I saw my first episode of Sarah Palin’s Alaska on TLC. It was pretty good. She climbed a mountain and I was amazed. She is really quite something. The show really depicts her personal life, and she doesn’t even have to.
It is pretty annoying that so many people hate her and bash her. I think that those people are jealous. She has made a living for herself and has been through a lot since the election. To have over come so much and didn’t resort to insanity shows that she is very strong.
I think that we can expect to see great things come from her. I voted for her, I won’t lie. I may not think that she can win the election, but I do think that she’ll make it as far as she can politically and socially. Have a great time guys and if you have the time give Sarah Palin’s Alaska a try.
Best Foods For Your Body
I recently received a booklet from Nutrition Action Health Letter about the best basic foods for your body. I’m not going to list them all, but I am going to list a few of the top ones that you can find at any super market.
From The Fruit Bowl
These all have 100 calories or less and are loaded with Vitamin C and Carotenoids(powerful antioxidants)
Guava (1)
Watermelon (2 cups)
Cantaloupe (1/4)
Apricots (4)
Tangerine (1)
Mango (1/2)
Healthy Veggies
Also under 100 calories and loaded with Vit K, Vit C, Lutein, and Potassium
Kale (2/3)
Broccoli, raw (5 spears)
Green Leaf Lettuce (2 Cups)
Parsley, raw (1/4 Cup)
Healthy Beans
These beans are all based on 1 cup, cooked and are loaded with fiber and folic acid.
Pinto Beans
Chickpeas (garbanzos, ceci)
Lentils
Black-eyed peas
Navy beans
Small White beans
White beans
Best Grains
Some of these may be hard to find, but they are worth it.
Quinoa
Amaranth
Buchwat groats
Bulgur
Wild Rice
Milet
Brown Rice
Leanest Meat
Less than 1 gram of saturated fat
Turkey Breast
1-2 grams of saturated fat
Chicken breast
Turkey wing
Veal leg, top roud
Turkey leg
Best Butters and Spreads
Please use these butter sparingling. Just because they may be better doesn’t mean that a lot is any better than a little of the bad butters.
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buter! Fat Free
Promise Fat Free
Smart Beat Smart Squeeze
Country Crock Omega Plus Light
Olivio Light
Parkay Squeeze
I hope that you guys enjoy this list and put it to good use.
Testing
Well I just downloaded the WordPress app for my phone and I’m pretty excited about using it. So far it’s pretty smooth and I can’t wait to start posting more because of it. I have a feeling that I’ll be having a lot of little posts now anout my life and stuff.
Well lately I’ve been working out a lot more and I’ve been running again. Today I only ran a little, but I wanted to go more. More on all that later. Have a good Thanks Giving everyone!
A Discussion On Teen Pregnancy And Sexual Education
My last speech in speech class was a group discussion with 4 other people. We all had great topics, one was about space travel and colonization, another was medical marijuana, one about abortion, and another girl had one about gay marriage. We generally agreed on a lot of points that each of us made, but there was some discord. I didn’t agree that a child should have access to marijuana and someone else did. At one point some girl wanted to fight with me on my view of why people dislike gay marriage. We both made valid points, but she thoroughly disagreed with me on that people mock what they can’t have. That view point basically stems from the fact that I see large people make fun of skinny people. All that person has to do is exercise and eat right. But they don’t.
Anyway, we had a great time in the group discussion and I am really glad that we all got As. My topic was Teen Pregnancy and Sexual Education. I had questions like when is it appropriate for teens to engage in sexual activity and what type of education should be taught to our kids? Just questions like that. Some of them were really heavy and they got our group to talk A LOT. I had never seen these people talk so much before. Haha. And I probably never will see them ever again. lol. Well, here is my outline with everything that I said and stuff. I can’t give you the answer to the questions. Hopefully you’ll be able to answer them with your own thoughts and opinions. If you have any comments on this topic please post them. I would really like to hear what you have to say.
PROS
Children bring families together
Kids are wonderful
They create long lasting memories
Higher tax returns
CONS
Creates mothers who are unprepared
A big financial burden for those who can’t take care of themselves
Can lead to dropouts
Really bad situations for the baby
Teen pregnancy breaks up families
Financial burdens for the state because of adoption
Teen mothers are and often remain single parents
Introduction
I. According to the CIA there are about 14 births per every 1000 people in 2010 and we have a population of over 300 million. We can all agree that babies are cute, but they effect a lot lives. A very delicate issue that is related to babies is teen pregnancy. Especially now that young people are becoming sexually active at very young ages. According to livestrong.com one-third of girls get pregnant before the age of 20.
II. There are many reasons and benefits to have children. Children bring families together, kids are wonderful, they create long lasting memories, and higher tax returns. But the list of cons for teen pregnancy far out weighs the pros for child rearing in general. Teen pregnancy creates mothers who are totally unprepared for this, they are a really big financial burden for someone who can barely support themselves, teen pregnancy can break up even the strongest of families, they can lead to drop outs, and sometimes really bad situations for the child and creates a burden for the state if they are given up for adoption, because not all babies are adopted. This issue has raised a lot of questions in relation to how parents or even the state should handle teen pregnancy and sexual education and what actions should be taken to prevent it.
