special populations" <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/features/dssodium/" target="_hplink">add up to the majority of adults</a>, according to the CDC -- and that means you'll need to calculate your own daily values at the store.

• Total Carb

  Despite their bad rap, carbs are an important nutrient, and a key source of energy for the body. (Complex carbohydrates, which include whole grains, are the healthier pick over refined or simple carbohydrates, <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/carbohydrates.html" target="_hplink">according to the NIH</a>). Carb counting <em>is</em> important for people with diabetes, Smithson explains, as <a href="http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/carbohydrates.html" target="_hplink">carbohydrates raise blood glucose levels</a>.

• Fiber

  Plenty of dietary fiber is important for maintaining intestinal regularity and bowel health, Smithson explains. Other benefits include reducing blood cholesterol levels and controlling blood sugar levels, and assisting in weight loss, <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fiber/NU00033" target="_hplink">according to the Mayo Clinic</a>. <a href="http://www.choosemyplate.gov/faqs.html" target="_hplink">The USDA recommends consuming 14 g of fiber</a> for every 1,000 calories per day, which adds up to 28 g for someone on a 2,000 calorie diet. But no need to do math -- the 5 and 20 rule applies again; shoot to pick foods with 20 percent or more of your daily value of fiber. For a list of surprisingly rich sources of fiber, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/high-fiber-foods_n_1543165.html" target="_hplink">click here</a>.

• Sugars

  <a href="http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/NFLPM/ucm274593.htm" target="_hplink">According to the FDA</a>, there's no percent daily value next to sugar, as no recommendations have been made at this point for how much to eat in a day. But the American Heart Association recommends keeping added sugar consumption to 6 teaspoons a day for women and 9 teaspoons for men. The reality is that the average American is consuming more than <em>22</em> teaspoons a day. So without a percent daily value, you'll have to do a little math on this one. According to WebMD, <a href="http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/sugar-shockers-foods-surprisingly-high-in-sugar" target="_hplink">each teaspoon of sugar is about 4 g</a>. So that means women should keep daily sugar intake at 24 g or fewer a day, and men should stay at 36 g or fewer. But there is a difference between natural occurring sugars, which can be found in foods like fruits and milk, and added sugars. Unfortunately the labels don't divide up the two, so Smithson suggests doing a little sleuthing on the ingredient label to look for sugar (or sugar synonyms, such as high fructose corn syrup, maltose or dextrose -- <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/other-names-for-sugar-maltose-dextrose_n_1874487.html " target="_hplink">check out our complete list of sugar disguises here</a>).

• Protein

  <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html" target="_hplink">According to the CDC</a>, about 35 percent of your daily calories should come from protein -- that's about 46 g for adult women and 56 g for adult men. <a href="http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/NFLPM/ucm274593.htm" target="_hplink">The FDA doesn't require labels to list percent daily values</a> for protein (unless a claim is made that it's "high protein"), as most adults and children consume plenty of the nutrient. Meat may be the most well-known source of protein, but it's definitely not the only option -- for a list of meat-free sources, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/24/vegetarian-protein-sources_n_1539928.html" target="_hplink">click here</a>.

• Vitamins

  Here comes the good end of the 5 and 20 rule -- aim to choose foods that have 20 percent or more of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium or iron, as that means they're a good source of the nutrient. Remember that foods within the same category can have widely varying amounts of each vitamin, making comparisons particularly important. Yogurt, for instance, might have anywhere from 15 to 45 percent of your daily calcium requirement, Smithson explains. These nutrients are only expressed in percent daily values on nutrition labels -- aim to get each one to add up to 100 percent. If you're watching calcium intake, you can calculate mg (women under 50 need 1,000 mg a day and women over 50 need 1,200 mg a day for bone health) by adding a 0 to the end of the percent daily value, Smithson says. If something has, say 15 percent of your daily calcium, that calculates out to 150 mg. Some ingredient labels also mention B vitamins, such as riboflavin and thiamin, which she says are less of a concern, as we typically don't have shortages in these. Come to think of it, we've never seen a label brag that it's a "good source of thiamin."

