Growing up, I remember sitting in health class learning about the food pyramid with its chunky base of pasta and breads - a pyramid that is hardly reflective of the war on carbs that seems to be popular as of late. With very few adults having access to a health class of any sort on the latest nutrition information and hundreds of individuals sharing conflicting information on "the way," where does one turn when trying to determine what's the healthiest way to eat? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has an answer: the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Last week, USDA and HHS released the preliminary version of the latest guidelines, which are updated every five years to help Americans determine the right foods they need to fuel an active, healthy lifestyle and reduce their risk of chronic disease. The new guidelines, which have been in development since the panel of 13 expert medical and scientific researchers first met in late 2008, recommend a significant decrease in salt, fat and sugar intake and place a greater emphasis on a plant-based diet than did the 2005 guidelines. (more...)
For the past five years, I've suffered with pain in my right wrist on a daily basis, despite regular treatment from an orthopedic surgeon. I was diagnosed with an LT ligament tear and told that my only surgical option was a partial fusion of my wrist - a treatment he did not yet recommend and I was unable to accept as a solution. At the time, I remember having a conversation with my father: "You hear about these ballplayers tearing things and coming back to play the next season," he said. "It seems like there should be a better solution than that." 