Originally Posted by Medusa (Post 501314)

Zimmeh- I would have never guessed you liked soy milk ;) LOLOLOL!

Originally Posted by ruffryder (Post 500425)

good morning, good day, and happy sun day everybody!!

Daily Challenge: incorporate fruit into your day. What is it and How will you do this? :)

I will take an apple with me to work today. Feel free to do this challenge all week if you like. Fresh fruit is yummy!

Zimmeh, you have been a great friend and person in my life also. Rest today and no coffee since you been working round the clock. That's an order! lol.

Have a great day peeps!

Originally Posted by Medusa (Post 501083)

I wanted to share one of my favorite quick tips for cheese lovers:


If you LOVE cheese like I do then you know that cheese often packs a lot of fat and calories along with its calcium. I have found that the little Laughing Cow cheese wedges are a GREAT alternative for chedder and higher fat cheeses!

For example, one of my favorite mid-morning snacks is 5 reduced fat Triscuits and a wedge of Laughing Cow garlic and herb cheese. It's only 3 points on WW and is NUMMY!

You can also use the wedges as a cheesy spread on sandwiches, wraps, and even thrown into pasta to make it cheesy!

Originally Posted by *Anya* (Post 501237)

Study regarding diet, salt, calorie intake and risk of stroke
January 2012 special issue of the Lancet Neurology.

In general, the 2 biggest threats to health and risk of stroke are overeating and excess salt, author Graeme J. Hankey, from Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, writes.

He writes that between 1970 and 2008, the incidence of stroke in high-income countries fell by 42%, probably as a result of increased public awareness about the dangers of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cigarette smoking.

But in poorer countries, the incidence of stroke increased by more than 100% during this period. This rise coincided with food and lifestyle changes associated with industrialization and urbanization.

In his review, Dr. Hankey examines the evidence linking nutrition and diet to the risk of stroke. He searched PubMed articles published in English from 1970 to October 2011, using a variety of search terms.

Dr. Hankey's review also revealed the following effects of individual foods and beverages on the risk of stroke:

Fish: 3 servings a day associated with a 6% lower risk of stroke
*Fruits and vegetables: >5 servings a day associated with a 26% lower risk of stroke
*Meat: Each daily serving associated with a 24% increased risk of stroke
*Reduced-fat milk: associated with a lower risk of stroke vs full-fat milk
*Chocolate: High consumption associated with a 29% lower risk of stroke
*Coffee: 3 to 4 cups per day associated with a 17% lower risk of stroke
*Tea: ≥3 cups per day associated with a 21% lower risk of stroke
*Sugar-sweetened beverages: high intake associated with increased obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and coronary heart disease
*Whole grains: high intake associated with a 21% lower incidence of cardiovascular events
*Rice: intake not associated with risk of stroke

"In the USA, modest, population-wide reductions in dietary salt of up to 3 g per day…are projected to reduce the annual number of new cases of stroke by 32,000 to 66,000, similar to the benefits of population-wide reductions in tobacco use, obesity, and cholesterol levels," he writes.

The National Stroke Association provides a comprehensive discussion for patients about stroke prevention.

Study Highlights
On the basis of a literature review, the reviewer noted the following findings:

**Although folic acid supplementation does not prevent stroke in populations with high folate intake, deficiency in regions of low folate intake may be a causal and treatable risk factor for stroke.
**Vitamin D deficiency is associated with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke, but to date, supplementation has not been shown to prevent cardiovascular events. Randomized trials are underway.
**Salt supplementation by 5 g per day is linked to a 23% increase in stroke risk.
Lowering salt consumption by 2 g per day is associated with a 20% decrease in cardiovascular events, and lower salt intake is also linked to blood pressure reduction.
**Calcium supplementation exceeding 0.5 g per day is linked to a 31% increase in the risk for myocardial infarction, does not prevent stroke, and may actually increase stroke risk.
**High intake of plant n-3 polyunsaturated fats is associated with a reduced risk for stroke.
**Marine n-3 polyunsaturated fat supplementation lowers cardiovascular events and death by 8%, but in a randomized trial, it did not reduce stroke risk.
**High intake of carbohydrates with high glycemic index and glycemic load is associated with increased blood glucose levels, body weight, and stroke mortality.
**High fiber intake is linked to lower blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
**High protein intake is not associated with stroke risk.
**High intake of an unhealthy diet was linked to an increased risk for stroke and a population-attributable risk for stroke of 19%.
**In women, a prudent diet or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)–style diet is associated with a lower risk for stroke, and a Western diet is linked with a higher risk for stroke.
**In women, the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower risks for stroke, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality.

Lancet Neurology, Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages 66 - 81, January 2012
doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(11)70265-4

Originally Posted by DapperButch (Post 501344)

Breakfast:

Multigrain cheerios, rice milk, blueberries, walnuts

Snack: Almonds

Lunch:

Salad with lots of raw vegetables in it.

Dinner:

Tilapia with crab meat and steamed vegetables.

The above was from Outback. We went there tonight for my stepson's birthday. I am not a fish person, no matter how TF cooks it (and no matter what kind of fish), but this fish at Outback I love. It doesn't taste "fishy". I am trying to like fish, though, as it is the only animal product I eat and it is so good for you.

Oh, and I had two draft beers at dinner (they had Sam Adams seasonal winter...what was I supposed to do, it is only around once a year, ya know!???)

Originally Posted by Miss_Tia (Post 501463)

for the past month while babying this shoulder and then because of the surgery, I have been eating awful! Just awful! I am not gaining any weight, thanks to the stumach surgery but I am not doing myself any good health wise nutritionally. But I cant prepare nor eat food well now with one hand. However tomorrow my friends are coming over and cooking up a storm for me so i can throw something in the microwave. I bought good food but forgot (silly me) you basically need two hands to use my can opener..lol. so no veggies with my fish sticks...

I am actually hungry for food. Ice cream is nice but its not filling. I had to eat it for the first few days because my throat was so sore from the tubing, I couldnt eat anything else. My sub brought me hersheys choc drops. Oh damn. I love those things and they can melt in your mouth and you dont have to swallow hard!

but now that I am on the easy side of Mend, the menu has to change. I have lots planned for this year now that I am sewn up in several places...lol

my biggest downfall is diet coke. How do I get off this? I crave it and even if I can go a week without one, I end up picking up again...sighing...I bloat then, and can feel my personality alter from it too if I consume too much.