[musings & memoirs]

COULD TOO MUCH SODA ACTUALLY KILL YOU?
Scientists reveal why you don't want to overdose on sugar

You know chugging sugary drinks is bad for your gut, but new research shows how bad it can be for your health, too.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis asked overweight men and women to consume 25 percent of their daily energy requirements from sugar-laden beverages. One group imbibed drinks sweetened entirely with glucose; the other quaffed solutions that were spiked only with fructose. After 10 weeks, both groups had gained similar amounts of weight, but the subjects who downed the fructose-filled fluids appeared to be at even greater increase risk for cardiovascular disease.

Here’s why: While the glucose guzzlers saw their triglycerides rise and their HDL (good) cholesterol drop—both predictors of future heart trouble—they primarily gained subcutaneous fat, the kind that’s stored just under your skin and that’s thought to be relatively harmless.

Those drinking the fructose-sweetened beverages, however, showed a 14 percent increase in dangerous visceral fat, the type of blubber that’s stored deep in your belly. This fat secretes hazardous chemicals called adipokines that cause inflammation and that can raise your blood pressure and blood sugar. What’s more, the participants’ cholesterol rose, and they also exhibited decreased insulin sensitivity—an early marker of diabetes.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that fructose may be more harmful than glucose. In nature, this sugar is primarily found in fruit. But you’d have to eat 12 and a half apples just to consume the same amount of fructose that’s in a 42-ounce soda from McDonald’s. Evolution simply didn’t prepare our bodies to process that much sweet stuff in a day, let alone in 10 minutes.

But remember: Just about any sugar you consume provides a combo of fructose and glucose. So watch out for all sugar, starting with the most sugar-packed foods in America, as well as the worst drinks in the country. Remember, your abs—and your health—depend on it.

Governor not certain on gas tax hike
Patrick's options range to 29 cents
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff | February 10, 2009

Governor Deval Patrick is considering raising the state's gasoline tax by as much as 29 cents per gallon, which would at once give Massachusetts the highest state gas tax in the country while generating enough revenue to potentially rid the Massachusetts Turnpike of tolls.

But administration officials, responding yesterday to a leak reported in the media, said the governor also was considering a gas tax increase as low as 5 cents and that no decisions have been made.

The gas tax in Massachusetts is 23.5 cents per gallon, which has not been substantially increased since 1991. A 29-cent increase would bring the state's tax to 52.5 cents per gallon. New York currently has the nation's highest state gas tax, at 41.3 cents per gallon.

Patrick last month released a budget that includes a host of tax and fee increases, on everything from candy and soft drinks to alcohol and car registrations. Conspicuously absent was a gas tax increase, which transportation specialists and lawmakers have advocated as the fairest way to solve the state's chronic shortages of highway and bridge money.

Administration sources refused to speak on the record yesterday or to make any top officials available for interviews, including Transportation Secretary James Aloisi. The Associated Press reported the contents of a draft proposal that included a 27-cent per gallon increase. Two administration officials later said that was only one of many options for an increase that range from 5 cents to 29 cents.

The reports yesterday angered top lawmakers with transportation expertise who have not been briefed by the administration but who have been prodding the governor to take a leadership role on a gas tax for months.

"I come from the school where the number one rule is no surprises," said Representative Joseph Wagner, a Democrat from Chicopee who has been the House's top transportation official. "These proposals are surprises. It's not my preferred way of doing business.

"Perhaps it's time for the administration to forward to the Legislature a proposal for reform," he added. "Then we won't see piecemeal things going on with tolls and taxes without any substance of proposed legislation."

Senate President Therese Murray, who has not seen any plans and said the governor did not bring it up yesterday in a leadership meeting, also offered a tepid response.

"We've been very clear: reform before revenue," Murray said in an interview. "There hasn't been any reform. We filed a 268-page reform, and we expect it to be looked at and enacted before we go to revenue."

In addition to removing tolls, the added gas tax could also be used to pay down the debt of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

How much debt is paid - and how many tolls are removed - would depend on how much the gas tax is raised, according to administration officials.

Patrick is also considering a new system that would charge drivers based on the miles they travel. Those trips would be measured by a chip installed in a vehicle inspection sticker.

Patrick's plan would also streamline the state's myriad transportation agencies into four distinct divisions: highway, rail and transit, aviation, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. He also plans to outline overhauls to the MBTA's pension system.

Patrick has downplayed talk of a gas tax increase and sought to focus on toll increases as a way to pay off debt. In recent weeks, he has said that if there was a gas tax, it should be high enough to not only avoid the latest round of toll increases but to remove toll booths completely, or avoid sharp increases in the future.

The Turnpike Authority board gave preliminary approval to toll increases in November that would double cash tolls to $7 at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels and raise tolls at the Weston and Allston-Brighton booths to $2 from $1.25.

Former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi in November endorsed a gas tax increase instead of toll increases, but his successor, Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, has been less definitive.

"Whether it's a toll issue, whether it's a gas tax issue - those all have to be on the table," DeLeo said in a recent interview. "The days [are over] of saying that no, we can't have tolls, we can't have gas tax, we can't have either."

(CNN) -- A 93-year-old World War II medic who froze to death last month in his Bay City, Michigan, home left his entire estate to a local hospital, an estate attorney told CNN Wednesday.

The attorney would not disclose the exact amount left behind by Martin Schur. But his nephew said his uncle indicated to family members two years ago that he had saved up more than a half-million dollars over the years. Schur and his wife, Marian, who died more than a year ago, did not have any children.

