Are Oversize Servings Killing Us?

When we go into a restaurant, we expect to get a lot for our money. Sometimes, though, we may be getting too much of a good thing, especially when those servings include red meat. Those oversize servings may just be the cause of heart attacks and other health-related issues. In other words, size does matter---and it could kill you.

We are all familiar with the rule of thumb that when we have red meat as part of a meal, the meat should be about the size of a deck of playing cards.  That is about 3 ounces. You may be surprised to learn that the Outback 14 ounce rib eye steak you had the other night is the equivalent of 3 1/2 servings of red meat according to the Nutrition Action Healthletter for June 2013.  And that Panera Smoked Ham and Swiss cheese sandwich you had for lunch today?  It is the equivalent to 4 servings. Id.

Relying on information from Adam Bernstein, research director of the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute, the Nutrition Action Newsletter lists six reasons you should be eating less red meat rather than those oversize portions:

1. You are likely to live longer.
2. You will protect your heart.
3 You will cut your risk of cancer.
4. You may be able to avoid the risk of a stroke.
5 You may cut your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
6.You will protect the environment from methane and nitrous oxide.

I don't know about you, but to me these are pretty compelling reasons to cut back but not totally eliminate the amount of red meat we consume.

Cooperstown Dreams Park

For 13 weeks every summer, Cooperstown, New York is the host to a national invitational youth baseball tournament for youth 12 and under for all sanctioned, independent, travel, and select baseball teams. :Located just a few miles from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, it is based in a sprawling facility.

For kids it is a dream come true. The coaches, players and umpires all stay in the baseball village for six nights and days. Other family members can stay in the variety of hotels and morels that are nearby.

Unlike some tournaments where teams are usually only guaranteed two games, each team is guaranteed to play at least seven games. As an added bonus, each team is seeded into the Championship Playoffs.

All players and coaches are inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame and given the opportunity to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame itself.

For more information about Dreams Park, see www.cooperstowndreamspark.com.

The Baseball Hall of Fame

The Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) is located in the sleepy little town of Cooperstown, New York. Located right on Main street, the red brick building looks a little bit like a library. But inside it is the mecca for all those fans who love baseball and baseball history.  But even those people who don't know the difference between the Red Sox and the White Sox will find something of interest in the HOF.

My wife and I visited the HOF a few weeks ago. The admission charge for seniors is a very reasonable $12.  Because I am a veteran, there was no charge. The first stop inside is actually a movie, basically going through the history of the game in about 15 minutes. The theater is like a baseball field with stands and a make believe field. You can almost smell the hot dogs and taste the cold beer.

The exhibits begin with the birth of baseball.  Although generally the invention of the game is credited to Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, the exhibits themselves debunk that myth.  There are artifacts showing the idea of striking a ball of some sort with a stick went back in history for many centuries. 

As might be expected, there are whole rooms devoted to the heroes of the game. Babe Ruth is prominently featured, beginning with his days in an  orphanage in Baltimore to his death from cancer. Jackie Robinson is also given the star treatment.  In addition, there are separate rooms demonstrating  the accomplishments of both African-American and Latino players.

There are lockers filled with memorabilia for each of the major league teams. Our favorite team, the Pittsburgh Pirates was well-represented, including a particularly touching exhibit on the great Robert Clemente, who was voted into the HOF shortly after his untimely death while on a mission of mercy to Nicaraugra in 1972.  Ironically, he had joined the 3000 hit club on his last at bat during the prior season.

Surprisingly, although banned from baseball and presumably ineligible for the HOF, there is actually a display for Pete Rose, trumpeting his position as the all time hits leader.  Similarly, there is a display for the dishonored Barry Bonds, who does hold the major league record for home runs. Hank Aaron, the acknowledged unassisted  home run champ is given a large display detailing his long career.

Most impressive at the end of your tour is the actual hall of bronze plaques honoring all of the HOF members.  It is a little like being in church.

 

For more information, see www.baseballhalloffame.org.

After leaving the HOF, we stopped for lunch at the Doubleday Café, just a few steps away from the HOF at 93 Main Street. We sat at the bar and had tremendous hamburgers and a local draft beer. I highly recommend it

Good News for Starbucks: Coffee Can Save Your Life

I am not a coffee drinker; I prefer a nice soothing cup of tea. But maybe, I'm missing out on a magic bullet to good health.  At the very least, it appears  that coffee (and presumably the caffeine in coffee) may just save your life if you are a regular drinker of three or four 5 ounce cups of coffee,  or the equivalent of one venti from Starbucks.

