A new study says that one of our favorite goodies is actually OK to eat – in moderation!

It seems that every new health study that comes out gives us contradictory information. One of the latest studies tells us that chocolate in moderation can be good for our heart health.
What?

• Does this mean that we can finally pour the chocolate syrup on our ice cream sundae?
• Can we eat an entire chocolate bar at the movies without worries?
• That heavily frosted four-level chocolate cake is good for us?

The answers to all the questions, is, unfortunately, a resounding No!
The chocolate-heart study (click here to read it) posted by the American Heart Association, is clear that only a moderate amount of chocolate is OK.

As an official from the American Heart Association warns:

“Those tempted to use these data as their rationale for eating large amounts of chocolate or engaging in more frequent chocolate consumption are not interpreting this study appropriately,” said Linda Van Horn, Ph.D., R.D., immediate past chair of the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee and professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “This is not an ‘eat all you want’ take-home message, rather it’s that eating a little dark chocolate can be healthful, as long as other adverse behaviors do not occur, such as weight gain or excessive intake of non-nutrient dense ‘empty’ calories.”

Here are Basic Facts about Your Heart:

The normal human heart is a strong, muscular pump a little larger than a fist. Each day an average heart “beats” (expands and contracts) 100,000 times and pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood. In a 70-year lifetime, an average human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times.
The heart has four chambers through which blood is pumped. The upper two are the right and left atria. The lower two are the right and left ventricles. Four valves open and close to let blood flow in only one direction when the heart beats.

Click here to read about the warning signs of a heart attacks, courtesy of the American Heart Association.

Access to resources makes a world of difference

One name, two fates.

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan

This quote reminds me of the story of Wes Moore, a Rhodes scholar, a White House fellow and a business leader who overcame the odds to succeed.

Moore wrote a biography, "The Other Wes Moore," released in April, about his experiences growing up in inner city Baltimore, raised by a single mom who worked tirelessly to use the resources around her to give him greater access to education and opportunity.

That's one side to the story. The book is also about the other Wes Moore, a man who grew up in the same neighborhood, around the same time, with the name name, who ultimately was convicted of murdering a police officer during a robbery attempt. He is in prison for life without parole. This Wes Moore had a strong mother too, but while she was working to support the family, her sons - ages 11 and 12 at the time - began dealing drugs. This mother has publicly said she didn't know where to go for help, didn't know what resources were available to her sons, and she wished she had done things differently.

This story is not entirely unique.  Here in Springfield, we have youth who grow up in the same community, under similar circumstances, yet make extremely different choices. Often, the reason behind their divergent paths is one person having access to community programs, resources, opportunities and support programs, while the other one does not.

The Mason Square Health Task Force is an agency working alongside so many others to improve the quality of life for our youth and adults here. We want our youth to lead productive lives like the first Wes Moore, whose book became an instant New York Times best-seller. 

In our efforts to continue to inform you about the array of services provided to residents in our community, we are putting together the Mason Square Resource Initiative, a comprehensive directory for substance abuse, prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support for youth, families and adults.

We are seeking submissions about your programs with your name, contact information, location, and other relevant material for placement in the guide. The guide will be posted on the Mason Square Health Task Force website and updated routinely. Please send information to Govan@mlkjrfamilyservices.org.

To learn more or to purchase a copy of the book visit the author's website at http://theotherwesmoore.com.)

An extraordinary blogger you should read

Adia Colar

The Internet provides us with many opportunities to better health. Not only are there hundreds of thousands of health-related web site that report on the latest medical research, treatments, discoveries and controversies, there are also bloggers who bravely share their health issues.
Adia Colar is one such blogger. A publicist who promotes psychology, self-help and health books, Adia is also a freelance writer who has written about many subjects, including her own recovery from an eating disorder.
Her essays are posted on her own blog and other places, such as the multi-million hit site Psychology Today and  Huffington Post
Her blog entries are engaging and informative. She has strongly-held beliefs and shares them with humor, anger, pain, always honestly, giving courage to a lot of women who feel similarly but haven't had the words to express themselves. For them, Adia provides a bridge between what they feel and how to describe their feelings.


Sample quote from a blog entry by Adia on the television show, "The Price of Beauty," which shows the extremely painful -- physically and emotionally -- lengths some woman go to fill in mainstream media's definition of what a beautiful woman should look like:

"The optimal way for me to be with someone like that is to accept myself, curves, lumps, bumps, aunties, and all and not settle for anyone who didn't feel the same way." 

When NBC decided to produce yet another show that ultimately serves to make people feel bad about their bodies, "Thintervention with Jackie Warner," Adia wrote a pointed letter to the network:

"Dear NBC,

Sigh. You're doing it again. First it was The Biggest Loser, then Losing It with Jillian, then Bravo planned a SkinnyGirl show before Bethenny Frankel got pregnant, and now you've created Thintervention with Jackie Warner.

I already know about the dangers of The Biggest Loser. Third season's Kai Hibbard has recounted her experiences, including:

• trainers encouraging contestants to dehydrate before weigh-ins,
• overexercising,
• contestants being pushed to work out despite being injured,
• producers overriding doctors' orders

...and more. Kai has shared how she ended up developing an eating disorder that she still struggles with as a result of her experiences on the show.

But simply having a weight-, eating-, and workout-dysfunctional show wasn't enough for you. To reward The Biggest Loser's high ratings, you gave the main trainer, Jillian Michaels, her own show to further spread this dangerous, deceptive message."

One of the greatest things about Internet is the many web sites that offer free blogging templates -- essentially, a blog is a web site where you write short essays about whatever subject you want --  so that people can share their experiences and thoughts. And sometimes, there are bloggers who share information that benefits a world of people. Adia is among those bloggers.
For more information on how to set up your own blog, here is a short list of free blogging sites that provide a range of templates -- or designs -- for you to choose from. They also show you step-by-step how to set up your blog so that you, too, can share information that, like Adia, can be helpful to untold millions of people.

• www.blogger.com
• www.wordpress.com
• Blog.com

The 2010 Presidential Citizen's Medal

President Barack Obama presented the 2010 Citizens Medal at the White House on Aug. 4, a honor bestowed on citizens who give back to the community because they know that what makes a community strong is the strength of its members to work together to make it a better place for everyone.

This video is "good news"  television - no spotlight on what goes wrong in society, just a simple recognition of what goes right. You won't see this on the network or cable news, unfortunately. But you can know about it here!

As President Obama said, "What unites these citizens, what makes them special, is the determination they share -- to right a wrong; to see a need and then meet it; to recognize when others are suffering and take it upon themselves to make a difference.
When they saw a veteran in need of proper care, or a teenage mom who could use a helping hand, they didn’t just shake their heads and keep on walking.  They didn’t write it off as another example of life not being fair.  Instead, they saw it as a problem to solve, a challenge to meet, a call to action that they could not ignore.
So, just to give a few examples here.  When Jorge Muñoz saw homeless men gathered on a street corner with nothing to eat, he could have rolled up his window and driven away.  Instead he came home from his job as a school bus driver and started cooking hot meals for anyone who was hungry.  These days, the “Angel of Queens” feeds over 100 people every night, rain or shine.  And Jorge says, ”You have to see their smile.  That’s what I get paid.”

If you know of someone who merits presidential recognition for community service, click here to find out how to tell the White House about her or him!