French researchers found that a flavanoid called phloridzin that is found only in apples may protect post-menopausal women from osteoporosis and may also increase bone density. Boron, another ingredient in apples, also strengthens bones.
One recent study shows that children with asthma who drank apple juice on a daily basis suffered from less wheezing than children who drank apple juice only once per month. Another study showed that children born to women who eat a lot of apples during pregnancy have lower rates of asthma than children whose mothers ate few apples.
If you look at the apple nutrition content, you will see that one medium sized apple contains the vitamins B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6, B9 (folate) and C, as well as the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.
Most daily multi-vitamins contain adequate amounts of these vitamins and minerals, so why is it necessary to actually eat an apple?
It appears that the combination of vitamins, minerals and other plant components act together, providing more benefits than the individual components alone. In other words, the total value to human nutrition of an apple is probably greater than the value of the individual vitamins and minerals it contains.
The hips are often a problem area for dieters in the battle with weight loss. Fat accumulates around the hips and is often difficult to lose. Although it is next to impossible to spot treat areas of the body to lose weight, if you accumulate fat in the hips, there are steps you can take to eliminate the excess weight from this area
If you tend to store fat in the hips, then this is the first place excess fat will go. Eliminate any excess saturated fat from your diet to lose hip fat. Saturated fats can be found in fat cuts of meat, cheese and dairy made with any milk that is not non-fat. Read all nutrition labels and look for saturated fat content. Saturated fat should be less than 5% of your diet if you want to lose hip weight.
Dieters must be willing to cut their fat intake drastically if they are to lose weight and notice any significant changes in the hip and thigh area. However, dieters are permitted three meals a day. Snacking is also permitted in controlled amounts as long as the foods are targeted from the suggested list of "acceptable" foods. Calorie counting is not required with this diet.
Since vegetables have a low fat content, dieters are encouraged to consume as many vegetables as they desire or can fit into their daily menu plans. Unfortunately, for individuals who have a strong liking for food products that have high fat content, the Hip and Thigh Diet might be difficult to sustain on a long term basis.
The Hip and thigh diet is recommended as it is a well balanced diet that includes exercise and is based on sound principles and should improve overall health as well as helping you lose weight. No diet can make you lose weight specifically from one area of the body and the hip and thigh diet is no exception.
The number of calories you burn depends upon your weight, the activity your are doing and the intensity level you are exercising at. Any activity that you perform can be done at a variety of intensity levels. If you exercise at a higher intensity level, you will be working harder, expending more energy and burning more calories than someone who is not working quite so hard.
There are various weight loss and fitness programs that list down the different fitness activities with their respective calorie expended hourly count. Of course, the available weight loss exercises have varying degrees of calories burned during exercise. While there are activities that allow a person to burn more fat, there are others that merely give a minimal weight loss effect.
For those who are interested to know how to burn calories fast, it is advised that a person must devote at least thirty minutes for physical activity every day. The least strenuous exercise a person could do is to go walking for calories burned walking. For higher calories burned during exercise, at best swimming is said to give a great whole body workout.
Just a word of warning regarding cardio equipment and calories burned. Many cardio machines don't ask for your weight and tell you that you're burning X number of calories. The number displayed is for a person of average weight (usually average is 150 pounds). For many people, the number of calories is overstated. So, if the machine doesn't have you input your weight, don't believe the number of calories displayed.
Look for the list in : http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htm
The main advantage of silicone breast implants over saline is that silicone feels more like real breast tissue. Silicone gel is a very unique substance in that it is semisolid, kind of like toothpaste, but it feels different.
There are a few disadvantages of silicone implants. The first is that they are more expensive (about $1,000 more), because the silicone gel is more expensive than saline. They can also be somewhat more difficult to work with. If your doctor measures incorrectly and one implant is bigger than the other, a whole new implant will be needed, where as with saline, he can simply drain out or add more fluid as needed. Also, for this reason, slightly bigger incisions must be made to accommodate silicone implants, which must be inserted at their pre-filled size, while saline implants can be inserted at a smaller, deflated size and then filled once inserted.
