Health & Fitness

Is Running Making You Fatter?

2012-01-15T19:33:00.002-06:00

Written by: Shin Ohtake, Fitness & Fat-Loss Expert
Author of MAX Workouts, The Ultimate Lean Body Fitness Program

Every morning, shortly after we get up we take our dog out for an hour walk. It’s our daily morning ritual. Fortunately weather in southern California allows us to participate in this joyful activity and we take full advantage of it.

Luckily we live close to the beach, so we take our walks along the beach and every morning we see all sorts of people partaking in fun activities like rollerblading, bike riding, walking. But by far the most common activity we see is running…although I’m not sure if I’d consider running as a “fun” activity for me personally…I know many people love to run.

I think it’s partly the endorphin rush you get when you run, not to mention it’s also the easiest form of exercise. It’s something anyone can do…but easy isn’t always the best. The biggest problem I see with people running is that majority of them aren’t physically strong enough to run properly.

If you slowed down the motion and saw the biomechanics of running, you would quickly see that running is a plyometric exercise. When you run, you actually put all of your weight on one foot and then push off with enough force to lift your entire body off the ground, while you switch legs and land on your other foot. Running forces you to bear all of your weight on one foot at a time and then it’s repeated thousands of times or more depending on how far you run.

That’s a lot of force being applied to the joints on your legs. It’s no wonder so many people that run suffer from foot, ankle, knees and hip injuries. Their joints aren’t capable of handling that kind of forceful repetitive stress.

When you think about it, running requires a lot of muscle, tendon and ligament support. So really, it should only be performed by people that are in good shape and strong enough to handle the repetitive force running places on your body.

Unfortunately most of the people I see running are nowhere near in the kind of shape they should be in. It’s completely backwards…the people I see most often running are exactly the kind of people that shouldn’t be running. It’s painful to see so many of these people that’s trying to get into shape by “literally” pounding their poor joints into the ground.

The truth is when you begin running you will burn more calories, hence you will lose weight. However, what you’re not realizing is that you’re setting yourself up for eventual halt in progression.

Why?

Because your body has an innate ability to adapt and make things more proficient, so your body doesn’t have to expend as much energy. What this means is that as you get better at running, your body ends up burning less calories when you run! A double edge sword…right? You want to get fit and be able to run better, but you also want to keep burning calories so you can lose weight. So if your body keeps getting more efficient at conserving energy when you run, you have to either increase the distance you run OR increase the pace of your runs.

And for most part, people tend to increase the distance, because it’s easier to do. Increasing your pace for a long distance run is difficult, challenging and it’s too hard to keep the pace up without stopping or resting, so if your running continuously your pace automatically slows down to a pace that you can keep running for long periods of time. And this usually ends up in one of the two scenarios:

The first scenario is - you end up running the same distances at the same steady pace, day in and day out and your weight loss progress complete comes to a halt.

The second scenario is - that you get injured. Your body and joints can only handle the constant pounding and the repetitive stress eventually causes inflammation on one or more of your joints..

Either way, neither scenario is good.

Not to mention that running long distances causes you to lose lean muscle mass, which is your body’s most effective calorie burner. Less lean muscle mass means less calories burned as well as decreased strength, which makes you more susceptible to injuries. It’s a vicious cycle.

So what’s a runner to do? STOP RUNNING.

There are far better and more effective ways to get into shape then just hitting the pavement and going for a long run. Running has it’s place in a fitness regimen, but only after you’ve gotten strong enough to be able to sustain the kind of force running generates. Even then, I think long runs should only be done sparingly…unless you’re training for an endurance event that requires you to do so.

I’d stick to doing short bursts of sprints or fast paced running followed by rest and recovery. This way you’re only putting pressure on your joints for a short period of time followed by rest so your muscles, tendons and ligaments can recover…hopefully enough for you to be able to sustain the force for multiple rounds of short runs. You can repeat this process as many times as you want (or as many as your body lets you)...although I see no need to do anymore than 20 - 30 minutes worth.

