Taco Bell is promoting the drive thru diet. I’ve been wondering whether it is possible to come up with a week’s worth of healthy drive -thru meals. I downloaded the nutritional info from McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Arby’s, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, and Taco Bell. I did not include fast food restaurants that are highly regional or those that do not normally have a drive thru window like Subway. For my healthiest breakfast selections. I was unable to find 7 reasonably healthy selections, but I did find 6 (although the McDonald’s sausage burrito is a bit on the fringe). Here they are:

Dunkin Donuts

Egg & Cheese on English Muffin  – 320 calories, 15 g protein, 13 g fat (0 transfat, 5g saturated), 2 g fiber

Egg White Veggie Flatbread-290 calories, 11 g protein, 9 g fat (0 transfat, 4g saturated), 3 g fiber

McDonald’s

Egg McMuffin-300 calories, 18 g protein, 12 g fat (0 transfat, 5g saturated), 2 g fiber

Fruit n Yogurt Parfait with Granola- 160 calories,4 g protein, 2 g fat (0 transfat, 1 g saturated), 1 g fiber

Sausage Burrito- 300 calories, 12 g  protein,16 g fat (.5 transfat, 7g saturated), 1g fiber

Burger King

Whopper Jr. No Mayo- 290 calories, 15 g protein, 12g fat (4.5 saturated), 2 g fiber

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Taco Bell is promoting the drive thru diet. I’ve been wondering whether it is possible to come up with a week’s worth of healthy drive thru meals. I just downloaded the nutritional info from McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Arby’s, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, and Taco Bell. I did not include fast food restaurants that are highly regional or those that do not normally have a drive thru window like Subway.  So I will try to come up with 21 healthy meals that you can pick up from a drive thru. My preliminary analysis shows that it’s going to be difficult if not impossible to get servings of fruits and vegetables.

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I have been searching high and low for the one superfood that contains all the protein your body needs as well as a complete set of vitamins and minerals.  Although there is no such thing as a perfect food, the closest food to perfection is the egg. The egg contains the best protein source on the planet; eggs consistently outrank milk, beef, whey, and soy in the quality of protein they provide. In addition to containing all nine essential amino acids, eggs are loaded with nutrients and contain 13 essential vitamins and minerals. The egg yolks contain choline, which helps protect heart and brain function and prevents cholesterol and fat from accumulating in the liver. Also, egg yolks are high in lutein, a type of carotenoid that helps fight macular degeneration, the leading cause of legal blindness. In fact, eggs seem to contain virtually all necessary nutrients with the exception of carbs and Vitamin C. But if you have an egg sandwich on whole wheat bread with a glass of ojfor breakfast, you pretty much have a perfect breakfast for fitness and weight loss. Also, multiple studies have allayed the cholesterol concerns about egg consumption from 20 years ago. And if all of that is not enough, eggs are the lowest cost complete protein. So go for it: scrambled, over easy, sunny side up, poached, boiled, deviled, omelets. The possibilities are endless.

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In a stunning blow to other studies that show damage to your brain from cell phone use,  a new study  by University of South Florida researchers at the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, provides evidence that long-term exposure to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use may actually protect against, and even reverse, Alzheimer’s disease.

“It surprised us to find that cell phone exposure, begun in early adulthood, protects the memory of mice otherwise destined to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms,” said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD, USF Research Professor at the Florida ADRC. “It was even more astonishing that the electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones actually reversed memory impairment in old Alzheimer’s mice.”

The researchers showed that exposing old Alzheimer’s mice to electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones erased brain deposits of the harmful protein beta-amyloid, in addition to preventing the protein’s build-up in younger Alzheimer’s mice. The sticky brain plaques formed by the abnormal accumulation of beta amyloid are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Most treatments against Alzheimer’s try to target beta-amyloid.