Silicone implant may rupture at times and basis the leakage of silicone gel but it won’t require any quality of life problems. Your person may increment a scar ensuing rupturing the implant dubbed capsular contracture and the formation of scars is a multitude of in silicone implants.
Change the toothbrush for every 3 months: The American Dental Association (ADA) has recommended people to change the toothbrush at least every 3 months.
Use a fluoride toothpaste: Toothpaste that contains fluoride is very good for the teeth, as it helps to fight against the bacteria causing various diseases. It also gives a refreshing breath.
Use proper brushing technique: Overactive brushing can harm your teeth. One can consult your dentist to know the proper technique of brushing to clean the teeth. Flossing: Flossing also helps to eliminate bacteria. So it very good to floss after every meals.
Healthy diet: One should have a healthy food which includes nuts, carrots and celery sticks. These are know as “Palace of Cleaning”, as they clean the tooth root. A sprig of parsley will also helps to prevent bad breath.
Other facts :
---The decline in tooth decay was greatest among kids but holds across every age group. ---Only 40% of young people age 6 to 19 had ever in their lives had cavities. That’s down from 50% a decade ago. ---Over the last ten years the proportion of people age 60 who’d lost all their teeth had decreased from 33% to 25%. ---Use of dental sealants, which block tooth decay on the chewing surfaces of kids’ vulnerable molars, was up 64%. 30% of kids had had at least one sealed tooth. ---Adults with post-high-school degrees had an average of three more teeth than those without a high school diploma. ---Smokers remain three times more likely than non-smokers to lose all their teeth. This figure has not changed from a decade ago. ---Socio-economic status plays a definite role in one’s general and dental health....33% of low-income adults have untreated decay. This compared with 16% of middle- and higher-income adults. 19% of kids living in poverty have untreated decay compared with 8% of wealthier kids. CDC & ADA 1/06
Recent clinical studies shows corelation between poor oral hygiene and serious systemic diseases:
Cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke) Bacterial pneumonia Low birth weight/extreme high birth weight Diabetes complications Osteoporosis
One of the challenges we face in trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, is what to do when traveling. How do we eat healthy when we’re limited to airport food and business dinners? How do we keep up our exercise routine when we’re on a plane most of the day or in meetings?
Get any recommended vaccines or preventative medication before traveling abroad. Contact your physician, or visit a travel health website, to learn if there are any recommendations for your travel destination. Common vaccines that keep travelers healthy include hepatitis and tetanus. Find out if you should take anti-malaria pills on your trip, it's advisable for travel to certain countries abroad.
Nutritionist Kelly Aronica stresses the importance of “eating healthy before you leave as an easy way to feel great at the start of your trip. You won’t want to ruin that by overeating abroad.” She suggests five to seven servings of fruit and vegetables per day, as well as healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, and fatty fish, will set you straight before an adventure of any size.
Heading home, you should try to get yourself back on track as soon as possible, according to Aronica. Staying hydrated and settling back into your healthy eating habits are paramount. Eating three healthy meals per day can help you readjust to your time zone as will getting back into your regular workout routine.
Our bodies are like a finely tuned engine that needs to be fueled with the right mix of nutrients for optimal performance. This is especially important for soccer, where you are relying on your body for those sprints up the field and fast-paced tackles.
Soccer players require more calories than sedentary individuals. To maintain body weight and muscle mass, it's important to eat enough calories from healthy foods. The ideal way to know if you're eating enough calories is to keep an eye on your weight. If it's increasing, you're probably eating too many calories. If your weight is dropping, it may be time to increase your caloric intake. The President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition recommends that athletes get about 60 percent of their calories from carbohydrates, less than 30 percent from fat and the remainder from protein.
One of the biggest mistakes that starting soccer players make is that they believe that simply through training, they can get their bodies at maximum potential. Although training is vital in this sense, a carefully balanced diet will be the catalyst for a healthy body that can perform well under the stressful conditions that a soccer player must go through in practice or matches.
A balanced diet will handle any weight problems, since not all people can get their fat limit to 0 through sheer training – the clearest example is Ronaldo of AC Milan, who although is one of the greatest soccer players in existence, has always been criticized for being a bit chubby. Your diet will also be responsible for keeping you strong and agile, so what you eat truly becomes an issue when you're a soccer player.
