“The more refined one is, the more unhappy” -- that was the Russian author Anton Chekhov’s view of the world. And more than 100 years after he penned that observation, nutritional scientists are shouting it from the rooftops: Eating refined carbohydrates not only fuels depression and some cancers (prostate and breast, for example), it lowers the quality of your life -- and shortens it.
Researchers looked at data from the PURE study to evaluate the association between intakes of refined grains, whole grains and white rice with cardiovascular disease, total mortality, blood lipids and blood pressure. Their results published in the BMJ found that eating around 12 ounces of refined grains a day (seven servings) was associated with a 27% higher risk of death and a 33% higher risk of serious cardiovascular events and higher blood pressure compared with folks who had the lowest intake of refined grains -- about 1.7 ounces or what’s in 6 ounces of pasta. (White rice wasn’t heart-damaging.)
How easy is it to eat 12 ounces of refined carbs in a day? That’s what’s in a large serving of McDonald’s fries, four slices of hearty white bread, a cup of sugared cereal, one baked potato, two scoops of chocolate ice cream and three Oreos.
Luckily, it’s easy -- and tasty -- to dodge the refined carb bullet too. Opt for natural sugars in fruits, 100% whole grains, lots of high-fiber veggies and no ultraprocessed foods. Then you can enjoy the happiness that comes from a lack of refinement!
You think reality is tough to take? VR can be a real hazard
Exergaming can be exergasmic -- distracting you from the discomforts of exercise and motivating you to repeat the workout day after day, because you’re engaged in a virtual reality video game that thrills you. There are programs for strength-
building and aerobics that get you into a jump-rope challenge, a spacey dance routine, sword-fighting, fitness boxing and cycling.
Entertaining. Highly motivating. And, oh yeah, potentially nauseating. VR sickness is a real phenomenon that can make you feel lousy after even a brief encounter with the fantasy world within your head-mounted VR device. It’s a form of motion sickness that can trigger a headache, nausea, vomiting and disorientation.
A study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research reveals that exergames, like the wildly popular “Beat Saber,” leave many people feeling slightly queasy and unsteady even 40 minutes after removing their VR device -- and 14% of the study’s participants who had exergamed for 50 minutes still felt extremely ill at that point. FYI: “Beat Saber” puts you in a fantastic neon environment where you slice up blocks in sync with musical rhythms using two sabers of contrasting colors.
There’s not much you can do to dodge VR sickness until game designers create environments that aren’t so disorienting. So allow yourself time to recover before going on about your day. Or, hey, here’s an idea: Tune in to an exercise class on your computer or TV, or head outdoors for a 10,000-step walk -- no side effects except muscle tone, energy and a younger RealAge.
