TV Dinners Could Be Diet Winner
The new year is just around the corner, which means countless people will resolve to lose weight. Some will do it the old-fashioned, smart way (i.e. consuming less fat and smaller portions and exercising more) and many will jump on the latest fad diet.
Men’s Health magazine this month promotes The TV Dinner Diet as a way to shed pounds. The magazine’s feature stems from an Oregon Health Sciences University study that compared men who ate convenience frozen meals to those who shopped for and cooked their own meals.
The findings? The men who ate frozen meals lost 70 percent more weight than those who made their own meals.
The magazine quotes the study’s author as saying the reason frozen meals work is because they are easy, provide variety and have set portion sizes.
Hmmm … almost sounds like the old-fashioned way to lose weight. Maybe we’re on to something here.
Speaking of the new year
On the chance that you or someone you know might indulge in a little too much alcohol while ringing in the new year, the National Headache Foundation offers these tips for easing hangover headaches:
* Drink in moderation. Sip your drink slowly. Mixed drinks containing fruit or vegetable juices will probably have less effect on you than straight alcohol. Avoid red wine, which contains tyramine, a naturally occurring amino acid known to trigger headaches.
* Drink fluids containing minerals and salt. Liquids rich in minerals and salts offer relief from the dehydration caused by alcohol. A cup of broth or bouillon will replace fluids and not cause nausea.
* After an evening of drinking, eat some honey. Honey supplies fructose, a sugar that helps the body metabolize alcohol, thus reducing hangover symptoms. Tomato juice, another good source of fructose, also helps burn alcohol faster.
* Drink a cup of coffee. Long believed to counter the effects of alcohol, caffeine constricts blood vessels, easing the pain associated with dilated vessels (caused by alcohol).
For more information on headaches, head to www.headaches.org or call (888) NHF-5552.
Seats available
The Spokane Regional Health District wants to fill five vacancies on its Food Advisory Board. Individuals are needed to represent the general food service industry, post-secondary education, primary/secondary school food service, temporary event food service and the public at large.
Members serve two-year terms and attend formal meetings four times a year. For more information about the board, call 324-1560, ext. 2. Applications are due Dec. 31.