Ten Reasons to Quit Drinking Soda

From Associated Content:

Americans drink more soda now than ever before. In the last 25 years, soda pop consumption in the United States has doubled. Americans drink, on average, 1.6 cans of soda pop daily or 597 cans of soda pop a year! Additionally, 7 percent of Americans' calories come from soda pop. This makes soda pop the largest single source of calories in the US diet, according to one website.

Do you drink too much soda pop? Is it time for you to cut back, or even eliminate consumption of soda? Here are ten reasons to quit drinking soda pop.

#1 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Dehydration

Drinking soda with caffeine and sugar causes your body to become dehydrated. Caffeine is a diuretic and causes an increase in urine volume. When you drink a caffeinated soda to quench your thirst, you will actually become thirstier.

#2 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: High Calorie

Regular soda pop is high in calories. A can of Coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is 100% of the daily recommended value for adults. An 8 ounce can of soda has around 100-200 calories. Not only are the calories from soda pop empty of any nutritional value, they also deplete your body of vital minerals.

#3 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Caffeine Addiction

Caffeine addiction and withdrawal has been recognized as a medical disorder. A study at Johns Hopkins University revealed a few interesting facts about caffeine. "Caffeine is the world's most commonly used stimulant, and it's cheap and readily available so people can maintain their use of caffeine quite easily," says Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins. "The latest research demonstrates, however, that when people don't get their usual dose they can suffer a range of withdrawal symptoms, including headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating. They may even feel like they have the flu with nausea and muscle pain."

#4 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Acid
Whether you drink diet or regular soda, the amount of acid in these drinks is enough to wear away at the enamel of your teeth over time. Teeth with weakened enamel are more sensitive and more susceptible to decay. In tests done on the acidity levels of soda, soda was found to have a pH of 2.5. To put that into perspective, consider that battery acid has a pH of 1 and pure water has a pH level of 7.

#5 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Save Money

Soda may be pretty inexpensive when compared with fruit juice and milk. You can purchase 12, 8 ounce cans for around $4. However, a person who drinks just 2 cans of soda a day, will pay $206 over the course of a year to keep her soda habit going. If there is more than one soda drinker in the house, or she drinks more than 2 cans a day, that yearly total could quickly double or triple!

#6Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Lose Weight

Of course "regular" sodas would not help you reach your weight loss goals, but certainly diet soda can be a useful tool in weight management, right? The word "Diet" is right there in the name, after all. Wrong! Researches at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that diet sodas put a person at a higher risk of becoming overweight. According to their research, "artificial sweeteners can interfere with the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake. This could mean people who consume artificially sweetened items are more likely to overindulge."

#7 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Artificial Sweetener Issues

Often the subject of urban legend, artificial sweeteners have been accused of everything from causing headaches to multiple sclerosis and even death. Most artificial sweeteners have over 20 years of research behind them, proving their safety for most individuals. However, consumption of artificial sweeteners may make some people crave more sweet things which will in turn create more cravings for people who are trying to avoid sweet foods for health reasons.

#8 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Mineral Depletion

You may have heard of a recent study that showed women who drink cola everyday have a lower bone mineral density. One of the reasons for this could be that most colas contain phosphoric acid and caffeine which drain calcium out of the bones. Also, because caffeine is a diuretic and increases urine volume, more minerals are leaving the body before having a chance to be absorbed and put to use.

#9 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Less Chance for Diabetes
While no research has definitively shown that soda pop causes diabetes, the daily consumption of soda pop does create other problems that could lead to diabetes: specifically weight gain. However, according to a researcher from Children's Hospital Boston, the fact remains "when sugar enters the bloodstream quickly, the pancreas has to secrete large amounts of insulin for the body to process it. Some scientists believe that the unceasing demands that a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately leave it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin. Also, insulin itself becomes less effective at processing sugar; both conditions contribute to the risk of developing diabetes."

#10 Reason to Quit Drinking Soda Pop: Soda Replaces Healthier Drinks

In the 1950's, children drank 3 cups of milk for every cup of sweet drink. Today that statistic is flipped: children drink 3 cups of sweet drink for every cup of milk. One of the biggest problems with soda is it acts as a replacement drink for healthier options. Less amounts of milk in the average diet could account for the lower bone density and higher occurrence of osteoporosis in men, women and children.

