Some Fatty Foods are Good for Memory

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Allen School Online blog has a regular, running series on some of the scariest, fattiest, heart-clogging fast food offerings.  A burger in a Tokyo Burger King laden with 4 pounds of bacon; the Heart Attack Grill’s infarction inducing Triple Bypass Burger and KFC’s appalling Double Down sandwich are some examples of these fat-packed atrocities.  So it does my heart well to be able to share with readers here some positive information about the consumption of fatty foods.  You see, not all fats are created equal.  And if you ingest certain varieties of fat, you can expect to see a boost in your cognitive abilities which can help you better navigate through your studies in the field of medical office billing and coding. Live Science recently analyzed of a study published in the Annals of Neurology Journal wherein it was revealed that saturated fat — like that found in red meat, butter etc. — is associated with worse overall cognitive function and memory in women over time. They also found that a “good” fat — mono-unsaturated fat — was associated with better overall cognitive function and memory.  Click here to read the full article.  A simple dietary shift can lead to improved ability to think clearly and learn more easily.  So eat a nice avocado and think about it.

OK, Just One More

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Like one more potato chip, or one more chicken nugget, i simply cannot resist yet another “junk food” post.  After this, I promise to lay off the stories about horrific fast foods (and the role these foods play in undermining in public health) for at least a little while.  Although it is a topic we cover periodically on the Allen School Online Blog, and while there’s been a unusually high number of these stories in the news lately, I will not be turning this blog into something other than a place focused on medical billing and coding, and medical office assistant training.  That said, I was appalled to see another customer suffered an actual heart attack at Las Vegas’s infamous Heart Attack Grill.  We posted the last time a patron of this aptly named restaurant died eating their apparently deadly Quadruple Bypass burger. Today, another Heart Attack Grill patron suffered a heart attack, this time while consuming the comparatively puny Double Bypass burger (wimp!)  One really can’t feel too bad for either victim.  After all they only got exactly what they paid for in their choice of restaurant.  But, if you are feeling badly about it, console yourself with a little treat. I hear Burger King is testing out a new bacon sundae!

Fast Food Industry Fails to Disappoint

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Long time readers of the Allen School Online blog know that I have a penchant for covering the strange and life-shortening oddities produced at seemingly regular intervals by the US fast food industry.  These items — like KFC’s Double Down and the recently-proven-fatal Triple Bypass Burger at Vegas’ Heart Attack Grill — are major contributors to the heart disease and obesity epidemic that keeps medical offices busy with lots of ailing patients.  Well, McDonald’s, not to be outclassed, recently upped the ante with a new culinary abomination.  The new McRibster, (that’s a batter fried McRib pork sandwich with bacon) is about to hit markets and arteries near you.  The cult classic McRib sandwich wasn’t unhealthy enough I guess, prompting the evil geniuses at McDonald’s test kitchen to think of ways they could make this sandwich even more likely to stop your heart.   Have a look at it here and let us know if you think they’ve succeeded.

A Heart Attack on a Bun

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We’ve all made this joking reference before to fatty fast foods that we love, but that are less than healthy to consume.  Regular readers of the Allen School Online Blog know that we love to cover stories about horrible fast foods.  From KFC’s gruesome Double Down sandwich to the greasy McDonald’s McGriddle breakfast sandwich.  As entrants into the field of medical office assisting, you’re bound to endure a lifetime of dealing with people who suffer the maleffects of eating this kind of diet.  Just look at the case of the man that suffered a heart attack while eating something called the “Triple Bypass Burger” (see photo) at a place in Las Vegas known as the Heart Attack Grill.  You may be as disgusted as I was to learn that this 8000 calorie monstrosity of a sandwich is not the largest one on their menu (see the Quadruple Bypass Burger to be truly impressed/repulsed).  So yes, the victim in this story did indeed suffer a heart attack while eating a Triple Bypass Burger at the Heart Attack Grill.  Is anyone surprised?  Always looking for stories about horrible dietary abuses so if you know of any places or stories like this one, please share with me in the comments.  Now go eat a spinach salad!  Happy Friday students!

The Best and Worst of Fast Food Burgers

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As part of this blog’s ongoing series highlighting some of the best things and worst things to put into your body, I offer health.com’s recently published list of the best and worst fast food burgers (from a health perspective).  Now as a rule, burgers are probably not the healthiest thing you could choose to eat.  But you might be surprised to learn that some seemingly healthier options are among the worst in terms of sodium, fat and caloric content.  Whereas some sure fire artery bombs are actually not so bad comparatively.  Does your favorite burger make either of the lists here?  Share in the comments.  Then, my Allen School Online students of medical billing and coding, get out from behind your computer and go eat a salad!  LOL!

Wheat Belly – A Breakthrough!

