After a month I figured it’s a good time to check back in and give you my latest opinion on the Jawbone Up, since a lot of you are asking. I had only used it for five days when I wrote my last review (below), and how I’ve been using it over the past weeks has definitely evolved.

Apparently a lot of people are having trouble with the device. I’m on my second one (my first wouldn’t charge properly and eventually stopped working), but to be fair I’m on my third Fitbit as well. Since I’ve had the new one I’ve had no problems and it works perfectly (so does the latest Fitbit). I wonder if it’s working better because I stopped wearing it in the shower? Who knows.

I’ve heard a few people say they are having issues with the accuracy of tracking, but mine has consistently registered within a few hundreds steps of Fitbit, a difference that is virtually irrelevant. Someone in the comments here said their device counts steps when they drive their car, pushing the numbers very high. I don’t drive so can’t attest to this issue, but I would be pretty upset if it were true. I’ve also heard that a lot of people lose their plug caps, which hasn’t happened to me but would be annoying. To their credit, from what I understand Jawbone has been cool about replacing devices and caps for those with problems.

Hardware issues aside I still think the Jawbone Up is really cool, and I absolutely love the hourly reminders to get off my ass and move around. I set these myself, so the nudges aren’t a prerequisite for using the device, but I think they are by far the best reason to get the Up. (Are you listening Fitbit?)

As a pedometer, the lack of bluetooth wireless syncing bothers me more than I expected. This is especially true since I’m still using my Fitbit, which has a beautiful display of my steps (not to mention calories, stair flights, miles traveled and the time) at the push of a button. Though plugging the Up into your iPhone is easy enough, to get your data you need to launch the app and sync the device. This takes the better part of a minute and feels very laborious compared to the simplicity of the Fitbit that I can check easily without a second thought.

That said I do love that the Up presents my data in a graphical form that has me making progress toward a defined goal (10,000 steps). There’s something innately inspiring about seeing your activity build over the course of the day, and it is even more powerful when you can see it compared with friends (I’ll get more into the social side shortly). Once again, inspiration is probably the greatest advantage of the Up.

As much as I love data, however, I stopped using the Up to track sleep and food. I’m not a big food tracker anyway, but the interface is a bit too cumbersome despite its attempt at simplicity. It just isn’t very intuitive and doesn’t translate well onto my personal eating style (low-maintenance). I’d be interested to hear if any of you have found a way to make the food tracking worthwhile. If not, I’d recommend Jawbone kill this feature or spend some serious time rethinking how to make it work.

The reason I stopped using the sleep tracker is more rudimentary: I don’t like sleeping with a bracelet on. I think Jawbone did a great job of making a sleek, cool looking device for wearing during the day. But when I sleep I have a tendency to move around a lot and I like to slide my arms under blankets, between pillows and other cozy places. In that setting the Up is obtrusively bulky. As much as I love the idea of naturally waking up every morning during the perfect time in my sleep cycle, it won’t happen for me with the current bracelet design.

Back to the app, the social aspect was the part I was most excited about and it kills me how difficult it is to find friends on Up. Why is there no Facebook or Twitter integration? This is baffling. The search function for friends is ridiculously difficult to use, and I don’t think there is any way to discover other friends who are using the device if you don’t already know they’re on there. From what I understand this is a fairly simple feature to add and I don’t understand why it wasn’t built in at launch. I share Alexia’s dream of Up seamlessly integrating with social services, but for now it’s a major social FAIL.

To summarize, I like the Up and still think it has tremendous potential. I still might choose it over Fitbit for that reason (a lot of these issues can be solved with software updates), as well as the buzz reminders. But if you aren’t the social butterfly I am (or if you happen to be an Android user) at this stage Fitbit is still an excellent alternative if you’re just looking to move more for health reasons.

How is your Up working out?

UPDATE from Jawbone (12/8/11):

I receive this email from Jawbone today guaranteeing a full refund, even without returning your Up. They say that have found a few hardware issues and are stopping production until the problems are fully resolved. There will still be software updates as necessary. Here’s the complete letter from the Jawbone CEO:

Jawbone Up is the coolest pedometer in the history of the universe

November 9, 2011

I don’t write a lot of product reviews, mainly because I don’t use a lot of products. For my healthstyle I prefer simplicity, and until recently the only health tracking I’ve done regularly involves making sure the same jeans fit me year-after-year. Super fancy, I know.

