Calorie Police or Helpful Nutrition Information?

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Beware “The Calorie Police!”  At least, that’s how some look at the newly proposed Federal legislation which would require chain restaurants with 20 or more establishments to post the calories of everything they serve, right on the menu.  The National Restaurant Association, which originally fought calorie posting, now says it supports it.

Dr. Lynn Silver, Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention & Control at New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene says “We hope this law will have a significant impact on both the frequency of obesity and diabetes in our city [which already has the law, by the way].  We estimate that in our city there will be 150,000 fewer people obese because of this.”

Well, I don’t know if that’s true, since every time I go out to eat, I see relatively fit people eating fish and vegetables and fat people eating lasagna with extra cheese.

I’ve only encountered the calorie menu one time so far, and it was in New York.  There were dishes I thought were healthy, but I was totally wrong about them.  I definitely ordered my meals completely based on calorie content, leaving out foods I knew were yummy but which were calorie-laden.  Nonetheless, I was shocked to see how many relatively innocent-looking dishes had enough calories for the entire day and the next morning too.

I know people who have worked in a number of restaurants, and they tell me that to make food “delicious,” extra sugar, fat and salt are added by the bucketful.  Butter, butter, and more butter; sugar to make the food sweeter, and salt to give more flavor.  This is especially true when the meat, poultry or fish is not of the highest quality or if it’s a bit old.

I’ve gotten to the point that no matter what I order (even fish), I ask for whatever sauce they are serving to be put on the side.  I never have salad with dressing - again, I order any dressing on the side.  If I use any sauce or dressing at all, it’s a micro drizzle for a little taste. 

Do I think this will diminish obesity?  No.  I do think, however, that it will help people with self discipline as well as the motivation to be healthy to make the right choices and not be undermined right under their noses.  I think that, generally, folks with limited motivation and self-discipline will ignore or rationalize the calorie facts and add unwanted pressure to our health system, where the health-conscious have to financially support the health-unconscious behavior of others. 

I do believe that the calorie count posting laws might serve to have restaurants cut fewer corners when it comes to the quality of their cooking and their menu planning.  And that I am looking forward to!

Knowing is Better Than Not Knowing, or Why I “Push” Some Callers to Discomfort

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Researchers at the University of British Columbia studied people who had undergone genetic testing to determine their risk for developing the neurodegenerative terminal disorder known as Huntington’s disease.  Did you know (and can you believe) that those subjects who learned that they had a very high likelihood of developing this horrendous and ultimately fatal disease were “happier a year after testing than those who did not learn what their risk was.”

Many of you probably think that not knowing would result in more happiness, but you’d be wrong.  According to Dr. Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University, “…when we get bad news, we weep for a while, and then get busy making the best of it.  We change our behavior; we change our attitudes.  We raise our consciousness and lower our standards.  We find our bootstraps and tug.  But we can’t come to terms with circumstances whose terms we don’t yet know.”

Even those of you who listen to my program regularly may be shocked when I tell somebody their mother or father or spouse or even their child is a bum.  You may wince when I have them scream out how righteously angry they are at parents who didn’t protect them.   You may also sometimes recoil from your radio when you hear me push and push and push a caller until they reveal their innermost horrible truth.  Perhaps you’ve seen me as cruel…or hawking for ratings stemming from the drama.

The fact is, that as a professional psychotherapist I have long realized the value of dealing with the truth - as ugly as it might be.  I’ve seen and heard people fighting to keep ugly truths submerged as though it protected them.  In fact, the energy that goes into burying reality is huge, and not available for healthy living.

Not everyone who calls is willing or ready for this evolutionary leap in their lives.  Sometimes, they have to think about it more and come back later.  That’s fine.  The seed is planted.  I don’t see my job as making every caller feel happy at the end of our brief conversation.  I see my job as one of freeing them from their own personal jail of denial and avoidance, all of which lead to depression, anxiety, and poor (very poor) choices in life.