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Everyone has a different sleep pattern and needs. You may be an early to bed, early to rise type, or you may be someone who works or stays up all night and sleeps during the day. You can train your biological clock  to expect sleep at the same approximate time every 24 hours, but it takes time for your body to adjust, so you should stick to the same routine as much as possible, INCLUDING WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS. Time of day serves as a powerful cue to your body clock that it is time to sleep and awaken. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, and it will be easier and easier to fall asleep. However tempting it may be, try not to break this routine on weekends when you may want to stay up much later or sleep in. Your overall sleep will be better if you don’t. But remember, you should be getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night, so build that into your daily routine.

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A weight loss study conducted by Jeff Volek, Ph.D, an exercise researcher and nutritionist at the University of Connecticut, is cited in the current issue of Men’s Health magazine.  Dr. Volek conducted a three group study with participants following a reduced-calorie diet.  One of the groups followed no exercise program, one group followed an aerobic exercise program and one group followed an exercise regimen of both aerobic and weight training. All of the groups in the study averaged the same amount of weight loss, 21 pounds after 12 weeks. However, the participants who followed weight training lost 5 more pounds of fat than the other groups. In the other groups, 25% of the weight lost was muscle. In the group that did weight training, virtually all of the lost weight was fat.  This illustrates why dieting can be harmful to your health. If you are not careful, you will destroy the very parts of your body that are responsible for your strength and your vitality (you don’t really want to lose strength from your heart muscle , do you).  If you are going to diet, the only way to conserve muscle is to do weight training.

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You can sabotage your sleep by eating and drinking the wrong things, especially later in the day. Try to eliminate these sleep killers:

• Too much food, especially fatty, rich food.  These take a lot of work for your stomach to digest and may keep you up. Spicy or acidic foods in the evening can cause stomach trouble and heartburn, which worsens as you are laying down.
• Too much liquid. Drinking lots of fluid may result in frequent bathroom trips throughout the night.
• Alcohol. Although it may initially make you feel sleepy, alcohol can interfere with sleep and cause  frequent awakenings. Also some people are also sensitive to tyrosine, found in certain red wines
• Caffeine. Avoid food and drinks that contain caffeine, and that doesn’t just mean coffee. Hidden sources of caffeine include chocolate, caffeinated sodas, and teas. Try to avoid all caffeine for 4-6 hours before you go to bed.

If you suspect a food or drink is keeping you up, try eliminating it for a few days to see if sleep improves.

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I often brown bag my lunch so I can avoid the deadly fast food tempations. I do keep a freezer full healthy frozen entrees in my office freezer, but while shopping for healthy frozen entrees this week I came across the Tai Pei line of frozen Chinese dinners. I sampled the Pepper Beef with vegetables and white rice and I was very pleasantly surprised.  Although there was not a lot of beef, there was a full serving of vegetables (broccoli, peas, onions, carrots), the seasoning was delicious, and the serving size was filling. I would say that it does rival Chinese carryout. I just popped it in the microwave for 5 minutes, let it sit for another 3, and ate it right from the Chinese style container. Chinese food has a bad rep nutritionally, but the news here was actually pretty good: 190 calories, 5 grams fat (0 transfat, 1 sat.), 8 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber. There  are several other entrees as well in this line, but I haven’t tried them yet.

This is a good brown bag alternative and will satisfy that Chinese food craving without breaking your eating plan.

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Wouldn’t it be great to get paid to lose weight? An innovative new website has created a system to do just that. Healthywage.com  has created a system which gets corporate sponsors to give a cash reward to obese users who during a specified time period move from an unhealthy to a healthy body mass index (BMI). (This typically translates into a weight loss of between 30 and 80 lb.) Members can either sign up for free – according to a company rep, the final deadline to enter the next 12-month challenge is Jan. 20 – and win $100 or “super-size” their weight-loss incentives by ”betting” some of their own money.  The website also has a plethora of weight loss tools to help its members reach their goals.

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Because sleeping is the most important thing that we can do for our health that doesn’t require depriving ourselves of something, we are bringing you a series of sleeping tips. Sleep in a cool room (65 degrees or so or even cooler if you can stand it). Pile on another blanket or add one under the mattress pad rather than turn up the heat. Studies show that the cooler temperature helps your body get to sleep and stay asleep. You will also save on your heating bill in the winter. In the summer you can turn up the temperature a bit, sleep in light pjs or none at all, and use a fan to push cooling air over your body.

