My grandfather was in the medical corps in World War One. In his diaries he tells the story of two soldiers in the ward (actually a tent) at the same time; one had a ‘cushy wound on the buttock’ while the other was seriously wounded, his body smashed in many places. No-one expected him to live. But despite his injuries he was positive, kind and concerned about others in the ward. He recovered. In contrast, the guy with the flesh wound was fearful, negative and worried that he might die. In the end, he did.

This is a dramatic and tragic true story of how our thoughts and attitude affect our physical health. I’m sure most of us can relate to it. I once had to say good-bye to my husband at the airport, knowing he wouldn’t be back for nine months. At the time I was recovering from a cold. Within a few hours of that tearful farewell the cold returned with a vengeance and dragged on for another month as I struggled with my emotions.

I know a woman who had struggled with being overweight for many years. One day her sister sat with her and said sorry on behalf of the whole family for the various ways they had hurt her. Within a few months this woman had joined Weight Watchers and over the next year dropped from a size 20 to a beautiful size 14 (USA size 12). Coincidence? Perhaps. But I’m not the only one who’s observed that a lot of eating problems – over-eating, under-eating or unhealthy choices – are just a symptom of an unhappy heart.

‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he’. These words of wisdom from over 2000 years ago apply just as much today – and science bears it out. Researchers at Harvard measured the immune response of people as they watched various images. When they watched (and engaged with their emotions) scenes of Mother Theresa their immune factors increased. Watching war scenes had the opposite effect.

So much of our physical health starts with our thoughts, and not just the thoughts in our head, but how we really feel in our heart. What emotions do you mostly feel: love, joy, gratefulness, peace? Or anger, fear, worry, boredom and unforgiveness? Even if you know what foods you should be eating to lose weight or keep healthy, your emotions could be sabotaging your most determined attempts.

Before you beat yourself up for not being self-disciplined enough, take some quiet time-out – all by yourself – to check your thoughts and emotions. It may be the key to good health you have been searching for.

I found these digging through the www … all from down-under!

KFC dumps palm oil Yum! Restaurants, makers of KFC, will ditch palm oil for a healthier alternative, two years after the company stared down the Federal Government and refused to change its ways…

Cindy: Good news for KFC-lovers’ hearts but those deep fried delicacies will be just as fattening – and if the chicken skin is on there’s still a fair whack of saturated fat.  See my post on palm oil chocolate controversy.

Dramatic weight loss on Maori diet – Health – NZ Herald News A dangerously obese man lost 75kg in a year because he reverted to a “hunter-gatherer” diet, says a fitness expert …

Cindy: Good on you, Rob. Hopefully your example will inspire many to get back to basics – lean protein, lots of vegetables and moving your body every day. I bet he didn’t visit KFC – even with their fancy new ‘healthy’ oil!

Junk food TV ads reined in | National News | News.com.au AUSTRALIA’S fast food industry has agreed to a voluntary code to govern the way it markets products to children. The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA)  welcomed the move as a “good start”.  “The DAA has been calling for regulation in relation to marketing to children, particularly during children’s television viewing hours, and we support any initiative to improve this,” chief executive Claire Hewat said…

Cindy: You know the thing that really jumped out at me about this story was the title of the review: The Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry Initiative… I guess ‘The Australian Fast Food or Junk Food Industry Initiative’ just doesn’t sound nice enough! Oh, the power of words. No longer do we talk about ‘husbands’ and ‘wives’, we have ‘partners’, and now we don’t eat fast food, we go to the ‘quick service restaurant’. Doesn’t it make you feel like ‘dining out’ right now!

Digging around, I found these … some might interest you:

Fast food| junk food| bowel cancer … an alarming rise in bowel cancer, and a diet of too much meat and fast food may be to blame, cancer experts in the …

Cindy: Maybe it’s the sausages and chips, not the folic acid fortified bread that’s causing all the problems?

Big fat lies and damned statistics | Duncan Fine …  Labor MP who chaired the latest House of Representatives inquiry into obesity in Australia, called Weighing It Up: Obesity In Australia. He opens the report …

Cindy: Very funny and a good explanation of how having lots of muscle can put you in the ‘over-weight’ BMI category. But carrying too much fat, especially around your tummy, does cause health problems and even if he thinks there is no ‘obesity epidemic’, I’ve sure noticed a lot more ‘chubbies’ around.