I would also recommend running on grass, sand or any surface that has some give instead of concrete…to reduce the amount of stress put on your joints.

Even then, these short bursts of running may still be too strenuous for some of you that are just starting out and need more time to develop proper conditioning and strength before tackling the runs. Which is why it’s vital that you include strength training as part of your regular fitness regimen.

Now, I’m not talking about ineffective isolated exercises…sorry to disappoint, but if you’ve been hittin’ the weights doing bicep curls or tricep kick backs, it’s just not going to cut it. You need to be doing full body exercises that build functional strength. Functional strength enables you to carry the benefits over to activities like running, hiking, climbing as well as essential primal movements such as lifting, carrying, jumping, pulling and pushing…all activities/movements that your body performs on a daily basis.

And let’s not forget that performing full body functional exercises also builds lean muscle mass which increases your ability to burn more calories…especially from fat…hence getting you leaner and fitter, much more effectively than “just” running.

Source: http://www.maxworkouts.com/articles/entry/is-running-making-you-fatter

You Don't Want to Know What's in Your Flu Shot!

2011-12-21T22:52:00.001-06:00

Dr. Sherry Tenpenny talks about what goes into making current flu shots and what some of the new production methods are. You might not think the flu is so bad after http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwatching this.

www.ihealthtube.com

Forks Over Knives Trailer

2011-05-19T20:16:00.001-06:00

http://www.forksoverknives.com/ | For showtimes, updates, newsletter sign up and more information.

The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.

Top 10 Secrets of the Slim

2011-05-18T14:18:00.000-06:00

Top 10 Tips for Healthy Restaurant Dining

2011-05-15T14:35:00.000-06:00

1) Pick one indulgence and stick with it!

2) Set aside proper eating portion, save the rest

3) Ask for toppings, dressings, and sauces on the side

4) Ask for more vegetables

5) Avoid all-you-can eat restaurants

6) Watch out for liquid calories

7) Replace soda with water and lemon
Replace a cocktail with a glass of wine

8) Look for steamed, baked, grilled, broiled, or poached food

9) Make friends with salsa

10) Speak to the chef regarding your dietary needs

Britain's fattest teenager now ANOREXIC and given six months to live after gastric bypass surgery

2011-05-13T16:16:00.003-06:00

A woman who was once Britain's fattest teenager is now battling with anorexia after her life was turned upside down by a gastric bypass operation.

Malissa Jones, 21, lost so much weight that she now tips the scales at just 8 stone. Four years ago, before her surgery, doctors were warning her that she had to take drastic action after ballooning to 34 stone.

They warned her she had to shed 20 stone or would die within months. Now the pendulum has swung the other way for Malissa, from Selby, North Yorkshire with doctors now warning she could die in six months unless she increases her food intake.

Worrying: Malissa Jones, who dropped from 32st to 8st, is now anorexic after developing a fear of eating following her gastric band surgery. Right, taken two years post-surgery, Malissa carried 2st of excess skin

Malissa told Closer magazine: 'I would urge anyone wanting surgery to lose weight healthily. I wish I had. 'Surgery can have consequences you might never have imagined.'

Malissa was the youngest person in the world to have a stomach bypass when surgeons performed the £10,000 NHS operation in January 2008.

She consumed 15,000 calories a day from gorging on chocolate, crisps and junk food - seven and a half times the recommended 2,000 calories for a girl of her age. But parents Richard and Dawn were unable to stop her food cravings.

Despite the risk of drastic surgery in such a young girl, she survived the operation and within a year lost more than half her body weight.

She started going clubbing and fell pregnant with farmer boyfriend Chris Robottom, 22. In February, after six months' pregnancy, she became ill with liver failure and her baby had to be delivered by Caesarean.

Sadly her baby, Harry, died an hour after delivery. Doctors then revealed Malissa's failure to eat properly had led to him being malnourished.