Friendship Poem

What Is A Friend?
by Kit McCallum

A friend is someone you hold dear:
Someone who is always there, through thick and thin;
Someone who is only a phone call away.

A friend is someone you can always rely on:
Someone who is there to share your thoughts with;
Someone to listen, no matter the subject.

A friend is someone you can feel comfortable with:
Someone you can sit silently beside, without conversation;
Someone you do not need to fill the quiet moments with.

A friend is someone you can trust:
Someone who will guard your deepest secrets;
Someone who will never let you down.

A friend is someone who is not judgmental:
Someone who will gently offer advice and opinions,
Yet, someone who is not overbearing or critical.

A friend is someone who can keep you grounded:
Someone who can help you see through your obstacles;
Someone to shoulder you through life's trials.

A friend is someone who shares unconditionally:
Someone to laugh and to cry with;
Someone to lean on, through both the good and the bad.

A friend is someone you choose wisely,
For a friend is your own mirrored image:
Someone to compliment your own self;
Someone who indicates who you are as a person.

A friend.... is what you are to me.

Common Health Myths, Take 2

From Prevention Magazine:

When it comes to your health, anyone can give you advice. Know this: bad information can be bad for you. So, here’s the truth behind some common health myths you may have heard:

• Health Myth #1: If you drop food on the floor, it’s safe to eat if you pick it up within 5 seconds. That’s FALSE, according to research at Clemson University. In fact, food scientists there say it’s not even safe to follow a “one second rule” because bacteria transfers from the floor to your food instantaneously! How many bad germs are we talking about? Studies found at least 18-hundred bacteria transferred within 5 seconds and that includes salmonella, which can survive as long as 4 weeks – even on a freshly mopped floor.
  
  
• Health Myth #2: Drinking soda can damage your kidneys. That’s FACT. Numerous studies confirm there’s nothing remotely healthy about carbonated beverages and it doesn’t matter if they’re diet or sugar-free sodas either. The fact is, drinking a minimum of 16 ounces of soda per day doubles your risk of chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and diabetes! Know this: The average North American drinks closer to 20 ounces per day which adds up to a whopping 59 gallons of soda sipping each year!
  
  
• Here’s one more Health Myth: Using a cell phone in a hospital can interfere with sensitive medical equipment. The jury’s still out on that one. Two years ago, research by the Mayo Clinic found no evidence of “clinically important” interference between cell phones and medical machines. However, last year, a Dutch study found that electromagnetic pulses from a cell phone could disrupt life-saving devices like ventilators, syringe pumps, or pacemakers. Especially if the phone was used within a few centimeters of those devices. So, just to be safe, experts say you should only use a cell phone in designated calling areas within a hospital. Or, take your call outdoors – where you can squeeze in some healthy fresh air and exercise while you talk!

Things Your Computer Expert May Not Tell You

From Reader's Digest:

According to a study, when confronted with a dead computer, 19 percent of people admit to wanting to hurl it out the nearest window. Well, the next time you feel like throwing your machine off the 5th floor balcony, perhaps this’ll help: I have a list of things your computer person may not tell you, but you should know.

• If you’ve got a computer problem, turn it off, then turn it back on. Nine times out of ten, rebooting your computer – and any equipment that connects to it – will solve the problem.
  
  
• Remember, public Wi-fi is public. So if you don’t have a compelling reason to check your e-mail or bank account while sipping a latte at the mall, don’t do it. While you’re on a public network – even one that’s encrypted – a nearby hacker can capture your passwords. Consider yourself warned.
  
  
• Another thing your computer person might not tell you: Give your computer a rest. Turning off your computer when it’s not in use saves energy and clears out the RAM – or temporary memory – which would otherwise slow your machine over time.
  
  
• They’re like Santa. In other words, they know if you’ve been bad or good. So you might as well ‘fess up to what really happened right before the system crashed. It’s going to save time – and the computer person is going to figure it out anyway. So if you couldn’t resist opening that e-mail titled “You’ve just won a million dollars!”, just say so.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann (# 3 - Bushed)

Please Watch

Losing a Little Sleep Affects More Than Attention Span

SLEEP RESEARCH
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 9, 2005; A01

With a good night's rest increasingly losing out to the Internet, e-mail, late-night cable and other distractions of modern life, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that too little or erratic sleep may be taking an unappreciated toll on Americans' health.