If you are overweight, you are putting your body under tremendous stress. Your muscles and bones have to carry the extra weight around, and your heart and digestive systems need to produce the extra energy required to do so. The fat deposits on your key organs make their functioning more difficult. The function of your immune system might be slowed down and you might be more prone to diseases.
Reduce the calorie intake: Slightly reduce the amount of calories you consume in a day. About 100 calories can be decreased from your diet. Care should be taken not to reduce high amounts of calories.
Drink Water: Water is the biggest catalyst of body metabolism which needs to be taken throughout the day.
Split your Meals: Eat five to six times a day to keep the body metabolism active.
Fiber Contents: Include fiber contents in your diet that promotes digestion and prevents constipation.
I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia.
Exercise Tactics to lose 20 pounds in a month
Exercise twice a day – One 20 minutes workout in the morning and another one in the evening.
Do weights once every second day – Getting muscle will help your body burn more fat. The muscle takes a lot of calories to maintain while fat takes nearly none.
Split your cardio workouts between high and low intensity – High intensity to burn a lot of carbs off and low intensity to finish of the fat hanging around
Cardio is 20 minutes of hard cardio – Hard cardio is defined as keeping your heartrate up around 80% of your max. This will raise your metabolism for a long time 12 – 24 hours.
Walking or casual exercise can be an hour long – This is a great way to burn fat as you can exercise low impact by walking for an hour.
Weights should be basic exercises – Basic exercises are things like squats, bench presses, lunges, military presses. These exercises work a lot of muscle groups at once.
Healing between workouts is most important – Now that you are working out it is a good idea to get a lot of rest and sleep so that your body can recover. Your body only recovers when you are sleeping or at least resting.
Good footwear for every occasion is essential to your comfort, health and well-being. Every foot is different, so the first step in buying a good running shoe is to examine your foot to determine what characteristics you want in a running shoe. You need to determine your degree of pronation. If you tend to over pronate, your foot turns in, you will have flat arches and the soles of your shoes will show more wear on the inside edge.
We divide our shoes into three main categories (cushioned, stability and motion control); and three minor ones (performance training, racing and off-road). The first three are everyday options and are categorized essentially by your biomechanical needs; the second three are more specialized and you’d often only consider them as second shoes.
If you are running primarily on grass, trails, or any surface that is slippery, you may want to consider getting trail shoes. These shoes usually have added traction, durability, and stability; these shoes will help you get through the mud and leaves and, somewhat, the water with less slipping and sliding. If you run trails a large portion of the time, you may want to consider trail running shoes. However, it's always a good idea to keep a regular pair of running shoes around for when you want to hit the roads.
If you are a competitive racer you may want to invest in a good pair of racing flats. These shoes are made to be fast and flexible, but do increase the risk of injury. These shoes should only be used DURING races, and to break them in.
Four environmental factors work together to make it hot enough to put health at risk.
high air temperature high air moisture content (often expressed as relative humidity) radiant (sun) load lack of air movement (wind - which usually moderates the negative effects of the other factors)
Even at rest your body generates heat. In the summer time it is important to constantly release this heat from your body. For your body to function properly, its inner (core) temperature should be close to 37°C. This normally varies by a few degrees over the course of the day and during physical activity. As your work load and body heat increases, so does the need to lose that heat. A core temperature of 40 or 41°C is considered life-threatening if you don't have a fever. If you are sick with an infection you may have a fever, this is not necessarily life threatening as it is the body's way of fighting off the infection.
Because heat-related deaths are preventable, people need to be aware of who is at greatest risk and what actions can be taken to prevent a heat-related illness or death. The elderly, the very young, and people with mental illness and chronic diseases are at highest risk. However, even young and healthy individuals can succumb to heat if they participate in strenuous physical activities during hot weather. Air-conditioning is the number one protective factor against heat-related illness and death. If a home is not air-conditioned, people can reduce their risk for heat-related illness by spending time in public facilities that are air-conditioned.
Summertime activity, whether on the playing field or the construction site, must be balanced with measures that aid the body's cooling mechanisms and prevent heat-related illness. This pamphlet tells how you can prevent, recognize, and cope with heat-related health problems.
