Air pollution continues to plague many large U.S. cities, where coal plants and tailpipe emissions poison the air with asthma-aggravating, cancer causing ozone and particle emissions. But the picture, and the air, is much clearer in Peoria, Springfield and a few dozen other mid-sized meccas, according to the American Lung Association’s annual report. See what the air rates where you live.
Tags: · air, American Lung Association, Asthma, car emissions, Carbon Dioxide, coal plants, COPD, diabetes, heart disease, lungs, Ozone, particle pollution, pollution, smog
We’ve all heard that there’s a dark side to our soda pop addiction.
Even though the habit is well embedded into our culture — pre-packaged into lunch and dinner meals, up-sized for movies and sporting events and bargain priced at grocery stores — we know that sugary drinks are not healthful. But what if it were all dark side? What if soda had virtually no redeeming features? …Hold up, you say, a little soda never hurt anyone! True enough, but we’re not drinking a little soda…
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, diabetes, health risks, obesity epidemic, sugary drinks, The Real Bears
Obesity contributes to diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
This we know from numerous studies and clinical observations.
Soon, however, another major illness may be confirmed on the list of those triggered or worsened by obesity: Colon cancer, the second leading cancer killer in the United States (after lung cancer).
Tags: · colon cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, exercise, healthier eating, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, stroke
Heavy coffee drinkers may have their issues — they’re hyped up all morning, they get edgy and overly emphatic in meetings, they have problems sleeping (let’s not mention the frequent restroom breaks) and sometimes, like Will Farrell’s character in Kicking & Screaming, they simply lose it.
But they don’t get Type 2 diabetes as often as their non-coffee drinking counterparts. In fact, studies show that people who drink four or more cups of coffee daily have about half the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes as the general population.
Tags: · Coffee, diabetes, healthy foods, heavy coffee drinkers, research on coffee and diabetes, Type 2 diabetes
Eat your veggies! And, while you’re at it, quit drinking so much soda.
The government’s new dietary guidelines issued today are unequivocal. Americans need to get serious about eating healthier. They need to put more produce on their plates and push out the sugar, saturated fats and sodium that have crept into the American diet in so many ways, via soda, packaged meals and sweet snacks.
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (yes, it’s 2011, in case you’re reading in real time) are more explicit than ever, federal officials said, because the nation’s got big obesity issues.
So instead of just urging us to eat 5 to 7 “servings” of fruits and vegetables every day, the mantra of the last adjustment in the food pyramid, these new guidelines tell us to drink water instead of “sugary drinks”, switch to 1 percent milk, and fill half of our plates with fruits and vegetables.
But wait! Don’t overfill that plate. Portion size and exercise also are part of the equation.
Tags: · 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, cancer, Center for Science in the Public Interest, diabetes, fruits and vegetables, greenrightnow.com, healthier eating, heart disease, HHS, hypertension, nutrition, salt, soda, sodium, sugar, sugary drinks, USDA
Reading Scientific American this week, I became transfixed with a little graphic the editors included at the back of the magazine.
It showed how the number of Americans who are seriously overweight has doubled over the past 30 years. Thirty four percent of Americans are now considered obese (meaning they have a body mass index over 30), compared with 15 percent who met that criteria in 1980.
The number of Americans who are overweight (with a BMI of 25 to 30) has remained almost steady; but that still means that the overweight and the obese together now comprise a hefty 68 percent of the population.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, BMI, body mass index, Center for Science in the Public Interest, coronary artery disease, diabetes, obesity, overweight, weight-related disease
By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now
Diabetes is one of the most prevalent and deadly diseases in the U.S. — and its cause, or causes, is subject to debate.
Millions of dollars in research funding and many studies have linked both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to a cornucopia of causes or triggers: genetics, obesity, viruses, lack of exercise, breastfeeding, excessive hygiene, climate, 
age, ethnicity, high blood pressure, immunizations, lack of vitamin D and more.
Tags: · DDT, diabetes, diabetes and contaminants, diabetes and DDE, diabetes and pollutants, diabetes causes, diabetes research, environmental hazards, Great Lakes, Public Health, study diabetes and DDE
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
You know those smoggy, hazy days when you look toward downtown to find the skyscrapers obscured behind a ripply, gray veil? What horrible pollution, you think. And it may be.
But watch out, those other days when the skyscrapers blaze brightly under clear blue skies may be deceptively hazardous to your health as well, or maybe more so.
Tags: · Air Pollution, arterosclerosis, Asthma, carbon dioxide emissions, cardiovascular illness, diabetes, exhaust fumes, micro particles, National Environmental Public Health Tracking Record, particulate matter, respiratory illness, smog
By Carol Sonenklar
Green Right Now
If people who ran the highest risk of obesity and Type 2 diabetes were offered more fruits and vegetables to offset or prevent these health risks, would they eat them?
Resoundingly, yes.
Study after study shows that when low-income populations have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, they significantly improve their diets.
Tags: · Brownsville, Designed for Disease, diabetes, farmer's market, Local Food, Produce
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift