Wednesday, February 08, 2006

I'm not saying to go out and eat a triple decker Whopper but don't deny yourself an occasional hamburger.

I’ve never been one to realize the amount of Cantonese I understand and can say. I guess all those years with my Grandparents have really engrained the language into me. Still, I’d love to learn more. I’m much better listening and comprehending than speaking. This is partly due to my misconception that I don’t know Cantonese. If I really applied myself I’m sure I’d converse more.

My MIL is one of those people that buy into the latest health fad. Her latest obsession is Dr. Weil. She has this notion that if a doctor writes a book that she reads, she gets an all access pass to his ‘practice’ and will schedule visits to his/her office. Last year it was some doctor who claimed to offer one session of physical therapy which you can continue to do at home.

I love her but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a hypochondriac. According to Lrudlrick, she’s always been this way. When full body scans were the latest ‘in’ thing, she scheduled herself for one in the hopes she could detect early onset of cancer or Parkinson’s. She recently had me buy an out of print Canadian cookbook for Diabetic patients in the hopes of preventing onset of diabetes. Yes, I know food is not the main culprit to diabetes. I even sent her a set of high end green teas to try when she read about the benefits of green tea and cholesterol. To my knowledge they are probably still in her cupboard.

So the latest NYTimes article, ‘Low Fat diets may have little or no reduction in risk for heart disease and cancer’, is going to be a shocker to her.

I’m not a medical professional but you don’t need to be one to realize that moderation assists your body to maintain stasis. The problem is everyone wants bigger and better. The more excessive something is the better. Your body is a strong and powerful conglomerate of systems. It’s stronger than you know.

Your body gives you clues. Your stomach tells you it’s time to refuel and time to stop refueling. Your brain tells you its sleepy time. Your nose tells you to move the hell away from the idling tractor trailer standing next to the bus stop. Your joints tell you when it’s time to start getting your butt back into exercise gear. Your stomach and throat warn you to decline the 7th shot of tequila. Heck, your brain tells you to breathe to help maintain this metropolis.

The trick is listening to your body and its needs. You shouldn’t deny yourself the pleasure of a piece of chocolate. Have it. Enjoy it just don’t eat the whole bag. Likewise, don’t make chocolate your primary source of sustenance.

That’s why I’m shocked that whole milk has been removed from the school menus. When I was a kid, I was forced to drink my half pint. It didn’t matter that it was warm and the only thing left in there was backwash, the nuns at my school would not let you go to recess without completing your milk. I’m not sure but have they also banned juice because juice is sugar. Oh wait, doesn’t Snapple have some type of agreement with NYC? Are they the official drink of public schools? So milk is good but Snapple isn’t? I love Snapple but I wouldn’t consider it nutritious.

I know they haven’t banned all milk but name a kid who prefers skim over whole? If you want a kid to eat right and make good food decisions, you need to provide for them healthy choices. Snapple doesn’t rank up there as the healthiest beverage.

On another note, does anyone have tips on making a meringue? I'm having wars with my egg whites. I just can't make them as fluffy as I'd hope.