 Recent studies by the National Cancer Institute, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Miami and the University of South Florida all suggest that coffee drinking can reduce the risk of diabetes, skin cancer, prostate cancer, oral cancer and breast cancer recurrence.

Some of those studies also show that coffee may reduce the likelihood that you will develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease. 

For more information, see the June 9, 2013 issue of the New York Times Magazine for the article, This is Your Brain on Coffee, by Gretchen Reynolds.

Given these potential benefits, I may just head down to Starbucks rather than the local pharmacy.

Baby Boomers: Social Security and Medicare Are Going to be Okay

The Sunday New York Times contains an interesting opinion piece by columnist, Paul Krugman, entitled, "The Geezers are All Right." http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/opinion/krugman-the-geezers-are-all-right.html?hp.  Mr. Krugman is a professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008. I highly recommend that you read the article if you are concerned about the future of your Social Security and Medicare benefits (and, quite frankly, who isn't?)

The article points out that there is no real need to cut benefits now for anyone since for the time being there is no shortfall.  As Mr. Krugman argues quite persuasively, "[t]he risk is that we might, at some point in the future, have to cut benefits; to avoid this risk of future benefit cuts, we are supposed to act pre-emptively by...cutting future benefits. What problem, exactly, are we solving here?"

Mr. Krugman also points out that the cost of health care has actually appeared to flatten out recently and proposed cuts in Medicare may not be necessary if other measures already in place and soon to be in place, including Obamacare, are fully implemented.

It appears that a lot of the hand-wringing and doom and gloom about these vital social programs is just plain unwarranted. This is not to say that nothing should be done to improve these programs, but cutting benefits now for anyone is not the answer.

I am  pleased to let you know that my e-book on how to negotiate better deals when buying a car or a house is now available on Amazon for Kindle. The Baby Boomer's Practical Guide to  Every Day Negotiations http://www.amazon.com/Boomers-Practical-Guide-Negotiations-ebook/dp/B00BRPVH4U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1370283473&sr=1-1&keywords=tony+basinski

On the The Road to Cooperstown and The Baseball Hall of Fame

Located in Upstate New York 220  miles from New York City is a small village called Cooperstown.  Well known as the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, it is really much more and well worth a visit even if you are not a baseball fan.  If you are a fan, of course, a visit is all but mandatory. There is something for just about everyone.

We spent two days in Cooperstown recently as a stopover on our way to Ithaca, New York for a graduation at Ithaca College (more on that trip on another post). The first day, after checking into our hotel, a Country Inns and Suites in nearby Milford, we asked the desk clerk for a recommendation for dinner that evening. Without hesitation, she suggested the Hawkeye Bar and Grill.  Located in the historic Otesaga Resort Hotel, www.Otesaga.com, (60 Lake Drive, Cooperstown, NY, 800-348-6222) the Hawkeye Bar serves lunch and dinner alongside Lake Otesaga.  You can eat either indoors in the very well-appointed dining room or outside on the terrace under umbrellas with views of the lake and the Leatherstocking golf course. Because it was a chilly evening, we opted to eat indoors.

The menu is for the most part traditional American fare.  I had a delicious Caesar salad to start. My wife had the salmon for her entree and I had the beef tenderloin.  Both were perfectly prepared to our requested doneness. Accompanying the meal was delicious homemade cranberry bread. When we asked our server for more, the waitress not only refilled our basket, she also gave us a doggy bag filled with the bread for a snack at our hotel later that evening.

After dinner we took a brief stroll around the Otesaga hotel and the grounds.  It has a true resort atmosphere and next time we are in Cooperstown, we will definitely return either to stay or again have dinner.

In upcoming posts we will discuss our visits to the Hall of Fame, the  Fenimore Art Museum and most intriguing of all, the Fly Creek Cider Mill. In addition, we will discuss the Dreamspark baseball tournament held in Cooperstown every summer.

Boomers Retire? No, Just Repurpose

F. Scott Fitzgerald said that "there are no second acts in American lives."  Boy, was he wrong. Baby boomers across the country are proving that there are not only second acts, but third, even fourth acts after they ostensibly retire.

The AARP has recognized this and provided a website that can help repurpose your life if you are retired or near retirement and seeking another career. The cite is entitled www.lifereimagined.org. Many people pay thousands of dollars to so-called life coaches who are supposed to provide guidance in seeking new careers or starting new business ventures. While the AARP site won't take the place of a good coach, it is free and does offer a number of articles and resources that you can explore on your own.

The website is accessed through Linkedin  As its mission statement says, it "helps experienced professionals find jobs, manage their careers, start businesses and explore options through engaging articles and interactive tools.

Let me know if you find it to be helpful.