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Winter weather makes me crave comfort food.  But most comfort food packs huge amounts of fat and calories. This recipe provides the down home flavor of chicken fried steak and gravy for only 315 calories and 13 grams of fat. Add a side of mashed potatoes and a veggie and you have a satisfying meal that won’t kill your diet.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 pound cube steak, cut into 4 portions
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup half-and-half

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Place all-purpose flour on a large plate. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Whisk cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch and paprika in another shallow dish. Season both sides of steak with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Dredge the steak in the flour, shaking off excess; dip in the egg whites, then dredge in the cornmeal mixture.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add 2 pieces of the steak; cook until browned on both sides, turning once, 3 to 5 minutes total. Transfer the steak to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 2 pieces of steak. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add broth to the pan and boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk water and the remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in half-and-half; season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Serve the steak topped with the gravy.

Nutrition

Per serving: 315 calories; 13 g fat (3 g sat, 7 g mono); 57 mg cholesterol; 14 g carbohydrates; 33 g protein; 1 g fiber

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Most health tips require you to deprive yourself of something you really enjoy or to get out there and work up a sweat. However, there is a way that all of us can improve our health without depriving ourselves of anything. Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do to improve your health.  Most experts recommend 7-9 hours of sleep at night. Lack of sufficient sleep has been linked to lower immune systems, weight gain and even to higher incidences of cancer and cardiovascular disease. HealthJag is adding a regular feature on how to improve your sleep, or as I like to call it, the lazy man’s health tips.

Today’s tip is to make sure you sleep in a very dark room. Light is one of the body’s most powerful time cues. Any light while you are trying to sleep can cue your body that it is time to stop sleeping. A dark room is the most conducive for sleep – day or night. Even a night light or light from the bathroom can disrupt your normal sleep cycle. Darkness is also required for your body to maximize its production of melatonin, which protects your immune system. So make sure that your room is completely dark.  It’s okay if your room lets in natural light as the sun rises as this will let you awake naturally, but you want to eliminate as much light as possible during your normal sleep cycle.

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According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), obesity-related deaths in America have climbed to more than 300,000 a year,  SECOND ONLY TO TOBACCO RELATED DEATHS . Yet there are no warning requirements for high calorie, high fat food items. Shouldn’t there be a warning on that Big Mac that reads: WARNING, EATING A DIET HIGH IN FAST FOODS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO MAKE YOU FAT, UNATTRACTIVE AND LEAD TO PREMATURE DEATH!  Obsesity is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and a contributor to many types of cancer. Obesity in adults has increased by 60% within the past twenty years and obesity in children has tripled in the past thirty years. A staggering 33% of American adults are obese. 

The simple fact is that most of us sabotage our own health by poor eating and lifetstyle choices. Corporate America has capitalized on our evolutionized craving for high fat, high calorie foods by providing the ability to access a virtual unlimited menu of unhealthy, highly processed foods for $1 simply by rolling down the window (actually we don’t roll down windows anymore, we push the button, thus relieving our fingers of that strenuous, calorie burning task). I once drove 300 miles, and using cruise control was able to  severely limit any body movement and calorie burning, but was able to consume over 5,000 calories in less than 5 hours.

I have never smoked, but I suspect that my poor eating choices for much of my life have left my heart just as unhealthy as a lifelong smoker’s. My first resolution for the New Year: Be Conscious of Every Eating Choice that I Make Every Day.  Being conscious of each choice doesn’t guarantee a good choice. But it does make me say, “Yes, the satisfaction I am going to get from this Big Mac is worth more than life itself.” Sort of like shaming myself into being a healthier eater. 

I wish  you all a New Year full of healthy eating.