Which? found misconceptions among consumers about the meaning of the terms reduced fat and light, with 16% of people correctly responding that products carrying the label had to contain 30% less fat than the standard alternative.

Labelling regulations define low fat as containing less than 3% fat, the terms reduced fat, light and lite mean 30% less fat than the standard or original product, and more than 20g of fat per 100g makes a product high in fat.

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Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "Consumers are choosing low-fat and light options believing them to be a healthier choice, but our research has found that in many cases they're just not living up to their healthy image. Our advice to consumers is to read the nutritional labels carefully."

United Biscuits, which makes the McVitie's chocolate digestive, said the report was misleading. A spokesman said: "While it focused on the fact that the Lights variant of the McVitie's chocolate digestive had only eight fewer calories per biscuit than the standard product, it ignored the fact that the Lights version had 30% less fat.

• Realistic Goal

  A weight-loss goal should be challenging and require you to make an effort, but not be an impossible mission. Over ambitious targets can be easily broken! But by setting smaller goals, you have a real chance of reaching your wedding weight loss goal and boosting your confidence in your abilities to keep on track until you arrive at your destination. Aim to lose about five to ten per cent of your initial body weight over a 3-6 month period. Once you've reached your goal, treat yourself and your bridesmaids to celebrate your success and set another weight loss target.

• Accept Setbacks

  Be prepared for the inevitable good and bad days. Don't get discouraged by the occasional set back. When days don't go according to plan, don't give up. As long as you are eating well most of the time, you can be less strict with yourself some of the time. Think positively, focus on your overall goals and get back on track -- tomorrow is a new (healthier) day. If you feel you are lacking motivation or hitting a slump, call on your bridesmaids or husband to be to help keep you on track.

• Diary

  Keep a food and mood diary. Most of us literally don't know what we are eating, or how all the things we unconsciously eat are adding up - finishing of your child's fish fingers, testing wedding cake or nibbling on canapés during engagement celebrations! For long term weight loss you need to identify problem foods and 'areas of weaknesses' in your day. By keeping a food diary, you will become more aware of your eating patterns and the changes you need to make. Carry a small notebook with you and write down all the things you eat and drink on a typical day, along with any associated feelings. You can also keep your wedding to do list in here so everything is in one place. According to research in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine 'dieters' who jot down everything they eat and drink lose twice as much weight as those that don't.

• Baby Steps

  There are lots of simple things you can do to kick start your wedding weight loss diet. You don't need to make big changes, just a few small steps can make a real difference to reaching your goal, whether it's looking at food labels to taking dance classes in preparation for your first dance, making sure you always start off the day with a healthy breakfast or signing yourself and your bridesmaids up to take part in a 5km charity race. As the Old Chinese Proverb said, it is better to take many small steps in the right direction than one great leap forward only to stumble backward.

• Think Positively

  Focus on all the wonderful delicious, nutritious and seasonal foods that you can enjoy as part of your meals and for snacks, rather than all of the ones you need to cut back on. Eating is meant to be enjoyed and all foods have a place in a balanced diet. There is no such thing as good or bad foods, only good or bad eating habits -- save 'comfort foods' for an occasional treat with your fiancé or bridesmaids, not an everyday snack.

"Many consumers look to limit their fat intake and the Lights variant of McVitie's chocolate digestive helps them achieve this while still enjoying their favourite treat. Both the standard and light versions of McVitie's chocolate digestives clearly communicate the calories and other nutritional information per biscuit and per 100g. The calories per biscuit are also shown very clearly on front of pack in the GDA icon on both the Lights product and the standard product. This makes it clear for consumers to make a comparison if they choose to do so."

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "We take seriously our responsibility to help our customers make healthy choices. Our products display clear nutritional information on the front of the packaging and we always act in accordance with the strict rules around the use of words such as Reduced or Light."

