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Some of us prefer Christmas music on the pensive side, with wistful lyrics about dusky snowfalls and memories. It’s not joy being sought, but permission to wallow in melancholy. h Others relish the frisky sounds of sleigh bells and cascades of horns that embellish so many holiday classics. The season doesn’t go into effect until they’ve literally rocked around the Christmas tree. h There just might be a Christmas song for all tastes – jolly to melancholy – so corralling them into one list is not only futile, but impossible. h Still, we try. h Our Christmas guide touches on classic and current artists with rock, country, R&B and straight-up pop. Maybe you’ll find something to add to holiday cheer … or prompt a tear.

I believe if you conducted a survey you would find that the vast majority of folks in this country know, in general, what they should eat and what they should avoid. Even so, when you look at what we eat, you are likely to find the list is full of things we should avoid, while the things we should eat are rare. h For example, we know we should eat more whole grains. These are loaded with nutrients and fiber and promote health in many ways. So, what do we do? Our most common lame attempt at checking this box is to consume lots of white bread which is virtually devoid of whole grains, is low in nutrients and fiber, and the white flour breaks down like simple sugar in the body. h And what about vegetables? The most popular is the potato, again a poor choice. We need deep-colored vegetables that are filled with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals (healthful chemicals contained in plants), but instead, we choose a white potato, then deep fry it to make potato chips and French fries. h The implications of our horrible eating habits are obvious. More than a third of Americans are obese (36.5%), and another 32.5% are overweight, which means two out of three of us has a weight problem. This contributes to Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and some forms of cancer. Can the message be more clear? What we eat creates health problems and kills us prematurely. And worse, we know better. So, why do we eat the way we do?