Body
I. The first that probes the mind is, “At what age should children have the sex talk?”
II. Do you think that learning about sex drives young people to want to engage in it more?
III. To what extremes should parents take to educate their children about sex and to prevent them from getting pregnant?
IV. At what age is it appropriate for young people to engage in sexual activity and why?
V. Should girls who have entered puberty be required to go on the pill? Why or why not?
VI. If an under-aged girl asks for an abortion does the state have the right to say no?
VII. Should schools be allowed to give out condoms to boys and girls?
VIII. Since two parties are involved should both boys and girls be educated in the several types of birth control available? Who should be responsible for this education?
IX. When should schools have sexual education and how extensive should this education be?
X. Should sexual education be required like math and science are required in order to graduate?
Conclusion
I. Teen pregnancy is a very hard issue to tackle. Everyone has their own opinion on how it should be dealt with. I think that kids should be educated more and parents should have a more watchful eye on what their kids are doing outside of school and the home. Parents should have a firmer hand on how they raise their children, so that the state can not come in and say that you’re doing it wrong and that you’re kids are out of control.
II. I was told about sex at a very young age and even my school held classes in the fifth grade to educate us about sex. And every year after that I was required to take a class which furthered that education. I think that children should be educated about sex at a young age to at least know what is out there. Because kids need to be prepared for life when they grow up before they grow up so that they can make an informed decision on when it is right for them.
The Healing Powers of Chocolate
Well recently I finished my speech class. I ended up having to do 1 impromptu speech, one informative speech, an interview, a persuasive speech, and a group interview. The persuasive speech was horrible. I had two chances to give it and I ended up getting a B on the whole thing. Prior to giving my speech two weeks ago I was incredibly sick and I could barely talk. That lasted for a long time and when I finally gave my speech I just stood there reading from a script like a robot. I had no energy to do anything. I only gave one visual aide, even though I had two. I just didn’t want to have to go through the effort of handing anything out. I could barely stand and I really couldn’t concentrate, but I gave the speech. I stood there sniffling, coughing, and sometimes spacing off. At one point I even confused a string of words with another string and ended up saying erection instead of addiction. How funny. lol.
My persuasive speech was all about chocolate and how it can heal your body. There is a lot mixed feelings about chocolate and how it can help the body, but essentially dark chocolate is far better for you than milk chocolate. And if you don’t think that you like the taste of dark chocolate just eat it every day for two weeks and your taste buds will get used it and you’ll like it. As a good scientist I never said how milk chocolate helps your body. I demonized it and made it seem as if you eat it you’ll die. That’s what science is all about. But the truth is that you do get benefits from milk chocolate, just not as much so it isn’t even worth it for that reason. I did a lot of research and I found a book that has all the studies ever done on chocolate. It’s called “Chocolate – A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References.” I was amazed that this organization Health Publica Icon Health Publications had a book just for chocolate and all the studies that had been conducted on it. I did a bit more research and they have books on all sorts of plants, foods, herbs, diseases, and conditions that one could ever dream of. And they are all show the research and results of that research.
By far this was my favourite topic, but it was also the hardest to do. Not just because I was sick, but because there was just so much information that I didn’t even know. I may not have wanted to any part of this class, but I am glad I did and I am even more glad that it is over with. My pastor said that I learned a valuable lesson from this, but I have no idea what that lesson is. Oh well. lol. Anyway here is my speech almost word to word. I hope you enjoy it.
Today is a day for chocolate. A wonderful food that tempts us and fuels a lot of hate speech associated with being overweight. But chocolate has some extraordinary benefits that most people overlook. When I changed my major last semester from language to regenerative medicine I thought, “what an awesome thing to practice. Foods that heal your body.” Then when I found out that chocolate could save lives I nearly exploded. How wonderful is it that I could combine a life long passion with a life long career.
There are two types of chocolate. Milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Most people love chocolate and usually that love comes in the form of milk chocolate. Because of the sugary, fatty contents found in milk chocolate one could easily over-indulge in this disease-causing food.
When chocolate enters the digestive system the sugar molecules are instantly broken down and absorbed by the bloodstream which then rushes the sugar to the brain and releases dopamine giving you a pleasure effect. The body then starts craving more and more of this pleasure and that is what we know as addiction. And anyone who has seen the show Intervention knows how dangerous addiction can be.
That’s not all that consuming milk chocolate does. Milk is right in the name of Milk Chocolate and we all consume milk in various forms. In a video seminar called Food That Kills doctors stated that cows milk is the third highest concentration of fat in the American diet. Because of the fat found in milk it is responsible for clogging arteries which lead to heart attacks and massive weight gain. Weight gain can lead to diseases such as diabetes and cancers. According to the CDC in 2006 over 600,000 people died of heart disease. But each year nearly 800,000 people suffer from their first heart attack. That’s an awful lot of people that could suffer a lot less if they changed their lifestyles.
