Simply Living Well: Fasting from Fast Food

This edition includes information on the health risks of Fast Food, a website with alternative views on McDonald's, recipes for different kinds of teas, and an article about "Super Size" me, a new film about just what happens when you eat fast food for a month.

Please send any comments or suggestions to: Katherine@SimplyLivingWell.net
Website http://www.SimplyLivingWell.net 347-661-2143

This month's newsletter includes:

1. Quote of the month
2. Greetings
3. Link of the month: McSpotlight.org
4. February Recipe: Barley, Ginger and Kukicha teas
5. Article: Super Size Me!
6. 6-Month Counseling Program
7. More about Katherine Jamieson, Holistic Health Counselor

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.

--Virginia Woolf

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LATE WINTER/ EARLY SPRING GREETINGS

Happy day after Valentine's!

In the vein of keeping a healthy heart, this month's newsletter focuses on the impacts of fast food on our health as individuals and as a nation. I was inspired by press about the soon to be released film, "Super Size Me" about one man's brave experimental mission to eat only McDonald's food for a month.

In doing research about the film, I came across some other satires of the fast food industry, including a play called "McBeth--Over 2 million slain" (www.offoffoff.com/theater/2003/mcbeth.php), a take-off of Shakespeare's work, with MacBeth as Ronald McDonald. "Red Meat Cures Cancer" (www.starbuckodwyer.com) and "My Year of Meats" (www.ruthozeki.com) are two other books which expose the dangers of the fast food industry through narrative stories.

It's so great to see new, interesting, and funny approaches to looking at our current health care crises. This will be an especially important tactic when trying to reach the millions of children whose health is currently jeopardized by the current American diet.

On another note, I am continuing my work with the New York City Department of Health and the United Nations, now as a Health Education Supervisor for nurses from St. Francis College. So, look out for upcoming Wellness at Work programs at the DOH and the UN, I will be attending many of them in the upcoming months and would love to see you there!

Katherine

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LINKS OF THE MONTH: McSpotlight.org

www.mcspotlight.org

"McDonalds spends over 2 billion dollars a year broadcasting their glossy image to the world. This is a small space for alternatives to be heard."

McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day, more than the entire population of Spain. Yet many of us don't know the real health impacts of eating a McDonald's, or any fast food, diet and it's often difficult to find unbiased information about how these foods affect us.

In starting to think critically about the impacts of fast food, it's really important to look for sources of information not influenced by the fast food industry. The Mcspotlight.com website has a great collection of articles, details on current lawsuits and campaigns against McDonald's, and a space to debate the issues on-line.

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FEBRUARY RECIPE: Barley, Ginger and Kukicha teas

With this cold winter, I've found myself reaching for a lot of hot beverages to stay warm. These are some great, healthy options with little or no caffeine to help you make it through to Spring!

BARLEY TEA

Benefits: Good for weight loss and helps eliminate fats. Cleansing, refreshing and cooling.

Directions:

1. You can find this is in health food stores or Asian markets sold as "Roasted Barley Tea".
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Turn off the heat.
3. Add a handful of roasted barley and allow it to sit 5 - 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the liquid to another pot, straining out the barley.
5. Drink 1 - 2 cups a day hot or cold.

GINGER TEA

Benefits: Good for delayed menstruation, diarrhea, weak stomach, digestion, nausea, colds, shivering, asthma. Warming, improves circulation.

Grate ginger. Squeeze the juice into boiling water. Drink hot or cold.

KUKICHA TWIG TEA

Benefits: Strengthens the metabolism. Helps digestion and mental activity. High in minerals, and increases calcium absorption. Having a small cup, hot, after meals will aid digestion and avoid low blood sugar.

Kukicha contains caffeine, so it can be a great replacement for coffee. If you are highly sensitive it is best to avoid, especially in the late afternoon and evening, or make it milder by using fewer twigs.