Beyond leaving people bleary-eyed, clutching a Starbucks cup and dozing off at afternoon meetings, failing to get enough sleep or sleeping at odd hours heightens the risk for a variety of major illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity, recent studies indicate.

"We're shifting to a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week society, and as a result we're increasingly not sleeping like we used to," said Najib T. Ayas of the University of British Columbia. "We're really only now starting to understand how that is affecting health, and it appears to be significant."

A large, new study, for example, provides the latest in a flurry of evidence suggesting that the nation's obesity epidemic is being driven, at least in part, by a corresponding decrease in the average number of hours that Americans are sleeping, possibly by disrupting hormones that regulate appetite. The analysis of a nationally representative sample of nearly 10,000 adults found that those between the ages of 32 and 49 who sleep less than seven hours a night are significantly more likely to be obese.

The study follows a series of others that have found similar associations with other illnesses, including several reports from the Harvard-run Nurses' Health Study that has linked insufficient or irregular sleep to increased risk for colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Other research groups scattered around the country have subsequently found clues that might explain the associations, indications that sleep disruption affects crucial hormones and proteins that play roles in these diseases.

"There has been an avalanche of studies in this area. It's moving very rapidly," said Emmanuel Mignot of Stanford University, who wrote an editorial accompanying the new obesity study in the October issue of the journal Sleep. "People are starting to believe that there is an important relationship between short sleep and all sorts of health problems."

Not everyone agrees, with some experts arguing that any link between sleep patterns and health problems appears weak at best and could easily be explained by other factors.

"There are Chicken Little people running around saying that the sky is falling because people are not sleeping enough," said Daniel F. Kripke of the University of California at San Diego. "But everyone knows that people are getting healthier. Life expectancy has been increasing, and people are healthier today than they were generations ago."

Other researchers acknowledge that much more research is needed to prove that the apparent associations are real, and to fully understand how sleep disturbances may affect health. But they argue that the case is rapidly getting stronger that sleep is an important factor in many of the biggest killers.

"We have in our society this idea that you can just get by without sleep or manipulate when you sleep without any consequences," said Lawrence Epstein, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "What we're finding is that's just not true."

While many aspects of sleep remain a mystery -- including exactly why we sleep -- the picture that appears to be emerging is that not sleeping enough or being awake in the wee hours runs counter to the body's internal clock, throwing a host of basic bodily functions out of sync.

"Lack of sleep disrupts every physiologic function in the body," said Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago. "We have nothing in our biology that allows us to adapt to this behavior."

The amount of necessary sleep varies from person to person, with some breezing through their days on just a few hours' slumber and others barely functioning without a full 10 hours, experts say. But most people apparently need between about seven and nine hours, with studies indicating that an increased risk for disease starts to kick in when people get less than six or seven, experts say.

Scientists have long known that sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy and chronic insomnia, can lead to serious health problems, and that difficulty sleeping may be a red flag for a serious illness. But the first clues that otherwise healthy people who do not get enough sleep or who shift their sleep schedules because of work, family or lifestyle may be endangering their health emerged from large epidemiological studies that found people who slept the least appeared to be significantly more likely to die.

"The strongest evidence out there right now is for the risk of overall mortality, but we also see the association for a number of specific causes," said Sanjay R. Patel of Harvard Medical School, who led one of the studies, involving more than 82,000 nurses, that found an increased risk of death among those who slept less than six hours a night. "Now we're starting to get insights into what's happening in the body when you don't get enough sleep."

Physiologic studies suggest that a sleep deficit may put the body into a state of high alert, increasing the production of stress hormones and driving up blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. Moreover, people who are sleep-deprived have elevated levels of substances in the blood that indicate a heightened state of inflammation in the body, which has also recently emerged as a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

"Based on our findings, we believe that if you lose sleep that your body needs, then you produce these inflammatory markers that on a chronic basis can create low-grade inflammation and predispose you to cardiovascular events and a shorter life span," said Alexandros N. Vgontzas of Pennsylvania State University, who recently presented data at a scientific meeting indicating that naps can help counter harmful effects of sleep loss.

Other studies have found that sleep influences the functioning of the lining inside blood vessels, which could explain why people are most prone to heart attacks and strokes during early morning hours.

"We've really only scratched the surface when it comes to understanding what's going on regarding sleep and heart disease," said Virend Somers of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "I suspect as we understand more about this relationship, we'll realize how important it really is."