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After a short hiatus, HealthJag is back for the New Year! Join us and get your New Year off to a healthy start. Did you know that written New Year’s resolutions are four times more effective than non-written resolutions? Make your first New Year’s resolution to check out HealthJag every day. Write it down in your daily calendar or subscribe to our feed! Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Here’s why. A Panera bread chicken salad sandwich on whole grain bread is  660 calories with  30 grams of fat. Their tuna  salad on whole grain is 420 calories and  22 grams of fat. If you are considering a Caesar,  it’s 400 calories and 27 grams of fat.  I am not picking on Panera because you will find the same at most any restaurant. If you order any creamy dressing at a restaurant, you might as well order chocolate cake and really enjoy the fat you are getting. The only way to eat a healthy salad at a restaurant is to order a vinaigrette dressing on the side. If you put one tablespoon on, you will probably get by with about 100 calories, of healthy olive oil.

 People who make vegetable juice part of their daily diet are more likely to get recommended daily servings, according to a new research study. Researchers in a study by the University of California-Davis found that making vegetable juice a part of your daily diet could be a big step in meeting daily vegetable recommendations. US Dietary Guidelines advise individuals to consume three to five servings of vegetables daily.  Seven out of ten adults fall short of the daily recommended vegetable intake. The volunteers in the study who drank vegetable juice were more likely to achieve the recommended daily servings of vegetables, likely due to the convenience factor as well as the fact that volunteers found vegetable juice to be a tasty alternative to raw or cooked vegetables. Considering thatV8 vegetable jucie contains only 50 calories and an 8 ounce glass counts as two servings of vegetables, it seems an easy way to get a big portion of your daily veggie quota. Check out the juice section at your grocery store and you are likely to find a wide range of choices.

A new web site designed by Carnegie Mellon University will give the odds on you dying next year, or for whatever period you select, if you answer a few questions. It also will give you an idea as to the cause. DeathRiskRankings.com, analyzes publicly available data from the United States and Europe, and compares mortality risks by gender, age, cause of death and geographic region. Just input your data and it will give you the probable causes of your demise and an approximate time frame.

For guys, it’s bad news. Men have a much higher annual death risk than women at every age. For 20-year-olds, the risk is 2.5 to three times greater for men. Men are much more prone to accidents, homicides and suicides, and the risk of dying from heart disease is always higher for men than women.

The USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (www.hnrc.tufts.edu) at Tufts University in Boston has found that blueberries rank #1 in antioxidant activity when compared to 40 common fresh fruits and vegetables. Concord grape juice is next on the list with about two thirds of the antioxidant activity of blueberries followed by strawberries. So pass the blueberries, please!

Perennial Pro-Bowler and future Hall of Famer,  NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez is one of the strongest, fastest and most agile tight ends in NFL history. But the average NFL athlete attains muscle mass through a diet high in protein and animal fat, and many of them pay the price of cardiovascular disease upon retirement.  Concerned about his long term  health outlook, Tony decided to embark on an unheard of plan in the world of the NFL.  He decided to go Vegan. However, he found that a truly vegan diet could not sustain the weight and muscle mass required to perform in the  NFL.  He has now modified his vegan diet  with the help of nutritionist Mitzi Dulan, to add healthy animal proteins along with plant proteins in sufficient amounts to sustain the huge muscle power required in his profession, and still maintain a low level of fat in his diet. His new book, The All-Pro Diet,Gonzalez explains the program that can give you the body of a Mr. Universe with the cholesteral level of a vegetarian monk. His secrets are things we have heard before:  limit animal and trans fats, processed food, and simple carbohydrates. Make sure you are eating complex carbs, healthy fats, and healthy proteins.  And of course an NFL workout to build those muscles. It is definitely a great diet for someone who wants both a sculpted body and good health. Sort of like having your cake and eating it too………..as long as the cake is high protein, multi-grain, and sugar free.

I love this Smart Ones microwaveable breakfast offering. The sauce is not very spicy but if you add a tablespoon of medium to spicy salsa, you have a really great eye opening breakfast. The quesadilla filling consists of scrambled egg whites, turkey bacon, vegetables and a blend of reduced fat cheddar, mozzarella and jack cheese. Nutrition is on a level to keep your hunger satiated until lunch: 220 calories, 6 grams of fat (3 saturated), 6 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein.