Directions:

1. Use 1 tablespoon of twigs with 4 cups of water.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce flame.
3. Simmer 5 minutes.

Notes:
Bulk twigs that have been boiled take longer, but have a stronger effect than tea bags. A pot of kukicha tea can be left out for several days and still taste great. The twigs may be reused with a few fresh twigs added each time. Kukicha is also available in a tea bag format, which is not as strengthening, but very practical.

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ARTICLE-- Super Size Me!

www.supersizeme.com

Articles about Americans's skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes are everywhere today in the media but the question remains: Why are Americans so fat?

Surgeon General David Satcher has said that "Fast food is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic", and the issue of just how much fast food is contributing to the current crisis has been explored in -depth in Eric Schlosser's ground-breaking book Fast Food Nation. But until now, no one has actually put these ideas to the test physically to see just what really happens when a healthy person goes on a fast food diet.

"Super Size Me", is a new film by Morgan Spurlock, which examines the legal, financial and physical costs of America's hunger for fast food. Spurlock decided to live on only McDonald's food for a month and measure the health consequences of his food choices. According to the website, the film also "explores the horror of school lunch programs, declining health and physical education classes, food addictions and the extreme measures people take to lose weight and regain their health." It will be released by Roadside Attractions/ Samuel Goldwyn later this Spring.

The shocking impact that this experiment had on Spurlock's health is detailed in the New York Post article below, but what I found to be most interesting was the cure for all his newly created ailments. "The treatment was to just stop doing what he was doing," Dr. Isaacs said, one of the physicians who examined him regularly during the 30-day McDonald's diet.

Could it be so simple?

"Shocking news: McDonald's Makes You Unhealthy"

01/22/04 Megan Lehmann, New York Post

Last February, Morgan Spurlock decided to become a gastronomical guinea pig. His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's and document the impact on his health.

Scores of cheeseburgers, hundreds of fries and dozens of chocolate shakes later, the formerly strapping 6-foot-2 New Yorker - who started out at a healthy 185 pounds - had packed on 25 pounds.

But his supersized shape was the least of his problems.

Within a few days of beginning his drive-through diet, Spurlock, 33, was vomiting out the window of his car, and doctors who examined him were shocked at how rapidly Spurlock's entire body deteriorated.

"It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart over the course of 30 days," Spurlock told The Post.

His liver became toxic, his cholesterol shot up from a low 165 to 230, his libido flagged and he suffered headaches and depression.

Spurlock charted his journey from fit to flab in a tongue-in-cheek documentary, which he has taken to the Sundance Film Festival with the hopes of getting a distribution deal.

"Super Size Me" explores the obesity epidemic that plagues America today - a sort of "Bowling for Columbine" for fast food.

As well as documenting his own burger-fueled bulk-up, Spurlock travels to 20 cities across America, interviewing people on the street, health experts and a lobbyist for the fast-food industry.

Despite making dozens of phone calls, Spurlock fails to get anyone from McDonald's to agree to an on-camera interview. A spokeswoman for McDonald's told The Post yesterday that no representatives from the corporation had seen "Super Size Me."

"Consumers can achieve balance in their daily dining decisions by choosing from our array of quality offerings and range of portion sizes to meet their taste and nutrition goals," McDonald's said in a statement.

Over the course of the film, Spurlock is regularly examined by a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist and SoHo-based general practitioner Dr. Daryl Isaacs.

"He was an extremely healthy person who got very sick eating this McDonald's diet," Dr. Isaacs told The Post.

"None of us imagined he could deteriorate this badly - he looked terrible. The liver test was the most shocking thing - it became very, very abnormal." Spurlock has since returned to normal health. "The treatment was to just stop doing what he was doing," Dr. Isaacs says.

Spurlock, who says he ate at McDonald's only sporadically before his total immersion in the Mickey D's menu, says he even began craving fat and sugar fixes between meals.