Malissa's weight dropped rapidly as she lost interest in food and doctors have now diagnosed her as anorexic.

'Food made my physically sick,' she said. 'I had to force myself to eat.' Her daily diet is now three cooked carrots, two portions of parsnip and a roast potato, which provides 300 calories.

Doctors have advised her to eat between 500 and 1,000 calories a day. Malissa, who is 5ft 8in tall, says: 'I am not deliberately starving myself but, right now, I would rather die than force myself to eat.

'I'm too thin. My body shocks me. But swallowing is painful. Eating a tiny amount gives me stomach cramps or makes me sick.

'My consultant says, if I continue like this, I only have six months to live.

'I will most likely die of a heart attack, so I must persevere with eating. I am trying, but it is so hard.'
Malissa Jones says: 'I'm too thin. My body shocks me. But swallowing is painful. Eating a tiny amount gives me stomach cramps or makes me sick'.
Malissa ate so little she ended up in hospital

'My body shocks me': Malissa is unhappy with how thin she is but swallowing is painful and she eats so little that she frequently ends up in hospital

Clinical psychologist Dr Funke Baffour from Waltham Cross, Herts, said: 'There would have been psychological reasons for Malissa' obesity that a gastric band would not have dealt with.

'It is not surprising she has swapped one emotional relationship with food for another.

'Perhaps, subconsciously, Malissa is so afraid of becoming obese again, she is stopping herself from eating.'

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1383049/Malissa-Jones-Britains-fattest-teenager-battling-anorexia.html

Sweet Misery - A Poisoned World (Aspartame)

2011-02-01T19:01:00.002-06:00

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener, an additive. And itâs a chemical. Itâs not a natural product, it's a chemical. The molecule is made up of three components. Two are amino acids, the so-called building blocks of protein.

One is called Phenylalanine, which is about 50% of the molecule and the other is Aspartic Acid, which is like 40%. And the other 10% is so-called Methyl Ester, which as soon as it's swallowed becomes free methyl alcohol. Methanol. Wood alcohol, which is a poison. A real poison.

Excellent documentary showing how dangerous artificial sweetener Aspartame is. From its history, to its effects this video is enough to shock anyone into really looking at there food labels next time they shop. Aspartame is a toxic food that came into the world as an investment by Donald Rumsfeld, while ignoring the deadly effects the tests showed. Take a good look at this video, it could save lives.

Lose weight, stay active: Six small changes can help keep off pounds

2011-01-14T10:18:00.003-06:00

Trying to reverse the 1-to-2-pounds-a-year weight gain that is the fate of the average middle-aged American? Overwhelmed at the thought of changing your lifestyle enough to reach a healthful weight?

Fortunately, there is an alternative approach to the drastic diet and exercise revisions that Americans find so difficult to embark on and sustain. The idea is to start with smaller, easier changes that will, at the very least, halt the weight-creep and give encouraging results.

"We find that people who make small changes will often lose a few pounds," said James O. Hill, Ph.D., director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado at Denver. "Those who start with small changes often end up able to make more and bigger changes and lose more weight."

Here are a half-dozen small changes you can make right now:

1. Stop drinking calories

In the late 1970s the average American consumed about 70 calories a day in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages. By 2000 we were guzzling an average of 190 calories. Numerous studies have left little doubt about the connection between increased consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and the soaring rates of weight gain and obesity that occurred during that same time period.

"When we consume energy in beverage form, we don't get the same fullness as when we consume solids," said Richard D. Mattes, Ph.D., professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University. "Those calories tend to add to the diet rather than displacing another energy source."

Fruit juice is not a replacement for soda. It might have a few vitamins and minerals, but it's just as damaging to your waistline. "If you drink 300 calories of apple cider, you'll feel less full than if you ate 300 calories of apples," Mattes said. And you'd have a lot to eat: You'd get to chew about three 3-inch apples for 300 calories.