See also:

Brits Underestimate Calories In Food, Warn Experts

Low-Calorie Food Trick The Body Into Gaining Weight

Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

How Much Rice Should You Eat?

How Much Rice Should You Eat?

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Consumer Reports is urging U.S. limits for arsenic in rice after tests of more than 60 popular products -- from Kellogg's Rice Krispies to Gerber infant cereal -- showed that most contained some level of inorganic arsenic, a known human carcinogen.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is conducting its own review of arsenic in rice in order to make a recommendation.

Until then, Consumer Reports suggested the following ways for Americans to cut back on how much rice they eat to lower their exposure to harmful levels of arsenic based on consumption over a lifetime:

FOR CHILDREN:

*Infant cereal, 1 serving per day (about 3/4 cup uncooked)

*Cold cereal, 1-1/2 servings per week (1 cup per serving)

*Rice drinks, not recommended for children

*Rice, 1-1/4 servings per week (1/4 cup per serving uncooked)

*Rice crackers, 8-9 per day

*Rice cakes, 1-3 per week

FOR ADULTS:

*Hot cereal, 2-1/2 servings per week

*Cold cereal, 3 servings per week

*Rice drinks, 1/2 serving per day (1 cup per serving)

*Rice, 2 servings per week

*Rice crackers, 16-18 crackers per day

*Rice cakes, 2-1/3 servings per week (1-3 cakes per serving)

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS TO CUT ARSENIC INTAKE RISK:

*Rinse rice thoroughly before cooking and use 6 cups of water to cook 1 cup of rice, draining excess water after cooking

*Try alternative grains such as wheat, oats, quinoa and millet

*Clean vegetables thoroughly, especially potato skins. Limit intake of apple juice and grape juice (Compiled by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Related on HuffPost:

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D.: Buyer Beware

Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D.: Buyer Beware

In July 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally banned the use of BPA in baby bottles and children's drinking cups. Good news, to be sure, but why must we wait to have this likely carcinogen eliminated from our dietary supply entirely?

BPA, or bisphenol-A, is a weak estrogen, and is classified as an endocrine disruptor because it alters the body's hormones. You didn't hear much about it until about four years ago, when governments and scientists began questioning its safety. Actually, BPA has been around for more than 100 years. Discovered in 1891 by a Russian chemist, it was used in the 1930s as an artificial estrogen to stimulate the growth of cattle and poultry, and then as an estrogen replacement for women. BPA was replaced by the now-infamous diethylstilbestrol, DES. Today, BPA has infiltrated our food and water supply.

We now know that hormone replacement therapy using estrogen increases the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer, as well as breast cancer. BPA has been linked to breast cancer, prostate cancer, and also significant abnormalities of ovaries, uterus, and vagina in mice. BPA causes harmful effects on sperm fertility and other reproductive functions in rodents. In humans, BPA exposure has been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage and polycystic ovary disease. It is thought to alter the development of hormones in children and adolescents.

Yet, last spring the FDA declined the Natural Resource Defense Council's petition to ban BPA from food containers. It is still used in the epoxy lining of cans used to package food and beverages that children and adults consume on a daily basis, including, ironically, infant formula. Although you now see water bottles and reusable food storage containers sporting prominent "BPA-free" claims, it is still used in the lining of drinking water pipes and packaged food containers. BPA is also a major component of the coating on cash register receipts and is both absorbed through the skin and transferred from our fingers to food to our mouths.

The FDA cites "insufficient evidence," and it is true that the evidence for carcinogenicity in humans is limited. It's challenging to conduct studies of carcinogenic chemicals on humans, because it would be unethical to knowingly expose humans to high levels of potential toxins. Because BPA is found in the urine of over 90 percent of all humans studied, there is no control group for a scientific study.