"I got desperately ill," he says. "My face was splotchy and I had this huge gut, which I've never had in my life.

"My knees started to hurt from the extra weight coming on so quickly. It was amazing - and really frightening."

Spurlock's girlfriend, Alex Jamieson, was horrified - she's a vegan chef.

"She was completely disgusted by me, not happy at all," he says. "But she realized what my goals were in trying to educate people." Spurlock, a film producer who grew up in West Virginia and studied ballet for eight years, was spurred to make his first feature film while watching TV on Thanksgiving Day, 2002.

"I was feeling like a typical American on Thanksgiving - very bloated and happy on the couch - and at some point on the news they were talking about two women who were suing McDonald's.

"People from the food industry were saying, 'You can't link kids being fat to our food - our food is nutritious.'

"I said, 'How nutritious is it really? Let's find out."

Not surprisingly, Spurlock has steered clear of the Golden Arches since filming wrapped.

"I have not had McDonald's for seven months, but yesterday, during an interview, I had a bite of a Big Mac," he says.

"I chewed it up, swallowed it and I said, 'You know what, I'm pretty much done after that bite.' "

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/16393.htm

Some facts from the Super Size website, www.supersizeme.com, in the Super Size Me By the Pound section:

In America today, 37% of children and adolescents are carrying too much fat and 2 out of every three adults are overweight or obese.

Each day, 1 in 4 Americans visits a fast food restaurant.

In 1972, we spent 3 billion a year on fast food - today we spend more than 110 billion.

Only seven items on McDonald's entire menu contain no sugar

You would have to walk for seven hours straight to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fry and Big Mac

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6-MONTH HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELING PROGRAM

Nutrition is a fundamental aspect of health. The food we eat becomes part of our blood cells, which then feed our tissues and vital organs. When we eat food that has limited nutritional value, our cells weaken. When we eat quality foods our bodies reflect that nourishment through vitality, balance and joy.

Whole, natural foods--vegetables, whole grains, beans, fruits--are quality foods. By shifting your diet to healthy, balanced, quality foods, you can support your body to heal itself and prevent future disease.

My fully supported 6-month program includes :

** Two individual counseling sessions a month
** Yoga, meditation and breathwork
** Reiki and massage
** Books, tapes, and articles on health and wellness
** Food and supplement samples
** Easy to cook recipes
** Health Food Store Tour
** Group hands-on cooking classes

Working together, we will discuss all the issues that contribute to your relationship with health and nutrition. Often our health concerns arise from a lack of attention to our mental, physical, spiritual and emotional needs. Holistic health care addresses all of these needs equally. As a result of our work together you will feel healthier, more energized, and you will have the skills to maintain this state of wellness for years to come.

Call or e-mail to schedule a one-hour initial consultation about the 6-month Holistic Health Counseling Program.

Consultations are held in Manhattan and Brooklyn and can also be done by phone.

Simply Living Well
80 E. 11th St, #336
Between Broadway and University
347-661-2143
Katherine@SimplyLivingWell.net

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ABOUT KATHERINE JAMIESON, HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR

Katherine was trained in Holistic Health Counseling through the Professional Training Program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, and certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She was certified to teach yoga in 2001 through the New York Open Center Prana Yoga Teacher Training, instructed by Dr. Jeffrey Migdow, MD. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from Wesleyan University. Before entering the Holistic Health field, Katherine was a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Guyana, South America.

Her practice combines cutting-edge, holistic nutritional theory and yoga breathing and postures, to help people address their health concerns and attain optimal health and well being in their lives. She has taught yoga and Holistic Health practices with the New York City Department of Health Wellness at Work program, the Hospital for Joint Diseases, and Beth Abraham Health Services. She maintains a private practice in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as lecturing and presenting at Health fairs and seminars. This fall she completed an 11-week series of lectures on Holistic Health and Lifestyle at the United Nations.

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THANK YOU FOR READING AND BE WELL!