How to open a banana Monkey Style

Viral All-Stars on Yahoo! Video



Ok, I confess I was not sure if I should believe it or not, but here is a monkey at least opening a banana from the "other" end.

The-Daily-Record.com - Living Nutrition Raspberries: memories, flavor and nutrition

The-Daily-Record.com - Living Nutrition Raspberries: memories, flavor and nutrition:

"Raspberries are sweet, delicious, and pack a powerful nutritional punch. This makes them the perfect summertime treat. It is a smart and tasty idea to take a closer look at this fascinating berry. There are many potential health benefits from consuming raspberries; they can be used in a variety of different recipes or simply by themselves. Picking your own raspberries is a great opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones and makes for great summertime memories and traditions."

If you don't have time to pick them, pick some up at one of the Park and Shops! :) Ok, I am biased. :)

Bull and Bear Markets

Well it happened again. A Bear Market. No I am not talking about finance, but grocery stores!

From Stafford County VA:

Bear Goes Grocery Shopping | Firstcoastnews.com | Strange and Unusual:

"[The bear] looked through some shopping carts and then pressed up against to glass window to see what he could get.

But he never made it into the store and left hungry."

BTDT (Been there, done that). Remember back in 2004 when the bear went shopping at our West State Street store? Here are some links to it. WIVB Olean Times Herald

So where is the Bull Market? Harken back to Late April when a Bull went shopping.

Caloric Restriction Extends Life in Monkeys, Study Finds - US News and World Report

The evidence continues to build. The best exercise may be to push yourself away from the table while still hungry.


Caloric Restriction Extends Life in Monkeys, Study Finds - US News and World Report:

"A 20-year study found that Rhesus monkeys fed a nutritious, low-calorie diet have fewer age-related diseases than counterparts on a normal diet, researchers report July 10 in Science. Also, MRIs reveal less shrinking with age in areas important for decision-making and controlling movement in the brains of calorie-restricted animals, report Ricki Colman and Richard Weindruch, both of the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and colleagues.

These results show that calorie restriction helps preserve primates’ bodies and brains, says Luigi Fontana, of Washington University in St. Louis and the Italian National Health Service in Rome. Calorie restriction has already been shown to extend the lifespan of mice and dogs, as well as yeast, fruit flies and worms."

Ten simple things that can be done to combat obesity

As grocers we see the obesity problem every day as people walk by the produce and instead pick up potato chips. When they pass on the vegetable soups and get chicken wings. It saddens us. It really does.

So here is out unasked for Top Ten simple things we can do to combat obesity.

1. Eat more vegetables. Probably the most important thing. Eat more vegetables. Eat more vegetables, Eat more vegetables. You probably can not eat too many: Salads, Broccoli, Peas, Cucumbers, mushrooms, tofu, spinach, tomatoes (yeah I know a fruit, who cares), cabbage, the list goes on and on. Make sure they make up the bulk of your shopping list.
2. Eat more fruit. So many choices and all are so good. In most cases more calories than vegetables, but still much better than that fatty desert that has been tempting you. (hint: buy a Magic Bullet. Make smoothies instead of empty calories from pop, make fruit sorbets instead of fatty ice creams).
   
3. Exercise every day. We are not talking about becoming an Olympic athlete. But get out and do something. Walk, run, swim, lift, bike, take a hike, fly a kite, but get out and do something. And make sure your children do too! Not only does it burn calories, it also takes you away from the all too easy food sources. (Hint: walk instead of driving to the store--not only that, walking will limit how much you buy!)
   
4. Cut back on "eating out". Study after study shows that fast food restaurants are tied to greater levels of obesity. Try to eat the vast majority of your dinners at home. And set an example for your children (lots of fruits and vegetables, less meat, very very little fats and empty calories).
   
5. Eat as a family whenever possible. You will eat less and eat better than if you "just catch something" at a local restaurant/fast food place.
6. Try to eat the least processed food you can: fresh produce is best, frozen is good, canned fruits and vegetables are not bad, but after that so much gets added you have to watch what you eat.
   
7. Use smaller plates and chew sugarless gum. Yeah I know they are silly, but they are both really easy and fast steps that do seem to help.
8. Get so-called "good fats" via nuts and/or fish.
   
9. Eat more oatmeal. Not only is it a great way to get soluble fiber, but it is also is an easy fast way to get nuts and fruit into your diet. Added benefit: keeps you full for a long time (see next one).
   
10. Increase fiber. Beans and other legumes add fiber which keeps you full, and are generally quite low in calories. They also are a good source of protein. (Hint get a crock pot, and make your own beans. No salt and no added sugar.)
    

There you have it. Our top ten ways to combat obesity. Simple, easy, and cheap. No books or special diets needed.