Your best defense against heat-related illness is prevention. Staying cool and making simple changes in your fluid intake, activities and clothing during hot weather can help you remain safe and healthy.
There is a valid reason why human beings have used sweat baths for hygienic and health purposes since the Stone Age. It's because sweating has proven its effectiveness in flushing out toxins and disease and maintaining optimal physical as well as mental health.
Many health experts consider sweating to be the best health benefits of a sauna. There is a lot more to sweating than meets the eye (or nose). It is a very complex and active process. Upon close scrutiny it is clear that sweating is essential to life and deserves to be at the top of the list of benefits of a sauna.
As we mentioned earlier, the skin is a major eliminative organ. Our modern lifestyle makes most people's skin inactive. Many of us don't sweat, especially during the winter months. Modern synthetic fibres or tight clothing that doesn't allow the skin to breathe, can damage our skin and our natural ability for elimination, as does excessive prolonged sun exposure. A sedentary lifestyle also inactivates the skin.
Our skin is exposed to hundreds of chemicals during the course of our life, and is affected by them. From innocent bath products such as shampoos, shower gels, lotions and soaps to deodorants. Household cleaning solvents, detergent residues on clothes and chemicals from the bath or shower water also affect the skin.
According to Dr. Lawrence Wilson, author of "Sauna Therapy for Detoxification and Healing," heating your body several degrees dramatically increases circulation and opens skin pores as the body begins to sweat heavily. This helps remove toxins from hard-to-reach places like bone, sinuses and teeth. Dr. Wilson also says that cells damaged by toxic metals and chemicals are weaker than normal cells, and their death can be accelerated by heating them up. This assists your body in removing any metals or chemicals that were trapped inside those damaged cells.
Millions of Americans take herbal remedies for ailments ranging from high cholesterol to depression. Though widely viewed as safe, these products can cause serious interactions in people taking prescription drugs for heart problems. A 2010 report by Mayo Clinic researchers listed more than 25 herbal products that can be dangerous for heart patients on medication. The following guide to herbal products that heart patients should avoid was prepared using data from the report, as well as from the National Institutes for Health and the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. Garlic
What it is: A member of the onion family, available commercially as an oil, extract, or pill (in addition to its natural state).
What it's used for: To lower total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, as well as blood pressure. Also used as a blood thinner and to combat atherosclerosis.
The risk: Garlic's blood-thinning properties can increase the risk of bleeding associated with warfarin, an anti-clotting drug commonly prescribed to people with heart-rhythm disorders, and to people who have had heart attacks or heart-valve replacements.
Saw palmetto
What it is: The fruit of the palmetto tree (a type of palm tree), available as a capsule, liquid, or tea.
What it's used for: Primarily used to fight the urinary problems caused by an enlarged prostate gland, saw palmetto is also used to combat hair loss, chronic pelvic pain, and decreased sex drive.
The risk: Increases the risk of bleeding associated with warfarin.
* What it is: The extract of the leaves of the ginkgo plant (also known as the maidenhair tree), sold as a capsule or tea. * What it's used for: Ginkgo is mainly used to improve memory and prevent dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), but it has also been used to treat asthma, ringing in the ears, sexual dysfunction, and leg pain caused by poor circulation. * The risk: Increases the risk of bleeding associated with aspirin and warfarin.
Echinacea
* What it is: The roots and herb of the echinacea plant, dried or extracted and sold as a capsule, tea, or juice. * What it's used for: To prevent colds and flu and boost the immune system. * The risk: Can increase the risk of liver damage associated with statin medications, niacin, and fibrates, all of which are prescribed to lower cholesterol. * What it is: A yellow-flowered plant, Hypericum perforatum, that is sold as a capsule, tea, or liquid extract. * What it's used for: Primarily used to treat depression and anxiety, St. John's wort is also used as a sedative in sleep disorders. * The risk: Affects how the body absorbs dozens of prescription medications and may diminish the efficacy of statins, beta-blockers (a class of drugs used to treat high blood pressure and heart-rhythm disorders), and calcium-channel blockers.
