Health and Wellness on the Web

Okay, so I don't have a problem with obiesety, but I would like to be a little bit more active, so I liked the Google Map Pedometer very much. I was able to calculate a few different routes in my neighbourhood for me to walk around once the weather gets a little less hot. Walking is something I'd love to do more of, but the oppressive heat and humidity of our state often leaves me running back indoors where the a/c is. When I was in Seattle last month, I took a great pleasure in walking around because the weather was cool enough for me to putter around without getting too hot, plus I was walking uphill. In fact, it seemed everywhere I wanted to go was uphill...

Other sites in this week's OCLS Learn 2.1 lesson didn't exactly hit the mark with me. I signed up for an account with NutritionData, and when I attempted to plug in my lunch in the search field, a homemade salad with cut pears, well, the listings weren't quite what I wanted. Instead of a plain salad with, you know, lettuce and a mix of other leaves (dandelion, arugula, etc), I wound up with listings from all kinds of fast food places with their salad listings. The only thing homemade that I was able to look for by putting in "salad" was a homemade potato salad. I tried to plug in my dinner last night, vegetable makhani (leftovers from an Indian restaurant), and no results were found.

Finally, I was able to find something with the entry "pear," after scrolling past all sorts of canned options and others I can't conceive ("canned with heavy syrup, sulfered and stewed with added sugar"). A raw pear, which I have in my salad for lunch today, does have a listing. Apparently it is on the tip of the green point on the colourful triangle (ooh!), and according to the website: "This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin C, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber." However, "[a] large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars."

I figured I'd do a search for something I know might not be super-good, so I looked up "scones." Unfortunately, they don't have a homemade option for scones; instead, it comes up as Food from Starbucks. Well, since I do make blueberry scones at home, and often for the cafe I bake for, I took a look at the Nutrition Facts for Starbucks' version. I wish there was an ingredients listing along with all this nutritional data, so that way I can further compare it with what I make, since I don't know if Starbucks and I use the same ingredients. Attempts to look on Starbucks.com for ingredient listings were futile, as the two locations I clicked on in the Orlando area gave me a notice that the nutritional information was unavailable for the two stores.

Bugger.

I don't know, I think perhaps my eating style might be too unconventional for NutritionData. It's good for folks who eat out more, but I often eat stuff that's either homemade or from Mom & Pop restaurants that don't have a spot in the NutritionData listing. Or stuff that is utterly sublime, but is often met with weird looks, like my vegetarian take on the Guberburger, a hamburger topped with peanut butter. Seriously, it's good; get a tomato-basil Gardenburger patty topped with peanut butter (non-hydrogenated), and add some basil leaves, crunchy bean sprouts, lettuce or spinach, and a squeeze of lime, and sandwich it between two parts of a Martin's potato roll bun, and you've got yourself something wicked tasty!

All in all, I'm not too worried about my diet, although I would like to increase my B-vitamin intake. Currently, I am taking B-12 supplements perscribed by my regular doctor because we found out earlier this year that I have a deficiency, which is common among vegetarians. That's my main nutritional concern at the moment. As far as my protein and iron levels go, I'm meeting or exceeding my daily quota for those.

Atlhough I would love to take some tai chi or bellydancing classes, I'm a bit on the broke side. Okay, more like I'm over on the broke side, and I'm probably going to be kickin' it there for a while. Oh well. As long as I can keep my B-vitamin levels in good standing, and if I can move to a place that isn't so hot so I can do some walking (or get an air-conditioned bubble suit to walk around in Orlando), I think I'll be in good health, barring any sort of bizarre disease or getting hit by a car or something.