Health for life

Big news this week, as the USDA released their new food guidelines and Mark Bittman started his new occasional editorial series for The New York Times. Also, there’s this … thing? This Sunday? I don’t know. I think some people are eating at it. And there’s some kind of ball.

1) Get Rich Slowly: Fight Rising Prices By Building Your Own Food Bank
This guest post from Donna Freedman advocates – in a new and intelligent way – the stockpiling of food in your home. It’s not so much that you’ll never eat it, but enough to get you through the winter, especially when Mama Nature feels the urge to drop another three feet o’ precipitation on your car.

2) Lifehacker: The Geek’s Guide to Rebooting Your Kitchen
Dig this one-minute video about maximizing kitchen efficiency. Then read the more detailed descriptions, which will undoubtedly help you in your quest to reorganize. Then think about the video again, asking yourself, “How did the cat manage to be in the way at all times?” Then ponder cat ownership.

3) New York Times: A Food Manifesto for the Future
Remember that Bittman piece we spoke of up top? This is it. His proposals for a better food future read wonderfully, but have a long way to go before they’re actualized – if it ever happens. Still, it’s nice that they’re even out there. (Think positive!)

4) Cracked: 6 Subtle Ways You’re Getting Screwed at the Grocery Store
Perhaps not as classic as Cracked’s “6 Animals That Just Don’t Give a F#@k” from November, but very helpful nonetheless. Caution: Beware the saucy language. (Also, the Ides of March.)

5) Food Politics: The 2010 Dietary Guidelines: Enjoy your food, but eat less!
Marion Nestle breaks down the new USDA guidelines in easy-to-understand bulletpoints. (Seriously, they’re really easy to understand. They average about five words each.) Bonus: she’s attached the link to the PDF itself. Browse through if you’re feeling motivated.

6) Zen Habits: The Simplest Diet for Lean Fitness
In which Leo Babauta counsels against extreme changes to your eating and exercise plans. He adjusted his gradually, until it his body was working optimally. Best part? Never felt a thing.

7) xkcd: Learning to Cook
This one-panel comic has been all over the food ‘net this week, but it’s so good, I’m linking to it again. (No picture, so you have to click! MUAHAHAHAHA!)

8) The Kitchn: Halving Casseroles: Tips for Reducing the Size of a Recipe
Oooo … I need to do this ALL THE TIME, since it’s only HOTUS and me at home. (Also, the cat. But he has a pretty strict casserole policy. If I make one, it’s all his, or we get clawed.)

9) New York Times: Mushrooms Fill in the Blanks for the Meat-Free
Ahh … the power of fungus. I’ve known of mushrooms’ curious ability to sate ever since my friend H. grilled me my first big ol’ Portobello in college. Now, the Times is sharing five recipes of its own. (Or, of other people’s. You know how it goes.)

10) Café Johnsonia: S.M.A.R.T. Goals
The SMART system to creating goals means they should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and should have a timeline. (There are also a few other acronyms in there, but the internet only has so much space.) They guidelines are pretty much applicable to anything, but especially achieving bodily health. Mama likes. (P.S. Beware you spell “SMART” right. Otherwise, this.)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Business Week: TV – A Sneaky Part of the Food Pyramid
USA TODAY: Kids Fed Unhealthy Foods Learn to Per Them
USA TODAY: Catch of the Week – 8 Ounces of Fish in Your Diet
Washington Post: Military personnel take extreme measures to meet body-fat and weight rules

AND ALSO

Parks and Recreation: Ron Swanson’s Pyramid of Greatness
INTENSITY: Give 100%. 110% is impossible. Only idiots recommend that.


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Health reporters at work

When the major news media organizations (for example, here and here) proclaimed that 200,000 cardiovascular deaths in the U.S. could be avoided every year, the Disease Management Care Blog decided to learn more.

The information reported in the media was taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Sept. 3 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. As the DMCB understands it, the CDC authors pulled 2001-2010 mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System. Once that was done, they counted up the number of persons aged less than 75 years who died of "ischemic heart disease," "cerebrovascular disease," hypertensive disease" or "chronic rheumatic heart disease."

So what did MMWR really say?

The total of "less-than-75" deaths in 2001 was 227,961.  For 2010, it was lower at 200,070. Since the population in the U.S. has changed over the last decade, the totals for each of the two comparison years were then expressed as a "per 100,000" statistic.

Since 2001, the "less-than-75" death rate per 100,000 declined by 29%.  The decline averaged 3.8% a year.* Persons age 65-74 years had an average decline of 5.1% vs. 3.3% persons between the ages of 55-64. 

The good news is that Black (3.9%) and Hispanic (4.5%) persons had greater declines than whites (3.6%). The bad news is that they started and ended with a higher death rate.

Heres a visual display of the data:


 The DMCBs take

1. "Avoidable?" The CDC definition implies that perfect control of all cardiac risk factors (for example, cholesterol and weight) for everyone under the age of 75 will result in a 0 per 100,000 cardiovascular death rate. Not so, because those risk classic factors capture some, but not all, persons who succumb to heart attack and stroke.

2. So, this is bad news?  "200,000" deaths is an impressive number, but, on an unadjusted basis, thats about 28,000 fewer compared to 10 years ago. Some additional good news is that the U.S. rate of non-fatal heart attack and stroke appears to have dropped significantly also.  We are making significant headway in the battle against heart disease.

3. The real story? Persons of color have had the greatest relative benefit but still have the greatest absolute need.  That lingering health care disparity went shamefully unmentioned by CNN and was only briefly mentioned by USAToday.

4. Something for everyone: In their "Conclusions and Comments," the authors of the MMWR paper speculated on the benefits of the (still unproven) Million Hearts Initiative (a Berwick-era idea) as well as "health information technology" and various "community prevention strategies" The DMCBs colleagues in the care management service industry will really like the authors nods toward "team based care" and how "individuals can work toward reducing their own heart disease and stroke risk."  If the CDC says so, it must be true - assuming theres a good business model.

