Educational Link Up

That title sounds boring.  However, I think I'd like to start doing a link up to interesting articles I've read relating to food, health, wellness, Cleveland, and whatever else I find interesting.

How To Eat Out Without Putting On The Pounds- From NPR, Allison Aubrey discusses exactly what the title says.  Basically it involves being mindful of what we're putting in our bodies.  Which we should be already doing... right, people?

The Very Real Danger of Genetically Modified Foods- From The Atlantic, an interesting article about the Frankenstein-like foods being grown and sold to us.  And how it's changing out bodies at the DNA level.  Scary stuff.

The Fat Trap- A New York Times article on genetics and obesity.   Honestly, one of the most frightening articles I've ever read about weight loss.

***Editors Note- there has been a lot of uproar about this article- even a petition started here.  I suggest reading the petition and deciding for yourself, but I still think the article AND the petition have a lot of interesting things to say about weight loss, and how we view and treat obesity in this country.***

'“After you’ve lost weight, your brain has a greater emotional response to food,” Rosenbaum says. “You want it more, but the areas of the brain involved in restraint are less active.” Combine that with a body that is now burning fewer calories than expected, he says, “and you’ve created the perfect storm for weight regain.” How long this state lasts isn’t known, but preliminary research at Columbia suggests that for as many as six years after weight loss, the body continues to defend the old, higher weight by burning off far fewer calories than would be expected. The problem could persist indefinitely. (The same phenomenon occurs when a thin person tries to drop about 10 percent of his or her body weight — the body defends the higher weight.) This doesn’t mean it’s impossible to lose weight and keep it off; it just means it’s really, really difficult.'

'If anything, the emerging science of weight loss teaches us that perhaps we should rethink our biases about people who are overweight. It is true that people who are overweight, including myself, get that way because they eat too many calories relative to what their bodies need. But a number of biological and genetic factors can play a role in determining exactly how much food is too much for any given individual. Clearly, weight loss is an intense struggle, one in which we are not fighting simply hunger or cravings for sweets, but our own bodies.'