That was until a few months ago when I realized that it is very easy for me to lose track of how much walking I do, which I’ve learned is absolutely critical for maintaining my weight. Since then I’ve been tracking my steps with a Fitbit (that I adore), and in just two months I’m back down to what I consider my ideal size.

But as much as I love my Fitbit, the Jawbone Up I got last weekend is way cooler.

What is it?

Like any pedometer, the Up tracks your steps. I’ve been wearing both my Up and Fitbit for a few days and the numbers are very similar.

Instead of clipping to your pants like the Fitbit, Up is a water-proof wristband that you wear at all times. The Up plugs directly into your iPhone sound port, and syncs with an app that displays the data.

It has three different modes: regular, sleep and active. There is a single button on the device you use to change modes. Generally you keep it in the normal mode, but if you are exercising vigorously the active mode will give you more accurate readings. The sleep mode tracks how much sleep you get and displays when during the night you were in light versus deep sleep.

The Up allows you to track your meals as well, which is powerful when combined with the various challenges you can set up for yourself. For instance, if you take a picture of your lunch and you have also challenged yourself to eat something green at both lunch and dinner, you will have the option of giving yourself credit for that meal.

Up is also proactive. It has a built in vibration that can be used as an alarm clock that gently wakes you up at the right time of your sleep cycle around the time you specify. Or if you want to break the habit of sitting at your desk for long stretches of time, you can have it nudge you if you’ve been inactive for a set amount of time.

Why it’s awesome

Where Up has a huge advantage over Fitbit is how the data is displayed. For the most part the app interface is beautiful and intuitive, making it easy and fun to use. You can scroll through your days and look for the patterns of activity, and the sky appears to cycle between night and day as you look back in time.

The social integration is also way better in Up than Fitbit, and it is highly customizable for any goals you may have. Your engagement can be friendly or competitive, so you can set it up for whatever motivates you best. It’s really fun when there are two devices in one house, it’s a constant competition here over who takes the most steps every day (I always win).

The sleep mode is also awesome. While Fitbit has a sleep mode as well, it’s a pain to use and doesn’t give you much insight. The Up sleep data is more similar to the Zeo personal sleep manager, but has the advantage of not requiring you to sleep with the equivalent of a camping headlamp strapped to your face, which is nice. The sleep data is simple and gives you information that is actually useful.

I also like what they’ve done with the meal tracking. This is usually a tough sell for me, because tracking can easily become way too labor intensive to be practical. The Up only requires a picture, but it is also proactive in that it will remind you to evaluate how you feel a couple hours after the meal. The simplicity is key, and I think this could actually be helpful in selectively building and breaking various eating habits.

I think this app has huge potential for habit building. With the challenges and built in reminders, tracking and nudging has never been more simple. And since the key to habit building is repetition and consistency, these tools are incredibly powerful for making meaningful behavioral changes.

Lastly, the Up is surprisingly cool looking and is relatively comfortable to wear. I expected it to look something like the rubber LIVESTRONG bracelets (which fit better on my ankle than my wrist), but the form factor is much more elegant. I got a black band and I love it, but it also comes in bright red, bright blue or silver, and dark brown, dark red and white are coming soon.

Down sides

So far I don’t have many complaints. There is the obvious disadvantage that it cannot be used if you don’t have an iPhone, but I could write pages about why the iPhone is the best thing I’ve ever bought in my life so I personally don’t think this is a major negative.

There are still a few imperfections in the app UI, which can easily be addressed. For example, it isn’t particularly easy to search for friends to add to teams. But presumably all this will can be fixed in software updates.

It would be nice if the Up tracked elevation like the new Fitbits do. I encourage all of you to be taking the stairs whenever possible, and elevation data is a nice feature in that regard.

My last critique is that you can’t see your data with just a push of a button like you can with Fitbit. The Up requires you take it off and plug it into your phone, which isn’t that much of a hassle but makes me slightly less inclined to check my status.

