Is Your Kitchen Full of Unsafe Plastics?

by Jillian Michaels

If you've seen the movie The Graduate, you might remember the classic scene in which the main character is told that the future can be summed up in one word: Plastics. Unfortunately, the person giving that advice pretty much nailed it — plastics are now everywhere. Manufacturers use plastics more than any other material to create and package products. The bad news is, many types of plastic contain endocrine disruptors and other dangerous chemicals. If you use containers made of those types to store food, those chemicals can leach into your food and affect your metabolism and your overall health.

You can tell which plastics to avoid by checking the numbers printed on the bottom of the containers. Here are the ones you should stop using:

• #3 — Polyvinyl chloride (often abbreviated PVC or V): PVC is found in bottles that contain cooking oils, cling wrap, the clear wrap around deli meats and cheeses, plumbing pipes, shower curtains, and toys. This type of plastic contains hormone-disrupting phthalates and cancer-causing dioxins that can leach out when the plastic comes into contact with heat, food, water, air, or our bodies.
  Alternatives: Choose Glad wrap, Saran premium wrap, or Saran Cling Plus wrap (which do not contain PVC) or store your food in glass. Buy cooking oil in glass bottles. Don't ever microwave your food in plastic — instead, use parchment paper or wax paper.
• #6 — Polystyrene (Styrofoam; often abbreviated PS): Polystyrene is another big no. It's found in your typical take-out containers, disposable coffee cups, and egg cartons. The materials used to create polystyrene are all known or suspected carcinogens, and when PS gets hot, it can release chemicals into foods.
  Alternatives: Buy eggs in cardboard containers and don't drink your coffee from Styrofoam cups. If you can't avoid polystyrene packaging, transfer any food into a glass or ceramic container ASAP.
• #7 — Polycarbonate (often abbreviated PC): Polycarbonate is found in baby bottles, microwave ovenware, stain-resistant food storage containers, eating utensils, the plastic liners of almost all food and soft-drink cans, Lexan containers, old Nalgene or other hard-plastic drinking bottles, 5-gallon water jugs, and building materials. Hundreds of studies have linked bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical in polycarbonate plastic, with harmful endocrine-disrupting effects, such as early puberty in girls, abnormal breast tissue and prostate growth, and lower sperm count.
  Alternatives: Use glass baby bottles and switch to stainless steel or ceramic drinking bottles. Limit your exposure from canned foods like beans by rinsing the food thoroughly before you eat it.

A few types of plastic are okay to use because they don't contain as many toxins. These are PET or PETE (#1 plastic, the type used in many beverage bottles), HDPE (#2 plastic, used in some Tupperware products), LDPE (#4 plastic), and PP (#5 plastic, used in yogurt containers). While these types are okay, I say the fewer plastics in your life, the better. Whenever possible, look for alternatives such as glass, stainless steel, and ceramics.

How to Avoid Six Dieting Mistakes

By Jennifer R. Scott, About.com

Diet mistakes can keep you from getting to your goal weight. But you're not alone; many of us are guilty of one -- if not several -- of these dieting faux pas. Here is some simple advice on how to avoid six common diet mistakes.

1. Mistake: Gulping Down Extra Calories

Do you start each morning with a couple glasses of orange juice? How about a frothy coffee drink on the way to work? Was that you hitting the vending machine for a sports drink at the gym?


If this sounds familiar, take note: What you drink can be as important to weight loss as what you eat.

Some beverages provide as many -- if not more -- calories than a full plate of food. Liquid calories don't satisfy you like food does, and many beverages bring no nutrition benefit. Even if you were to drink 1,500 calories of beverages a day, you would still feel hungry and then overeat.

Solution: Cut Liquid Calories

Just say no to the followng: sugar-sweetened sodas and other sweetened canned and bottled drinks; flavored and sweetened coffee beverages, such as frappes, lattes and frozen coffee; sweetened tea (hot or iced); and smoothies.


While juice is healthier than all these choices, whole fruit is preferable to a glass of juice; it has fewer calories and more fiber and is more filling. Water and herbal tea (without adding sugar) are ideal replacements for high-calorie beverages.

2. Mistake: Depriving Yourself

So you've sworn to lose weight this time around. You rid your pantry of your favorite fattening foods. You sweep the fridge and all bad foods make their way to the trash can. You do okay for a few days. Then, one night, you lose it and eat everything left in the house that isn't a fruit or vegetable.