Green Tea
* What it is: The leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Usually steeped in water, but also available as a capsule or extract. * What it's used for: To lose weight, improve mental alertness, lower cholesterol, and prevent cancer. * The risk: Green tea contains vitamin K, which can counteract the effect of warfarin.
Alfalfa
* What it is: A plant in the pea family, the dried leaves of which are ground up and sold as capsules. * What it's used for: To lower total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, and to reduce the plaques caused by atherosclerosis. * The risk: Increases the risk of bleeding associated with warfarin.
Ginger
* What it is: A root, often used in cooking, that is also processed and sold as a capsule. * What it's used for: Ginger has been used for centuries to treat various stomach ailments (such as nausea, diarrhea, and stomachache). It is also used to treat joint and muscle pain. * The risk: Increases the risk of bleeding associated with warfarin.
Billberry
* What it is: The dried extract of the bilberry fruit, which is very similar to the blueberry. Sold as a capsule. * What it's used for: Bilberry is used to treat problems associated with poor circulation, most notably varicose veins and venous insufficiency, in addition to diarrhea, skin problems, eyestrain, and menstrual cramps. * The risk: Bilberry may improve blood circulation, but it can also increase the risk of bleeding associated with warfarin.
Fenugreek
* What it is: A seed (often ground into a powder) that has been used since the days of ancient Egypt and is available in capsule form. * What it's used for: Fenugreek has been used for a wide range of ailments, including digestive problems, hot flashes, and a lack of breast milk. More recently, it has also been used to lower cholesterol. * The risk: Increases the risk of bleeding associated with warfarin. Fenugreek can also lower blood sugar, which can cause complications for diabetics. Ginseng
* What it is: An herb, native to Asia, that has been used in traditional medicine for centuries and is now sold as a capsule. * What it's used for: To boost energy, stamina, and the immune system. Also used to lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure. * The risk: When overused, ginseng can actually increase blood pressure and can diminish the effect of warfarin.
Grapefruit juice
* What it is: The juice cartons in the supermarket, right next to the orange juice. * What it's used for: To lose weight and to promote heart health. * The risk: Grapefruit juice interferes with an enzyme that is essential for properly absorbing medications including statins and calcium-channel blockers, which intensifies the effect of those drugs. A single glass of grapefruit juice more than doubles the amount of calcium-channel blocker available to the body, research has shown.
Aloe Vera
* What it is: The pulp of the aloe vera plant. * What it's used for: In addition to its familiar use as a lotion and salve, aloe is taken orally to treat serious health conditions including arthritis, epilepsy, diabetes, and asthma. * The risk: Aloe vera can cause a drop in the blood's potassium level, which in turn can lead to heart-rhythm problems (arrhythmias), as well as complications in heart patients taking the drug digoxin.
Black cohosh
* What it is: The extract of the root of the black cohosh plant, Actaea racemosa. Sold as a capsule. * What it's used for: Black cohosh is mainly used to assuage the symptoms of menopause (hot flashes, vaginal dryness, night sweats), but it has also been used to treat joint and muscle pain. * The risk: Like St. John's wort, black cohosh may interfere with certain prescription medications, including statins, beta-blockers, and calcium-channel blockers. It also carries a risk of liver damage.
Hawthorn
* What it is: A flowering shrub related to the rosebush. * What it's used for: The fruit of the hawthorn shrub has been used to treat the symptoms of heart disease for hundreds of years, while the leaf and flower are also used to treat heart failure. * The risk: Hawthorn has been shown to strengthen the contractions of heart muscle, which may interact negatively with prescription heart-failure medications.
Yohimbe
* What it is: An extract of the bark of the Pausinystalia yohimbe tree (also known as yohimbine or yohimbe bark). * What it's used for: As an aphrodisiac, and to treat erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in men. * The risk: Yohimbe increases heart rate, and can both raise and lower blood pressure, potentially causing complications in people with heart problems.
Licorice root
* What it is: The dried extract of the root of the licorice plant, sold as a capsule. * What it's used for: Licorice root is used to treat ulcers and other stomach ailments, bronchitis and sore throat, and some viral infections. * The risk: It can raise blood pressure. Like aloe vera, it can also cause a dangerous drop in blood potassium levels.
