Basa bashing!

It seems that everything I read on the Internet about basa fish is bad: it's flavourless, or it's bad for you because it's polluted with toxins. I don't get it: I eat basa fish regularly and find it makes a filling and delicious meal. Does anyone else eat basa? Do you think that the negativity surrounding this fish is justified, or should I keep my basa baking?

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Shop at JCPenney for a Great Cause

With the launch of Joe Fresh apparel at JCPenney this past weekend, who would think there'd be another awesome reason to hit one of our fave department stores? But while you're buying new summer wardrobe staples, you can also be making a big difference -- that is, through the rest of March. For the next two weeks, JCPenney is inviting customers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar and donate to Crisis Text Line, a subsection of DoSomething.org.

Crisis Text Line, launching this August, will help bullied teens and those in crisis with a text message hotline available 24/7. Being made fun of at the lunch table? No need to make an awkward call. After all, no one can actually hear a text message, right? So get yourself to your nearest jcp: Not only will you look fabulous in your new clothes, but you'll also be funding an important cause without even flinching.

--Christina Pandolfi

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Image Credit: Courtesy of DoSomething.org

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has anyone heard of the bee pollen diet

Or has anyone e tried it? I here a lot of great things about it. All natural herbal supplements? Wonder if its worth a try

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Triathalon for teen!!!

Hi! I am 16 and training for a triathalon (starting today) it is in 2 months but i am in pretty good shape (full year athlete at school) 

What advice do any other triathletes have for me?

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Jenna-Louise Coleman at the Game of Thrones season premiere

Jenna-Louise Coleman at the Game of Thrones season 3 premiere in LA- vote on celebrity fashion, style and red carpet looks in GLAMOUR.COM’s Dos and Don’ts

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What could be causing my chronic headaches?

Posted May 22, 2013, 2:00 am

I’ve had a headache every day for six months, despite taking painkillers every day. What could be causing the headaches? And what can I do to stop them?

At the risk of sounding like I’m fear-mongering, I’m concerned about your symptoms. That’s because most people who suffer from frequent headaches don’t have them every day. If your headaches have literally been with you “every day for six months,” and this is something new for you, consult your doctor. While your headaches still could be one of the two most common causes of headaches — migraine headaches or tension headaches — they also could point to something more serious.

If you are over 50 and had not been bothered by regular headaches earlier in life, I’d advise you even more strongly to talk to your doctor. Chronic headaches that develop for the first time after age 50 are more likely to be something serious.

Unfortunately, many people are regularly bothered by headaches. For some, that’s been true since they were young adults, or even children. We have talked in other columns about migraine headaches and tension headaches, but I want to focus here on something else: headache from medication overuse.

Taking lots of painkillers — the very things you’re taking every day to tame your headaches — could be making your headaches worse. Caffeine-containing drugs are most often to blame. (I’ve put a table listing the caffeine content of some common headache drugs below.)

Caffeine is a double-edged sword when it comes to headache drugs. While this popular stimulant helps painkillers work more quickly and efficiently, it is often a suspect in medication overuse headaches. (Note: For reference, the caffeine content in a cup of coffee ranges from 95 to 200 milligrams.)

Anacin Advanced Headache FormulaGoody’s Extra Strength Headache PowdersVanquish Extra-Strength Pain Reliever CapletsPrescription drugs (Brand name)Ergotamine/caffeine tablets (Cafergot)Ergotamine/caffeine suppositories (Migergot)Aspirin, butalbital, caffeine (Fiorinal)Acetaminophen, butalbital, caffeine (Fioricet)Aspirin, caffeine, orphenadrine (Norgesic, Norgesic Forte)Aspirin, caffeine, dihydrocodeine (Synalgos-DC)

Caffeine helps painkillers work more quickly and efficiently. But over time, caffeine builds up in your body, causing blood vessels to narrow. This makes you feel better — temporarily — because widened blood vessels contribute to headache pain. But when the caffeine wears off, your blood vessels expand and your headache returns.

Regular use of painkillers likely also interferes with your body’s natural painkilling system. Because painkillers mask symptoms, whatever is causing the pain may worsen. As the pain becomes more intense, painkillers are less able to control it.

f there’s a chance you’re overusing headache medications, the first step is to stop taking the drugs. Going “cold turkey” works best, but you can gradually wean yourself off the painkillers by cutting back a little each day.

