New York City Approaching Deadline For Public Comments on Sugary Drinks Ban – July 24, 2012

Image courtesy of USA Today.Everyone probably remembers the big – but short burst – of traditional media coverage of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to limit sugary drink cup sizes to a maximum of 16 ounces in restaurants, but what you may not know is that this coming Tuesday, July 24, 2012, there will be a public hearing on the ban, and it will also be the last day to give public comments.

The NYC Board of Health will vote on the proposal sometime in September 2012. If the proposal is approved, it will go into effect in March 2013.

While the beverage industry obviously objects, the health care community is singing the praises of the proposal.

Dr. Joseph Vassalotti, chief medical officer of the National Kidney Foundation applauded the proposal in a statement saying, “Currently, there 1.3 million New Yorkers suffering from chronic kidney disease and that number is rising. Recent research shows that consumption of sugary sodas results in obesity.”

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More Fruits and Vegetables in Kids Diets Means Lower Risk of Early Heart Disease, Say Experts

Photo courtesy of The Tehran Times Daily Newspaper.

We all know that adding more fruits and vegetables to our family’s diet is important, but it’s good to remember why. Besides improving our own health, we also teach our kids healthy eating habits that will benefit them for a lifetime.

Between lives that run at a frenzied pace and media marketing of high fat meals, in recent decades healthy eating has dropped dangerously low on people’s priority lists. And, there’s a price for this.

Around the world, and especially in America, people are getting heavier and heavier, developing more and more health problems, and teaching their children the same bad eating habits – consequences are children developing early risk factors for heart disease by the time they reach puberty.

Heart disease is when enough blood can’t circulate to the heart muscle, which slowly damages its ability to function.

The American Heart Association just published a study which said that children as early as nine years old were showing precursors to heart disease, including  obesity, elevated blood pressure, and high Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is the bad kind. Teen smoking was also considered a risk factor.

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