5. Speaking of speculation, the authors wondered if the greater decline in the Medicare age group (65-74 years) versus the younger age group (55-64) was because of the presence of health insurance. Maybe, but maybe not.  The DMCB also wonders if heart disease is more lethal and less amenable to intervention among younger persons, but cant find any literature to back that up.

6. Politics intrude:  Naturally, the scientists who write MMWR are too classy than to curry favor with the appointees that populate the upper echelons of the federal bureaucracy, but that didnt stop the CDC Vital Signs from shamefully putting in a "making it easier for Americans to afford regular preventive health care through the Affordable Care Act" plug.  The ACA was not mentioned in the MMWR report because the declines mentioned above occurred in the absence of the ACA. 

The DMCB predicts that when the "avoidable" death rate continues to decline by 3.8% in the coming years, Obamacare advocates will take the credit.


*The DMCB isnt sure how 3.8% for 10 years makes for 29% either, but thats statistics for you.

Image from Wikipedia

Happy Halloween, sweet readers! Today, we delve deep into the anthropology of candy, the downsides of fundraisers, and the benefits of soup and vegetables.

Oo! Also! Movie suggestion! If you havent seen 2008s Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In, rent it for the 31st. It will move you and scare your pants off at the same time. Im dead serious. Those (we) Scandinavians know horror. And the luge. But mostly horror.

1) New York Times: Is Candy Evil or Just Misunderstood?
By day, Dr. Samira Kawash is ludicrously well-educated administrator, mom, and jellybean addict. By night, she’s CANDY PROFESSOR, a blogger exploring Americans’ cultural relationship with jujubes, lollipops, and Gummi bears. It’s a sweet article, in every sense of the word.

2) The Atlantic Food: The Meanings of Halloween Candy Psychopath Stories
All Hallow’s Eve approaches, my pretties. This year, don’t fear razor-bladed Snickers or poisoned Mary Janes. They’re pretty much an unsubstantiated myth, fostered by our fear of contamination and the unknown. Who knows? CANDY PROFESSOR knows. (Seriously. She wrote this.)

3) Oregon Live: Soup swaps help stock your freezer and foster friendships
Ooo! Wanna procure a variety of delicious, nutritious meals for pennies? Hold a soup swap. This piece gives you the guidelines, along with six good-looking recipes.

4) The Atlantic: The Dark Side of Benefit Dinners
Porchetta chef Sara Jenkins is leery of benefits for two reasons: 1) They often seem more like self-congratulatory parties for their respective parent organizations, and 2) She’s repeatedly expected to buy, prep, and serve a massive amount of food for free. It’s a reasonable argument, and one worth exploring if youre planning, funding, or attending a fundraising dinner anytime soon.

5) Casual Kitchen: Cooking Up Advantages Out of Disadvantages
Love this piece about accidental innovation when you’re too busy to do it on purpose. Aren’t we all more productive when we’re busy?

6) The Simple Dollar: Can Once-a-Month Cooking Really Work?
Personal finance guru/home cook Trent details the beginnings of his family’s OaM experiment, which will be employed full-force when his wife heads back to work. Can they pull it off? Will the meals become too repetitive? Is it something they can do consistently? Read on and find out.

7) HuffPo: Screamin’ Grocery Store Deals: 16 Cheap, Organic Foods
Fab organic deals in somewhat irritating slideshow form. Take a glance if you don’t mind the extra clicking. (Does anyone else loathe slideshows? Man, they make me crazy. HuffPo is a constant culprit.)

8) The Independent: Excessive Meat Eating Kills 45,000 Each Year
You know, you see a lot of articles pinning metabolic syndrome on obesity and poor diets, but you rarely see them specifically blame meat consumption. This is a UK publication, is probably why its allowed to happen here. Interesting read.

9) Gen X Finance: 8 Ways to Save Money When Going Out to Eat
I love any frugality piece acknowledging that leaving the house is necessary to maintain one’s sanity. Also, food is good. So, um, read this.

10) USA Today: Food allergies more likely in kids born in winter
It’s understood that these claims are legitimate, but don’t they sound a little like obscure baseball stats? Like, kids born in winter after the seventh inning on days ending in 3, 7, or 8 are more likely to have a shellfish intolerance and less likely to hit for the cycle? Am I watching too much of the World Series? Answer me, Tim Lincecum!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Cooking Manager: Interview with Cheap Healthy Good Kris
The lovely Hannah graciously asked to interview me earlier this week. These are the squash-tastic results

The Guardian: Global food crisis forecast as prices reach record highs
Oh, crud. Not again. Imagine 2008’s crisis, but make it much longer.

HuffPo/Eating Well: How to Save $2,997 on Food Without Even Trying
Standard but solid roundup on common ways to cut back on your food expenditures. If you’re new to this, it’s definitely worth a gander.

stonesoup: 7 Things You Should Know About Eggplant
I didn’t know about #2. As Gram used to say, "You learn something new everyday, and could you please turn up my Lawrence Welk Show? Thanks, dear."

Time.com: Lardcore – Southern Food With Hardcore Attitude
The article is incidental. Whoever came up with “lardcore” should be kissed on the mouth. Somewhere, Henry Rollins is eating fried chicken and angrily smiling.

Wise Bread: How to Save $1500 on Coffee
Should you buy an espresso machine? Believe it or not, it might be a solid investment if you’re a joe-holic.

AND ALSO

Electric Company: Morgan Freeman as Count Dracula, Taking a Bath in a Casket
Happy Halloweeeeeeeen!



(Banana and candy pics from Wiki commons.)

Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!