Healthy Airplane Snacks – How to Choose or Pack Healthy Airplane Snacks

Cindy: Healthy airplane snacks? I haven’t seen any recently on NZ domestic flights. It’s usually lollies, salty crispy things and rich biscuits. Mind you, flights in NZ are relatively short so you don’t really need to eat. For long flights or for hungry kids I take Vita Wheat crackers, nuts and raisins, dried fruit, small cartons of fruit salad with a plastic spoon and some mints.

Successful Weight Loss With Dieting Is Linked To Vitamin D Levels… vitamin D levels in the body at the start of a low-calorie diet predict weight loss success, a new study found. The results, which suggest a possible role for vitamin D in weight loss, were presented at The Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C …

Cindy: Every vitamin has its day – and in nutrition circles at the moment it’s vitamin D-day! So when the sun shines in between the clouds and rain, get outside to give yourself a dose of vitamin D. Us Kiwis really need it in the winter – especially those who have dark skin. And remember, you have to be outside – sun shining through glass won’t stimulate your skin to make vitamin D.

The more fast-food surrounds you – the higher your stroke risk: study | The National Business Review – New Zealand… risk of having a stroke is related to the number of fast-food restaurants near your residence according to a new study…

Cindy: Another cause and effect question. Are you more likely to eat fast food if there are lots around you or do fast food chains deliberately put more stores in areas where the people already like to eat fast food?

FT.com / Food & Drink – Carrots are the new caviar … deep in the website of El Bulli, Ferran Adrià’s legendary restaurant in Spain, is a revolutionary declaration: “All products have the same gastronomic value, regardless of their price…

Cindy: It’s great to see some top line restaurants elevating vegetables to star status. It’s every dietitian’s dream that we all eat – and enjoy eating – more veges!

Digging around I  found these nuggets…

Fat chance of tough love on the obese – Health – NZ Herald News …  Finally, an expert on human nutrition brave enough to tell us what we don’t want to hear …

Cindy here: article is opinionated, totally non-PC – and sensible! It backs up those good old sayings: ‘You are what you eat’ and ‘You reap what you sow’… (here’s my take on this story)

Row erupts over lap-band surgery to combat obesity | The Courier-Mail … OBESITY has become a financial battleground, with heated debate over who will pay for the soaring burden of the overweight on the public purse. This week, the parliamentary report Weighing It Up described obesity as “one of the last bastions of discrimination in our community”. Estimating thousands of morbidly obese people last year cost Australia $58.2 billion, the report urged the Federal Government to recognise obesity as a chronic disease and provide taxpayer-funded treatments – including lapbanding surgery …

Cindy: The numbers may stack up – saving so much on each person who has the operation – but people aren’t numbers. Who’s to say they won’t re-gain the weight?

The Human Condition : Stop Doing Sit-Ups – Why Crunches Don’t Work … Of course, it won’t matter how muscular your torso is if your body fat is too high. The best way to build strong, visible abs isn’t through repeated sit-ups, but by engaging in circuit training that has you working your entire core while you’re burning calories – and to keep yourself disciplined during meals. “If you want to burn your fat mass, make sure you have a combination of weight training and cardiovascular, but 90 percent of good abs is your nutrition …

Cindy: Great – I always hated sit-ups!

Multivitamins linked to younger ‘biological age’: Study

Cindy: Before you rush out to buy some multi-vitamins, read the story. Even the authors say that it could simply be that people who take multivitamin supplements are more healthy anyway.

Why Restaurants Make You Fat – Page 1 – The Daily Beast … Restaurant Syndrome: 1. Eat out. 2. Eat too much. 3. Feel bad. 4. Repeat. The Daily Beast’s Susan B. Roberts on why you do it—and five ways to minimize …

Great story from the USA with some practical tips. But I’m not sure how my family would react if I ‘accidentally’ spilled water on the chips!

Push for nutrition labels on junk food menus | The Courier-Mail … FAST food restaurants could soon be forced to display nutrition labels on menus, as part of the Rudd Government’s crackdown …

Cindy: Hmm… if I was hanging out for a burger and fries I don’t think I’d bother trying to work out which was the healthiest.

Men roasted in the kitchen | The Courier-Mail … ONE in three Australian men barely puts a foot in the kitchen and when he does he tends to be a monotonous cook trying to hog the limelight and demand movie star-like attention. That scathing description has been served up by corporate food producer, Nestle, in a new survey of …