Category: Health

What’s Wrong With The Media Diet Story?

First they took away my bagels. Then they threatened my breakfast. Now they’re trying to talk me into fasting.

By they you know who I mean: the journalists who jump on every research study, no matter how limited the results, no matter how flimsy, to tell us how to stay healthy, lose weight, and become better human beings. Ok, I made up the last one.

I’ve been on this media diet for years. In fact, I’m guilty of covering  stories like “The New Diet Pills.”  I’ve Slim-Fasted and Low-Carbed and at this point all I know is that skepticism is essential in a world gone kale crazy.

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Here’s what I’ve told my students about understanding research:

Go deeper and link to the research article. If the journal is behind a paywall, you can still read the abstract.

Check for potential bias and conflicts of interest. Researchers must disclose their relationships with the industry. Ask who funded the study. Is it the National Kale Foundation touting the benefits of kale? OK, you know I hate kale, but it doesn’t always mean that the study is biased. Still, it’s important to know when evaluating the study.

Next, look at the study methods. If it’s a sleep study, did people self-report their snooze habits or were they observed in controlled environments?

When it comes to that fasting study, did they study mice, men or women? Which one are you?

Was it a longitudinal study – done over many years with many participants – or a limited study that included a small group of people in an obscure part of the world?

How significant is this? Do these findings replicate a previous study? Or do the experts say it’s promising or needs further study?

Then, look in the mirror and ask: Is this relevant for me?

My mirror said: “Healthy overweight friend, you need some scrambled eggs for breakfast or else you’ll get dizzy and fall over.”

But hey, feel free to fast if it makes you happy.

As for me, I’m waiting for the breakthrough study that finally reveals that bagels lead to a long and happy life.

Are We Getting Smarter About Working Out?

On the treadmill yesterday, going nowhere at 3.4 miles per hour, I was thinking about the ages and stages of my workout/ life balance. I know women my age who absolutely live for the gym, who tell me how much I would love cycling class if only I would just try it. My workout goal is to get in, get out, and over to Starbucks for a Venti Decaf Iced Americano. No cycling required.

Watching the women in their 30s  to 70s around me, some on the elliptical, others running next to me, I was flashing back to my single 20s and early 30s – hanging out at the Downtown Athletic Club all sweaty doing aerobics in my black leotard and tights. exercise-969300_640 (2)

As a young mother, I moved on to an uptown club for sculpting classes and workouts with my first trainer. In my 40s, I landed at this all-female gym, a place with great childcare, where I could show up in sweatpants and oatmeal stains on my shirt, which is exactly what I did yesterday after dropping my son off at school.

About 10 minutes in, I was thinking about how much exercise we really need to stay healthy and alert as we age, and an image popped into my head. Researchers had put rats into cages with running wheels to discover the connections between the intensity of various workouts and the creation of new brain cells in the “mature brain.” Surprisingly, according to a recent article  about the research, almost all the rats seemed to gain some benefit, even those that were just “slowly skittering” about.

When I was done, I checked my stats: 1.2 miles, 100 calories; nothing to boast about but I still felt fine. Whatever the intensity, I was living at my own pace. Come springtime, I will be off the treadmill without feeling guilty, intensely happy to be out of the gym and back walking in the sunshine.

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Why Work Friends Become Real Friends

Why do we still feel connected to some work friends from our past and not to others?

I thought about this yesterday when two random events brought this home to me and I realized I was closely linked to two women because sometimes colleagues become confidantes and real friends.

At Starbucks, I ran into Jean, a journalist I used to work with at The Sun in Baltimore.  After we hugged, we spent an hour catching up about our kids, our lives, and our current careers – in that order – because at this stage that’s how it usually goes. What I most remember during our time at The Sun many years ago was that as her star rose and mine fell, she remained loyal. It wasn’t the most political choice for her and I was grateful. As we were leaving Starbucks, we noticed another former colleague busy writing on his laptop. We didn’t stop,

Around 10 that evening when I scanned my Facebook feed, I was stunned to see a post from Charlyne, sharing that it was one of the worst days of her life. Her husband Carter had died at home with hospice care. We had started our careers as journalists at The Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale and then, as things often happened, she had come up to work at The Sun a year or two after I had.

There’s been a lot of conversation lately about the public/private disclosure of the most personal health information and Charlyne had chosen the private way. For years – and we had not seen each other for many years after she moved back to Florida – she has been one of my favorite Facebook friends, always congratulating me on life’s milestones and my family, and sharing great articles about journalism.

I woke up crying this morning thinking about Charlyne and the death of her husband. I woke up thinking about her friendship during my illness when I was 30 and single and trying to keep my illness private. I also remembered how thrilled I was when she met Carter. She deserved all the happiness in the world.

Real friends step outside the workplace. I think of Jean and Charlyne as two women who stood by me when I was vulnerable. They changed my life and made me believe that kindness could be found everywhere, even at work.

 

The Secret of Turning Twice30

Many people don’t get the chance to turn 30 twice.

That’s the way I’m looking at it.  It’s a gentle way of thinking about turning 60 which is coming up this year.  It’s also a year of milestones: Celebrating 30 amazing years of survival after a life-threatening illness, 25 years of marriage (one of us deserves a medal!), and two great children I thought I might never have. On good days people tell me I don’t look a day over 55. Listen folks, I’ve got a mirror and if it could talk it would tell me: You have the face – jowls and all – that you’ve earned. So much for SPF 30!

So in celebrating this year, I’ve been reflecting on family, friendships, work, life trajectories, and what it’s like to come full circle in my third career – teaching college students about media after my first career as a journalist and my second as an attorney. I’ve got a lot on my mind – both the serious and the lighthearted – and I’m tired of the “boomer narrative” that doesn’t match the lives of the women I know.

I’m hoping to connect with old friends and new ones.  Share your thoughts and stay in touch.