Buy Fried Chicken, Cure Cancer

There's no better way to spread breast cancer awareness than through our good friends at KFC.  Susan G. Komen for the cure thought it'd be a good idea to team up with one of our favorite fast food giants (McDonalds still takes the cake) to raise money for a cure.  I can't even comment on this collosal failure. There are truly no words to describe how I feel about this.

The Colonel looks pretty hot in pink, though - don't you think?

Boost Immunity With....Sugar?

Whenever I got a cold or a sore throat as a child, I'd always refuse to take any liquid meds (such as NyQuil) and opted for relief through cough drops. As I think back, I remember downing those drops as if they were candy.

As I was browsing the aisles of Walmart this weekend, I stumbled upon some Halls Defense Vitamin C drops. On the bag it read, "Helps Support Your Immune System. 100% Vitamin C In Every Bag." Curious, I turned over the bag to check out the ingredients, and to my surprise (or maybe not), the first ingredient: Sugar. The second: Glucose syrup. No wonder why I could get through a fourth of a bag of drops in one sitting! I was literally eating candy.

What's sad is that ascorbic acid (vitamin c) doesn't appear until ingredient 5 or 6 out of 9! The "Vitamin C" is sandwiched between sugar and artificial colors & flavors. Some immunity booster!

Remember what I always stress, people. Read those labels!

Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup

Just when you thought "food" couldn't get any less nutritious, it does in quite an alarming way.
That lovely viscous substance commonly known as HFCS has been found to contain detectable levels of mercury in it. High fructose corn syrup is in practically everything, which means... so is mercury.

Mercury, for the elementally challenged, is a naturally occurring substance that can cause serious neurological damage when eaten in large quantities. Considering that high fructose corn syrup is in just about every food carried in local supermarkets, you can see how easy it'd be to consume high levels of this element.

Check out this this list that shows common foods with the level of mercury detected in them. Quite scary! Quaker Oatmeal (really random, right?) tops the list with the highest detected levels.

Breast Reductions on the Rise.....in Men!

You read correctly. Plastic surgeons are reporting that there has been roughly an 80% increase in "man boob" reduction procedures.

This cracks me up. I wish men would pay me several thousand dollars to make their man boobies go away.  In fact,  I could do it in half the amount without even touching them!

McIdiots Do It Again

Our friends at the golden arches have really outdone themselves this time.  I'll give you the cliffnotes version.

Over the past three years, this adorable teen named Lauren McClusky has put on a series of benefit concerts that she decided to name McFest. McClusky's McFest - makes sense right?  Well, McDonalds isn't too pleased, and little miss Lauren has found herself in a McFeud.  The burger giants are claiming trademark infringement because they pretty much believe they have rights to all things "Mc".

Lauren tried to protect the name, but McDonalds filed in opposition. Now a good portion of money that Lauren raised for Special Olympics is now going towards legal fees.  :(

Seriously, McDonalds? Fighting with a teen who's actually trying to do good in the world? Really classy.

McBoycott, anyone?

Big Money In Hospital Births

The other day, I watched a movie that I found to be an extreme eye-opener called The Business of Being Born. As its title suggests, birthing in this country is a BUSINESS. 
This movie is available via instant play on Netflix and for a whopping $6 on Amazon.com 
Remember Ricki Lake? She's in it! Check it out and let me know what you think. 

More Business for Big Pharma

Just what we needed right?

It looks like with teen obesity on the rise, we're seeing an increase in teen cholesterol levels too.  It was inevitable. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Thursday that one in five American teens has unhealthy cholesterol levels (a major risk factor for heart disease in adults).  Heart disease still remains the leading cause of death in the United States.

What does this mean? More clients for Big Pharma! I bet they're laughing their way to the bank now.  Presently, there are quite a few drugs used to control cholesterol levels in adults - so why not use them for teens too?

Is anyone seeing the trend here? We know that those who are obese have a higher risk of having increased levels of "bad" cholesterol - in turn, putting them at risk of developing heart disease. Doesn't it seem more logical to target the obesity (the cause) than trying to alter the levels (the effect).
I suppose it make sense their way when money is more of a priority than the well-being of our country. 

24 ways to improve your health and happiness in 2010

Still trying to get a good start to your year? I found a great list of things to do to improve your health - courtesy of Mike Adams of Natural News. Which of these have you already started doing? Which do you think you'll adopt?  Are there any that you can't imagine doing? Leave me a comment!

#1 - Replace sodas or soft drinks with tea or water.
#2 - Commit to eating one raw fruit (or serving of vegetables) at every meal.
#3 - Add just 5 minutes a day to your exercise routine. Don't have an exercise routine? Start with 5 minutes a day!
#4 - Get more sunshine!
#5 - Learn some Pilates. It's probably the #1 exercise system for core strength and flexibility.

Cow Remains + Window Cleaner = A McDonalds Hamburger

 No, I'm not joking.

I'm so disgusted that I can't even type right now.

In a nutshell, burger giants like McDonalds and Burger King are purchasing "beef" (extra cow parts and trimmings) to use for their hamburgers. Before they get shipped off, they're injected with ammonia. You know...that stuff used in household cleaning products - mainly glass and window cleaner.

Surely, the USDA is outraged and is going to put an end to this ASAP, right? On the contrary, my friend. Ammonia kills ecoli, so this makes the beef safer to eat (according to them).

When are we moving out of the country again?

Speckled Pick! Tea Candy

I have a serious sweet tooth and I love green tea, so you can imagine my excitement when I ran across a bag of what's called Tea Candy by Bali's Best at Whole Foods this weekend.  With cane sugar, tapioca, tea extract, and natural green tea and lemon flavors as the top 5 ingredients, I definitely don't feel guilty about indulging.

I'll warn you, though-  I was expecting Werther's Original-colored candy (as pictured on the bag). To my surprise, I was greeted with this with this really ugly hunter green color. It was sort of freaky, but the candy is pretty tasty. You should give it a try :)