Want to gain weight? Here's 8 great ways to do it.

First, I have a confession: I used to never care about what I ate. Not only that, I also loved take-out foods—mostly because of my crazy work schedule. And oh, I wasn’t the most athletic guy. In fact, I didn’t start exercising until I was in my thirties, when suddenly I realized that I had to do something to keep my body healthy.

Does this sound familiar? Honestly, it seems like we’ve all got some pounds we could shed—and we’re in big company (yes, pun intended). But seriously, this is no joking matter: the statistics about obesity in this country are far from funny. Can you believe that by 2010, three-quarters of the U.S. population will be overweight? And if that didn’t shock you, check this out: statistics show that 80% of our kids are suffering from weight-related afflictions, like arthritis? The consequences of extra weight are devastating. So here’s my question: how did we get here?

The Big 8 from Dr. Manny

Water crisis to be biggest world risk

A catastrophic water shortage could prove an even bigger threat to mankind this century than soaring food prices and the relentless exhaustion of energy reserves, according to a panel of global experts at the Goldman Sachs "Top Five Risks" conference.

Nicholas (Lord) Stern, author of the Government's Stern Review on the economics of climate change, warned that underground aquifers could run dry at the same time as melting glaciers play havoc with fresh supplies of usable water.

A Goldman Sachs report said water was the "petroleum for the next century", offering huge rewards for investors who know how to play the infrastructure boom. The US alone needs up to $1,000bn (£500bn) in new piping and waste water plants by 2020.

"Demand for water continues to escalate at unsustainable rates. At the risk of being alarmist, we see parallels with Malthusian economics. Globally, water consumption is doubling every 20 years. By 2025, it is estimated that about one third of the global population will not have access to adequate drinking water," it said.

More from The Telegraph

America's Most Unhealthy Drinks Exposed

Whether you are on a hardcore diet trying to lose major pounds or just someone trying to stay in good shape, you should be aware that there are a lot of so called "healthy" drinks out there that will do you more harm than good. To help you steer clear of these devilish drinks, Men's Health has compiled a small list of 5 of some of the most unhealthy drinks. Would you believe the one in the picture is Number 5, not really because it is so bad, but because it is deceptive.

The drinks are at The Consumerist

14 Habits That Make You Fat

Think you know whay makes you fat? Sometimes the habits we adopt have a lot to do with it. Check and see how many of these you do frequently. Keep them up and your health will suffer.

From Health Assist

Also from Good, Pure and Wonderful - 50 Habits of Naturally Thin People.

10 things your restaurant won't tell you

It pays to be wise, especially in times when every dollar counts. Eateries are feeling the pinch too, and they may be cutting some corners, or at times deceiving you outright. Here are some thing you really ought to know before you eat out.

The Smart 10 from MSN Money

Smoothies 'can damage your teeth'

Dentists have warned the current popularity of fruit smoothies could lead to widespread tooth damage.

It was claimed last week that the fruit drinks could be twice as healthy as first thought.

But dentists warn that the beneficial effects of boosting consumption of fruit are likely to be far outweighed by damage the drinks cause to teeth.

They warn that the high levels of sugar in the drinks can promote decay without good dental hygiene.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "Fruit smoothies are becoming increasingly popular and the fruit content can make them seem like a good idea.

"However, they contain very high levels of sugar and acid and so can do a lot of damage to the teeth."

More at the BCC

What if gas cost $10 a gallon?

In four years, U.S. gas prices have doubled to more than $3.70 a gallon, and crude oil has tripled to around $125 a barrel. Allowing for inflation, that's higher than prices were during the 1978–83 oil shock that triggered a recession and sky-high interest rates. But . . .

What if gas cost $10 a gallon?

More from MSN Money

Also - If $4 Gas Is Bad, Just Wait - From MarketWatch

4 Most Harmful Ingredients in Packaged Foods

Ninety percent of Americans' household food budget is spent on processed foods, the majority of which are filled with additives and stripped of nutrients. Discover which common ingredients in the foods you eat pose the greatest risk to your health. Grab the broccoli with cheese sauce from the freezer, the box of instant rice pilaf from the pantry, or the hot dogs from your fridge and squint at the ingredient list's fine print. You'll likely find food additives in every one. Is this healthy? Compared to the foods our bodies were built to eat, definitely not.

Processed, packaged foods have almost completely taken over the diet of Americans. In fact, nearly 90 percent of our household food budget is spent on processed foods, according to industry estimates. Unfortunately, most processed foods are laden with sweeteners, salts, artificial flavors, factory-created fats, colorings, chemicals that alter texture, and preservatives. But the trouble is not just what's been added, but what's been taken away. Processed foods are often stripped of nutrients designed by nature to protect your heart, such as soluble fiber, antioxidants, and "good" fats. Combine that with additives, and you have a recipe for disaster.

From Readers Digest

Poisonous yard mushrooms sprout bumper crops

We've had a wet winter and spring, which has caused the number of mushrooms popping up everywhere to ... well ... mushroom.

They're showing up on our lawns, our mulch piles, even our fallen limbs and twigs.

And Fara Bushnell, armed with rubber gloves and a plastic bag, has been busy keeping her Nicholasville yard a fungus-free zone.

"I've been plucking these things like there's no tomorrow," she said.