Butcher's broom
* What it is: The extract of the shrub Ruscus aculeatus, also known as butcher's broom. Sold as a capsule. * What it's used for: To improve ailments associated with poor circulation, such as varicose veins, venous insufficiency, and leg cramps. * The risk: Butcher's broom can interfere with the action of alpha-blockers, a class of drug that is prescribed to lower blood pressure.
And many more...
These aren't the only herbal products heart patients should be wary of.
Angelica, capsicum, fumitory, gossypol, Irish moss, kelp, khella, lily of the valley, ephedra, night-blooming cereus, oleander, and strophanthus can all interact negatively with heart medications.
Heart patients taking medication—and everybody else, for that matter—should check with their physician before taking a dietary supplement.
I’m dedicating this post to what I consider to be some of the best fat burning foods available. As usual, these are all natural foods and loaded with vitamins, nutrients and taste! Use these foods in meals and as snacks throughout the day.
Fat Burning Foods can help you burn fat, lose weight, and get in shape in no time. The idea behind the thermogenic diet is simple: Some foods require more calories to digest than they contain. Also, some foods boost your metabolism thus causing you to burn fat faster than just diet and exercise alone. For many people the best part is that you can essentially eat all you want and still lose weight. The downside is that you can't really cheat too much because this diet isn't really a diet, it's a lifestyle change. It's really not too hard to stick with it and you can start slowly and make changes gradually so you don't have to go cold turkey.
Salmon is probably one of the best meats for you overall and it tastes awesome too. Salmon is loaded with protein and Omega-3 Amino fatty acids boosting your metabolism and burning more fat. These fatty acids also have a very positive effect on your cardiovascular health, protecting you against heart disease.
Green tea has a chemical called EGCG that causes the brain and nervous system to run faster and helps you burn more calories. EGCG works sort of like caffeine except that caffeine causes your heart to beat faster. Want a super boost of your metabolism? Try combining caffeine and a 90 mg.dose of EGCG three times a day and you can burn an additional 80 calories a day, AOL Health says. Researchers found this out, along with the great news that you don’t have to engage in exercise for this to happen; it occurs when your body is at rest.
By boosting fiber and providing fewer calories from fat than other popular breakfasts (bacon and eggs, anyone?), ready-to-eat cereal can help you fill up — and slim down. Study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that women who ate cereal were 30 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate other breakfast foods. To get the most bang for your breakfast buck, choose fiber-rich (aim for 5 grams per serving), low-fat cereals like Kashi Heart to Heart.
Eat just one slice of a large deep pan pepperoni pizza and you consume 430 calories and a quarter of your daily fat allowance; a Burger King XL Double Whopper lives up to its name, packing in 840 calories and over two thirds of your recommended fat intake and a Big Mac with fries whacks in at just under 700 calories and half your daily fat intake. Takeaway foods are also low in fibre and high in salt.
When ordering pizza choose a small or medium rather than a large pizza and opt for a thin crust rather than a thick one. Toppings such as chicken, seafood and vegetables are much healthier than high fat toppings like salami or lashings of cheese; by adding extra veggies you’ll be notching up one of your recommended five a day! If you prefer pasta steer clear of the cream and cheese sauces. Choose those which are tomato or vegetable based and ask for a side salad instead of the garlic bread.
Pizza Hut have some great deals for feeding the family, so if you're taking the kids for a treat, make sure you know what the healthiest choices are for you all.
Best starter: Texan chicken wings BUT it still has 5.5g of saturated fat and 355 cals! Worst starter: A bowl of nachos with 669 calories and 15.3g of saturated fat
Some like it black, while others like it with lots of milk and sugar. Everyone has their own personal preference; but have you ever wondered if putting milk in coffee destroys some of its health benefits? Some studies have shown that when milk is added to tea it deactivates some of the healthy polyphenols that make tea such a healthy beverage. Coffee, too, is a source of antioxidants. In fact, most of the antioxidants Americans get in their daily diet comes from coffee. Does putting milk in coffee reduce these health benefits?
