We all know that fast food is bad for us. But I came across a news story that is unbelievable, and puts a new meaning to the old saying that fast food is bad for us. Bad or almost fatal in a North Carolina man’s case. The man who was plagued with coughing fits had a 1-inch piece of plastic removed from his lung. The plastic was a piece of a utensil that he had inhaled nearly two years earlier while gulping down a soda at Wendy’s.

How can you Inhale a Utensil?

Doctors at Duke University Medical Center say the plastic fragment of an eating utensil — with the Wendy’s logo still legible on the side — was likely to blame for the coughing, fatigue and pneumonia spells that plagued John Manley for almost two years. They removed the fast-food foreign object from Manley’s left lung. And the 50-year-old man said he probably inhaled it while gulping a drink from Wendy’s.

The Surprise to Doctors

His doctor said he still remembers his staff’s amazement in the operating room when they pulled it out. “We’re looking at it and realizing that there are letters on it … We started reading out loud, ‘A-M-B-U-R-G-E-R,’ and realized it spelled, ‘hamburgers.’ “Everybody was shocked. We had no clue why something that said, ‘hamburgers’ would be in someone’s lung,” he said. They had read a side of the plastic that spelled Wendy’s motto of “Old Fashioned Hamburgers.”

Why are American’s Addicted to Fast Food?

I know it’s not funny to have something lodged in your lung, but when I read this article I laughed. Are American’s so addicted to fast food that we have resorted to eating the plastic ware at our local Wendy’s? I was baffled that a person could consume a utensil and not know it. I feel bad for him and his wife who probably thought he had cancer or some other terrible condition. Also going through bouts of pneumonia can’t be fun either. This story has further reinforced my theory that fast food is hazardous to our health as a nation.

Obesity in America

America is home to the most obese people in the world. According to the CDC, obesity in adults has increased by 60% within the past twenty years and obesity in children has tripled in the past thirty years. 33% of American adults are obese and obesity-related deaths have climbed to more than 300,000 a year, second only to tobacco-related deaths.  If you are looking for a safe medication that can help you loose weight, you should try Xenical online.  Xenical is a safe, FDA-approved medication to help men and women loose weight.

Fast Food Nation

Fast food has become a large percentage of American’s diet, so it is no wonder that a link has been established between fast food and obesity in America. Some studies have shown that eating fast food for three or more meals each week results in a higher incidence of obesity and larger BMI’s. This is an alarming statistic for a nation with such a high incidence of obesity and a fast food chain on nearly every corner. Studies have shown that families that eat fast food more often are also less likely to keep healthy food like fresh fruits and vegetables in their house.

About The Author –
Lisa Macfarlane is a professional health writer and editor who specializes in sexual health and health issues.
My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-a723429876c55b30f9000218796858e1}

Although candy and soft drinks are known to cause cavities, many people have been surprised to learn their energy bars, and drinks can be just as bad for their teeth as candy.

Dentist have also been surprised by amount of healthy and athletic patients with an increasing amount of cavities. Apparently a dentist tracked down the culprit of all these unnecessary cavities, by asking a patient what she consumed daily. The one thing was consistent in her diet every day was nutrition bars.

“It’s the consistency of these bars,” says Dr. Richard Price, consumer advisor for the American Dental Association and a retired Boston-area dentist. “They’re sticky and when something is sticky it stays in the mouth longer and the longer it stays in the mouth, the more time bacteria have to work on it. That creates an environment that’s not healthy for teeth.”

The problem with energy bars and drinks is that they all have tons of sugar and caffeine and are usually consumed when we are “on the go”. Initially the problem lies with the fact that if we are biking, hiking, running, or just going to work we are not brushing and flossing on the go.

“Bacteria use the stuff in the energy bars to make acid which softens the enamel,” says Dr. Jane Soxman, a spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry. “If you add to it the phosphoric acid in soft drinks or the citric acid in energy drinks or sports drinks, then it’s a perfect storm for tooth decay. Once isn’t bad, but it’s the repeated exposure, the chronic use. Eventually you’ll get a cavity.”

So what do you do right? Well dentist recommend drinking water, directly after eating an energy bar or drinking an energy drink. Also there are new mini on the go toothbrushes made by Colgate called Wisp that can easily be carried and used on the go. But in my opinion they should be used in conjunction with water to get the bacteria out of your mouth.

About the Author -
Lisa Macfarlane is a professional health writer and editor who specializes in sexual health and health issues.

A Mediterranean diet, rich in nuts, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and healthy oils, reduces the likelihood that patients recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes will need drugs to lower their blood sugar, according to a new study.

The Diet Was Tested

Among diabetics who followed the Mediterranean-style diet, only 44 percent required the blood sugar-lowering medicines known as antihyperglycemic drugs, compared to 70 percent of patients who followed the standard, low-fat diet recommended by cardiologists, according to a report in the Sept. 1 edition of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Patients on the Mediterranean-style diet also lost more weight and experienced greater improvements in blood sugar control and coronary risk measures than those on the low-fat diet. According to a report this week from ABC news.

Diet or Common Sense?

So what does this mean for people who just aren’t willing to change their diet? Well I guess there is no way to tell if this particular diet will work for you and help your diabetes unless you give it a try. At the least, it should help your heart health, most of us know that eating good fats/oils is better for our hearts, then say saturated fats. Also fruits, nuts, veggies, and whole grains are great foods for all of us. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be on the food pyramid right? So over all this diet sounds pretty good and I think it would not only benefit those of you with diabetes, but the rest of us as well. Along with exercise and weight loss.