Her reason: She breeds and shows Bernese mountain dogs, and knows of dogs in Kentucky that have died after eating poisonous mushrooms. She doesn't want to risk that happening to her dogs.

More at Kentucky.com

10 Troublesome Facts About Childhood Obesity

6. "Husky" car seats were developed several years ago. More than 250,000 children younger than 6 exceeded the weight standards for regular car seats in 2006.

7. Soft-drink consumption has increased 300 percent in 20 years and is the leading source of added sugars for adolescents.

8. 25 percent of all vegetables eaten in the United States are french fries or chips.

Check out the whole list at Boston.com

The reason fat people find it hard to lose weight is found

Scientists have discovered why fat people find it so hard to lose weight, which will lead to many new approaches to weight loss.

The difference in the number of fat cells between lean and obese people is established in childhood and, although fat people replenish fat cells at the same rate as thin ones, they have around twice as many.

This remarkable glimpse of what gives us beer guts, love handle and muffin tops could also lead to new approaches to fight the flab, by cutting the overall number of fat cells in the body, as well as providing an insight into why fat people find it so hard to lose weight, because the number of fat cells in a person remains the same, even after a successful diet.
Does this apply to fat cats?
More from the Telegraph

Feds launch 'Gestapo raid' over raw milk

A rally has been set for tomorrow in front of the magistrate's office in Mt. Holly, Pa., in support of a Mennonite farmer who has brought the wrath of the government on himself for selling raw milk and other products – an act government prosecutors say violates a number of regulations.

That's when the next court hearing is scheduled for Mark Nolt, a Pennsylvania farmer who turned in his state permit to sell raw milk because it didn't allow for the sale of the other products he offered.

"They swooped in ... like a bunch of Vikings, handcuffed me and stole $30,000 worth of my milk, cheese and butter," he told the New York Daily News.

His case is just an example of what the government is trying to do to those who believe – based on medical results – that raw milk is better for them than the processed milk available in most grocery stores, according to Nolt's supporters.

More from WorldNetDaily

Church battles for property lost to bake sale tax dispute

The city of Chicago has been handed another defeat in its effort to take over a church's property in order to use in it a redevelopment project, according to officials with the Alliance Defense Fund.

Government officials took title to the property after they first claimed the organization had failed to pay sales taxes on fundraising bake sales, even though such activities are exempt from sales tax requirements, and then sending notifications of the taxes due as well as the tax lien sale to the wrong address.

More at WND

Maybe it's time for Americans to start stockpiling food.

Maybe it's time for Americans to start stockpiling food.

No, this is not a drill.

You've seen the TV footage of food riots in parts of the developing world. Yes, they're a long way away from the U.S. But most foodstuffs operate in a global market. When the cost of wheat soars in Asia, it will do the same here.

Reality: Food prices are already rising here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping your money in a bank or money-market fund. And there are very good reasons to believe prices on the shelves are about to start rising a lot faster.

"Load up the pantry," says Manu Daftary, one of Wall Street's top investors and the manager of the Quaker Strategic Growth mutual fund. "I think prices are going higher. People are too complacent. They think it isn't going to happen here. But I don't know how the food companies can absorb higher costs.
More from the Wall Street Journal

Bangladesh stops poor from collecting rotten rice

Bangladesh deployed troops at a dumping site near the country's main Chittagong port on Saturday to stop poor people from collecting rotten rice, officials said.

"The dumping site has been cordoned, and the relevant authorities have been asked not to dump rotten rice at unrestricted spots anymore," a security official said.

Hundreds of poor people thronged the dumping site as the Food Department started ditching some 500 tonnes of damaged rice on Friday.

Nearly half of Bangladesh's 140 million people live on an income less than a dollar per day and their plight has worsened since rice and other food prices started rising this year.

More from Boston.com

Want a fatal heart attack? Try drinking four RED BULL energy drinks per day.

Alfredo Duran, 40, who drank four cans of Red Bull every night, collapsed and died after working a supermarket night shift.

An inquest into his death heard that he had an enlarged heart and that caffeine may have triggered an attack.

Dr Ian Roberts, a pathologist, said the amount of Red Bull Mr Duran drank could have contributed to his death.

From The Telegraph

It looks like the food rationing has begun

Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.
More from the New York Sun

Your Food Packages are SHRINKING!

Food companies have increasing costs and can't keep selling items at higher prices so they put less food in them. I just bought some Frito-Lay peanuts a few days a ago and they dropped from two ounces to one and one half. the example here is ice cream, but we are seeing this all over the place. Watch your packages carefully.
From The Consumerist

Shoppers don't have a clue how many calories are in their food.

Quick, what at McDonald's has the most calories? A Big Mac, two Sausage McGriddles, a large chocolate shake, or four hamburgers? If you guessed a Big Mac, you’d be in good company. And you’d also be wrong.
Get some answers see why we need calories listed clearly.
From The Consumerist

Invention of the microwave unleashed global obesity ripple effect

The invention of the microwave may have been intimately connected to the beginning of an epidemic in obesity, according to Jane Wardle, a professor of clinical psychology at University College London. "I looked at the figures showing rates of obesity in the population over many years, and it seemed very clear [that] it began between 1984 and 1987," Wardle said in a debate at the Cheltenham Science Festival, which took place from June 6-10.
More from NaturalNews.com