Many researchers still plead for action. "Sometimes you just have to make decisions based on 'inadequate' evidence. You just [make them] based on the right thing to do," said Robert H. Lustig, M.D. of the University of California San Francisco, who studies the effects on humans of various chemicals found in the environment. Even within our government, not every entity agrees with the FDA's position. For example, the 2008-2009 Annual Report of the President's Cancer Panel warned that BPA, and the large variety of other chemicals in our midst, could be contributing to our risk of cancer. Currently, the National Institutes of Health is studying the effects in offspring of pregnant females exposed to BPA and other endocrine disruptors (so called "transgenerational" effects).

According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a division of the National Institutes of Health, "Evidence from animal studies indicates BPA may cause adverse effects such as obesity, behavioral changes, diabetes, early onset puberty, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, reproductive disorders, development of prostate, breast and uterine cancer, and transgenerational or epigenetic effects."

Shouldn't the burden of proof lie with the manufacturers of BPA to prove that it is safe for use in humans? Perhaps the answer lies in the "bottom line:" BPA has an estimated value of $6 billion annually. To put profit ahead of public health, however, is unacceptable. If there is even a possibility that BPA may be disrupting the endocrine systems of children, adolescents, and adults, and may be carcinogenic for humans as it is for mice, it should be removed from consumer products.

There are only a few examples of industry initiating change. Eden Organic Foods has been leading the BPA-free effort for years, with a policy in place since 1999. In 2011, General Mills promised to begin using BPA-free packaging with canned tomato products sold by Muir Glen, an organic foods subsidiary of General Mills. Hunt's plain tomato products are now BPA-free.

While maintaining that it considers BPA in its cans to be safe, the Campbell Soup Company announced in March, 2012 that it will begin using alternatives to BPA. While these are positive first steps to reduce the risk of cancer and other illnesses due to BPA, that effort should be more widespread and immediate -- and should involve the entire canned food industry.

Americans expect the FDA to be a good steward of public health. Until the FDA steps up to its responsibility in this case, it is up to us to take action. We, as consumers, must be vigilant about choosing products that at the very least will not harm us. "Buyer beware" is as true today as it was many years ago, before the age of government regulation.

For more by Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D., click here.

For more healthy living health news, click here.

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Porter Gale: Help Me Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) with Liz Rowan!

Porter Gale: Help Me Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) with Liz Rowan!

We met on Twitter. Liz had been following my posts for months and finally found the courage to reach out. Cyber friendships are common for me, but when I got her message, I wasn't sure what to do. We emailed. We chatted. We became virtual friends. I gave her advice and I listened. After hearing her news, I realized we needed to connect in person.

I flew up to Portland, picked up a rental car and checked into a cheap hotel. Soon, I would meet Liz and her dad in the antiseptic-smelling lobby. I put on lipstick, grabbed my room key and rode the elevator down several floors with a couple of love birds. Liz and her dad were sitting in the reception area. They mirrored their Facebook photos. Liz smiled and her dad, who is a fireman, gave me a tentative yet heartfelt hug. At 21 years old, Liz is facing her fourth bout with cancer. She has had bone cancer, two forms of breast cancer and is now fighting leukemia. In fact, she is having her bone marrow transplant today.

My journey with Liz, Rod and the rest of the Rowan family started when Liz and her twin sister Julia were 4 years old. At the time, their mother, Beth, was featured in a documentary I co-produced about breast cancer survivors. That was seventeen years ago. Two years after the film was made, Beth passed away.

Over Mexican food in a strip mall Liz explained, "I watch the documentary when I can't remember her voice. I go back to it for comfort and like the scene of her making peanut butter sandwiches." It was a small moment in our film, but a large moment in Liz's memory. Rod shared, "the girls didn't watch the film often but when Liz was first diagnosed we watched it again and it put things in perspective."

At 16, Liz had her first bout of cancer. At 18, Liz tattooed a phrase her mom said in the film, "can't stop living" on her torso. By 20, her urge to share her story grew and she found me on Twitter.