Obesity in the US

We all know that obesity is a problem. In the US it is now estimated that about a third of all people are obese and even if the rate of growth has slowed, it is still amazingly sad.

How much it has grown is staggering. Click through on this map from the CDC to see how many more are obese now than were back in 1985.



We are doing it to ourselves.


One step to check (yeah bad pun) this trend locally is that schools will be tracking the problem. Which is good if something is done about it, but if not, then just wasted time and money.

From the Olean Times Herald: Fat Checking Now Required.

"By mandate from New York State’s Department of Education, members of the district’s Health Office will be collecting the body mass index of the student body.

“Obesity is a problem, but at the same time, we take on more and more responsibility for it,” district Superintendent Dr. Colleen Taggerty said. “We educate on obesity, but we also educate on eating disorders, there is a dichotomy.”

“Obesity is certainly a societal issue that we need to tackle together,” Portville Superintendent Timothy Simon said. “Like many similar issues, public schools have been asked to intervene on behalf of children to address this problem"

Face The Fats

Face The Fats:

"It's time to meet the Fats - some are bad and some are better.
According to a consumer survey conducted for the American Heart Association, fewer than half of Americans know that the 'better' fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) can help reduce their risk of heart disease"

Mice Run Faster On High-grade Oil

Mice Run Faster On High-grade Oil:

"...research, to be presented on the 29th of June 2009 at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting, has shown that mice fed for two weeks on a diet high in sunflower oil, which contains n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, ran on average 0.19m/s faster than mice fed a diet rich in linseed oil, which is high in n-3 fatty acids.

This means that, over a 2 second sprint, a mouse fed on a high n-6 fatty acid diet would have a 0.4m advantage. This represents a 6.3% improvement which equals that achieved in the 100m world records over more than 75 years"

cross-posted on ParkandShop, RandomTopics2 and OleanCyclingClub

New Evidence That Vinegar May Be Natural Fat-fighter

Is it the salad or the dressing? Might want to hedge your bets ask for vinaigrette dressing! A win-win!

New Evidence That Vinegar May Be Natural Fat-fighter:(from Science Daily)

"Tomoo Kondo and colleagues note in the new study that vinegar has also been used as a folk medicine since ancient times. People have used it for a range of ills. Modern scientific research suggests that acetic acid, the main component of vinegar, may help control blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and fat accumulation.

Their new study showed that laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet and given acetic acid developed significantly less body fat (up to 10 percent less) than other mice.

Importantly, the new research adds evidence to the belief that acetic acid fights fat by turning on genes for fatty acid oxidation enzymes. The genes churn out proteins involved in breaking down fats, thus suppressing body fat accumulation in the body."

Healthy Begins Here: 8 Great Family-Friendly Foods that Help Fight Cancer

From WebMD. By Sheryl Crow.

Healthy Begins Here: 8 Great Family-Friendly Foods that Help Fight Cancer:

"I learned how to eat 'defensively.' I had never understood before how vital food was for protecting the body from sickness and disease. In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute, serious diseases that are linked to what we eat are the culprits in three out of four American deaths each year. And, recent research estimates that 35% of cancer deaths could be prevented through improved nutrition.

We truly are what we eat and what we put in our bodies matters to our long-term health."

She goes on to list 8 foods (or more realistically 8 categories of food) that might help you fight (or prevent?) cancer.

BBC NEWS | Health | Vegetarians 'avoid more cancers'

Yes lower rates of some cancers, but not across the board.

BBC NEWS | Health | Vegetarians 'avoid more cancers':

"researchers said they found marked differences between meat-eaters and vegetarians in the propensity to cancers of the lymph and the blood, with vegetarians just over half as likely to develop these forms of the disease.

In the case of multiple myeloma, a relatively rare cancer of the bone marrow, vegetarians were 75% less likely to develop the disease than meat-eaters....The reduction was less notable for fish-eaters with these cancers. The reasons, researchers said, were unclear, but potential mechanisms could include viruses and mutation-causing compounds in meat - or alternatively that vegetables confer special protection."

BUT

"...reduction for vegetarians was not found with cancers of the bowel, one of the most common forms of the disease. The vegetarians in the group in fact had a slightly higher rate of cancers of the colon and the rectum, although not significantly so. But the relative risk for fish-eaters and vegetarians of cervical cancer was twice that of meat-eaters."

Panel Recommends Ban on 2 Popular Painkillers - NYTimes.com

If you take acetaminophen, you better read this:

Panel Recommends Ban on 2 Popular Painkillers - NYTimes.com:

"...the committee voted 24 to 13 to recommend that the F.D.A. reduce the highest allowed dose of acetaminophen in over-the-counter pills like Tylenol to 325 milligrams, from 500. And members voted 21 to 16 to reduce the maximum daily dosage to less than 4,000 milligrams."