But considering you’re basically getting Fitbit, Zeo and Health Month rolled into one, at $100 it’s hard to beat.

You can order yours on Amazon or the Jawbone Up website.

What do you think of the new Up?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Disheartening news this week from the Nutrition Diva about the accuracy of nutrition labels; and from the meat industry regarding their nasty anti-biotic resistant bacteria problem. Also, The New York Times has a fantastic series on exercise that is the perfect inspiration for your spring fitness plan.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links at Twitter (@summertomato) and the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Can You Trust the Nutrition Facts? <<Short answer: no. But if you’re counting on nutrition labels to keep you healthy, you probably aren’t having much success anyway. Concentrate on the ingredients, and stick to the real ones. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Is Sitting a Lethal Activity? <<Attention computer geeks! Fascinating article on the problems with sedentary behavior, even in relatively active people. (New York Times)
• Multi-Drug Resistant Staph in 1 in 4 Meat Samples <<This is BS of the week not because it isn’t true, but because we tolerate it. (Wired)
• Dieters find ‘healthy’ food labels can be tricky <<Need another reason to stop dieting? Turns out dieters are more easily fooled by health claims on packages than non-dieters. (Los Angeles Times)
• Bacteria Divide People Into 3 Types, Scientists Say <<I predict the field of gut microflora will take off in the coming decades. Lots of interesting research around this subject. (New York Times)
• Pregnant women exposed to pesticides have children with slightly lower IQ, studies show <<Three new studies indicate that traces of pesticides in pregnant mothers correlated to decreased IQ scores in children 7 years later. Though the mechanism is unclear, even a hint that pesticides can impact cognitive development should concern expectant mothers. (Los Angeles Times)
• For an Exercise Afterburn, Intensity May Be the Key <<Hard workouts seem to be the most effective at burning extra calories after you stop sweating. (New York Times)
• Trying to stop food cravings? Not eating the foods you crave may help, a study finds <<I find this interesting because I’ve definitely noticed that people of all diet camps claim to have gotten in touch with their “true” bodily needs once they changed their diets. Well, it looks like this truth may be somewhat subjective. (Los Angeles Times)
• What’s the Single Best Exercise? <<There’s not one answer, but the top 12 answers are all probably pretty good. (New York Times)
• White bean tuna salad for a picnic in the park <<Such a lovely, simple spring recipe. (Jenn Cuisine)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Next week I’ll be celebrating my 31st birthday. If you appreciate the work I do for this site and would like to give back, I’m donating all cakes, presents and well wishes to Charity Water. Charity Water helps bring clean water to children and families in Africa who desperately need it. Follow the link to learn more.

http://mycharitywater.org/darya

How to make food taste better without cooking skills, the best geek food article of all time and why Twinkie’s won’t make your life better.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete reading list join me on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the Week

