BINGE ON THIS – The Turkey Trot and Other Tales

Turkey

LOBSTER, SEAL AND SWANS…TURKEY?

O.K., here’s the real Thanksgiving story (according to some…) After a 66-day arduous journey that left them with malnutrition, exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease, the Pilgrims that somehow made it, were grateful just to be alive. Food? Not much available of anything, until the Wampanoag Indians taught them how to cultivate corn. Time to celebrate! The Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians sat down for three days…but not a turkey to be found. In fact, none of the stuff we stuff ourselves with today. It was a potluck of nothing to get excited about. Beaver, skunk, raccoon and tough, now extinct wild passenger pigeons. Oh, and 5 deer the Indians brought. Feast? Hardly. Well, on the good side, since they didn’t have a lot to gorge on, and no streaming anything to plop themselves down to watch, they probably didn’t get as much gastric distress as we suffer now. Or maybe if they did, burping and flatulence were commonly accepted.

Talking turkey, here are some facts we do know for sure. And they sure are amazing:

Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of the popular women’s magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, and the woman who wrote the classic song “Mary had a little Lamb”, was a real trendsetter for running a household, and a leading voice in establishing Thanksgiving as an annual event. Beginning in 1827, Hale petitioned 13 presidents, the last of whom was Abraham Lincoln. She pitched her idea to President Lincoln as a way to unite the country in the midst of the Civil War, and, in 1863, he made Thanksgiving a national holiday and without being conscious of it, emancipated the nation’s appetites.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state in America, producing more than 46.5 million a year. Six states—Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia, and Indiana—account for nearly two-thirds of the 248 million or so, turkeys.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long. It was baked on October 8, 2005, by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio, and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice and 250 pounds of crust.

Oh wait, it gets better.

Thanksgiving is the reason for TV dinners! In 1953, Swanson had so much extra turkey (260 tons) that a salesman told them they should package it onto aluminum trays with other sides like sweet potatoes — and the first TV dinner was born!

Campbell’s soup created the green bean casserole for an annual cookbook 50 years ago. It now sells $20 million worth of cream of mushroom soup.

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird, not the eagle.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s first meal in space after walking on the moon was foil packets with roasted turkey.

And yes, the short, jerky steps of the turkey, did inspire the turkey trot, at that time considered a ballroom dance.

PUT THIS ON THE MENU

Before you pounce on the promise of fat and calories to come, you should make an appointment to see Dr. Stephen A. Goldstein at Denver Hormone Health. He knows everything there is to know about hormones and how certain ones can, with certainty, spoil the binge-o-rama you’ve been dreaming of for 365 days. To you, every tidbit (and who settles for tidbits?) is part of the eating extravaganza. But what you might not know, is that there is a serious link between hormones and holiday binging. What you think is so good, can really set off a not-so-good-for-you hormone imbalance, which in turn can turn wonderful into “whaaat?” “Why do I feel so awful?” Dr. Goldstein can explain it all and with simple tests, determine what’s going on with your hormones before a bite goes into your mouth. Call for an appointment now.

And wait until you see what he cooks up for you.

JUST WEIGHT AND SEE – Beer Isn’t Always the Belly Culprit

As men get older, their bodies become a breeding ground for weight gain. They sit more, eat more, eat more unhealthy diets. Of, course, beer could be one of the problems, but it’s certainly not the only one. The biggie, (sorry for the pun), could be hormonal. As you reach middle age, you could be doing all the right things and still pile on those no-way-I-can-hide-them pounds. And nothing seems to help take it off. (No whining “why try, then?”).

There Goes the Testosterone

Women have to deal with dipping estrogen as they get older. With men, the demon is low testosterone. Less testosterone, more fat. More fat leads to a further reduction of testosterone which leads to more fat…and so on…It becomes a maddening loop that’s hard to break. So, it’s 10 pounds, then 20…30… (and counting?). Because low testosterone can also cause low energy and fatigue, it means you’re less active. (There goes that mysteriously soaring scale again). And where does all this stomach-turning fat go? Straight to your stomach. Which is why your belly gets bigger and bigger until it can actually hang over your pants. It’s like being hit by a weight plague. You’re positive everyone is staring at you, shaking their heads in disgust. It goes way beyond feeling unattractive. You’re even embarrassed to have your wife see you undressed. Not great for a healthy relationship. And speaking of healthy, carrying that protruding paunch around is anything but. It can increase your risk or cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, increased cholesterol and even cancer. What’s a guy to do?

