Drinking your chemistry set

Are You Being Fooled by Zero Calorie Sodas?
Vin Miller,  July 17th, 2009

Coke Zero and Pepsi MaxZero calorie sodas such as Coke Zero and Pepsi Max are slowly but surely becoming the next generation of diet soft drinks. Based on their popularity, people are obviously drinking them, but if they don’t contain any calories, then what exactly is it that you’re drinking?

As a result of consuming too much processed food that’s high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, the majority of the population is overweight and many of the people who are trying to slim down by cutting calories are failing miserably. As such, zero calorie beverages such as Coke Zero and Pepsi Max are not the answer to weight loss that many people believe them to be, and to make matters worse, the chemical additives in these beverages can compromise your health. 

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Home Disadvantage - where you live affects your health

A small Seattle community battles health disparities that disproportionately affect the poor and people of color.   |   Laura T. Coffey | March 30, 2011

In the absence of a major supermarket, three corner markets along South Park's main drag sell cigarettes, beer, wine, chips, candy, sugary cereals, and Hungry-Man TV dinners. Two of the three stores don't have produce sections at all. One of them, South Park Grocery, has large Camel cigarette ads on the floor directly in front of the candy selections.

Antoinette Angulo, a health-education program manager with Sea Mar Community Health Centers, which provides five clinics for low-income South Park residents, says uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes is widespread among clinic patients. Worse yet, adults with diabetes here and in nearby Georgetown are more likely to die from the disease or related conditions than are adults in neighboring communities.

"There's absolutely a food desert here," Angulo says. "The whole environment is set up to make it the hardest choice possible for people to eat healthy."

The American Prospect

FRESH, a Film Screening & Panel Discussion

"If Food Inc. was your wake up call, Fresh, The Movie is your call to action"--Vanessa Barrington of ecosalon.com

Come learn about the changes you can make in the local food movement while supporting Seattle's own Danny Woo Children's Garden! The evening features an exclusive screening of FRESH, a film focused on celebrating the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.

Join us for a prescreening reception in the lobby where you can meet our resident chickens, learn about worm bin maintenance, enter to win some amazing raffle prizes and bid on spectacular auction items from local Seattle businesses! Doors open at 6:30PM, screening begins at 7PM with a panel discussion to follow.

Movie begins promptly at 7:00PM
Event location: Grand Illusion Cinema (in Seattle's U-District) 1403 NE 50th St.

Ticket price: $15 (www.brownpapertickets.com/event/158448) Seating is limited, buy your tickets NOW!

Let's Walk Seattle!

On April 6, join Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine with the American Heart Association to promote health and wellness.   Click for event details.

Get great kid-friendly fitness tips during a live one-hour web chat

Exercise physiologist & and registered dietitian Felicia Stoler on ways fitness can combat childhood obesity

Monday, March 7 at 11 a.m. PST

View/Participate here

Childhood obesity is a hot topic, but what can parents to do help their children get in shape? Get great kid-friendly fitness tips during a live one-hour web chat on Monday, March 7th at 11 a.m. with Felicia Stoler. Stoler is an exercise physiologist and registered dietitian and the author of "Living Skinny in Fat Genes: The Healthy Way to Lose Weight and Feel Great." Stoler also hosted the TLC show "Honey, We're Killing the Kids!"

Enter your email for a live-chat reminder.

Can't make the chat? Email your questions in advance to chat moderator Jeannine Stein at jeannine.stein@latimes.com.

Let's Move news

Medical Students Support ‘Let’s Move’ Campaign to Fight Childhood Obesity

Michelle Obama, Officials Announce Increased School Meal Efforts

Shushing the first lady.

National Let's Move flash mob(-ish). 

An impressive new study was released in the American Journal of Public Health linking television viewing to childhood obesity.

Welcome Binghamton!