After several studies found that people who work at night appear unusually prone to breast and colon cancer, researchers investigating the possible explanation for this association found exposure to light at night reduces levels of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is believed to protect against cancer by affecting levels of other hormones, such as estrogen.

"Melatonin can prevent tumor cells from growing -- it's cancer-protective," said Eva S. Schernhammer of Harvard Medical School, who has conducted a series of studies on volunteers in sleep laboratories. "The theory is, if you are exposed to light at night, on average you will produce less melatonin, increasing your cancer risk."

Other researchers are exploring a possible link to other malignancies, including prostate cancer.

"There's absolutely no reason it should be limited to breast cancer, and it wouldn't necessarily be restricted to people who work night shifts. People with disrupted sleep or people who are up late at night or get up frequently in the night could potentially have the same sort of effect," said Scott Davis of the University of Washington.

The newest study on obesity, from Columbia University, is just the latest to find that adults who sleep the least appear to be the most likely to gain weight and to become obese.

Other researchers have found that even mild sleep deprivation quickly disrupts normal levels of the recently discovered hormones ghrelin and leptin, which regulate appetite. That fits with the theory that humans may be genetically wired to be awake at night only when they need to be searching for food or fending off danger -- circumstances when they would need to eat to have enough energy.

"The modern equivalence to that situation today may unfortunately be often just a few steps to the refrigerator next door," Mignot wrote in his editorial.

In addition, studies show sleep-deprived people tend to develop problems regulating their blood sugar, which may put them at increased risk for diabetes.

"The research in this area is really just in its infancy," Van Cauter said. "This is really just the tip of the iceberg that has just begun to emerge."

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

Beat the Summer Heat

Six Tricks to Help You Feel Cool

Want to feel cool? Here are 6 tricks to help you chill out this summer, without diving into a swimming pool or cranking up the A/C.

• Rub on some aloe. The fact is, you don’t need to be sunburned to feel the cooling benefits of aloe vera. Rub some on your skin when the weather gets hot, and you’ll feel five times cooler than if you took a cold shower. Why? Because aloe penetrates skin cells 500% better than water!
  
  
• Wrap ice packs around your wrists. Blood moves very fast through the pulse points in your wrists. So if you can make blood colder at that spot, it’ll quickly cool the rest of your body too. How fast? Studies show that cooling your wrists can reduce your core body temperate by 3 degrees – in as little as 30 seconds!
  
  
• Cool your head. Studies show that 50% of your body heat is stored in your head. So wrap a moist towel around your forehead, or place an ice pack against your neck, and your entire body will feel cooler. Also, if you can’t sleep because it’s unbearably hot, toss your pillowcase in the freezer for 10 minutes before bed. The cold fabric against your head will help you nod off faster.
  
  
• Wear something blue. Swiss researchers found that people feel cooler when they see the color blue. Wearing a blue shirt helps even more. Because ultraviolet rays from the sun actually bounce off – protecting your skin, and lowering your risk of sunburn by 544%!
  
  
• Stop eating sugar. Studies show that your pancreas, liver and gallbladder heat up more than usual when your body digests sugar. You can lower your core temperature simply by eliminating sugary foods and drinks from your diet.
  
  
• Chew gum. It’s the ultimate chill pill – especially if it’s cinnamon, spearmint or peppermint gum. Why? Because those scents stimulate your brain’s sensory perception and literally trick your body into thinking it’s cooler than it really is.

Secrets Your Waiter Will Never Tell You

From Reader's Digest:

Ever wish you could step inside the kitchen at your favorite restaurant, to find out the secret tricks of the trade? Here are some secrets your waiter will never tell you. Knowing about them could keep you healthy – and help you get much better service.

• There are no sick days in the restaurant business. The fact is, all those jokes about “struggling waiters” are true. Whether they’re working to pay their way through school, or earning tips to fund a budding acting career, waiters can’t afford to miss a day of work. So they’ll still show up for work to deliver your food – even if they’ve got a cold, the flu, or a bad case of strep throat! Bon apetit.
  
  
• Another secret waiters won’t tell you: Ordering NON-menu meals is a recipe for disaster. Why? Basically, you’re passing up entrees the chef has made thousands of times, and asking him to cook something he’s not accustomed to. Not only does that raise the risk that he won’t cook it well, it’s going to put the chef in a bad mood. After all, he wouldn’t put all those other things on the menu if people didn’t like them. So what’s your problem with his food?
  