Coffee still contains a large amount of caffeine which can be a problem for people with heart disease, high blood pressure, insomnia, or anxiety; and it’s not clear whether drinking decaffeinated coffee has the same health benefits. Some people experience unpleasant reactions to drinking coffee due to the caffeine; and because it’s acidic it can cause heartburn and indigestion. It also reduces the absorption of iron by the intestines – so it isn’t a good choice of beverage for anyone with iron deficiency anemia.
If you like your coffee with a little cream or milk, you can stop worrying. A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition shows that putting milk in coffee doesn’t affect its antioxidant levels. Milk may be fine, but it’s best to avoid non-dairy creamers and sugar since this study showed that they reduced the time it took for caffeic, ferulic acid, and isoferulic acid – three antioxidants in coffee – to make their way into the blood stream.
What complicates this issue is a common belief that problems with sleep are not really medical in nature and that conviction is often preventing people from seeking professional help.
That's why it is so important to provide information, discuss new facts about sleep, and make people aware how important a sound sleep is to our health.
Poor sleep habits (referred to as hygiene) are one of the most common problems encountered in our society. We stay up too late and get up too early. We interrupt our sleep with drugs, chemicals, work, and we overstimulate ourselves with late-night activities such as television.
An evaluation by the patient's personal physician or a sleep specialist often helps get to the root of the problem. Many patients respond well to what is called "cognitive behavioral therapy." In this form of therapy, incorrect ideas about sleep are corrected. In addition, relaxation and behavioral techniques may be used to help patients fall asleep. This combined with treatment of any underlying disorders is often the best way to treat the devastating symptom of insomnia.
If you suspect that you may have a sleep disorder, discuss your symptoms with your primary care doctor. He or she can perform a physical exam and help you identify the difficulties you are having with sleep. Keeping a sleep diary for two weeks may be helpful to your doctor. Some illnesses can cause disturbed sleep, so your doctor may order tests to rule out other conditions.
If your doctor suspects that you have a sleep disorder, he or she may refer you to a sleep disorder clinic. A sleep specialist will review your symptoms and may suggest that you undergo a sleep study.
A sleep study or polysomnogram (PSG) is a multiple-component test that electronically transmits and records specific physical activities while you sleep. The recordings become data that are analyzed by a qualified physician to determine whether or not you have a sleep disorder.
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that's extremely calorie-dense. At four calories for each gram of sugar, it's easy to go overboard on sweet treats and beverages and not know it. According to medical experts, sugar consumption, especially the added sugars from soft drinks, is directly tied to weight gain and obesity -- increased body fat.
Consider all of the known sugars you consume in a day: candy bars, soda, sugared cereals, cookies. Add to that the hidden sugars that you consume. Take a look at the nutritional information for any of the foods you regularly eat. Under the "carbohydrates" count, there is a count for "sugars." High amounts of sugar are in a surprising number of things that you eat every day. Once you become aware of how many processed foods contain sugar, you'll be astounded at how much sugar you eat every day.
Excess sugar, salt and fat causes bloating and water retention. It also causes weight gain [fat.] Eating too much sugar spikes your blood sugar which causes you to eat more and your metabolism goes down. You don't have the proper nutrition for energy. That's why people feel sluggish after eating sugary candy, even though people think it makes them hyper. I don't think it's the one and only cause of stomach fat, but I think it's a contributing cause of fat in general.
Sugar addiction is no easy thing to kick, but the hardest part is the first step. Many sugar addicts report that if they can just get by the first few days or a week without sugar, their cravings almost entirely disappear. The problem is that if they fall off the wagon even once, the sugar jonesing comes back with a vengeance. It’s like they never stopped at all.
That points to one key strategy – get all the refined sugar out of your house and never buy more. Sure, you can still trip up by visiting a mini-mart, restaurant, or coffee shop, but the best thing is to remove all temptation from your immediate vicinity. Often, it’s that quick craving that would be relatively easy to face down if you had no sugary treats staring you in the face that proves to be your undoing. If you have nothing which to grab, you can get past it. If there’s a plate of cookies, a slice of cake, or a box of sweet crackers within reach, all bets are off.