Those are just two negatives associated with chocolate. Others are that it causes acne which acneguide.com says that in large clinical studies chocolate and other foods show no link to causing acne. Another is that the caffeine in chocolate will make you jittery. There is caffeine in chocolate, but in such small amounts that it isn’t even noticed.
But when you get past the sugar and fat of chocolate you can get to a much healthier choice known as dark chocolate. Recent research along with buzz words like antioxidants and free-radicals have fueled the health industry to start pushing it more.
What allows for these benefits are the antioxidants that are found in the cocoa bean, the main ingredient of all chocolate. I wont bore you with the intricacies of antioxidants vs free-radicals. All you need to know is that free-radicals cause disease and antioxidants fight it. According to seedmagazine.com a normal bar of chocolate has just as many antioxidants as a glass of red wine. And the book Cholesterol Cures states that an ounce of dark chocolate contains ten times as many antioxidants as a strawberry. That is a lot of disease-fighters packed into that bar of chocolate. And every bit helps.
Eating dark chocolate also helps with fighting tooth-decay. According to momscape.com the cocoa bean has antibacterial agents that help fight tooth-decay and help strengthen enamel when eaten. This benefit isn’t seen with milk chocolate because of its high sugar contents. And we all know the dangers of sugar. The dentist tells us every time that we go for a check-up, but most of us still consume it in large quantities.
Dark chocolate has also been shown to help with the heart. One study sponsored by foxnews.com and Live Science that involved 44,000 people showed that those who ate a weekly serving of dark chocolate were 22% less likely to suffer a stroke than those that didn’t consume chocolate. Which can be backed by similar studies sponsored by foxnews.com which stated that dark chocolate eaters showed that blood platelets clumped more slowly. Slow clumping leads to less blood-clots and less heart attacks.
Dark chocolate has also shown to help with cholesterol levels. Professor Penny Kris-Etherton of Pennsylvania State University shows in her research that dark chocolate doesn’t raise LDL “bad” cholesterol, but raises HDL “good” cholesterol. The flavanoids act as antioxidants which are thought to neutralize the artery-clogging plaque that leads to a heart attack.
Another wonderful benefit to dark chocolate is increased blood flow. In a 2002 study published by prohealth.com conducted by Dr. Carl Keen, patients who consumed 25 grams of semi-sweet chocolate with an 81-mg dose of aspirin showed an increase in blood flow and a lowering of blood pressure. Increased blood flow means that we get more oxygen faster to more parts of our bodies. And a part that needs plenty of oxygen to function properly is the brain. Subjects were also able to recall numbers easier when taking this cocktail.
To conclude, chocolate can be detrimental to your health by making you addicted and overweight which leads to deadly diseases like cancer. But when you choose a more healthier choice like dark chocolate you can start repairing your body. This doesn’t mean that a person should stuff himself daily with this delicious treat. But eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate as part of an overall healthy diet can lead to wonderful benefits and allow for possibly longer life.
And my sources are as follows:
Bonneville, Marguerite. “The Health Benefits of Chocolate: Can Chocolate Benefit Your Health?” Mom Scape. 06 October, 2010. <http://www.momscape.com/articles/chocolate.htm>.
Castelli, William P. “Chocolate.” Cholesterol Cures: More than 325 Natural Ways to Lower Cholesterol and Live Longer : from Almonds and Chocolate to Garlic and Wine. [Emmaus, Pa.]: Rodale, 2002. Print.
Center For Disease Control. “Heart Disease Facts.” CDC. 25 Janurary, 2010. 06 October 2010. <http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm>.
Fox News, Live Science “Sweet Science: The Health Benefits of Chocolate.” Fox News. 12 February, 2010. 06 October 2010. <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585591,00.html>.
Moritz, Andreas. “Eating Meat Kills More People Than Previously Thought.” Natural News. 30 March, 2009. 06 October 2010. <http://www.naturalnews.com/025957_meat_cancer_disease.html>.
Parkinson, Rhonda. “Health Benefits of Chocolate.” About.com. 26 April, 2009 . 06 October 2010. <http://chinesefood.about.com/od/westernhol/a/chocolate.htm>.
Schmidt, Patti. “Chocolate’s Potential Health Benefits – and its Effect on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients.” Pro Health. 29 March, 2002. 06 October 2010. <http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=8326>.
Stibich, Mark Ph.D. “Health Benefits of Chocolate.” About.com. 26 April, 2009 . 06 October 2010. <http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongnutrition/p/chocolate.htm>.
Wenk, Gary. “This Is Your Brain On Food.” Seed Magazine. 13 September, 2010. 06 October 2010. <http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/this_is_your_brain_on_food/>.
Derek IRL 