• Hard Work Improves the Taste of Food, Study Shows <<Proof that shopping at the farmers market and going to the gym makes vegetables taste better. (Science Daily)
• When Video Games and Butchery Collide, You Get 8-Bit Nose to Tail <<The best story I’ve ever found on the internet. Ever. (Serious Eats)
• Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds <<BS of the week. Is anyone here surprised that you can lose weight and improve cholesterol when you barely eat anything (even if that “thing” is complete junk food)? You shouldn’t be. And this is a great example of why we have bigger fish to fry than weight and cholesterol. (CNN)
• Why I don’t cook at home <<This is cute and worth reading, but I hope Summer Tomato readers know better. (The Oatmeal)
• DHA Improves Memory and Cognitive Function in Older Adults, Study Suggests <<Fish is by far the best source of DHA omega-3 fatty acids. (Science Daily)
• Latest egg recall over salmonella affects 228,000 eggs <<Just when you thought it was safe to eat industrial eggs. (Los Angeles Times)
• While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales <<Great example of how special interests can influence government policy. Personally I wouldn’t trust my health to recommendations by the US government. (New York Times)
• Red meat: Not so bad after all? <<You might be surprised by the science behind meat consumption. (Nutrition Data)
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Sriracha and Mint <<I recently tried a similar recipe at a local restaurant and it was amazing. This will be appearing in my kitchen soon. (White On Rice)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Michael Pollan thinks food community is essential, organic eggs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be and UCSF scientists help the military figure out what’s killing bees. I also found a cool mythbuster about the best way to clean your produce.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete reading list join me on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• The 36-Hour Dinner Party <<Who knew Michael Pollan and Google had so much in common? In line with my post this week about food community at Google, Michael Pollan’s new NYTimes Magazine piece explores the value of good food in fostering good will.
• Is Your Favorite Organic Egg Brand a Factory Farm in Disguise? <<I personally don’t get excited about “organic” eggs at the grocery store, for exactly this reason. I get mine directly from farms I trust. It’s a lot more expensive, so I buy less and appreciate them more. (Mother Jones)
• The Glutton’s Diet: Five Tips from a Food Writer <<BS of the week. Why am I not surprised this dude has trouble losing weight?
• Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery <<This isn’t directly food related, but it’s a cool story and is definitely critical for the future of agriculture in America. Oh, and the scientists are from UCSF (New York Times)
• New York City says no to using Food Stamps for sodas <<Finally, a step in the right direction. But Marion Nestle thinks more can be done to promote healthy food choices. (Food Politics)
• Want to lose more fat weight? Get more sleep, study says <<Apparently your quality of sleep reflects the kind of weight you lose. (Los Angeles Times)
• The Claim: A Soap-and-Water Rinse Gets Produce Cleanest <<Nope, water is just as good–so long as you scrub. (New York Times)
• `Early introduction` to egg is best <<Preventing children from being exposed to common food allergens seems to make them more susceptible, not less. Expose them early. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Bento Art: Fantastically Geeky Lunches <<Geek alert. Who wouldn’t want to eat Darth Vadar for lunch? (SFWeekly)
• Skirt steak salad with blue cheese <<Someone accused me of being vegan this week (ha!), so here’s an amazing looking steak salad to chew on. (Smitten Kitchen)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

I’m excited to announce this week the launch of my personal blog daryapino.com. It’s still very much a work in progress, and there’s a decent chance it may change a lot in the coming months. But since it is meant to be a more informal peek into my personal healthstyle (which I get asked about all the time (???)), I figure there’s no harm in announcing it at this point. There are a few posts up there now, including a review of Anthony Bourdain’s new book Medium Raw, to give you an idea of what to expect. Let me know what you think.

