Rising obesity in Japan

Japan, a country traditionally known for the longevity of its population, is seeing the effects of processed and fast food, and overall lack of exercise, in rising obesity rates among its younger generation. Scary thought. This according to an article I found on CNN.
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Now, part of me wonders what being enrolled in such a program must do for the emotional well-being of a child (How do you sugarcoat the message that they need to be enrolled in 'special classes' because they're fat?). And a bigger part of me thinks that I'd love to see these types of specialized programs in Canada. Not just summer fat camps, but programs that children and teens can attend during the school year.

I love the fact that the Japanese government is taking initiative and actively combatting child obesity before it gets out of hand.

The government has set aside about $600,000 in the 2006-2007 budget to tackle child heft. The Health Ministry also plans to research the link between parents' lifestyles and overweight children, and support selected towns to promote healthier eating habits.

Heavy kids are also flocking to programs like Sayaka's in central Tokyo. Opened in 1985, the Health and Sports Class' one-year curriculum is split between sports and nutrition and health lessons for children and parents.

In a one-on-one monthly session, the parent and child are given specific instructions on how to improve their eating and living habits. Many continue on with the program even after their year ends.

Finding time for Cuba

Isak and I are still savouring in the memories of our recent cruise and already, we are planning our next vacation. Normally, we wouldn't even think of going on our next holiday until months down the road except that this time, we have a deadline. Deadline for a holiday? Yup.

Last July, we went to Varadero, Cuba for our honeymoon. Excellent vacation except for 2 days of food poisoning-- ugh! Those 2 days were not pleasant to say the least. Anyways, the resort generously gave us a voucher for a free one week all-inclusive stay in the same resort. It's good for one year and all we have to do is pay for our flight. So, we have until July to make use of this free vacation.

However, we'd like to go to Cuba before May, the start of the hurricane season. And after the number of hurricanes we had last year, I'd rather not take any risks. Although we had great weather during our honeymoon, we had actually just missed a hurricane when we arrived. The resort was intact but power was just being restored when we got there.

I am looking forward to sunny, lazy and luxurious days on white sandy beaches. And I'm also excited about walking through the streets of Old Havana (cross my fingers we get to go this time). I've been reading up on Havana in general and there is so much culture and music to soak up -- definitely not doable in one day. So here's my short list of places to visit:

1. Catedral de San Cristóbal de la Habana - according to Lonely Planet, this church was described by novelist Alejo Carpentier as 'music set in stone'.
2. Capitolio Nacional - an architectural highlight, Cuba's equivalent of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington
3. Coppelia Ice - a popular ice cream parlour in the Vedado district on 23 esquina L
4. Malecón - the world famous seaside avenue which is apparently "the soul of Havana"
5. Havana China town - China town in Havana, who knew? All I know is that it's on Dragones Street.

Cave Man meat

Since watching Frankensteer on CBC, a documentary on what the beef industry has done and is doing to our cows, and how it affects the beef we eat, it's been very difficult to eat beef. In fact, after watching the the episode, I couldn't eat beef for weeks and I'm surprised that I can eat it now, at least once in a while.

These days, Isak and I try to have some organic meat at least once every two weeks (organic meat is still much more expensive than non-organic meat). During our visits to the Village Market, we sometimes pick-up some lamb (from Reachview Farm), and sometimes venison (from Deer Valley Farm). Like all the meat we get at this market, the venison has no hormones or antibiotics, and no pesticides.

I've made stew from venison. Extremely lean meat and delicious in a stew. And yesterday we had venison steaks. The steaks, though tasty, reminded me a bit of liver. I don't like liver. I sauteed some onions to go with my steak, cooked in a pan with a bit of steak spice, and it was fine. Venison.ca has some recipes though-- I should take a look.

A search for the health benefits of venison on the site of Dr. Mercola produced a few articles. This one by Dr. Loren Cordain talks about how the Cave Man's Diet is healthy for you.

The Cave Man's diet consists of "certain kinds of fish, wild game such as venison, or grass-fed meat such as beef."

The researchers conducted detailed chemical analysis of the meats people ate 10,000 years ago and compared those results to the most common meat people eat today. They found that wild game, such as venison or elk meat, as well as grass-fed beef, contain a mixture of fats that are a ctually healthy for you, and, the researchers say, lower cholesterol and reduce other chronic disease risk.

Recent studies have indicated that a healthy diet should contain a balance of essential fats. The two types of most concern are omega-6 and omega-3, and both are essential for proper nutrition.

The article goes on to identify the types of fish and game that contains the healthy fats. It also explains the result of an anthropological study.

Previous studies have found that nearly all - 97 percent - of the world's hunter gatherer societies would have exceeded recommended guidelines for fat. Although this may be surprising to many people, it fits exactly with what research is showing about the importance of specific types of fat in the diet.

Current research is showing that, with the decline of fat in the diet, the amount of fat isn't as important as the relative amounts, or ratio, of specific fats in your diet. It's a qualitative issue, not a quantitative issue. By eating more of the good fat you can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.