A Weight Off Your Mind

Low testosterone can make you feel low in a lot of different ways. But things are looking up for you. There’s a way to balance your hormones and help send those unwanted pounds to the weight dumpster. And no one is more skilled and experienced in helping you send it there, than Dr. Stephen A. Goldstein at Denver Hormone Health. He begins by getting your hormones in balance. But he doesn’t stop there. He has developed a unique hormonal weight loss support system designed to help even more. This unique approach, includes targeted health-boosting supplements, along with access to the individualized guidance of an experienced nutritionist and personal trainer. They’re your team to total wellness, and reaching the objectives you thought were out of the question.

Stop feeling so frustrated and call now for an appointment.

The only thing you’ll gain, is help losing.

JUST WEIGHT AND SEE – The Blame Game

It could be that you know you’re overeating, or eating the wrong things. Hey, that’s what stress does. Trying to tackle that endless to-do-list of life can take its toll in mile-high burgers, deep, really deep-dish pizza and movie popcorn swimming in a deep, really deep sea of butter. You name it. You could admit that you rarely exercise at all other that using your digits to text or stream something that keeps you sitting comfy on the couch for hours on end. Sort of like a tech potato. But then you could also think, you’ve been healthy, exercising and eating right for years, content and comfortable with the body you’re in. You’re doing the same now, but for some reason you’ve moved into the officially “overweight” category and wonder if you’re doomed to a life of lettuce and legumes.

The Cause Is Probably Menopause

Here’s a hot flash; it’s possible that what you should really be blaming, are fluctuating hormones. If you’re in menopause, it could be the perpetrator. Although estrogen is responsible for making women uniquely women, it’s also the most trouble in the fat department. When estrogen gets thrown off, it turns you into a weight machine. The decreased production of estrogen by the ovaries causes a woman’s body to search for other sources of estrogen. Another source of estrogen is fat cells, so your body learns to convert more calories into fat, in order to increase estrogen production. Suddenly fat becomes your best friend. (Isn’t there any good new?)

Packing on the Pounds

A drop in estrogen and progesterone can increase a woman’s appetite and cause her to eat up to 67% more. Some women can gain as much as 30 pounds in menopause. (Five is enough to give you a fit.) Your cravings increase, their “stop now,” signal goes on the fritz, and loss of muscle mass makes a further mess of things. It’s like a fiendish fairy flew into your closet and shrunk all your clothes. Nothing fits. Jeans won’t zip (or even get over your hips). You’d rather die than have to buy anything with a stretch waist. Toss the scale in the garbage. The numbers can’t be right. You can’t talk about it to anyone, because the last thing you want to hear is “join a gym and go on a diet”! It’s regrettable, but you can expect to see menopause weight go to your hips, thighs and belly. Your pear shape becomes an apple. You feel like you’re blowing up like a balloon about to pop.

How to Stop the Muffin Top

Menopause can make weight gain a misery. More than 90% of women in menopause gain weight. (Feel like pulling the covers over your head and never coming out?) It’s enough to make anyone scream. You don’t just feel like you look fat and horrible, you feel like getting the weight off and keeping it that way is hopeless. No matter what you try, nothing seems to work. Well, we have a way to change that, and you don’t have to go it alone. Before anything else, you need to get any unbalanced hormones working efficiently again. The specialist to help you achieve that in the Denver area is Dr. Stephen A. Goldstein at Denver Hormone Health. No one understands how those extra pounds weigh on you and no one can help you get back to the you, you want to be, with such success. Beyond that, Dr. Goldstein has developed a unique hormonal weight loss support system to give you further support for both your moral and physical well-being. Along with targeted health-boosting supplements, he now offers access to the expertise of an accomplished nutritionist and personal trainer working together with the sole objective of helping you lose the weight, get over the obstacles, and gain the self-esteem (not to mention energy and health of overall fitness) that will help you feel your absolute best.

And it’s all just a call away. (You can come out from under the covers, now.)