Examiner Articles: Good for you food of the week

Every Thursday, my Examiner article focuses on a different healthy food. I call it the good for you food of the week, and this week it's garlic. Some people love it, some hate it. But regardless of how you feel about it, garlic has numerous health benefits. Read about them here.

Let It Grow

I started out last week with a flurry of new ideas for blog posts, and then mid-week I came down with a case of the cruds: sore throat, achy head and neck, fatigue. With a busy schedule, blog posts had to wait until I could recover. But it’s a new week and I’m feeling much better, so here we go.

My first topic this week is the physical and nutritional benefits of gardening. Now that most of us are enjoying spring weather, the time is right to think about planting a garden. You don’t have to sacrifice a large portion of your yard. Even if you live in an apartment or condo, you can still use containers to grow your plants, or look for a community garden in your area. Tending a garden as a family accomplishes several things: First, it provides wholesome food to feed your family, which can also save time, money and gas, since you don’t have to make that trip to the store when you need a few tomatoes for a recipe. Second, it can be a great workout. Pulling weeds and digging in the soil can increase your heart rate and strengthen yoru arms and back. And finally, it gives each member of the family a chance to contribute to a group project.

Homegrown produce always tastes best! By growing your own, you will know exactly which products were used on your fruits and vegetables. Kids love to “get dirty” and can help by putting plants in the ground and watering. And don't forget the physical benefits: A 150-pound person can burn 286 calories by gardening for an hour.

A garden can also be a source of pride. Even young children can literally see the fruits (or veggies, or even flowers) of their labors and say, “I helped create that!” Taking care of something and watching it grow and prosper carries over to other lessons in life. Besides, at the end of a warm summer day, there is nothing like sitting on the back porch and enjoying a bowl of homegrown strawberries with your family.

Cola Wars

I'll admit it: I have a love/hate relationship with diet soda. On the one hand, it's a calorie free way to quench my thirst and has more flavor than water. On the other hand, there is more and more research to show that it can be much more harmful than you may realize. Recent studies suggest that the artificial sweeteners in diet soda actually make us crave more of the real thing. And that leads to overeating.

I joke sometimes that I need a diet Pepsi "patch." I've given it up several times--as part of a new nutrition plan, for Lent, as a New Year's resolution--but I always seem to find myself running back to my old flame. I'll be out running errands and that cooler at the checkout will seduce me like Antonio Banderas holding a bouquet of roses in a candlelit room. Without thinking, I add it to my cart. As soon as my purchases are stored away, I climb in behind the wheel, open the cap and those fizzy bubbles start tickling my nose. I take a long sip of the sweet, dark beverage, savoring it as it bounces down my throat. OK, I'll say it: I might even let out a loud, raucous burp of satisfaction. But as is true with any addiction, the following sips are not quite as fulfilling as the first.

At one point, I was going through 2 to 4 cans every day. More than a 12-pack each week. That can really add up, especially if you're not the only one in the house drinking it. And I've found that it's true: I really do crave sweet things when I drink diet sodas. I try to avoid caffeine, but sometimes it's the only option. When I drink too much of it, I get headaches and I tend to develop fibroid tumors in my breasts, which can be painful, and may panic you into scheduling a mammogram if you haven't had one recently. Better to be safe than sorry.

Well, this year I took a different approach to giving up soda, one not entirely of my choosing. Like most humans, I have been forced to reexamine my spending during this recession and eliminate anything that's not an absolute essential, so soda has been out for the past few months. Instead, I usually drink water or decaf herbal tea. And guess what? No more headaches, no sugary cravings, my skin looks better, and I just feel better in general. I can't really say for sure, but I think I may have finally kicked the diet soda habit for good.

There will always be that temptation at the checkout, and it will be hard to avoid diet soda entirely. In the past four months, I have had maybe 8 diet sodas, a dramatic change from my 2+ can a day habit. Sure, I'll probably still order an occasional soda if we go out to eat or if we're at a party and there are some in the cooler. But from now on, I'm putting diet soda in the category of "sometimes food" and I think that's the way it will stay.