Curious Joe's Blog

Curious Joe Wants to Know: Do you want to track what your kids eat at school?

Posted by Joe | November 12, 2009 | 11 Comments

Photo courtesy of back_garage via flickr.

Recently, several schools have implemented a meal program that is planned through the family computer. All those years you got your fix of treats by spending your lunch money to buy brownies and chips are no more. Parents now have to ability to restrict their children’s lunch by pre-ordering their meals through the internet. Pretty upsetting, right?

With increase attention put on childhood obesity, it isn’t surprising that some schools have implemented a controlled lunch plan. We also have to take into consideration that kids will be kids and eat just about anything that is sweet, even when they may be allergic to it. A pre-paid lunch plan, not only gives parents the ability to give their children a healthy lifestyle but also be wary of any pre-existing medical problems the kids may encounter with food.

However, shouldn’t kids be able to make their own decisions? How else will they learn to be an adult? I, for one, would have been very upset with the restrictive nature of the program.

So what I want to know is: Would you want a program like this placed at your child’s school? If not, how would you help your child make healthy choices?

Curious Joe Wants to Know: Are you going to get a flu shot?

Posted by Joe | October 29, 2009 | 94 Comments

Do we really need it?

I should start this blog with a warning: If you can get the flu vaccine (both the seasonal and the Swine) then get it. However, with the recent craze around the vaccines, most doctor's offices and pharmacies have it on back order…for several weeks. With this said, people are beginning to wonder if receiving the vaccine is really necessary.

According to a Newsweek article published in September, many will get the swine flu but only those with high risk of complications will be dramatically affected by the illness. For the rest of us healthy citizens, it's just like any other flu and will pass with proper rest and medication. Still, isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

So what I want to know is: Have you received your flu vaccines? Are you going to? If not, why?

Curious Joe Wants to Know: Why is wheat bread better?

Posted by Joe | October 22, 2009 | 20 Comments

As a child, I remember downing Wonder bread like it was candy. Today, with society becoming more health conscious, certain foods we cherished as children have been relegated to the end of the line.

Wheat or white?

According to an article on HealthGuidance.org there is a significant difference between wheat bread and white bread. Wheat is made up of flour called wheat berry which contain a combination of bran, germ, and endosperm. White bread only contains endosperm, the starchy inner layer, and lacks 30 additional nutrients that are found in wheat bread.

The difference is significant. White bread lacks the nutritional supplements that help prevent a variety of diseases like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. According to the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition, it is important to eat at least 20 grams of fiber to help prevent such diseases. Whole wheat bread is a great source for our daily fiber intake.

Still, I often crave a nice loaf of white bread and cave in at the grocery store.

So what I want to know is: Have you transitioned into the whole wheat world? Or are you still lingering in the wonder years of white bread?

Curious Joe Wants to Know: When it comes to dining out, is ignorance bliss?

Posted by Joe | September 29, 2009 | 45 Comments

New York City made news when it passed a law to require restaurants with 15 or more outlets nationwide to display calories counts on menu boards, menus or food tags.

Shot of Le Pain Quotidien's menu. One of many NY restaurants who state the caloric value of their meals on their menu. Shot courtesy of lilveggiepatch blog.

82 percent of New Yorkers surveyed said that seeing the caloric breakdown of their potential meals affected their choices.

So what I want to know is: If this goes into effect in your city or state, do you think seeing the caloric breakdown of your potential meals will affect your meal choices? Do you want to know how many calories are in your potential meals or when you go out for a nice dinner, is ignorance bliss? Sound off in the comments.

Curious Joe Wants to Know: Are bluetooths safe?

Posted by Joe | September 24, 2009 | 12 Comments

My first thought is, "Of course it's safe! It has to be. Right?"

Then I remember they used to make underwear lined with uranium and I think again.

So I did some reading and it turns out that the waves emitted by bluetooths are lower than the amount a cell phone emits.

But I still wonder...

Brad Pitt rocking the Bluetooth on the cover of WIRED Magazine.

I want to know what you think. Is it safe to be wearing something that emits radiation so close to your brain, no matter how low the frequency? Do you worry about the likelihood of your bluetooth or cell phone causing cancer?