Over lunch, we sat in the small booth and talked about life. Liz showed me her tattoos and we looked at pictures of her sister, Julia, on her iPhone. I said we came together because of random connections but her dad disagreed. "I learned from my law enforcement days there aren't many coincidences. If someone is standing with a screwdriver and a car window is broken, chances are the two are connected. When you meet someone, things aren't so random," he shared.

Liz told me the story of her most recent diagnosis. "I was heading to a country bar in Portland to celebrate my 21st birthday. We were going to ride the mechanical bull. I was almost in the bar, but I forgot my cash in the car and went back to get it when I felt my phone vibrating," she explained. "It was a blessing, if I was inside I don't think I would have felt it. A lab tech was on the line, 'your platelets are at seven and your labs are very abnormal. You either have internal bleeding or you're autoimmune. You need to get to the hospital right away for a transfusion.' I hyperventilated a bit, gathered the troops and headed to the hospital a little freaked out," she explained.

As my food grew cold, Liz told me how earlier in the week, she had been conducting research on the Internet and had blood drawn that day because she had been feeling tired and had strange bruises on her knees. "The next couple of days, of course my brain was thinking the worst and everyone was walking on egg shells. Dad wasn't really saying anything and then we had this moment; we were crying, hugging and we were really scared," she said.

Rod nervously swirled his fork on his lunch platter, "I want people to know how amazing Liz is and our story puts life into perspective. When we share, people take action. They donate blood, maybe give a couple of bucks to a homeless man and they become more motivated." He added, "When you go through such a struggle at some level you want to share. Here's our story. Here's an amazing person. That's what this feels like, but it isn't soup yet."

"It's been tough. Over the years, I've tried to build a support network for Liz. I remember leaving the Ronald McDonald House when Liz was a teenager and I saw a girl with a math book and said, 'Are you in high school? Here is my daughter, you two need to be friends.'"

"My friends are great but sometimes it is hard to relate to them. I blog and post on the Internet to find other young people with cancer. I have scars all over my body and you can tell I've been through something, but somehow sharing makes things easier," Liz said.

Her dad added, "when you find other people going through cancer, you don't have to explain drug A or drug B and you can emotionally understand each other."

"It is hard to be 16 or 21 and have cancer," Liz continued. "When I lost my hair, people treated me differently and didn't know how to act. It was like I was a delicate flower that nobody wanted to pick. When I'm in the hospital it feels like I'm alone in a hole in the ground. I don't want anyone else to feel that loneliness. That's why I share my story." On her website she posted, "I feel like people are ready to put me in the ground. I am not going down without a fight. I am not dead yet. I will fight until my heart stops beating. I will not give up to this disease."

Liz also told me about an article on her that appeared in a local paper, "an elderly man read the story and emailed, 'keep your head up, you're so strong and don't worry about your future husband. He won't see your scars. My wife has MS and I still love her the same.'" Liz smiled, "The email touched my heart. I know some day a boy will come along. The email made me happy."

It was obvious how much Rod loves his daughter. He listened to her every word, never interrupted and often touched her hand when she spoke. That said, he admitted the two have had struggles. "Liz has a lot of support when she has cancer. Often I'd push because I wanted her to move into 'had cancer.' I didn't want her to sleep till noon. I wanted her to get a job. I wanted her to pay her car insurance. I kept trying to tell her no one else would do it. Now, it's not a matter of if she'll have a transplant, it's when."

After I returned home from the short trip, Rod sent me note, "the other day I was in the back of an ambulance racing to the hospital at 90 MPH holding an oxygen mask to a woman's face so she could breathe. For a total stranger, I'm able to hold her in this world, yet for my own daughter, I'm only able to nestle her into the crook of my shoulder and tell her she is loved." He continued, "I can't imagine we lived this life just to have it be another day at the office. Just by virtue of the numbers, it is not a normal existence and we're not a normal family. There's got to be a pearl out there somewhere and I'm going to help Liz find it."