"I just know at one time he said he had over $600,000 in savings," said William Walworth. "That's what he told me and my brother, and he was proud that he was able to save and build his estate up to that."

Cathy Reder, an attorney negotiating on behalf of Bay Regional Medical Center and the Schur family, said she was filing paperwork in probate court Wednesday for the court to determine the validity of the will. A hearing has been set for March 17.

Reder would not specify the amount left to the hospital, other than to say it's more than $1.

"The will leaves everything to Bay Medical Center," she said.

The hospital had no immediate comment.

Walworth said his uncle was a frugal man who hadn't eaten at a restaurant for over 30 years. "He was very tight, and he was very frugal. But he did manage to save a lot of money."

He said it's possible his uncle's estate could be less than $600,000, but he believes it's still "sizable."

"Knowing my uncle, that's him," Walworth said. "He loved his community. He loved Bay City, Michigan."

He added, "Hopefully his death is not in vain and we can learn from this, and he's still able to save lives. ... He was a very unique, special person in my life. I'm proud of what he was able to do in his life."

He said he hopes his uncle's message will spur others to "look out for their neighbor."

The size of the estate -- if it's as large as the nephew believes -- adds another tragic twist to Schur's death. The power company limited his electricity because he owed about $1,000. Watch neighbor say the death is "unforgivable" »

Schur's death last month shocked Bay City, a town of about 37,000 on Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay.

The World War II veteran's frozen body was found in his home January 17, just four days after a device that regulates how much power he uses -- installed because of failure to pay -- shut off his power. A medical examiner said the temperature was 32 degrees in the house when Schur's body was found.

The medical examiner told The Bay City Times that Schur died a "slow, painful death." "It's not easy to die from hypothermia without first realizing your fingers and toes feel like they're burning," Dr. Kanu Virani told the paper.

The Michigan State Police launched an investigation into Schur's death for possible criminal violations. "We have to do everything we can to make sure this doesn't happen again, whether it's Bay City or in any one of the cold weather states," Bay City Mayor Charles Brunner said last week.

The death has prompted a review of Bay City Electric Light & Power's rules and procedures for limiting or cutting off power. It also resulted in Bay City residents protesting Monday to the city about its handling of the whole situation.

A neighbor who lives down the street called Schur's death "unforgivable."

"This can't be allowed to happen in this country," said Jerome Anderson.

Walworth said he believes his uncle's death was "preventable."

"It should never have happened. It's a tragic loss," he said. "I had a lot of fond memories of my uncle, and that's the type of memory I don't want to have: Him freezing to death."

Utility officials said Schur owed about $1,000 resulting in a "limiter" being put on his home. Limiters are devices that cut power as a warning for people who haven't paid their bills. Limiters can be reset to restore a lesser degree of power until a bill payment is worked out. In Schur's case, the limiter was never reset, and it's unclear whether he knew how to do that.

Schur had been living alone since his wife died, Walworth said.

Unlike private utilities regulated by the state, Bay City runs and oversees its own utilities and therefore doesn't fall under Michigan's public service commission. By law, Michigan requires private companies to prohibit cutting off service to senior citizens between November and April. Seniors must register for the program.

The city has begun questioning whether its rules and procedures for limiting or cutting off power need a major overhaul. The utility has stopped its practice of cutting power to customers who don't pay their bills.

The utility also has removed all "limiters" on homes.

Walworth said someone should have looked at Schur's payment history and made direct contact to see whether something was wrong. He's hoping the nation will learn from his uncle's death.

"Hopefully, some good can come out of this. I'm still an optimist."

Wal-Mart worker dies after shoppers knock him down

By COLLEEN LONG – 1 hour ago

NEW YORK (AP) — A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday after an "out of control" throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains broke down the doors at a suburban store and knocked him to the ground, police said.

At least four other people, including a woman eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

"This crowd was out of control," said Nassau police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming. He described the scene as "utter chaos."

Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help the man were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said. Witnesses said that even as the worker lay on the ground, shoppers streamed into the store, stepping over him.

Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."

"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping."

The 34-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined, and the man's name was not released.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone. At least three other people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Police said criminal charges were possible in the case, but Fleming said it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," said Dan Fogleman, a company spokesman. "At this point, facts are still being assembled and we are working closely with the Nassau County Police as they investigate what occurred."

Shoppers around the country line up early outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving in the annual bargain-hunting ritual known as Black Friday. It got that name because it has historically been the day when stores broke into profitability for the full year.

AP retail writers Anne D'Innocenzio and Mae Anderson and contributed to this report.

The Japanese are as concerned as anyone with nutrition and banishing an unwanted gut. The society is currently obsessed with a diet plan called the “Morning Banana Diet,” which consists of these basic rules: Eat a banana (or two or three) for breakfast, washed down with room-temperature water; eat anything you want for lunch and dinner; have a snack at 3 p.m., and eat dinner before 8 p.m. Desserts are off-limits, and you must go to sleep by midnight.

According to a Reuters article, the diet is so popular that Japan has increased Dole imports by 25 percent in 4 months, and customer demand has made the fruit almost impossible to find in grocery stores countrywide.

There are some serious flaws with the banana diet. Bananas have some of the highest sugar content of all fruits. The diet says nothing about what you should eat for lunch and dinner, which leaves plenty of room for overeating.

Whether this particular one comes to America or not, stay away from trendy fad diets and stick to the weight-loss program that works: Combine a balanced, healthy diet with at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. You will lose weight, guaranteed. Do this and you don’t have to deprive yourself of the foods you love—including bananas.