  
• A 3rd secret waiters won’t ever tell you: It’s unhealthy to go to a restaurant 10 minutes before closing time. By “unhealthy,” we don’t mean you should worry about a tired and disgruntled chef spitting in your food because you’ve made him work late. The truth is, that rarely happens. However, you should worry about the kitchen help who are cleaning and mopping the floor while your late-night meal is being cooked. Because that means your food is simmering among all the industrial-strength, carcinogenic cleaning solvents wafting nearby.
  
  
• Always double-check your tip. Many restaurants tack on an automatic 15% tip if you’re dining with a party of 6 or more. If your waiter doesn’t point that out, you may go ahead and calculate an additional tip on top of that amount! In other words: Bingo, you’ve just tipped your waiter 30% or more.

FiveThirtyEight.com

What is the significance of the number 538? 538 is the number of electors in the electoral college.

What is the mission of this website? Most broadly, to accumulate and analyze polling and political data in way that is informed, accurate and attractive. Most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections.

How is this site different from other compilations of polls like Real Clear Politics? There are several principal ways that the FiveThityEight methodology differs from other poll compilations:

FiveThirtyEight

All About Fiber

From About.com

High-fiber foods have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and to help to keep your digestive system healthy. Find out which foods are high-fiber foods.

DIETARY FIBER

Dietary fiber is only found in plants, and functions like a skeleton to help maintain their shape and structure. Humans eat plants but we cannot digest the fiber so it passes through the small intestine into the colon. The fiber helps to keep the colon healthy. Some disorders like diverticulitis, constipation and irregularity may be connected with not getting enough fiber in the diet.

TYPES OF DIETARY FIBER

Insoluble fiber is the type of dietary fiber found in high-fiber foods like whole grains, nuts, wheat bran and vegetables. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water so it helps to move material through the colon faster by increasing the bulk of the stool. This can be very helpful to people who suffer from constipation or irregularity. Diets high in insoluble fiber may also decrease the risk of diabetes.

Soluble fiber is also found in many high-fiber foods like oats, citrus fruits, apples, barley, psyllium, flax seeds and beans. Soluble fiber absorbs water, which helps to soften stools making them easier to eliminate from the body. Some soluble fibers called beta glucan bind to bile acids which contain cholesterol. A high-fiber diet with this type of soluble fiber has been shown to reduce cholesterol closer to healthy levels.

HIGH-FIBER FOODS

According to the Institute of Medicine:

The recommended intake for total fiber for adults 50 years and younger is set at 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women, while for men and women over 50 it is 30 and 21 grams per day, respectively, due to decreased food consumption.

People who currently have low-fiber diets may want to increase their daily intake of high-fiber foods slowly because some fiber may increase gas and bloating. The body adjusts the increased amount of fiber over time and the gas and bloating will decrease.

Here are some examples of delicious and healthy high-fiber foods from the USDA National Nutrient Database:

• one-half cup cooked navy beans - 9.5 g
• one-half cup baked beans, canned – 9 g
• one-half cup cooked lentils – 7.8 g
• one-half cup cooked black beans – 7.5 g
• one-half cup dates – 7.1 g
• one cup raisin bran cereal – 7 g
• one-half cup cooked kidney beans – 6.5 g
• one-half cup cooked lima beans – 6.7 g
• one-half cup canned tomato paste – 5.9 g
• one-half cup cooked garbanzo beans – 6.2 g
• one-half cup bean with ham soup – 5.6 g
• one-half cup frozen red raspberries – 5.5 g
• one medium bran muffin – 5 g
• one-half Asian pear – 5 g
• one-half cup cooked artichoke – 4.5 g
• one-half cup frozen peas, cooked – 4.4 g
• one cup oatmeal – 4 g
• one-half cup frozen mixed vegetables, cooked – 4 g
• one-half cup raw blackberries – 3.8 g
• one-half cup canned pumpkin – 3.5 g
• one-half cup cooked whole-wheat spaghetti – 3.4 g
• 24 almonds – 3.3 g
• one apple with skin – 3.3 g
• one-half cup cooked barley 3 g
• one cup broccoli – 2.4 g
• one red sweet pepper – 2.4 g
• one nectarine – 2.3 g
• 28 peanuts – 2.3 g
• one slice whole grain bread – 2 g
• 15 walnut halves – 2 g

FIBER SUPPLEMENTS

Fiber supplements are available and may be added to a low-fiber diet, but fiber supplements shouldn't replace high-fiber foods in your diet because high-fiber foods are usually high in vitamins and minerals as well.