What about replacing your favorite full-sugar drink with an artificially sweetened version? The evidence is mixed. Some studies suggest that though diet sodas don't add calories, they still activate your sweet tooth. But other studies show no such effect. "It's very difficult for my patients to stop drinking soda," said Caroline Apovian, M.D., director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center. "I always tell them to switch to diet soda."

As for milk, Mattes thinks it fools our internal calorie-counting mechanism the same way soft drinks do. Other experts doubt that, but they all agree that milk provides some useful nutrients in exchange for its calories. Similarly, the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption might justify the calorie penalty, but that form of liquid calories is unlikely to make you feel full.

2. Eat more protein

Remember when experts thought the high-protein, low-carb Atkins diet didn't work and was dangerous? It's been more than seven years since the first studies started overturning that idea. Low-carb, high-protein diets have proved surprisingly effective, especially in the short term. And it turns out that people who eat a higher proportion of their calories from protein end up consuming fewer calories overall.

"There's currently a fair amount of evidence that protein is a more satiating nutrient than others, at least in a solid food," Mattes said.

But don't expect miracles from that approach. "It's really difficult to manipulate your protein intake markedly while eating normal foods," Mattes said.

In a major clinical trial that looked at high-protein diets, published Feb. 26, 2009, in The New England Journal of Medicine, participants didn't get their protein intake to the target level of 25 percent of total calories. But they did increase it from a baseline of 18 percent to about 21 percent.

The bottom line is that it can't hurt to substitute a bit more lean protein for some of the fat and starches in your diet.

3. Eat more fiber

Fiber is the good guy of food. It may help protect against colon cancer and heart disease, and it is your weight-control friend. It slows digestion, helping you to feel fuller longer, and displaces other caloric foods. Best of all, it comes in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that are loaded with beneficial vitamins and minerals.

But as with protein, don't set your expectations too high, Mattes cautioned.

"Most of the studies showing beneficial effects are based on very large intakes that just aren't realistic for the general population," he said. "The typical American consumes 10 to 14 grams a day. The recommendation is for 25 or more grams, which is a huge departure from one's customary intake."

You might not make it to that goal, but you can boost your fiber-rich vegetable intake fairly painlessly, said Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University.

"Grow the amount of vegetables on your plate and shrink everything else," Rolls said. "Toss them in oil and roast them in the oven. Add your favorite veggies to sandwiches, pizza toppings, stews, wherever you can."

4. Lead yourself not into temptation

Can't eat just one Dorito or chocolate kiss? That is no accident, as former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, M.D., documented in his book, "The End of Overeating" (Rodale, 2009). The food industry works hard to create high-calorie foods with the most addictive possible combination of intense flavor and "mouthfeel."

"A century ago, to consume 400 calories, you had to go buy the meat, vegetables, and rice, and come home and cook it," Apovian said. "Now you can consume the same amount of calories just by downing a bag of Cheetos."

You obviously can't avoid encountering those foods in your daily life and probably eating them on occasion. But never have them at home, Apovian advised.

5. Add 2,000 steps a day

That's 20 to 25 minutes of walking, covers about a mile, and will burn about 100 calories a day—enough, Hill said, to prevent gradual weight gain in most people.

"It doesn't matter how you get there," Hill said. "It can be all at once or spread out. Once you do get there, do more."

Some of Hill's suggestions for sneaking in extra steps: When you step outside to get your mail, walk around the block before going back inside; do some errands on foot; at work, park at the far end of the office lot and use a distant rest room.

6. Cut your screen time

"When we're sitting, we are burning almost as few calories as we do when we're sleeping," said Marc T. Hamilton, Ph.D., a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. "Sitting too much is hazardous to your health in a different way than exercising too little."