No matter how resolved we are to lose weight, we crave treats (especially sweet ones) we are accustomed to. You will eventually get the urge to indulge no matter how well those first few days go.

Solution: Giving in ... a Little

Swearing off foods you enjoy is a surefire way to set yourself up for failure. It's like a form of torture: Everyone else can eat the things you love while you can't even taste them. How's that going to help you stick to your diet? It won't. Allow yourself a special treat every now and then. Keep your portion sizes in check and you can still have your favorite foods in moderation.

3. Mistake: Believing Your Genes are to Blame

You take a look in the mirror and you see your mom. It's not her hair or even her eyes. It's your body. And there's nothing you can do about it. After all, it's hereditary.

The Solution: Get Real!

Genes do play a role in some cases of obesity. Often you will see family members who share the same body type. But for many of us, the most important factor in weight loss is calories in vs. calories out ... how many calories we eat and how much exercise we get. Even if family members are heavy, there are steps you can take so that you do not share their fate. Working out and strength-training will build muscle and give your metabolism a boost, both of which will help you head off the propensity for weight gain your genes might bring.

4. Mistake: Meal Skipping

It only stands to reason: If the key to losing weight is cutting calories then why not cut a bunch at once by skipping a meal? If you skip meals when you're trying to lose weight, you're doing yourself more harm than good. Meal-skipping can cause your metabolism to nosedive. That will set you up for sluggish calorie-burning all day long and ravenous hunger and overeating at night.

Solution: Don't Be a Skipper

Most meal-skippers forgo breakfast. It seems to be the easiest meal to do without. But in reality, breakfast may influence weight loss more than any other meal! If you aren't hungry first thing in the morning, have something small. Do you actually forget to eat in the a.m. hustle and bustle? Set an alarm to go off some time after you normally rise to remind you to stop, take a breath ... and eat.

5. Mistake: Giving in to a Food-Pusher

You've met her. She pushes doughnuts on unsuspecting office mates. She brings cupcakes for the bookgroup while only tasting the icing herself. She hands you the takeout menu when you've already told her you brought a brown bag. Who is she? She's a pusher! A food pusher, that is.

Solution: Put Yourself First

Whether office baked goods temptress or the well-meaning Mom who suggests seconds of her best dishes, some people just refuse to take "no" as an answer. They probably don't even realize they are making your weight loss efforts that much harder. Learn how to say no in a way that works. You may have to distance yourself from the "pusher" for the time being. Sometimes it's better for all parties concerned.

6. Mistake: Giving Up On Losing Weight Your Way

Sometimes, telling your friends and family you are on a diet can actually backfire. If they don't understand your diet or think they know a better way to lose weight, it can lead to unwelcome input or even arguments. You get to the point that you want to throw in the towel.

Solution: Keep it Under Wraps

Only you know what works for you. So keep doing what works for you. There's no rule that says you have to tell friends or family that you're trying to lose weight. Weight is a personal issue. It's your prerogative to keep it that way.

The Trouble with Green Tea

By RealAge

Did you know that most of the free-radical fighters in green tea never make it to your bloodstream? But there's a solution.

To get a better grasp on the healthy catechins in your green tea, flavor your cup with a squeeze of citrus juice.

Green Tea Booster
Catechins -- the antioxidants in green tea famous for lowering your risk of chronic disease -- quickly lose their power in your intestine. In fact, as much as 80% of the catechins in green tea are never absorbed. The solution to boosting absorption, researchers recently found, is as simple as flavoring your tea with freshly squeezed and strained lemon, orange, lime, or grapefruit juice.

Taking Tea with C
The vitamin C in citrus may help with absorption by increasing the acidity in your small intestine. Other unidentified substances in the juice probably lend a hand, too. Researchers found a 50-50 mix had the greatest catechin-preserving effect, and lemon did it best, closely followed by orange, lime, and, in last place, grapefruit.

It's Not All Bad News
If you do take steps to boost the power of your green tea, you may even get a few added benefits.

• It may help you lose weight. At least one study shows green tea can stimulate moderate weight loss.
• It may help keep your knees young and strong -- catechins fight inflammation and arthritis.
• It can help your skin look great if used in conjunction with an antioxidant cream. Dab it on.
• It can help you stay sharp -- try 2 cups a day to see benefits.

RealAge Benefit: Getting the right amount of antioxidants through diet or supplements can make your RealAge 6 years younger.

Source: Yahoo Health