Hi Positive Eaters,
My friend Jeff sent me a hillarious/grotesque/thought provoking/mortifying video today. As many of you know my goal is to bring as much fun and positivity to living a positive and healthy lifestyle as possible. Let's face it - we crave things that are attractive and pleasurable. We will pursue those things with reckless abandon leaving far behind the concerns of our friends, finances and especially our body.
Eating healthy is often seen as the "right" thing to do. However, it is caught with the stigma of being boring. This is simply not the case. Eating healthy makes us feel good, look attractive and brings a sense of adventure and unknown into many of of our food choices. These are all the same categories that make up a great suspense or romance novel.
The establishment in this video is attempting to stimulate all those pleasure centers with their outrageously awful menu. I watched this video and I felt sick to my stomach...however saw the humor in it as well. I will post it below and offer up several questions to ponder. I cannot wait to see what comments and emails I get regarding this.
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- Does this place get a pass because they are being truthful?
- What are your thoughts on the "you only live once" mentality?
- Should this place even be legal?
- What can healthy restaurants learn from this?
- Would you ever eat at the Heart Attack Grill
I cannot pass judgment. I used to eat a one pound hamburger and guzzle down a large milk shake every Monday just to make my friends laugh...until I landed in a real hospital.
Stay Positive,
Matthew
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Vaccination Fascination
Hi Everyone,
The flu vaccination seems to be the hip thing nowadays. Everyone is lining up to get one and the blog boards are abuzz. Everywhere I turn people are getting injections, asking about where they can get an injection or asking me if I am going to get one. I feel like I walked into a scene from the movie Requiem for a Dream (I would post a clip below...but the movie is a little too graphic for this blog).
Many people are asking me my take on the flu vaccine. Whether it be swine flu or this season's version of influenza, there is a lot of questions about the safety of the vaccine and who needs to get a shot. I am not a medical professional and am not at liberty to say who needs to be vaccinated and who does not. I will say a couple things about this matter though.
As many of you know, a vaccine contains a severely weakened or dormant version of a virus. This is injected into someone so that their body might build up the appropriate antibodies against the virus. I believe Louis Pasteur got the credit for this medical breakthrough and even won a Nobel prize for it. Vaccines are responsible for eradicating epidemics and thanks to vaccines certain diseases now only exist in history books. They truly are a medical marvel.
Many of us receive vaccines shortly after we are born and throughout our childhood. We go on to live happy lives free from the dangers of tuberculosis, polio and the measles. Today's children can expect to receive between 12 and 16 vaccinations before they reach age 13. This is up from the standard 4-6 vaccinations received commonly during the sixties and seventies.
Many of the studies done on vaccinations prove them to be perfectly safe. However, many studies are only focusing on the safety of that one particular vaccine. The most toxic chemicals in most vaccines are the preservatives used to keep the vaccines fresh since they are now mass produced (once again a difference between vaccines today and vaccines forty years ago). Many of these preservative's contain heavy metals such as mercury. The amount of preservative in one vaccine is perfectly safe....the amount of preservative in 12-16 vaccinations is up to debate. Studies regarding the safety of multiple vaccinations and their safety over a particular time span are hard to come by.
It is my belief that vaccinations are essential for certain diseases and save the lives of people in certain populations. My father, for example, is a transplant recipient and a strain of the flu could land him in the hospital. I on the other hand will not be receiving any vaccinations. The most important defense against disease is maintaining one's overall health. I work hard to maintain my immune system so that I can keep the number of vaccinations and chemicals in my body at a bare minimum.
I find it interesting that people line up to receive the flu vaccine in order to protect their health. I see no such lines outside health clubs (which would be great since I work at one!). We are far from a fruit and vegetable shortage in this country. Companies provide vaccinations for everyone of their employees, even in this down economy but they will cut health care benefits. They scoff at the idea of initiating a company wide wellness plan when profit purses are thin, yet hand out pharmaceutical company sponsored pamphlets regarding the dangers of Swine Flu (or as my friend Steve calls it Bacon Lung). There is definitely a vaccination fascination abounding within our society.
This blog is about making "health care" a fun and positive experience. I will do my part in helping to maintain your health during this cold and flu season. I will post some great immune boosting recipes along with remedies I learned from many of you. Whether you are vaccinated or not it is always important to protect your health.
Stay Positive,
Matthew
PS
If you get vaccinated for the Swine flu make sure you ask the nurse if it is okay to eat pork chops now :)
The flu vaccination seems to be the hip thing nowadays. Everyone is lining up to get one and the blog boards are abuzz. Everywhere I turn people are getting injections, asking about where they can get an injection or asking me if I am going to get one. I feel like I walked into a scene from the movie Requiem for a Dream (I would post a clip below...but the movie is a little too graphic for this blog).
Many people are asking me my take on the flu vaccine. Whether it be swine flu or this season's version of influenza, there is a lot of questions about the safety of the vaccine and who needs to get a shot. I am not a medical professional and am not at liberty to say who needs to be vaccinated and who does not. I will say a couple things about this matter though.
As many of you know, a vaccine contains a severely weakened or dormant version of a virus. This is injected into someone so that their body might build up the appropriate antibodies against the virus. I believe Louis Pasteur got the credit for this medical breakthrough and even won a Nobel prize for it. Vaccines are responsible for eradicating epidemics and thanks to vaccines certain diseases now only exist in history books. They truly are a medical marvel.
Many of us receive vaccines shortly after we are born and throughout our childhood. We go on to live happy lives free from the dangers of tuberculosis, polio and the measles. Today's children can expect to receive between 12 and 16 vaccinations before they reach age 13. This is up from the standard 4-6 vaccinations received commonly during the sixties and seventies.
Many of the studies done on vaccinations prove them to be perfectly safe. However, many studies are only focusing on the safety of that one particular vaccine. The most toxic chemicals in most vaccines are the preservatives used to keep the vaccines fresh since they are now mass produced (once again a difference between vaccines today and vaccines forty years ago). Many of these preservative's contain heavy metals such as mercury. The amount of preservative in one vaccine is perfectly safe....the amount of preservative in 12-16 vaccinations is up to debate. Studies regarding the safety of multiple vaccinations and their safety over a particular time span are hard to come by.
It is my belief that vaccinations are essential for certain diseases and save the lives of people in certain populations. My father, for example, is a transplant recipient and a strain of the flu could land him in the hospital. I on the other hand will not be receiving any vaccinations. The most important defense against disease is maintaining one's overall health. I work hard to maintain my immune system so that I can keep the number of vaccinations and chemicals in my body at a bare minimum.
I find it interesting that people line up to receive the flu vaccine in order to protect their health. I see no such lines outside health clubs (which would be great since I work at one!). We are far from a fruit and vegetable shortage in this country. Companies provide vaccinations for everyone of their employees, even in this down economy but they will cut health care benefits. They scoff at the idea of initiating a company wide wellness plan when profit purses are thin, yet hand out pharmaceutical company sponsored pamphlets regarding the dangers of Swine Flu (or as my friend Steve calls it Bacon Lung). There is definitely a vaccination fascination abounding within our society.
This blog is about making "health care" a fun and positive experience. I will do my part in helping to maintain your health during this cold and flu season. I will post some great immune boosting recipes along with remedies I learned from many of you. Whether you are vaccinated or not it is always important to protect your health.
Stay Positive,
Matthew
PS
If you get vaccinated for the Swine flu make sure you ask the nurse if it is okay to eat pork chops now :)
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