Dewitos: How Gross, How Unhealthy?

           Last week, the news broke that Pepsi-Co will be testing out a Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew called Dewitos.  Kudos on the imaginative name, Pepsi-Co.  A more fitting title may be Cue the Spit Take.  A Reddit user who broke the Dewitos news gave this glowing praise of the product: “It honestly wasn’t that disgusting.”

            That’s denial if I’ve ever heard it.  There are too many decent soda flavors and brands right now for Pepsi to be wasting its time on this.  However, since they insist on the promotional gimmicks, we might as well take a stab at just how unhealthy this product could be.

Photo courtesy of Pixgood

            A 12-ounce can of Mountain Dew has 170 calories, 46 grams of sugar, and 65 milligrams of sodium.  Even worse, it contains 54 milligrams of caffeine.  Meanwhile, a 1-ounce serving of Nacho Cheese-flavored Doritos contains 140 calories and a whopping 210 milligrams of sodium. 

Photo courtesy of Doritos Chips Class Project

Dewitos appears to be an attempt to combine the overloaded sodium of the chips with the sugary components of the drink, creating maximum unhealthiness and presumably a high-calorie soda.  The only promise at the end seems to be a cheese-flavored soft drink that may remind you of your favorite chips.

Photo courtesy of Free All Images

Veteran’s Day Across the Country

Photo courtesy of Clarksville Online 

           Tuesday marks the annual Veterans Day holiday, tracing all the way back to the end of World War I, to honor former servicemen.  We will highlight and provide links to several different celebrations happening around the country tomorrow afternoon.  First, let’s take a look at the origins of this very significant Holiday.

            National Veterans Day writes:

            “While World War I officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, until World War II required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history.

“In 1945, a World War II veteran from Birmingham, Alabama had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans…In 1954, President Eisenhower signed legislation formally establishing November 11th as Veterans Day.”

Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides an even more expansive history, including the laws passed and the biggest influencers.

Many major cities choose to hold parades and other events in celebration of Veterans Day, while numerous establishments offer free business to both former and current armed forces members.  For instance, Birmingham, Alabama is holding a parade starting at 1:30 P.M. local time on 18^th St. and 8^th Ave N.  Meanwhile, New York City boasts the largest Veterans Day Event in the country with the 2014 America’s Parade.  This event features 600,000+ parade spectators in the heart, television broadcast to nine of the top markets in America, and 100,000 copies of the Commemorative Newspaper and Resource Guide to be distributed.

Photo courtesy of Party Earth

Moving to the southwest, the National Veterans Day Committee of the Department of Veterans Affairs selected Dallas as a Regional Site for Veterans Day observance.  A parade will also be held there tomorrow as well.  On the west coast, the San Fernando Valley will hold a parade in the city of Mission Hills starting at 11:11 A.M. local time.  In the Midwest, Chicago will hold a Veterans Day Ceremony at Soldier Field beginning at 10 A.M. local time.  Admission is free.

            In addition to all of the wonderful festivities being held by these various cities, USA Today lists many free activities and service that veterans can look out for tomorrow.  Among these are getting a free haircut, meal, ice cream cone, and game tokens.

            Below are several photos capturing past Veterans Day ceremonies:

Photo courtesy of AL

Photo courtesy of Trends Photos 

Photo courtesy of Trends Photos

Photo courtesy of YouPict

Photo courtesy of Collective Vision

7 Quick and Easy Exercises to Improve Posture

While there are some alarming facts associated with bad posture and its effects on long term health, there are several ways to improve on your posture that are not at all time consuming. Many of these exercises can be done in your break time or even sitting at your desk in the middle of work.

Photo courtesy of Gallery Hip

1. The Mountain--Standing up, turn your palms facing outward and stretch your arms straight down. This should help you stand as tall and straight as possible.

2. Spinal tension--Lie down on your stomach with your hands by your shoulders and press your hands into the floor. This will arch your spine and lift your chest off of the ground. Hold the pose for three breaths before returning to the ground and repeat as necessary.

3. Hamstring (seated)--If you're sitting in your office chair, extend one leg forward with your heel on the ground. Keeping your back straight, lean forward with your hands on your hips until you feel a stretch in your hamstring. Hold for ten seconds and repeat with the other leg.

4. Chest stretch--While this can be done standing or seated, it is better accomplished from the standing position. Join both hands behind your back and open your chest forward. This will allow you to feel a stretch in both your arms and chest and maybe even loosen up the tension in your thighs.

5. Cat/Cow--Kneel on hands and feet and round your back up towards the ceiling in a cat pose. Extend the spine inward for a cow stretch.

6. Child's pose--Kneeling on the ground, sit on your heels with your knees spread apart. Fold forward until your forehead is resting on the ground.

7. Lower back twist--Lie flat on your back and pull one knee in towards your chest. Rotate the knee over your other leg and try to touch the ground with it. Attempt to keep your entire back connected to the ground and hold this pose.

Photo courtesy of Fix My Gut

Ways to Measure Your Progress

--If your ear is in front of the midpoint of your shoulder, then your head is too far forward.

--Look in the mirror, standing sideways as tall as you can. If you can see your other shoulder blade, then your back is too rounded.

--Both of your shoulders should be the same height. One should not be higher or lower than the other.

--Your kneecaps should not point inward and force your knees to touch if your legs are straightened.

--Your toes should not point outward more than 10 degrees.

--If your hips tilt forward and your lower back is noticeably arched, you have an anterior pelvic tilt.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest

Sticking with these exercises daily and taking mental notes of your progress should drastically improve your posture and overall energy in a short amount of time. Equally important is being mindful of how you carry yourself when walking around or sitting in your office chair.

Sources: Huffington Post, Women's Health