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This blog often covers issues related to diet, healthy foods and related trends.  So I am excited to share with the readers here some information I have firsthand knowledge of regarding a very important personal breakthrough.  This blogger has eliminated all wheat products from his diet for 45 days and has dropped almost 30 pounds in the same period of time! Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist, has uncovered a very startling fact: modern, genetically modified (GM) wheat produces a gluten protein that crosses the blood-brain barrier.  Know what else crosses the blood-brain barrier?  Cocaine, heroin and other highly addictive substances!  This is why, if you’re like me, you frequently cannot help overeating with a ravenous furor that borders on the uncontrollable.  Since the 1960s, as part of efforts to optimize yields and feed a growing and hungry humanity, all wheat produced globally has been a GM variety.  There was never any testing done to check if the GM grain had any negative side effects. I can tell you that after the first 4 days without wheat – during which time I experienced miserable withdrawal symptoms reminiscent of drug withdrawals – my compulsion to eat constantly has all but subsided.  Now, I still miss breads and pizza etc.  although I can easily resist them whereas before, I was all but powerless to do so.  Happily though, the damaging gluten protein is not inherent in potato, rice, corn and many other grains.  So when I get to longing for a wheat product, I can satisfy myself with some fries and ketchup.  Or I can enjoy a plate of pork fried rice.  Or tacos in crunchy corn shells.  And, I AM LOSING WEIGHT!  So that’s something!  You can visit Dr. Davis’ Wheat Belly Blog here. I highly recommend the book too.  It’s called Wheat Belly. It’s available at Amazon.com and your local public library.  Both the blog and the book also contain recipes to replace some of your favorite wheat-based munchies!

Killer Diet – Healing Diet

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Healing Diet and FruitYour mom always told you to eat your vegetables.  But most Americans eat the Western diet heavy on processed foods loaded with chemicals and other adulterating compounds.  Is it any wonder then that Western peoples suffer much higher incidences of cancer, obesity, heart disease and other truly life-threatening maladies?  Compare the average American diet with the average Eastern diet.  You’ll find that other mitigating factors aside (smoking, proximity to industrial pollution etc.) the folks in China and Japan do a whole lot better when it comes to their dietary advantage and its subsequent effect on overall health. Doctor Mark Hyman has a fascinating piece posted over at the Huffington Post wherein he shares how the very dietary practices of Eastern populations act as a veritable medicine regimen.   Chinese for example eat a diet rich in things like Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli) shiitake mushrooms, ginseng and green tea.  Compare that against the ammonia washed Big Mac burger patty served on bleached flour buns, phenyketoneuric-laced diet soft drinks and snack products laced with all manner of unpronounceable chemical additives.  Which of these dietary patterns does common sense dictate will be more of a hedge against illness? Read Dr. Hyman’s fascinating piece in its entirety here and put down that bag of Doritos!  Healthy foods taste great and they help you to live longer too!

Busy Online Student/Worker/Parent? You Need a Meal Library!

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Regular readers of the Allen School Online Blog know that we have some blogging topics that we tend to return to frequently.  One of the regular subjects covered here is “ways to make life easier for the busy online student”.  Another favorite topic here at ASOB is “healthy eats” or in some cases (see posts on KFC’s Double Down sandwich) “unhealthy eats to avoid”.  Well today’s post rests at the intersection of these two favorite topics. Let me tell you about this fantastic idea I came across recently, courtesy of the Simple Dollar website.  In a recent post, the bloggers at Simple Dollar discussed a problem many of us share.  As busy students, parents, workers and spouses, we often have little time to prepare healthy, home cooked meals.  As a result, we often default to packaged, processed or prepared foods which are often not the healthiest options.  But there are only so many hours in the day right?  Well the solution to this challenging problem lies in what is referred to as a “Meal Library”. The idea is to develop a list of satisfying, healthy – and most importantly – easy to prepare, 30-minute meals that everyone in the household agrees are scrum-diddly-rumpcious!   The post which I highly recommend reading is available here and goes into a bit of detail on how to develop such a library and the benefits of building it.  Key benefits include saving on groceries, minimized impact on your time, healthier dietary habits and overall familial satisfaction.

June is Prevention and Wellness Month

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OK, so the stereotype of the online denizen (this includes peeps like me who work in front of a computer all day, and peeps like you who study online in front of a computer) is a sedentary, Cheetos munching lot who cringes when the curtains are drawn open and light shines in.  All kidding aside though, in today’s modern life, it can be hard to carve out enough time to spend on health and wellness.  Kathleen Sebelius, the Obama administration’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, has declared June to be Prevention and Wellness month. In a recent article on the Huffington Post Sebelius said, ” We know there’s more to good health than going to the hospital when you get sick. Good health starts with steps we can all take to avoid getting sick in the first place, from getting regular check-ups, vaccinations, and recommended screenings, to eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise.”  This blogger concurs with this line of thinking and has even taken the drastic step of adding a SECOND walk for his self and his dog Henry every day to try and keep physically fit.  So online students, save your work, take a pause and consider what you can do to boost your own health and wellness in June and for the future.

Got MRSA?

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According to a Reuter’s article, scientists have found Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aurelius in raw milk samples in the US and UK.  The superbug has been growing in prevalence and represents a significant challenge to medicine because it is an infection that, as the name implies, is resistant to antibiotics.  Concurrent to this story is the outbreak of a new strain of E. Coli across Europe.  It would seem to this blogger that both these outbreaks are rooted, at least in part, in the practices of large corporate food producers and the sometimes shoddy agricultural processes in which they engage.  Read these past posts, here, here and here for more information on both MRSA and animal husbandry/food safety.