Guests at restaurants in Argentina's Buenos Aires province must say good-bye to the salt shaker.In an effort to combat hypertension, which affects some 3.7 million residents in the province – nearly a quarter of the population, the health department reached an agreement with the hotel and restaurant federation to remove salt shakers from the tables at their eateries.

"On average, each Argentinian consumes 13 grams of salt daily, while according to the World Health Organization, you should consume less than five," Health Minister Alejandro Collia said when he announced the change last month. The measure is not as extreme as it sounds. Salt will be available by request, but only after the patrons have tasted their food.

From Jody: You know what, that is a cool thing about tasting your food first! I think we all can learn from that. I am not a big salt user so many things taste way too salty for me. If I am out & eat something, I usually don't salt anyway. How about all of you out there take a pledge to taste your food first before salting! No-salt seasonings and herbs/spices are great!!!

3. Did any of you see the Dr. Oz show on the variables of clothes sizes in the stores. I already knew this but he had some great stuff on that show! I do have trouble finding what I want on his site so I went to the Dr. Oz Fan site which always does a great job of recapping the shows. Here from that site:

"Vanity Sizing is when you are a size 12, but you go to the store and a size 8 fits you perfectly. You feel great and buy the product of course!

Dr Oz did an experiment where he compared the waist size of size 12 black pants from the Gap, Anne Taylor, H&M and Coldwater Creek. Here are the waist measurements for all of these brands:

Gap Size 12 – 38″ waist

Anne Taylor Size 12 – 36″ waist

H&M Size 12 – 35″ waist

Coldwater Creek Size 12 – 33″ waist

So I suppose this means that the Gap is most guilty of doing Vanity Sizing! There is a 5″ variation in size 12 pants among all of these brands, which is why it is so hard to figure out the size or shape of pants. Unfortunately, there are no rules or regulations by the government or anyone else for the Fashion Industry, so brands can say that things are whatever size they want them to be. The end result is that you feel good because you fit into a smaller size, and you want to buy the piece of clothes.

Nothing makes us feel better than to fit into a smaller size at the store, but could retailers be changing sizes to play on this fact? Do they make clothes big now so that we feel good about ourselves? Doctor Oz spoke to Laura Moore, a historian of fashion who has been a pattern maker for years. She said that Vanity Sizing is a real epidemic, because women will say things like they were a size 12 when they got married and they are still a size 12 today, but that really means that they gained weight most likely because sizes have shifted. In the 1950’s a size 12 was a 26″ waist like Marilyn Monroe. By the 1970’s a size 12 grew by 2″. Then it grew another 5″ in the 1980’s. And today a size 12 means you have a waist of 36.”

From Jody: I have personally seen this in action! I have not shopped for clothes in a long time but when my mom died, I had to get something to wear. I remember trying on a double 0,YES, 00 at The Loft & size 4 in other places. I was thinking, if I am a double 0, what are those really super thin people. I knew what was going on!

Many of us use a pair of pants to keep us on track with our weight but here is a link from that Dr. Oz show on 5 Pieces of Clothes to Keep You from Gaining Weight.

OK, throw out your thoughts on any or all of the stories above!
 
Would you eat fried Kool-Aid?

Have you had one of those frozen foods from the fair?

What do you think of the salt shaker banning? Will you taste your food first before adding salt?

Vanity sizing - pass on your stories!!!