What Does Your Sense of Humor Say About You?

From WebMD:

Did you know that your sense of humor says a lot about who you are and how you relate to others? Dr. Rod Martin is a psychologist at the University of Western Ontario who studies the way people use humor. He found that humor is a double-edged sword. First, it can forge better relationships and help you cope with life. On the flip side, it can be corrosive, eating away at your self-esteem and antagonizing those around you. So, here’s what your brand of humor says about the kind of person you are.

• The first type of humor: the put-down. Like telling friends an embarrassing story about someone else to make them appear clumsy or stupid. This aggressive type of humor takes a huge toll on relationships. Why? Because it’s used to criticize and manipulate others through teasing, sarcasm and ridicule, and it makes others look bad so you can look good. So, remember the rule mom taught you: if you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all. Tacking “just kidding” at the end of a negative statement doesn’t make it a joke.
  
  
• Another kind of humor: hate-me jokes. In other words, you’re the butt of the joke for the amusement of others. Like “I’m so big, even my maternity jeans don’t fit me anymore!” A small dose may be charming, but routinely humiliating yourself erodes your self-respect, and can lead to depression and anxiety. It can also backfire by making others feel uncomfortable. So, the next time you want to break the ice at a party, try a little humor about your receding hairline, or poke fun at your potbelly, but leave it at that. Don’t make fun of both.
  
  
• The last brand of humor: laughing at life. This type of humor is the best one. Dr. Martin says it’s because someone who laughs at the absurdities of life uses humor to cope with challenges and stress. For example, you open a pack of coffee grounds in the company kitchen, and it bursts open, filling your hair and your shirt with little brown bits. Instead of hitting the roof, you laugh it off. That’s the type of humor that reduces stress and makes others more comfortable around you.
  

Here it is:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/

And Now For Some of the Worst Foods...

From Nutrition Action:
McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips sounds healthy. In fact, ounce for ounce, the Selects are no healthier than the chain's Chicken McNuggets. A standard, five-strip order has 670 calories and 10 grams of artery-clogging fat. That's about the same as a Big Mac, but the burger has 1,040 mg of sodium, while the Selects hit 1,660 mg — a whole day's worth — even without the salty dipping sauce.

Each slice of The Cheesecake Factory's 6 Carb Original Cheesecake has 610 calories — that's the same as you'd get from a slice of its Original Cheesecake. Think of it as an 8-ounce untrimmed prime rib for dessert — with 29 grams of saturated fat, a 1½-days' supply. The next time you step on the bathroom scale, you may never know that the carbs were missing.

The Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) Caffè Mocha with whole milk and whipped cream is more than a mere cup of coffee. Think of it as a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in a cup. Few people have room in their diets for the 450 calories and 13 grams of bad fat that this hefty beverage supplies. But you can lose all the bad fat and all but 170 calories if you order a tall (12 oz.) with nonfat milk and no whipped cream.

Popcorn alone is a good-for-you whole-grain snack...but not when Pop Secret gets hold of it. Pop Secret Movie Theater Butter Popcorn Snack Size Bags has 8 grams of bad fat in just one snack-size bag (6 cups popped). Instead, try Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop or Smart Balance Smart 'N Healthy, both of which are made with no partially hydrogenated oils.

Interested in a Chipotle Chicken Burrito (tortilla, rice, pinto beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa)? Think of its 1,040 calories and 16½ grams of saturated fat as three Subway Steak and Cheese 6-inch Subs. Plus, the burrito is loaded with 2,500 mg of sodium! Getting the burrito with no cheese or sour cream cuts the saturated fat to 3½ grams, but you still end up with 810 calories and 2,300 mg of sodium. Yikes!

Into the chocolate-dipped waffle bowl of a Cold Stone Creamery Gotta Have It Founder's Favorite goes, not just a 12-ounce, softball-sized mound of ice cream, but pecans, brownie pieces, fudge, and caramel. The tab: a startling 1,600 calories and 43 grams of saturated fat. That's roughly what you'd get if you polished off five single-scoop ice cream cones.