I found a ton of interesting links this week ranging from really cool scientific discoveries on the benefits of whole foods to frightening food safety issues and vegetable MRIs. I also found some proof that organic tomatoes are better for you than the tasteless kind.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete reading list join me on the new Digg or StumbleUpon. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• USDA Admits Link Between Antibiotic Use by Big Ag and Human Health <<The horrendous conditions that exist in industrial feedlots require the animals be given huge doses of antibiotics to  stay alive long enough to be profitable survive. This overuse of medicine creates superbugs, antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are becoming a serious problem in our very own hospitals. Solution seems obvious to me. (Huffington Post)
• Good cholesterol may mean little for statin users <<Interesting new data showing that statin users get no extra benefit from having high HDL “good” cholesterol. I’m a little surprised by this, and will be following this research closely. (Medline)
• Ten-Year Comparison of the Influence of Organic and Conventional Crop Management Practices on the Content of Flavonoids in Tomatoes <<Translation: Organic tomatoes are more nutritious than conventional tomatoes in a well-designed 10-year study. Why this research didn’t make the news is beyond me. But of course if a poorly designed study shows no difference in the nutrition of organic foods then it’s front page material (in science we call this a negative finding and it should require EXTRA proof). So I’m calling BS of the week on the lack of press here. (Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry)
• A rose may be a rose but perhaps a calorie’s not a calorie <<Cool study showing that whole foods use more calories during digestion than processed foods, even when the meals have the same number of total calories and are almost identical. (Weighty Matters)
• The Claim: Artificial Sweeteners Can Raise Blood Sugar <<Yes, yes they can. Artificial sweeteners have never been shown to have any value, and they also taste pretty bad. I vote for natural sweeteners with real calories. Just use them sparingly. (New York Times)
• Why Toasting Dried Chiles Matters <<Cool experiment on the flavor added by toasting dried chilies before using them. I’m totally trying this. (Serious Eats)
• Your Salad – Is the convenience worth the risk? <<This is a subject that has been bothering me a lot lately. Industrial lettuces have been getting E.coli and salmonella like crazy this year, so even vegetarians and generally conscientious eaters are at risk unless they buy produce directly from farms (which can be impossible for many people). I don’t know what to say except rinse your bagged salads well. (Marler Blog)
• WTF Should I Do with All This Summer Fruit? <<Tips on freezing fruit so you have a stash come winter. (Chow)
• Inside Insides <<One of the coolest geeky food blogs I’ve come across. They take MRIs of fresh produce!!
• Tarragon Egg Salad <<I love egg salad, and am learning to appreciate tarragon. I declare this recipe on the menu! (Simply Recipes)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Lots of interesting health and nutrition stories this week. I particularly love the piece about how exercise impacts cognitive performance, and the bits about the health benefits of grains. I’m not in the mood to focus on any BS this week, but if I did it would have certainly been the Monsanto court decision.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete reading list join me on the new Digg or StumbleUpon. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Cooking Is As Easy As Being a DungeonMaster <<The ultimate geek cooking lesson. If you’ve ever mastered anything, you can conquer your kitchen. (Geek’s Dream Girl)
• Phys Ed: Your Brain on Exercise <<Really cool new research explaining how exercise makes you smarter. My goal, of course, is to turn you all into a bunch of super geniuses (wahahahaha). (New York Times)
• Low acid diet may not prevent bone loss <<I’m always confused when I hear people mention the health benefits of “alkaline diets,” since there is almost no science backing those bogus claims. As usual, Marion Nestle does an awesome job explaining why. (SFGate)
• Who’s Behind Those Trader Joe’s Generics? You’d Be Surprised <<I must admit, I’ve always wondered how Trader Joe’s private label put out such awesome products. Turns out, they are awesome products I already knew about. (SFoodie)
• How do you know you’re on a “good” diet? <<I love Yoni’s answer to this: “Simple. You like it.” He really nails what it means to find your own healthstyle with this article. (Weighty Matters)
• Add onion and garlic to “unlock” the nutrients in grains <<Somehow I doubt Atkins or paleo dieters will pay any attention to this, but it’s interesting news for the rest of us. (Nutrition Data)
• Experts Believe Many Birth Defects Are Preventable <<I like the title of this article because it makes me sound like an expert. Turns out you should try to be healthy before you even start thinking about maybe getting pregnant. (Medline)
• Wine for Tomato Season: Grechetto <<Don’t know that I’ve ever tried Grechetto, but it has skyrocketed to the top of my summer to-do list. (Good Wine Under $20)
• High-fibre breakfast enhances fat burning during exercise <<Cereal burns fat? Only when you exercise, which of course you do regularly because you’re a super genius. This article also provides a good excuse to laugh at the way Canadians spell fiber. (kidding!) (Obesity Panacea)
• Strawberries. Balsamic. Cacao Nibs. <<Uber healthy seasonal dessert FTW!! (Vanilla Garlic)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Outstanding reading to be found this week on the interwebs; tough cuts were made. Please read the landmark essay about why the gulf oil spill may be the last we know of bluefin tuna. You should also read about what is going down over California’s strawberry crop. The good news? Gourmet Magazine is coming back…in iPad form!

I’ve also had a lot of fun recently answering questions over at Formspring. Have a question? Ask me anything! www.formspring.me/daryapino