Hamilton is a researcher in the new field of inactivity physiology, the study of what happens when we're, well, just sitting there. Research shows that the more you sit, the higher your risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. That seems to be true even for people who get the prescribed 150 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

"Standing upright washing dishes, getting dressed, or filing papers isn't exercise by anybody's standard," Hamilton said. "Yet these activities double your metabolic rate compared to sitting. If you can find 6 or 7 more hours a week to spend standing instead of sitting, you've done something good for yourself."

Sitting in front of a computer or television is one of the least active things most of us do. Research has shown that the more screen time we indulge in, the fatter we tend to be. And when we cut down our screen time, we tend to stand up and move around. A November 2010 Consumer Reports survey of 1,234 Americans found that those who spend 5 or more hours sitting during a typical weekday log less time in everyday activity.

So look for chances to stand up and move around in the course of your day. And see whether you can cut back your daily screen time.
Safe, effective long-term weight-loss pill remains elusive

The Food and Drug Administration turned down two applications for new anti-obesity drugs in recent months, in part because of safety concerns.

But on Dec. 7, 2010, an FDA advisory committee recommended approval of a new weight-loss drug. Called Contrave, it is a combination of two older medications: naltrexone, used to treat alcohol and drug addiction, and bupropion, an antidepressant. In a 56-week clinical trial, obese patients on Contrave lost an average of 5 to 6 percent of their starting weight, compared with a little more than 1 percent for patients on placebo. A significant number reported side effects from Contrave, including nausea, constipation, and dizziness. A final FDA decision on Contrave was expected in January 2011.

With the October 2010 removal of Meridia (sibutramine) from the market because of the risk of major cardiovascular side effects, there's only one prescription weight-loss medication currently approved for long-term use in the U.S. It's Xenical (orlistat), which blocks your body from absorbing 30 percent of the fat you ingest. Also available in a lower over-the-counter dose under the Alli brand name, Xenical has never achieved the widespread popularity once expected.

That might be because of intestinal side effects, caused by the undigested fat, that could result in oily spotting. And in clinical trials of orlistat, severely overweight patients on a reduced-calorie diet lost only about 7 pounds more after a year of treatment than subjects who took placebos.

Source: http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/494/lose-weight-stay-active-six-small-changes-can-help-keep-off-pounds/

Oral Sex Linked to Rise in Men's Throat Cancer

2010-12-24T01:02:00.003-06:00

Studies Show Epidemic That Could Be Stemmed by Cervical Cancer Vaccine Gardasil

For years now, doctors have urged young women to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is believed to cause cervical cancer.

But now, growing research in Europe and the United States is implicating HPV in a rising number of cases of head and neck cancers in men, and many doctors are recommending that all boys be vaccinated as well.

Doctors say that changing sexual behaviors -- earlier sex, more partners and especially oral sex -- are contributing to a new epidemic of orpharyngeal squamous cell cancers, those of the throat, tonsils and base of the tongue.

These cancers can be deadly, and are striking men at a younger age and in increasing numbers.

"There's a lag in information," said Dr. John Deeken, a medical oncologist at Georgetown University. "We physicians have done a poor job of advertising the fact that boys and girls should have the vaccine."

"This kind of cancer traditionally affects males who have been smoking and drinking all their life, and now in their mid-60s they are getting head and neck cancer," he said. "However, HPV cancer we are seeing in younger patients who have never smoked."

Two decades ago, about 20 percent of all oral cancers were HPV-related, but today that number is more than 50 percent, according to studies published by the American Association for Cancer Research.

Similarly high rates have also been seen in Europe, where a new Swedish study has shown a strong correlation between oral cancers and oral sex. Oddly, the rising rates have not been seen yet in the Southern Hemisphere in Australia and New Zealand.

Each year, more than 30,000 new cases of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx are diagnosed, and more than 8,000 people die from oral cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Cure rates are higher than for smoking-related throat cancers, but still only 50 percent.

Today, men are more likely to get oral cancer than are women, but as the epidemic grows, that could soon change.