If you’re not overusing painkillers, try a headache-prevention regimen. Start with simple pain relief treatments such as applying a heating pad daily to your neck and shoulders. Consider physical therapy, including such techniques as massage, ultrasound or gentle stretching to relieve muscle tightness that may contribute to your headaches.

Talk to your doctor about preventive medications, such as a muscle relaxant. Another effective strategy is to combine a tricyclic drug with a beta blocker. Beta blockers decrease the intensity of headaches, while tricyclics reduce their frequency.

If your headaches begin to recur, you’ll need medications to treat them. But don’t use them unless your headache becomes severe. Otherwise, you risk developing — or lapsing back to — medication overuse.

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Trying To Break Plateau, Went on Ultra-Low Carb Diet, What Next?

I would appreciate suggestions as to how I should proceed.

In brief - I went from 214 lb and 36" pants a few years ago, to 180 lb and 32" pants last summer.  My goal is 170-175 lb. I'm 50 y/o, 5' 11".  At 30 y/o I was 162 lb.  I don't think it is realistic to be that light again, but something about 10 lbs heavier than my 30 y/o weight seems a nice goal.  

When I got down to 180 lb, last summer, I was riding my bike about 100 miles a week, went on a few century (100 mile/day) rides, was swimming, generally pretty active.  But I got "stuck" at 180 lb, well I had one day in the 179s, but basically I couldn't get below 180 lb.  Rather than get frustrated, I decided to just chill for a while and maintain there. Err, maintenance didn't work so well, as winter came I apparently went into hibernation fattening mode and my weight went up to 190 lb by last Christmas.  

This January, I decided to get back down to 180 lb, but it just didn't work.  Since January, I'd been eating average 1,600-1,700 cal/day (I log my food via the Calorie Count iPhone app).  My main exercise is commuting by bike and doing most of my errands by bike too, cycling average 25 min/day at a good pace, which supposedly burns about 300 cal.  I occasionally go to the gym for a hour's spin class, and occasionally run 3 miles (take the bus to work and run home).  At my weight, it seems like I should have a pretty hefty caloric deficit going.  As far as my diet goes, I eat a lot of fruit (apples, bananas, pears), vegetables (root vegetables like beets, rutabagas, radishes, also greens, squash, salads), meat (beef, pork), poultry, and fish.  I scratch cook almost everything and almost never eat restaurant food or prepared/packaged food.  I eat very little potato or rice, almost no bread (we've gone mostly gluten-free), never eat sweets, pastries, soda, etc.  But despite what should be a caloric deficit and seems like a healthy diet, my weight stayed stubbornly in the high 180s.  

Now I was getting frustrated.  And increasingly feeling that weight loss is more complicated than simply "calories in vs calories out".     

Enter my friend, a guy about my age who is pretty into exercise and weight control (he is 6'0", 180 lb) who suggested I try two weeks on an ultra-low carb diet: 1,600 cal/day but at most 20 grams carbs/day.  Okay, I've been on that diet for six days now.  Since this past Monday, I've been eating pretty much nothing but meat, poultry, fish, and eggs, with really minimal amounts of anything else.  Plus a daily fistful of vitamin and mineral supplements.  Still doing the daily bike commuting. 

I have another 8 days left on this ultra-low carb diet.  At this point I have "lost" 6 lb - was 187 lb Monday morning, was 181 lb now.  I realize the great majority of this loss is water weight, which will come back.  But I hope that by the end of the two weeks, which is Monday after next, I'll have legitimately lost at least a few pounds.   

My question is: what should I do after this ultra-low carb period?  

Should I:

a) go back to what I was doing before (avg 1,600-1,700 cal/day, basically meat/poultry/veg/fruit with very little grains/sugar) and hope that my body will respond now that its been spanked with two weeks of nearly-no-carb?

b) go on a low-carb diet, not <20 grams carb/day but something more like 50 or 100?

c) alternate a) and b), to keep my body confused?

d) something else?

I know I can't stay on the current ultra-low carb diet for too long.  It doesn't seem very healthy, and I'm noticeably weaker on the bike, which is no good as I'm preparing for a 200 mile ride in July.

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