Knowing is always better than not knowing.  Several recent callers have demanded that I give them some magic to get their loved one to stop smoking or stop being obese.  I tell them to give up that ongoing, unpleasant battle, and simply enjoy the time they do have with that person.  Accepting what is out of your control opens you up to more happiness, because you are left with dealing with “what is,” instead of fighting to have it be something else. 

You can wrap your arms and joys around what is.  You can’t do the same thing with what you wish was the truth.

Getting “Physical”

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Last week was my annual “girl parts” checkup - pelvic exam and mammogram.  I am grateful to be able to say that all’s well with me.

I’m blogging about this because I want all you men and women to have your yearly physicals, including full blood work, cancer screening, colonoscopies (I do that every 5 years now), and maybe even a full body scan.

Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter what does or doesn’t “run in your family.”  Your body physiology and behaviors (such as nutrition, substance abuse, physicality, and environment) are all unique to you, so don’t think you’re “safe” because no one in your family has “such and such.”

I also realize that many of you may be scared that if you get a checkup, something will be found.  Well, that logic would be okay with me IF not going to a doctor for a physical insured that you wouldn’t get anything serious.  That’s just not how life works.

I’m always nervous before my yearly exams.  At 62, I figure I will eventually have to deal with something, although I just might go out mid-breath in my sleep at age104.  I take very good care of myself, but….you never know.  After I finish the battery of tests, and get a happy answer, I can breathe easier, and I go out and play.

I will admit that I hate going for dental checkups, however, because they usually DO find something I have to deal with (ugh).  But I have a really cool ceramic molar implant with a tiny American flag painted on it - occasionally, doing something crazy  like that is how I cope.  

Obese Woman Told to Get An MRI At The Zoo

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I recently read a news report from Kansas City about a 5 foot tall, 275 pound woman who needed an MRI exam.  The problem is that MRI tables often can’t support heavier patients and the tubes into which the patient must be moved generally can’t fit someone of her girth.

You don’t usually see body scanners that will accommodate bigger patients, because they don’t provide the clearest images, and those that have large openings increase the possibility of the magnetic field dissipating into the room.

The obese woman in question reported that someone at the hospital suggested that she could go to the zoo for an MRI as they accommodate larger critters.  The suggestion was made to “help” and not to “insult.”  According to news sources, the woman said: “I thought, I know I’m big, but I’m not as big as an elephant.  And my husband got mad.”

Sadly, she has a tumor on her spine, has had multiple surgeries, and now has partial paralysis. This event is purported to have happened two years ago.

I’ve heard that there are some court cases to force airlines not to charge obese people for the two seats it takes to carry them.  This is yet another situation where no responsibility is taken for being obese.  What is it with our thinking that no matter what irresponsibility we demonstrate, the world is supposed to accommodate us?

There is a difference between making access for folks who are in wheelchairs and making access for people who simply abuse their bodies and then demand that the consequences of their actions be borne by others.

This woman eventually did find a place with an “open” MRI machine.  I hope her treatment is successful and she takes from this experience some sense of purpose in getting her body more healthy, rather than anger that not everything will adapt to her.  She has some responsibility too.

I Got the “Look of Death” from My Wife

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How many times have you inadvertently said something that caused your spouse to give you that unmistakable “look” - the one that an emailer refers to as “the look of death?”  Today,  I’m offering some tips to men and women about how not get yourself into those situations, and positive steps you can take so you never get that “look” again!

Or watch other videos at youtube.com/DrLaura

Beware of Germy Gyms

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Whenever I get on a plane or use someone else’s computer keyboard and mouse, I whip out the disinfectant wipes.  Have you ever read the reports on the germy nature of just about every surface in existence?  Wonder where you got that cold, flu, or other illness?

While doctors will say that the benefits of exercise far outweigh the small chance of acquiring a staph or other infection at the gym (so don’t use this report as an excuse for hugging that couch!), you ought to take some common sense steps to protect yourself.  And since just about everyone makes a New Year’s resolution to “get fit” once the holidays are over, here are some tips for you to keep in mind when you’re ready to reacquaint yourself with your local gym:

1.Before you use equipment (including exercise balls, spinning bikes, and weight machines), wipe off the surfaces with a disinfectant wipe that has at least 60% alcohol.  Just wiping with a wet towel is not enough!