Stress is hard on your body-and can aggravate diabetes. Here's how to take control.
Researchers have linked dozens of physical symptoms to stress overload, from fatigue to weight gain. Add another symptom to that list: the risk for high blood sugar.
When you're stressed, your body is primed to take action. This "gearing up" is what causes your heart to beat faster, your breath to quicken, and your stomach to knot. It also triggers your blood sugar levels to skyrocket. "Under stress, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode, raising blood sugar levels to prepare you for action," says Richard Surwit, PhD, author of The Mind-Body Diabetes Revolution and chief of medical psychology at Duke University in Durham, NC. If your cells are insulin resistant, the sugar builds up in your blood, with nowhere to go. We have no shortage of short-term stress in our lives. We may get stuck in a traffic jam, wrangle with a worker at the department of motor vehicles, or put up with in-laws for the holidays.
It's easy to find out whether mental stress affects your glucose control. Before checking your glucose levels, write down a number rating your mental stress level on a scale of 1 to 10. Then write down your glucose level next to it. After a week or two, look for a pattern. Drawing a graph may help you see trends better. Do high stress levels often occur with high glucose levels, and low stress levels with low glucose levels? If so, stress may affect your glucose control.
There are many, many ways to teach yourself to handle stress better-and you can learn. It just comes down to making the commitment and taking the time to learn one (or more). One way to start on the road to low-stress living is to seek out a local stress-relief class, which are offered by many hospitals, YMCAs, and adult-education programs.
You have probably heard that many types of foods can cause you to gain weight, ranging from greasy foods to ice cream. But you might be wondering how sodium, or what we often refer to as "salt," can cause you to gain weight. The idea just may sound absurd to you. Here, we will take a closer look at why too much sodium can cause weight gain and what you can do in order to prevent it from happening to you.
Salt does not cause your body to gain or lose fat. In fact, salt has no calories. High consumption of salt only results in temporary weight gain as it causes your body to retain water. Conversely, low consumption of salt can result in temporary weight loss as it causes your body to expel water.
It is interesting to note that many crash diets which boast quick weight loss rely on foods with little or no salt content. The weight loss is mostly water, and as soon as you eat foods containing salt again you regain the weight.
With age, our bodies become more sensitive to the blood-pressure-increasing effect of sodium, and daily requirements drop to 1,300 milligrams for adults aged 50 to 70 and 1,200 milligrams for people over 70. (Children aged 1 to 3 need 1,000 milligrams a day; 4- to 8 year-olds require 1,200 milligrams.)
For most adults, the daily upper sodium limit is 2,300 milligrams, the amount in one teaspoon of table salt. If you’re over 50 or have high blood pressure, you should consume less.
Since 77 per cent of the sodium we consume comes from packaged foods and restaurant meals – not the salt shaker – reading nutrition labels is key to reducing your intake.
Smiling more often has many positive benefits. People who smile on a regular basis can experience an increase in their health and state of mind. Health benefits and psychological benefits are great reasons to smile. Unfortunately, many people don’t smile enough. It is a good idea to smile more often in order to increase attractiveness.
So, one of the benefits of smiling is its ability to change your focus of attention and reduces anxieties and stress. It's one of the easiest ways to de-stress and reduce your risk of hypertension. If you interrupt your though patterns often enough by smiling even when you don't feel like it, the brain creates a new neural pathway or pattern of thoughts and you will soon develop a habit of smiling.
Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There's a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.
Smiling more often can help make you look more attractive and confident. In general, people like to be near people who are happy. Smiling while in the presence of others shows that you are a happy person. As a result, this can be contagious and others may follow suit. As a natural attractant, people are generally drawn to smiling. We are programmed to notice beauty and attractiveness due to survival reasons. Therefore, smiling more often can help you get the attention you want from others.
If you feel that you lack in smiling, seek out ways to smile more often. If you see others that aren’t smiling much, try to get them to smile more often. Smiling is a fast way to feeling happy. Feeling happy and making others feel happy is a positive thing to do. Therefore, incorporating smiling in your life will warrant many positive benefits. Even though it seems hard to do, it is actually pretty easy. All it takes is moving some muscles and you are happy in practically an instant.