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete reading list join me on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Tuna’s End <<You probably don’t want to know why you shouldn’t eat tuna. No one likes to hear that what they’ve been doing since childhood is devastating our world, but I urge you to be a bigger person and look at the facts. We cannot eat tuna anymore, but maybe there are alternatives. (New York Times)
• Misleading Food Labels <<Fat-free half & half? WTF? (Michael Ruhlman)
• Pork Board Issues Cease-and-Desist Letter Over Unicorn Meat <<BS of the week. I’ll start by saying that ThinkGeek’s offending action was a #@$%ing April Fool’s Day joke. I’ll continue by stating that nutritionally pork is red meat, not white meat, despite the misleading slogan the Pork Board claims rights to (in my opinion they should be sued for false advertising). I’ll end with this quote, “The National Pork Board has just proven, beyond all doubt, that they are the stupidest motherf*ckers on the planet.” Nuff said. (Vegan)
• Controversial Pesticide Worries Scientists <<The growing trend of scientists being blatantly ignored by government is beyond troubling. Anyone who enjoys facts should be outraged–especially if you eat strawberries. (NPR)
• Don’t Sound Like a Tool: The Most Mispronounced Menu Words of All Time <<Have a date coming up? You’ll thank me for this one (hint: there’s audio). (SFWeekly)
• Restaurant Offers Lion Burgers. They’re Grrrrross! <<I wish this were BS of the week, but unfortunately it’s true. I think it has something to do with soccer. I don’t know what to say. (TreeHugger)
• Gourmet Magazine Revived for the iPad <<Don’t know about the rest of you foodie tech geeks, but this made my week. (New York Times)
• Coffee Might Guard Against Head, Neck Cancers <<I’m starting to wonder why anyone ever thought coffee was bad for you. Maybe it seems too good to be true, but all I’ve seen are positives for moderate coffee consumption. Mmm…data. (Medline)
• Iodine Levels a Worry as Salt Use Declines <<Everyone is hating on salt these days, but like most things it does have its place in a healthy diet. Though most people in industrial societies are not deficient in iodine, pregnant women and people on very low salt diets should be sure they are getting their minimum iodine levels. (Medline)
• Grilled Steak and Arugula Salad with White Beans and Shiitake Mushrooms <<Supposedly this recipe can break the mushroom hater of their unfortunate aversion. Steak to the rescue! (The Bitten Word)

What greatness did you read this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Some great reads this week. There’s scary news for those of us who spend a lot of time at the computer, as well as a terrifying example of what it means to be a food-like product. On the other side, there’s some good news about cholesterol.

I’m still participating in the Inkwell interview at The Well with David Gans and Diane Brown until June 23. Have questions for me or just want to eavesdrop? Come join us! http://bit.ly/9n1v8O

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Links of the week

• Your Office Chair Is Killing You <<New research suggests that you can’t make up for a full day of sitting by heading to the gym. In the eloquent words of Homer Simpson, “D’OH!!” (Bloomberg Businessweek)
• Horrifying 12-day Cool Whip Experiment <<I believe it was Michael Pollan who first said, “If it doesn’t rot it isn’t food.” That means even bugs won’t eat it. (Jonathan Fields)
• Higher ‘good’ cholesterol linked to lower cancer risk <<We already knew that higher HDL cholesterol is one of the strongest protective measures against heart disease, but new data suggests it is also linked to less cancer. Correlation is not causation, but this is cool news. (CNN)
• Slim chips: no fat, no calories <<BS of the week. Don’t get your hopes up, these are flavored paper. Seriously. (Sydney Morning Herald)
• Foods that cut sugar aren’t necessarily a sweet choice <<Eeewwwww. Diet foods give you diarrhea. I’ll stick to fruit and real desserts, thanks. (Los Angeles Times)
• Twin study shows Mediterranean-style diet improves heart function <<Twin studies are awesome because you can test the effect of genetics versus environment, which is often confounding in diet experiments. Even in the case of bad genetics, diet was helpful for heart function. (American Heart Association)
• Kitchen gadgets nirvana: Yes, you must eat your veggies — but do it with cool tools <<For you geeks out there. C’mon, you know you wanna look. (Culturemap)
• In defense of (some) processed foods <<Short, insightful post by Ezra Klein about discriminating between processed foods. I agree whole-heartedly. You should read the Bittman post he links to as well. (Washington Post)
• The two questions to ask before you indulge <<I’m a big fan of the occasional food indulgence. These two tips can help you do it right. (Weighty Matters)
• Love salt? You might be a ‘supertaster’ <<Another factor that might affect how you tailor your healthstyle. Are you a supertaster? I would bet that I am. (CNN)

What inspired you this week?