The jalapeño peppers in these singles add a hint of heat to burgers, sandwiches, paninis, and more. The Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Pepper Jack Singles are an excellent source of calcium and offer 1 gram of fiber in every slice. At only 45 calories, 2.5 grams of fat (1.5 saturated) and 4 grams of protein per slice, you can have that cheeseburger or dress up your sandwich in a healthy and tasty way.

I eat popcorn at least 5 days a week. My recipe calls for making it on the stove top with canola oil, although if I am feeling decadent I will use a 50-50 mixture of canola and butter.  In fact, I eat so much popcorn that I buy it in 50 pound bags from Sam’s Club which saves me over 90% off the price of those tiny bags you buy at the grocery store. Now finally, the health benefits of my popcorn fanaticism have been proven. We always knew that popcorn is a good source of fiber, but according to a study performed by the American Chemical Society and excerpted in Medical News Today, popcorn “contains surpisingly large amounts of healthful antioxidant substances called polyphenols,  which have become renowned for their potential role in reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.” So, pop the fifth season of Rescue Me into the DVD player (it comes out on on September 1), pop up a big batch of popcorn, and extend your healthy life while watching Denis Leary ruin his.

The high-protein, low-carb diet plan may help keep you from losing muscle along with fat, and actually accelerate weight loss, according to a study by Donald K. Layman, PhD in Nutrition, of the University of Illinois.  The amino acid leucine—found in beef, dairy, poultry, fish, and eggs—may help preserve muscle tissue, and a diet that is high in foods containing this amino acid is preferable in diets designed for weight loss.

Layman states that, “traditionally, people have built a diet around low-fat foods, instead of high quality protein foods. Study participants following the moderately high protein plan, which I call the ‘Sensible Solution,’ were twice as effective in maintaining lean muscle mass,” he said. “Muscle helps burn calories, but is often compromised during weight loss.”

Many nutrition experts are skeptical of high protein diets because of concerns related to the consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol. Layman concludes that these concerns are not valid. “The group following my diet lost fat, maintained muscle and had an improvement in total blood cholesterol level. Subjects found the eating plan easy to follow, allowing them to enjoy foods from all food groups.”

Drugstore.com is having a huge sale through August 28, 50%-70% off plus free shipping on selected items.

Please take a break from texting, cell phone using, and nail painting this weekend and give your motorcycle riding friends and neighbors a break.  Motorcycles are everywhere this time of year.

From Chicagotribune.com:

Charges weighed in rider’s death

Case of driver painting nails prompts debate on citation

Tribune reporters Dan P. Blake, Andrew L. Wang, and Megan Twohey contributed.

Tribune reporters
May 5, 2009

Applying makeup while driving ranks up there in the danger zone with reading a book or dialing a cell phone, according to a federal report that takes aim at behavior officials allege may have played a role in a fatal collision in Lake Zurich IL.

Prosecutors are measuring the yawning gap between a traffic citation and felony reckless homicide as they decide whether criminal charges should be filed against a driver allegedly painting her nails when her car struck and killed a motorcyclist last weekend.

The wreck Saturday raises questions that have been fiercely debated in Illinois about whether a momentary distraction amounts to criminal behavior, comparable to drunken driving. In the crash that killed motorcyclist Anita Zaffke, 56, of Lake Zurich, Lora L. Hunt, 48, of Morris was ticketed by the Lake County sheriff’s police with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Prosecutors say it may be a month before they decide whether to bring additional charges.