2.Don’t use anyone else’s towel or yoga mat – they’re fast lanes to bacterial, fungal and viral infections.

3.Shower immediately after working out at a gym.  Wear flip-flops in communal showers, and bring your own soap, unless the gym has liquid soap dispensers.

4.Don’t go into the sauna or whirlpool if you have a cut, scrape or bad bruise.  Chlorine generally kills a lot of bad bugs, but others can survive…and don’t drink the water in those tubs!

5.If a scratch, bruise or cut gets red, hot, or tender, see a physician!  Don’t just let the infection fester until it’s progressed to something serious.

6.Get your own bicycle and ride in the neighborhood.  Buy some free weights, get a trainer, or buy a variety of workout videos.  Working out in your own home avoids a lot of “bugs” – except those you get from your school-age children!

Eat Less, Move More

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There are two sure fire comments that I can make on the air which will get hackles way, way up.  The first is to say anything which even sounds remotely like a criticism of cats (for some reason it doesn’t work for dogs, chickens, pigs or parakeets…just cats) or comment that, for the most part, being fat is your own darn fault.  There’s even a fan site for my show called “We Love Dr. Laura” - which has a thread that goes wild whenever I take a “fat” call and give my opinion that by and large, being fat and unfit is a voluntary condition.

Let me give you an example: a woman called to tell me about her mean, mean, and oh so mean, husband who is trying to influence her to lose weight and start working out.  She just about had a fit on the phone, telling me that he should just love her the way she is…or he’s, simply, a bad guy.  Since when don’t we owe our families our healthiest selves: mind, body and soul?

When I didn’t agree with her, the harrumph resounded across the land.

I’ve basically told people who call about weight that it is ultimately a simple issue: “eat less, move more.”  That might not result in the kind of body they show off in all those home exercise equipment videos (by the way…does anybody believe you go from fat and flabby, to svelte and ripped exercising 20 minutes a day, three times a week?).  Nonetheless, you can evolve into a more healthy, fit, and attractive version of yourself.

This is all in preparation for an inspirational story of a fat man, 330 pounds, who wanted become a Marine.  Their answer was, well, nope.  Committed as he was to joining the military, he did what is generally said to be too difficult to do: without miracle weight loss potions sold on television, he moved more and ate less.  The 23-year old man gave up beer, cut his food portions way, way down, and exercised 140 pounds away in about a year.

Kindly, the Marine recruiters also worked with him - helping him to develop an appropriate, safe yet effective workout regimen.

When his friends would sit down for beer and pizza, he’d put on a head lamp and go out for a run in the dark.

Eat less…move more.  It’s the least expensive weight management program on the planet.

Depressed People Assisted in Suicides

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Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) conducted a study published in the British Medical Journal that shows 26% of terminally ill patients in Oregon (with laws supporting doctor-assisted suicide) who requested a lethal cocktail were diagnosed as suffering depression, which is technically a treatable mental illness.

Wesley Smith, a leading euthanasia opponent, says that the “assisted suicide law’s guidelines are merely for show and do not protect the vulnerable or depressed people in Oregon. He adds that the proposed guidelines appearing on Washington’s ballot in November do not require a person’s depression to be treated before a lethal cocktail is issued.”

Rita Marker of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide says, “Let’s face the economic facts and force of economic gravity. If someone is depressed and they happen to be terminally ill too, it’s a lot cheaper to write a prescription for a deadly overdose of drugs than for medication to treat the depression, possible counseling to treat depression, and also medication to delay the death.”

No physician should agree to terminate someone’s life, even on their say-so, when they are suffering from a depression. If they were treated for that depression, a significant number would probably wish to squeeze out of their lives every precious moment with their loved ones that was possible. At least we ought to give them that opportunity.