Liz is getting a bone marrow transplant this week. Soon, she will live "in a bubble" for three months and her sister and roommate will be her caregiver. She lives in Vancouver, Washington and can be found on Twitter at @lizrowan1. She recently posted on Facebook, "Happy early Father's Day to the dad that does it all! I love him for everything he has done. I love you dad." Please Stand-up To Cancer (SU2C) and share your support by Tweeting, posting or sending Liz your thoughts at @lizrowan1. You can also read her blog at http://lizrowan.blogspot.com/.

Porter Gale is a writer, speaker and marketing consultant. Her first book Your Network is Your Net Worth will be published in 2012.

Follow Porter Gale on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@portergale

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Leslie Goldman: With Reverse Airbrushing, A Picture's Worth 1,000 Calories

Leslie Goldman: With Reverse Airbrushing, A Picture's Worth 1,000 Calories

What? You didn't get the memo? Ladies, you are supposed to be unnaturally thin -- but with full Cs and a round, tight butt, and bounce-a-quarter-off-you, all-over muscle tone. But we know this may be difficult to achieve, so just starve yourself down to a size 00 and let your stylist fix you up with some chicken cutlets, a water bra, tummy Spanx, jeans with built-in butt-lifting technology, and six-inch platforms to add a nice curve to your nonexistent ass. And hair extensions to compensate for the balding that occurs when your dinner consists of romaine lettuce. And Juvederm to plump up your hungry, hollowed-out cheeks.

Oh, and guess what? If you somehow manage to achieve the Herculean feat of dieting down to your preschool weight, you still will not be good enough and will require copious amounts of airbrushing. Reverse airbrushing, that is. Yes, now models and actresses are being touched up in the opposite direction, having their collarbones smoothed, cheeks and arms plumped, hips padded and more.

As model manager and publicist Nadja Atwal told FoxNews.com, "These poor girls (models) have been forced to lose the very curves that the general public wants in order to find a woman attractive. So when you do a sexier shoot with a skinnier girl, you have got to basically add volume via retouching where there is no volume in reality."

A talent manager also told Fox's "Pop Tarts" column, "I have to airbrush clients' to make them appear bigger and more womanly before I submit photographs. Skinny doesn't sell."

Cameron Diaz has been on the receiving end of the reverse-airbrushing wand, getting her hip bones softened; Penelope Cruz had her sharp collarbone smoothed. And to be totally honest, I myself have been reverse-retouched -- in my body image book jacket photo, of all places! (Collarbone was softened.)

In 2008, the head of PR at one major publishing conglomerate admitted, "There have been cases where models are booked way ahead of a shoot and then they turn up two months later looking less healthy and perhaps a bit underweight. We wouldn't be happy showing them that way, so it is then that we would need that person to look a little bit fuller.

We've come full circle: We tell women to lose weight, exercise, burn fat, get thin... And when they do, we continue to beat them down with the message that they're not good enough by reverse-airbrushing them.

A few other asinine retouching phenomena:

Baby Airbrushing
Babies are cute and all. Well, except for their pudgy necks. And the spittle that pools in the corners of their mouths. And the inverted nipples. That umbilical cord scab can be kind of nasty. Uneven fingernails. Dimply butts. Baby acne. Ooh, and those veins that you can see through the skin on their forehead? And their faces get all splotchy when they cry. Gross. Luckily, thanks to the wonders of technology, your little one's imperfections can be digitally eradicated in her one-year birthday photos, thanks to baby airbrushing. She can look back at her baby pics and rest easy knowing she was born with slender, gazelle-like, eight-inch-long gams.

Racial Airbrushing
Black skin too dark? There's an app for that! It's called racial airbrushing -- magazines can take a perfectly gorgeous African-American singer like Beyoncé or actress like Gabourey Sidibe and lighten her skin tone... for no apparent reason. OJ Simpson started the trend, but in reverse.