Sound off in the comments.

Curious Joe Wants to Know: Is Hand Sanitizer Good or Bad for You?

Posted by Joe | September 23, 2009 | 9 Comments

The LIVESTRONG.COM Development team staying strong with sanitizer.

Hand Sanitizer is becoming a bigger trend by the minute—and with flu season on the way, and the Swine Flu epidemic earlier this year, it seems like it'll be hard to keep hand sanitizers on drug store shelves (seriously, if you don't already have stock in Purell, buy now).

But I know from school that there is such a thing as good bacteria and bad bacteria—and we need to be exposed to some bacteria in order to build a strong immune system.

My wife, who works in the medical field, says that overuse of hand sanitizers can deplete your hands of the bacteria needed to fight off certain yucky things…like fungus.

A recent NY Times article by Tara Parker Pope focusing on ways to stave off the flu, says that scientists watching a group of Cal Berkeley students studying, found that on average the students touched their eyes, noses, and lips 47 times during a three-hour period, which is once every four minutes. And that's when they were stationary! Think of what you do every day at work. You get a cup of coffee, sit down and type at your desk. You might have lunch at your desk (which is supposedly filthy), shake a new employee's hand, and rub your eyes— all without ever knowing that you're exposing yourself to potential infection.

So I want to know what you think. Are you willing to risk infection in order for yourself or your children to build up your immune system? Or are you going to slather on the sanitizer and just accept the fungus among us?

Sound off in the comments.

Curious Joe Wants to Know: Where does all your plastic go?

Posted by Joe | September 21, 2009 | 9 Comments

A new film, No Impact Man, follows Colin Beavan as he completely eliminates his personal impact on the environment for a year. It meant eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. No elevators, T.V., cars, busses, airplanes, toxic cleaning products, electricity, no material consumption and no garbage.

I don't want to know what he did when he needed to use the restroom, but that's another matter. You can watch the movie or learn more about Colin here.

So that got me thinking about my own carbon footprint--and I want to know about yours. Where does your plastic go? While the popularity of Nalgene and non-plastic water bottles are on the rise, a majority of Americans still use and dispose of a large amount of plastics on an everyday basis.

We're talking plastic bags at the grocery store, packaged chicken, trash bags. If you think about all the little things you and your family throw away and waste daily the amount can be staggering.

Watch the below video about what the call "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch," an area in the Pacific Ocean polluted with plastic that they say is 10-million square miles, bigger than the continental United States.

Then I want to know -- Where does your plastic go? How do you reduce your impact on the environment if you do at all? And how far would you or wouldn't you go to protect the environment? Sound off the in comments.

Follow the Beavan's lead, and learn more about what you can do to help reduce your impact on the environment.

Curious Joe Wants to Know: Where do you buy your veggies?

Posted by Joe | September 18, 2009 | 26 Comments

The answer to the question of, "Where can I get healthy produce?" has for a while now been organic products, and since 2000 the percentage of Americans who buy organic produce once a week has gone up 17 percent. An article in Time Magazine by John Cloud offers a new solution to organic--local produce.

The idea behind local produce, is that purchasing food that is grown less than 100 miles away from where you live is better for the environment.

Every Wednesday and Sunday the Santa Monica Farmer's Market comes to the Third Street Promenade, and is frequented by celebrities, santa monica residents and restaurant owners. Delicious food but it can be pricey! Photo courtesy of clairity at flickr.

Buying local produce doesn't always mean the products you purchase are free from pesticides and hormones; but purchasing from a local farmer means supporting your local economy and cutting down on the carbon footprint of importing food from all around the world. It also means buying produce only when it's in season, and sometimes (especially in Santa Monica) it means spending more on produce than you would at the grocery store.

Buying organic food means food free from all the stuff thats not only harmful to the environment but also potentially harmful to your body. Organic products may be free of additives, hormones or pesticides, but I've noticed that organic fruit seems to go bad faster, doesn't always taste better, and often costs more.

So what's the solution? Local? Organic? Local AND Organic? Or damn it all and go to the grocery store?