With all the national debate over health care reform, I have a plan that will guarantee that all members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, will unify to adopt a heatlh care reform plan that will appeal to all Americans.  Right now, members of Congress have very little personal incentive to reform health care, since they enjoy the benefits of one of the most liberal, comprehensive and inexpensive (to them) health care plans in the country. The solution for this is simple: Congress should have the same stake in the system as the average American. If every person in this country were to demand of their Congressional representatives and Senators, that they be declared ineligble for the Federal employee plan, then they would have to buy their healthcare in the “free market” like all self employed and unemployed Americans.  If the health care for Congress was removed, we would see Congress frantically working for a bipartisan solution.  All we have to do to make this happen is have every American write and call President Obama and their Congressional reps every single week until it is done. After all, we potentially have as much influence as the lobbyists for insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

Many doctors believe that blood sugar fluctuations are a contributing factor in migraine headaches based on studies that show a correlation between blood sugar levels and migraines. Like diabetics, blood sugar can be managed with careful diet planning and avoiding eating certain foods. Below is a list of tips to help control blood sugar levels.

* Avoid all refined sugars including syrup, honey, high fructose corn syrup, and white and brown sugar
* Avoid dried or cooked fruit. Eat only fresh fruits
* Avoid alcohol which behaves like sugar in the body
* Eat 6 small meals a day or have a mid-morning and mid-afternoon healthy snack
* Eat some protein with every complex carbohydrate meal (natural unprocessed starches)
* Avoid simple carbs and starches  (which are converted to sugar in the body) such as white flour, white sugar, white rice, corn, white potatoes

Did you ever notice that yogurt commercials on tv are directed only at women? In fact, it would take a man completely secure in his sexuality even to consider eating yogurt after watching those commercials. I have concluded that there is a conspiracy to keep yogurt out of the hands of men. I think it’s because yogurt is such a super food that if men find out about it then they will dominate the world even more that they already do. And maybe yogurt is the real reason that women live longer than we do. Yogurt is a great source of protein, calcium, B-complex vitamins and riboflavin. Recent research about probiotics (cultures like lactobacillus acidophilus, present in many yogurts)  indicates yogurt may boost the immune system and improve digestion.

All yogurt is not the same. You want yogurt with active cultures. WebMD has a great article with everything you need to know about buying and eating yogurt.

Come on guys, let’s get our fair share of the health benefits of yogurt.

AVON is the number one national cosmetics company for women. But they have added a complete men’s line that contains skin care and grooming products as well as fragrance. Right now you can get free shipping and 33%-55% off selected men’s products. Just click on “Shop Now’ at this site and then click on “Men’ at the next menu.

I love crockpot meals. You can set it and forget it and come home to a meal without the hassle of cooking. With a little creativity, you can even wake up to  the sweet smell of a warm breakfast.

Crockpot Oatmeal

2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T. butter, melted
1/4 t. salt
½ t. cinnamon and 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 cup oats
1 cup coarsely chopped apple
½ cup chopped walnuts or almonds

Spray crockpot with PAM.  Mix ingredients in bowl and transfer to crockpot.  Cook covered on low overnight (8 hours). Stir before serving. Makes 4 cups.

As most men now know, an elevated PSA blood test is an indicator of possible prostate cancer.  But only 25-35% of men with elevated PSA levels actually have prostate cancer which can only be confirmed with a biopsy. Due to the inaccuracy of current PSA tests as predictors of prostate cancer, thousands of expensive, painful, and needless biopsies are performed on men each year. A new six-gene whole blood RNA transcript-based diagnostic test developed by Source MDx in Boulder, Colo., was shown in a study of 174 men to be an accurate predictor of prostate cancer in 90% of the cases when used with the PSA test. A larger clinical study is being planned to confirm these results. If the clinical study confirms the initial results, it will be a huge advancement in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, which is nearly as common in men as breast cancer in women.

Ok, you could do better, too, but if you have a hankering for something sweet, this offering from Fiber One should do the trick. One of their “toaster pastries” (I call them “pop tarts” ) contains 190 calories, 4 grams of fat (1 saturated), 5 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. They come in blueberry, strawberry, brown sugar cinnamon and chocolate fudge flavors. But remember, this nutritional info is for ONE pastry, and they come 2 to a package, so if you don’t watch yourself you could be seduced by the second pastry laying there looking all sexy and lonely.

