Blood Pressure

Sensible, regular exercise is without doubt good for a healthy heart. Previously we noted:

You can really help your blood pressure and general health by working regular aerobic exercise into your routine but this doesn’t mean you have to start training for a marathon.

Alternative to the London Marathon

Recently we noticed this interesting fundraising page promoting one of Bob’s charity fundraising event Not running the London Marathon as a reaction to not being allocated a place in this years London Marathon. It is hoped that this concept will be seen as a solution for all fundraisers who are disappointed each year when they fail to be selected for the event.

Running or Walking – Just do it!

This approach is certainly one way to do your bit for fundraising and still get the benefits of excercise without jostling with sweaty runners and bumping into Rhinos

With the growing conciousness of the carbon footprint far flung elaborate organised charity events leave there is more interest in local sponsored walks and running events which are both green and healthy.

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Food producers are taking a new tack in their long-running effort to sell products with less salt. Instead of offering foods labeled as low salt that few people eat, they are gradually reducing the salt from some of their most popular menu items – but not making a point of it on the lable. Source Wall Street Journal.

This is finally a good step in the right direction and none too soon.

Why not taper the salt content to zero? We’re past the days when it was needed as a preservative. If someone wants the stuff, they can always add it.

This is a great idea. By a slow reduction in salt content people will adjust to it without cutting back on purchases of the product. That will allow producers to make further cuts in salt content until we reach a more healthful level. Unfortunatley restaurants will need to make reductions as well.

The elimination of salt in most prepared food products would be a welcome development. I note with interest that so called chefs on cooking shows seem to use entirely too much salt in preparing their dishes. I have cooked salt free for my entire adult life and find my food as flavorable as any other food preparations. Salt is far from the only effective seasoning. The use of proper herbs and other non-salt spices can provide a tasty and enjoyable
palate.

But what about the sugar?

It matters not to me how much salt is removed from prepared foods. They can remove all of it as far as I’m concerned. I can always replace it, and then some, at home. But I can’t remove the sugar that food manufacturers add to foods that normally would not require sugar at all. That is, I don’t know of any recipes that call for putting sugar in tomato soup. But Campbell’s sure adds it. And so do almost every other soup and prepared food manufacturers. And it can’t be removed when you bring it home. I’m much more concerned about the arbitrary addition of sugar and other sweeteners to prepared food. And not only healthwise. It just ruins the taste of otherwise reasonably good food.

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