Navel Airbrushing
Born without a belly button like Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova? No problemo! We'll just hop over to the more navel-y blessed Alessandra Ambrosio, copy, cut and paste! Et voila!

For more by Leslie Goldman, click here.

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Has Anyone Tried Dynamiclear?

When I had my first outbreak, my doctor prescribed Acyclovir and Valtrex. It wasn't helping me much. I couldn't respond well to these meds as they made my stomach hurt badly for days. They also made me feel nauseous.

I even tried home remedies like toothpaste, nail polish remover, ice and hydrogen peroxide and over-the-counter topical creams like Viroxyn and Abreva. It was like ages for the sores to be gone.

After so much frustration with cold sore remedies, I soon realized I needed something better.

I started visiting herpes forums like herpes-coldsores.com. I wanted to know what other victims like me used to control the outbreaks. It was then that I learned about Dynamiclear.

I use Dynamiclear during the early stage. However, it stings. Awfully. I could feel my nerve going berserk for several minutes. Later, I could see the sores...

Read the full article at http://www.robertoagudelo.com/

Christy Matta, M.A.: A Flawed Life: How It Just Might Make You Happier

Christy Matta, M.A.: A Flawed Life: How It Just Might Make You Happier

When is the last time you read a glossy magazine and gazed at the pictures of flawlessly decorated rooms, shiny cars or airbrushed models and actresses with perfect clothes and hair and felt inadequate?

We each have a certain way of looking at the world. How we grew up and our own natural personality characteristics determine what we think and believe about ourselves and the world around us. Believing that you and the world around you must be flawless in order for you to be happy is a common in an age where we are surrounded by airbrushed images and messages that nothing short of perfection is acceptable.

Unfortunately, the pursuit of perfection doesn't make us happier or ease stress. A perfect body doesn't solve your emotional problems, a shiny new car doesn't mean you're any more likely to be taken seriously at work and a meticulously kept house can't keep you from a divorce or financial problems.

The fact is, believing you must be flawless adds to life's challenges. It is linked to increased stress and a number of other emotional, physical, and relationship problems, such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders.

On the other hand, doing your best can make you feel competent, proud and in control of your life. Being flawed allows you to have honest emotions, to tackle difficult problems and to see yourself as successful for what you do achieve.

How Do You Know If You Are a Perfectionist?

When you make a mistake, do you spend days, weeks or even months in self-recrimination? Are you intensely competitive and highly self-critical if you don't come in first? If you can't do something "the right way," would you rather not do it? Do you often find yourself correcting other people when they are wrong? Are you acutely aware of other people's expectations and self-conscious about making mistakes in front of others?

If you answered "yes" to the questions above, you may be overly focused on being perfect, rather than good enough.

How Can You Become Happier?

Perfectionism occurs in your thoughts. It is the thoughts about yourself, your actions, the actions of those around you and the world around you that must change.

Try This:

When you make a mistake and become self-critical, soften the thought. For example, instead of thinking "I'm an idiot," or "I'm a failure," think "I'm human," or "Mistakes are necessary to achieve anything new."

Refocus your attention. If you enter a room and typically notice all the imperfections, refocus on what is "right" about the room. Or focus on what is beautiful, comfortable or interesting.

Start conversations with a positive. Often when you're a perfectionist you hold others to your own perfect standards, which can create tension and damage relationships. When you speak to someone or give feedback to someone, start the conversation with a genuine observation of a positive characteristic or action.

Internalize positive self-talk. Try to turn that positive conversation into internal self-talk. If you get focused on your own mistakes and failures, or find yourself listing all the reasons you "can't" try something new, switch your focus to your positive characteristics or the positive actions you've taken. When you're mind wanders back to your failures or fears, refocus back on what your strengths.

Click for more about my new book, The Stress Response, or here to sign up for stress reduction tips.

For more by Christy Matta, M.A., click here.

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com