May 2017

By Katy G. Wilkens, MS, RD

Controversy has arisen in Seattle over the idea of adding a tax on sugary drinks sold in the city. Whether you agree or disagree with the tax proposal, you are probably aware that downing a sugary drink is not a particularly healthy choice.

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans eat and drink too much added sugar, and that behavior often leads to health problems such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and kidney and heart disease.

Healthy Food America, a Seattle-based nonprofit that pushes for improvements in food policy and food industry practice, gets specific about the impact of daily consumption of sugary drinks:
• The risk of heart attack increases by 19 percent
• The risk of Type 2 diabetes increases by 26 percent
• The risk of obesity for children increases by 55 percent

Next time you’re on the go and you have a craving for something sweet or need an energy boost, try a naturally tasty smoothie instead of a sweetened soda.

By Peggy Sturdivant

It seemed like a good idea back in December. That’s when I was invited by a member of Phinney Neighborhood Village Social Committee to speak at their 5th Anniversary Celebration on April 23rd. Who knew in December that I’d be flying to Boston the day after the event, or interviewing participants at Seattle’s Science March one day earlier?

Who knew that what we’d feared for the last years would come to pass, that Rain City Video would close, that the building that has housed it and other small local businesses since it was built would come up for sale? Who knew that Seattle would break a 122-year-old record for rain or that Bertha would actually emerge from the tunnel? Who knew I would be traveling east to be here for the last two weeks of my mom’s radiation treatments but on day four spend the whole day in examining rooms with my sister after her knee went “pop.”