If you’re a ShowTime subscriber, I highly recommend you watch the latest episode of the Penn & Teller series Bull@#$%!   They already took on the obesity epidemic a season or two ago, and this time they took on the bias against fast food.  Here’s a clip:

It’s not my public style to call MeMe Roth a @#$%ing skinny-@$$ fat-hating snob who should just #$%@ off, but believe me, I’ve thought it plenty of times, and I laughed out loud hearing Penn just come out and say it. 

That bit of deliciousness aside, they also demonstrated how merely knowing that a meal came from a fast-food restaurant can influence the perception of how it tastes and how many calories it contains.  If anything, they proved what I pointed out in Fat Head:  people know fast food is high in calories.  They don’t need to be told, and they’re not  — despite what the @#$%ing skinny-@$$ fat-hating snob who should just #$%@ off believes — eating the stuff because they’re stupid.

Richard Nikoley wrote more about the episode and did some of his own fast-food analysis in his latest post at Free The Animal.

I finished my interview with Carl Lanore of Super Human Radio a few hours ago.  It was a pleasure.  I’ve done interviews in the past with radio hosts who aren’t knowledgeable about nutrition and obviously didn’t watch the film.  They just thought it was kind of cool that I lost weight eating fast food.

Carl, by contrast, is passionate about health and nutrition and can cite studies the way some people can cite sports statistics.  And it was clear when we spoke before the interview that he watched Fat Head.

I normally let a fever do its work, but in the interest of sounding coherent, I took an ibuprofen about an hour before the interview.  I didn’t feel fabulous, but I’m reasonably sure I answered the same questions Carl asked me. 

If you click the play button below, you can listen to the interview.

I figured in the age of YouTube, it would only be a matter of days before footage of the recent flood would be available online. These are videos taken here in Franklin.  Some areas in Nashville were flooded much worse than this … a friend of a friend ended up with five feet of water in his house.

You can see why I feel so fortunate our house wasn’t flooded.

Instead of writing a post today, I’ll be catching up on the work I had planned for the weekend.  As you may have seen on the news, this part of Tennessee experienced near-biblical levels of rainfall – up to 15 inches in downtown Nashville.  

The thunderstorms began early Saturday morning and didn’t stop until Sunday evening.  I haven’t seen so much rain since the 1998 El Nino storms in Los Angeles.  I shut down all the computers as lightning struck the area over and over, and even when the computers were on, I was a bit too distracted to get any work done.

As if the rain weren’t enough, a few twisters touched down in the area.  The tornado alarms sounded twice here in Franklin on Saturday.  We cleared out a closet in the center of the house as our go-to place, just in case.  By Sunday, people were forced to flee the rising waters in some parts of town. 

These are photos of the flood in Franklin.  Fortunately, our subdivision is on a hill so the waters didn’t reach us, although the playground at a nearby grade school was overrun by the Harpeth river. 

Pinkerton Park, where my girls like to play.

As bad as it was in Franklin, some areas had it far worse.  This last photo is from an area north of Nashville.

Su Rollins, a fellow blogger, sent me a guest post on hypoglycemia and exercise.  Here it is:

What effect does exercise have on glucose levels?

Did you know that you can easily manage your diabetes just by engaging in exercise? There are exercises that have a good effect on the glucose levels of those suffering from type 2 diabetes. When you engage in exercise, you expend a lot of energy from the glucose found in your muscles. At first, the body simply uses up the glucose which is traced from your muscles’ glycogen. It is in your bloodstream where this glucose is found. Engaging in exercise means your blood glucose levels will not get lower. Additionally, your body also releases additional glucagon and hormones. These are important because they break down your liver’s stored fats, turning it into more glucose you can expend. Engaging in exercise means your body improves; it develops a better sensitivity when it comes to insulin, as well as allowing you to be more in control of your glycemic index.

Why is the effect of exercise on glucose levels important to those with type 2 diabetes?

It was already mentioned that exercise will have a great effect on your glucose levels. This is very, very important, especially for people who are suffering from type 2 diabetes. There have been many published research pointing to patients’ better control of glycemic as soon as exercise becomes a regular routine for them. Meanwhile, patients who do not exercise at all or enough show no improvement. Again, there is an improvement in one’s insulin sensitivity through exercise. The benefit of this is in needing fewer doses of medicine for controlling and managing your blood sugar levels.

Should patients with type 2 diabetes exercise more often or differently than otherwise healthy people?

There are times when type 2 diabetes sufferers are prone to hypoglycemia, which is a condition that can develop out of exercise. This is both after as well as during the exercise routine itself. But at the same time, patients who exercise poor management of their diabetic condition may also be high risk when it comes to hyperglycemia.

What type of exercise is best for type 2 diabetes patients?

Usually, it is more about the frequency of exercise that comes into play rather than the type of exercise. More benefits may be gotten from aerobic activity and weight training combined.

When should patients be discouraged from exercising?

There are times when you one shouldn’t exercise, especially if you are at risk for cardiac conditions. It is best to start slowly and tentatively just to be safe.

How might a patient be encouraged to exercise?

Encourage patients to start with small changes to their normal routine, like taking the stairs and not the elevator. Suggest activities that the patient finds enjoyable and convenient. Participation in several different activities may keep patients from becoming bored and losing interest. Having a partner or personal trainer can also help patients stay motivated.

About the Author:   Su Rollins writes for reactive hypoglycemia diet, her personal hobby blog focused on tips to prevent and cure hypoglycemia using the right diet and nutrition.

Maybe I should move to New Zealand.  Fat Head will be airing again this weekend.  The listing is here.

Set those DVRs …