A  new study has concluded that exercise is not of much value when trying to lose weight, because most people compensate for the calorie burning activities  by eating more. PLoS ONE, the nonprofit Public Library of Science, published a Study that was run by Dr. Timothy Church, Professor of Health at LSU.  This study followed 464 overweight women who were trying to lose weight, some were involved in an exercise program, while others were not.  The study concluded that the women who worked out did not lose significantly more weight than the ones that did not,  and Dr. Church concluded that the reason for this was that the exercising women consumed more calories than the ones that did not. However, the headlines that this study has made on the internet kind of miss two really important points. The real point of exercise is fitness and health, weight loss may or may not be a side effect. What you eat and how much of it determines how much weight you lose. So while diet and exercise are important to your health, weight is only one component of this puzzle. The other important point is that exercise may allow you to consume those guilty pleasures that your enjoy so much WITHOUT gaining weight, and in that way add a dimension to the quality of your life. Kind of like having your cake and eating it too!

A Panera Bread Plain Bagel comes in at 290 calories, 1 gram of fat, 3 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of protein, not bad at all until you add the cream cheese. As an alternative, try Thomas Light Multi-Grain English Muffins, which come in at 100 calories, 1.5 grams of unsaturated fat, 8 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein. Top it with light cream cheese if you like (100 calories), but I like a tablespoon of Smuckers Simply Fruit (40 calories).

Biking is a great alternative to running, especially if you have knee or joint issues. It’s not too late to start your biking hobby this season. Bikes.com has a great selection of road and mountain bikes at 40% to 50% off with free shipping.

My summer beverage of choice is iced tea.  And I am really enjoying  LIPTON Diet Green Tea with citrus. It is a  smooth, delicious, green tea blend with the tang of citrus to give you a great tasting green tea that’s free of calories. Plus, LIPTON Iced Tea provides a healthy dose of protective flavonoid antioxidants. It gets its sweetness and calorie reduction through aspartame so be aware. You can create an Asian version of Long Island Iced Tea with this, I call it Singapore Iced Tea. Just add a shot of your favorite alcohol and you have a low cal, refreshing, and healthy cocktail. Also try the peach papaya and mixed berry flavors.

About 750,000 Americans each year suffer painful compression fractures in the bones of the spine, the most common cause of which is osteoporosis. The weakened bone cracks or fractures , often causing debilitating pain and limited mobility . One of the most common treatements for this to inject hot bone cement into the spine which was thought to stabilize the affected area. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that this procedure works no better than fake surgery. In the study conducted by the Mayo Clinic, a control group who were tricked into thinking surgery was performed on them was compared with a group that had the actual surgery.  Both groups improved by essentially the same amount. So give me the fake surgery, and with the difference in price I can take a beach vacation, which is guaranteed to make me feel better by an even larger amount.

We are trying to give you a healthy choice breakfast alternative at all of the major fast food chains. It was somewhat difficult to find anything remotely resembling a heatlhy choice at Burger King. But you can almost get there if you order the Ham Omelet Sandwich without the cheese.  Then it comes in at 260 calories, 10 grams of fat (2.5 saturated), 1 gram of fiber and 11 grams of protein. Just watch your fat intake the rest of the day, or pass up BK and move on to one of the other healthier fast food breakfast items that we have covered at McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, or Starbucks.

As part of our “in-home workout” series we are showing you how to stay fit when you don’t have access to a gym or gym equipment. We have already shown you the pushup,  crunches, and Dr. Oz’s yoga based workout. Here is a video from Kyle Brayer at Expert Village showing you how to do a dip at home using just one or two chairs. These are all great workouts you can do at home while you are watching tv with no special equipment.

That’s right. I said it. I uttered the B word, which in most health circles is the worst thing you can say. I will say it again, BACON FOR BREAKFAST. Yes, I know it contains harmful chemicals and saturated fat, but for me, life without bacon is a life not worth living. The question is, can I have bacon for breakfast and still be healthy. I am here to tell you, yes you can. Two slices of cooked bacon contain about 90 calories and 7.2 grams of fat (2.4 saturated). This is well within tolerable fat limits for a meal. Just pair your bacon with egg whites or egg beaters and you can have your breakfast of bacon and eggs. Just don’t do it every day!