Nutrition: A Complete Guide to Eating Healthy

Here is a list of nutritional information and tips I have learned over the last few years. The information is collected from online and televised news, studies, and different people of varying degrees of knowledge on this subject. (Note: This information is regarding the general population, not individuals with health conditions that require a special diet.)

1. Take vitamins and other supplements, such as iron, vitamin D, and calcium.

2. Don't take vitamins. They will harm you if they do anything at all.

3. Don't eat meat.

4. Not eating any meat is dangerous.

5. Only eat whole grain.

6. Don't eat any grain.

7. Human beings aren't meant to eat meat or grain.

8. It doesn't really matter what you eat. As long as you live long enough to reproduce, you've fulfilled evolutionary requirements.

9. Don't drink juice.

10. Give up milk. 

11. Give up all dairy.

12. Don't eat gluten.

13. Some sugar is ok.

14. Only sugar occurring naturally (i.e., in fruits) is ok. 

15. Don't eat/drink sugar. Use artificial sweeteners.

16. Don't eat/drink sugar. Don't use artificial sweeteners.

17. Use honey as a sweetener. But it has to be a special kind of honey. Or you can use molasses.

18. You should eat fruits and vegetables raw. If you must cook the vegetables, only cook about 10% of your daily vegetables, and only warm them up a little.

19. Only use organic.

20. The things they have to do to the food to make them organic doesn't make them any healthier than the chemicals they use for non-organic.

21. Almost everything you previously thought was healthy actually isn't. In about 4 months, there will be a ground-breaking study denouncing all other food you currently think is healthy.

22. Don't eat processed food.

23. Don't eat anything with ingredients you can't pronounce or don't recognize. 

24. Stay away from corn syrup.

25. Chocolate is good for you.

26. Chocolate is bad for you.

27. Preservatives are good because it keeps food fresh enough to eat. 

28. Preservatives are bad.

29. The only way to truly be safe is to plant and produce your own food. 

30. The government won't let farmers use their own seeds. They make them buy seeds which have who-knows-what growth hormones and alterations in them. Any seeds we have access to possibly have the same contaminants in them.

31. You can eat chicken and eggs, as long as they're from free-range chickens who have had a happy life.

32. Meticulously count calories and fat in everything you eat.

33. Follow the new food-guide pyramid.

34. Don't drink soda. Especially diet, because of the artificial sweeteners.

35. Nuts are good for you.

36. Nuts are bad for you.

37. Pasta gives you energy. 

38. Rice and pasta aren't good for you.

39. Most breakfast cereals aren't good for you.

40. We are fortunate to live in a country with clean water widely available.

41. You need to filter all water. Even bottled water contains impurities. 

So, have fun with these nutritional facts while you plan your next meal. And remember, don't stress! Stress weakens your immune system and you'll get sick!

Please Do Not Touch the Babies

I few months ago, I was sitting in a crowded waiting room of a doctor's office. My baby was fussing, so I took her out of her car seat and held her on my lap. There was a lady in the room who kept smiling and talking to my baby. She was a grandmother who was there with her husband, daughter, and grandson. After a few minutes, she stood up, walked over to me, held her arms out to my baby and said, "Mind if I hold her?" She seemed surprised when I said "I'd rather not, sorry". There have been others I've come across in stores and waiting rooms who have not tried to hold her, but they have no problem sticking their hand in her car seat and touching her feet, her hands, and her cheeks.

You know those signs you see at zoos everywhere that say something like, "Please Don't Feed the Animals"? Because what you feed them, and the amount you feed them, could make them sick, along with the possibility that the animal could try to attack you or bite your hand off if you've got food you're offering them. Well, I think there should be a public service announcement, and signs everywhere that say, "Please Do Not Touch the Babies." (And while we're there, we'll go ahead and add "Please Do Not Feed the Babies and Children" as well, but that's a topic for another time.) And by 'babies', I mean babies that do not belong to you, or at least babies that you do not know. I've found that this act of touching other people's babies is especially prevalent in older generations, ages 60+. Just so you know, I am also generally uncomfortable if strangers touch/pick up my 4-year-old, but this is not a very common occurrence, so I'm focusing on babies for now.

Why do people feel the need to touch strangers' babies?! I mean, I get the appeal. Babies are precious and adorable. I think mine is especially irresistible. But why do people think it's ok? Babies are not public property. This starts before a baby is even born. People cannot keep their hands off of a pregnant woman's belly. Fortunately, I have not personally experienced this, but I know lots of women whose bellies have been touched by mere acquaintances, or even strangers, without permission. Babies are not public property, and neither are women's bodies. 

I am simply uncomfortable with strangers touching my baby. If you really want to, ask. Some people may be ok with it if you ask first. But please don't be surprised or offended if I say I'd rather you didn't. I'm not saying that you look sick or that I think you look like a psychopath. But you are a stranger, and I do not know you. If you're a family member or friend, it's ok to touch my baby. I only expect that you have the common sense to only touch my baby if your hands are clean and you haven't been sick or caring for someone who is sick. It's still a nice touch if you ask first. And please, there is never a reason to ever put your fingers in my baby's mouth, unless she is choking or on the verge of choking. Likewise, if there's an emergency, and you need to touch the baby to save her, by all means, go for it. But as a general rule:

Please Do Not Touch the Babies!