"exercise" news and stories

Turns out that caffeine has another positive benefit besides keeping you awake during finals week: it can help your skin.

Researchers in England have discovered that a combination of exercise and caffeinated water can reduce the damaging effects of sun on the skin. Of course, we already knew that exercise can help the skin in general (it's amazing the effect exercise has on our body, and not just weight-wise), but the new research seems to show that caffeine can help with apotosis, when the body gets rid of damaged cells.

The research says "caffeinated water," but I wonder how that translates to "coffee," exactly. Does it have to be coffee, or would it work with tea and Jolt too?

My favorite part of the article is where it says a UK expert warns that coffee is "definitely not a substitute for sun protection." I guess that means Starbucks can cancel their plans for those coffee scented moist towelettes.

That's the latest theory on why we're so fat: we're addicted to food.

Now, if by "addicted" they mean "I need to eat it in order to survive," then yeah, I'm "addicted," but I don't think that this is true for most people. Not only do people eat too much in general, but they eat too much of the wrong foods, don't exercise and go on diets that ultimately fail. However, I think the theory is a twisting of the word "addiction." To compare it to drug addiction is strange. After all, in a normal, healthy situation, we don't need cocaine to live. We do need food and drink, so I think they should focus their research on something else.

There is a meeting at Yale's Rudd Center this week to explore this theory more.

When I go into a fast food place such as McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's (which I think I've done maybe 3 times in the past 3 years), I know beforehand that I have made a decision to eat badly that day. I don't care if these places have "salads" or "low-fat foods," it's still fast food to me, and I don't need anyone to tell me what I'm about to eat probably has a lot of fat and calories.

Having said that, I see no real problem with New York City restaurants having to show calorie info where customers can see it. The law took effect earlier this week. Some of the fast food companies argued that it "violated their First Amendment rights," which I still don't understand. Some places are putting the info in areas where they're not immediately accessible to customers, while other places, like Subway, have the info upfront.

Fines will start being issued October 1 for restaurants that violate the law.

Controversial piece at Slate (written by a former anorexic, Kate Taylor) that compares calorie restriction diets to anorexia itself.

She links to several New York Times articles that seem to show that calorie restriction extends the lives of monkeys and mice and is now being tested on humans too.

I'm not an expert in healthy weight management, beyond the usual "reduce your calories, eat correctly, and exercise regularly" that we always hear. It's interesting to hear a former anorexic talk about how she's confused by all of the talk that a "low metabolism" might actually be good for you, though I think comparing the two is a stretch.

Here's a follow-up piece, where Taylor talks about the Calorie Restriction Society and how that might be a different kind of "eating disorder." You should also read the message boards at the end of the piece.

Ugh. Cauliflower.

I've tried to like it, but I just don't. And it's not like I hate vegetables. I even like the ones a lot of people don't like, such as yams and spinach and asparagus. But cauliflower...blah. I always get a little bummed when I'm in the store and I see a new frozen dinner that I might like, and for some reason they throw cauliflower in there. For a different color or something (it certainly can't be for the taste).

But for you cauliflower lovers, check out this recipe for Cauliflower Soup at The Boston Globe. It's not only warm and tasty (they say), but cauliflower is a good thing to eat after the holidays, when we're all trying to shed those extra pounds.