Not-so-happy Happy Meals

The McDonald's Happy Meal has been a childhood staple for thousands of people around world. The cardboard box with the yellow arches, small fries, cheeseburger, drink, and the plastic toy are all the ingredients in creating the Happy Meal.

But not anymore.

The Board of Supervisors in San Fransisco have banned Happy Meals with toys in order to help efforts against childhood obesity, reports an article from CNN.com.

The article explains that the toys entice children into eating unhealthily. If McDonald's wishes to continue keeping toys in their Happy Meal, they must make them healthier by adding fruits and vegetables by December 2011.

While it's important to make sure children have healthy meal choices, it stings a little bit to see the classic McDonald's Happy Meal go.

Tea Time

Turns out your afternoon tea could be doing more for you than you thought. According to an article from healthcastle.com, studies have shown anti-cancer properties in the antioxidant polyphenols in tea.

Further studies suggest that polyphenols in tea may reduce the risk of gastric, esophageal and skin cancers if one consumes 4 to 6 cups daily and that just 2 cups of tea may lower the risk of ovarian cancer by 46 percent in women, help prevent blood clotting and lower cholesterol levels.

One Japanese study even found that green tea lowers death rates from heart disease.

However, not all teas have shown these properties; only those containing polyphenols.

Black, green, white and oolong teas derive their leaves from a warm-weather evergreen tree known as Camellia sinensis. The leaves from this tree contain polyphenols. Regardless of the processing method, black, green, white and oolong teas all contain polyphenols.

In fact, the article notes that tea ranks as high or higher than many fruits and vegetables in the ORAC score, which measures antioxidant potential of plant-based foods.

Photo Credit: Lexi Walshe

Health Myths Debunked!

In life you always hear myths concerning your health. From age old remedies to cure a cold, some myths have been around so long that many of us have come to accept them for the truth.
But before you drive yourself crazy stressing over that piece of gum you accidentally swallowed because you've been told it would stay in your stomach for several years, check out the truth behind some of the most common health myths , in the CNN article "The Truth about 12 health myths".
(http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/31/rs.12.health.myths/index.html)

Some surprising findings would be that gum does not stay in your stomach but passes within days.
Another interesting finding is that instead of having an apple a day to keep the doctor away, a handful of blueberries can work more effectively. So before you go to grab that apple, next time you are grocery shopping. consider buying a pack of blueberries.

Health myths are around because some of them are effective. However, you should always consult a physician about a health concern because it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Facebook is Not Your Doctor

This article was written by Katie Drummond of AOL News (Note: I do NOT claim ownership of this article):

http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/for-accurate-health-advice-dont-rely-on-facebook/19701284

The article discussed concerns among doctors and health professionals over the results of a study released by Harvard University, indicating that increasing numbers of patients are looking to “Facebook” wall posts for medical advice on managing their diseases. According to the study, much of the free “medical advice” floating around on the social networking site was grossly inaccurate. On the one hand, I can understand wanting to commiserate with fellow patients and disease sufferers in a friendly and open social forum such as “Facebook.” On the other hand, I think it’s outrageous that people would actually think themselves qualified to be doling out medical advice to others online. I’m even more amazed that non medical professionals would not only be foolish enough to cavalierly dispense advice of such a serious and intimate nature on the internet but that others would be foolish enough to take it. What can’t you convince people of just by putting it online? And Facebook? Really? Could these people have chosen a more juvenile, confidence-shattering forum? I wouldn’t take medical advice from a poster on Facebook anymore than I’d take it from Colonel Sanders. The fact that doctors have to discourage their patients from taking their medical advice from a social networking site for teenagers is a truly troubling illustration of the extent to which these online social networks are pervading Americans’ lives, and I for one, am glad I no longer have a Facebook account.

Enjoy the Ride

As we college students enter the beginnings of the "real world," our childhood is rapidly evaporating into phrases like "when I was a kid" and "a decade ago" (seriously, when did we get so old?).

Back in the day our exercise was unplanned: racing down the street, pick-up games of neighborhood sports and late-night games of capture-the-flag. Now we need to schedule in a gym visit, which can be stressful in itself. What happened to those carefree days when we were healthy without having to think about it?

Well, it may not be so hard to reclaim that feeling of exhilaration and exercise-induced endorphins. Instead of trying to find time for the gym (which isn't much fun anyways), why not return to one of those childhood activities?

Cycling, better known as bike-riding.

It's a stress-reliever, it's a calorie-burner, it takes you back to the carefree days of your youth.

An Associated Content article claims: "Give your bike one hour, and in return you'll receive an undeniable sense of freedom, and an invigorated body, mind and spirit." What could be better than that?

Give it a go: the article lists 10 tips for beginner cyclists.

Walk This Way

As college students, it's difficult to find time for exercise. In fact, many students rely on walking around campus for their daily dose of calorie burning, but, as we all know, walking is not exactly a substitute for the gym.

What if it could be though? An article in Yahoo!'s Healthy Living section asked Bob Harper, a trainer from NBC's The Biggest Loser, to turn walking into a realistic replacement for sweating on the treadmill.

Harper created three simple walking program that utilizes strength training moves for a calorie-blasting workout that fits well into the busy life of a college student (and is free!)

Walking four to six times a week, choosing a different routine each day, can have great impacts on weight loss. Sounds simple enough to me.

Exercise Helps Prevent Colds

There are plenty of reasons to incorporate exercise into your daily routine, but what if it could also help ward off cold and flu symptoms?

20 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a day can boost your immune system to prevent getting sick this winter, explains an article posted by CNN.com.

Exercising increases white blood cell circulation and produces endorphins- both which have positive effects on the immune system. This can lower your chances of catching a cold, or worse yet, the flu.

While there are several other factors at play when it comes to staying healthy, this seems to be an easy way to avoid those winter cold blues.