I want to know, in an ideal world where would you get your produce, and where do you get it now? Sound off in the comments.

Curious Joe Wants to Know: Are you addicted to Diet Coke?

Posted by Joe | September 17, 2009 | 49 Comments

The Times UK call it a civilized addiction, but can any addiction be healthy?

Teammate Tim E. is our resident Diet Coke junkie.

We know that drinking coke is bad for us, so a lot of us satisfy our fizzy drink craving with its zero calorie, artificially-sweetened option. We also know that drinking water is the better, healthier option, but still turn to the carbonated options to satiate our thirsts.

What I want to know is, why is it so hard for us to give up soda? Is it okay to be "addicted" to Diet Coke? And how much soda is too much?

Sound off in the comments.

LIVESTRONG.COM Team Joins Curious Joe Workouts

Posted by Joe | May 20, 2009 | 4 Comments

As I mentioned in my last post, we are very excited to be working on the new LIVESTRONG.COM workout program and app. We wanted to make sure we tried any workout program ourselves before unleashing it on our members. Our goal is to provide an easy-to-follow, challenging and fun workout program that can appeal to EVERYONE and be done almost anywhere, whether your home, your office, outside or a gym. No matter what your goal, body type, age or injury situation is, our program should also adjust to your needs and to your schedule.

Recently, the Inflict Training guys came back to our offices, and we grabbed three more LIVESTRONG.COM team members to join me for a workout. It was a great experience. We were able to really see how the workout could be tailored to different people with different goals, strengths and intensity levels. Craig and Danny tailored the program on the fly to accommodate us all -- from beginners (people who have not been to a gym in a while), to intermediate (regular gym users). Soon, we also will be adding a more advanced person to the mix to see how the workouts can be turned up to achieve high levels of intensity.

One of our new trainees was Content Editor Krisserin Canary. Krisserin regularly exercises and has spent a large portion of her life in the gym. But, she says she is still overweight and out of shape. Krisserin’s ultimate goal, she says, is to lose 10 pounds and increase her overall strength.

LIVESTRONG.COM Content Editor Krisserin Canary

“It's been quite a while since I've been to the gym, and even longer since I've done anything more than cardio, so I was expecting to get my butt kicked by Craig and Danny,” says Krisserin, a former competitive gymnast and a pole vaulter at UCLA. “Instead I felt great after the workout … Craig made sure I paced myself and I was only slightly sore the next day. Even though I know my way around the gym, I'm completely clueless as to what exercises to do or what order to do them in."

Krisserin, who used The Daily Plate on LIVESTRONG.COM to lose the 30 pounds she gained in college, realized she had been doing basically the same routine taught by her athletic trainers in college, “which becomes ineffective after a while, as your body becomes accustomed to the routine.”

“In the past, the lifting and cardio I did was tuned specifically to gymnastics and pole vaulting. The training I did with Craig however was a lot more focused. I felt like I was working my entire body and the circuits we did felt like an aerobic workout,” she says “I learned with Craig and Danny that you need different variations to continue to challenge yourself. I'm excited for my next workout, and excited to learn new ways to challenge myself and my body.”

In addition to being able to do this workout at your own pace and in your own space, the best part of the LIVESTRONG.COM and Inflict Training philosophy is it is a total body workout that focuses on strength, agility and improving your cardiovascular capabilities. The exercises combined stretching, cardio and resistance training and focus on total body movements, as opposed to muscle isolation. There is also a great deal of focus on strengthening your core which helps almost all of the other areas perform better.

Krisserin and I especially liked that the first part of the workout: "muscle activation" for 15-20 minutes. We used many stretching exercises along with foam rollers and resistance bands to really ACTIVATE specific muscles. This made doing the exercises later in the workout much easier to do.

And Krisserin can attest that she definitely felt a difference in her workouts. If you want to learn more about Krisserin, visit her LIVESTRONG.COM profile. Next time, you will learn how the workout affected LIVESTRONG.COM Graphic Designer Wil Teran, a father of three, who put exercise by the wayside for parenthood.

In the meantime, please send me you ideas and thoughts. I would love your feedback on the workouts.
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