"We expect in head and neck cancers that 85 percent are men and 15 percent are women," said Deeken. "But over the coming years that could become equal."

"It's going to take a couple of decades to see the trend turning around," he said. "The epidemiological risk factors are past sexual partners as well as marijuana exposure, not just oral sex."

Human Papilloma Virus Affecting More Men

HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted infection. Those who are infected often have no symptoms and pass it on to their partners through genital contact during vaginal and anal sex. It can also be transmitted during oral sex and, more rarely, during deep kissing through saliva.

There are more than 100 strains of the virus. Some cause genital warts, but others can result in cell changes that decades later can become cancerous. Each strain is identified by a number; oral and cervical cancers are caused by HPV sub-types 16 and 18.

HPV can also cause cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis and anus, and there is some evidence it is associated with esophageal and lung cancers.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Gardasil for girls in 2006 and for boys for treatment of genital and anal warts in 2009. The vaccine can be given at any age, though it is most effective given young people before any sexual exposure.

Doctors say it could prevent 10,000 more cases of oral cancer a year.

Several deaths associated with the vaccine led doctors to advise caution in the rush to promote widespread use of the vaccine, and doctors say there is a lack of public awareness of its role in preventing cancer.

"With any new vaccine, you have to err on the side of caution, but every year we know more about it," said Deeken. "But we have to ask the question: What do we do for the spouses and kids of our patients? I don't see any downside to vaccination at this time. My son and daughter will get it."

Because humans are the only reservoir for HPV, "it could be eliminated like smallpox," he said.

The research isn't new, but it has not received wide attention, perhaps because of taboos associated with oral sex.

Oral sex has become more commonplace; people have more sex partners and have sex earlier in life -- all behaviors linked to HPV-related oral cancers, according to a study in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Emerging Infectious Diseases report.

A study at the Swedish Karolinska Institutet showed the risk of developing oral HPV infection increased with a rise in lifetime oral or vaginal sex partners. It also cited "open mouth kissing."

The study included 542 American students, and noted similar increases in such cancers in Britain, Finland and The Netherlands.

But Dr. Kevin Cullen, director of University of Maryland's Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, is not sure only oral sex is to blame.

"It's hard for me to believe sexual behaviors have changed that much in 15 to 20 years," he said. "It may be that as happens, epidemics get enough people infected and an infection begins to take off, and that may have happened with HPV at some point."

A study Cullen did last year found that HPV-related oral cancer in African Americans were less common than whites, perhaps because of negative cultural attitudes about oral sex.

"But it looks like blacks are beginning to catch up with whites," said Cullen.

Scientists also don't know why women tend to develop cervical cancer while men have more throat cancer. "Maybe women are better able to transmit to a man than a man to the oral mucosa of a woman," said Cullen.

Doctors also think that cancer is likely to develop in the first area of exposure ? in women, usually the vagina. The woman may then develop later immunity in the throat.

But with more oral sex, often before vaginal sex, female throat cancers could increase, they say.

Very little HPV was seen until the 1980s. "It was very rare in our archives," said Cullen. "But each year we looked, it was more prevalent. Why, no one is really sure."

And doctors say those numbers have not yet peaked.

"There is increasing evidence that boys as well as girls should be vaccinated," said Cullen. "Men and women are increasingly going to face the burden of cancer, and we have a tool to prevent it."

Why the medical community has not fully embraced vaccination is not clear.

"The lead time for development of oral cancer is in decades, so to do definitive studies would take decades to do," he said. "[The FDA] picked the simpler task of preventing HPV warts in the short time frame."

Resistance has also come from safety concerns, as well as the fear by some groups that vaccination for a sexually transmitted disease will promote sexual behavior.

Cervical cancer just may just be "sexier" than throat cancer, said Dr. Ranit Mishori, a family physician in the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

"We don't think about oral cancer except in smokers," she said. "There is no question HPV is the cause of most oral cancers, but it's partly an awareness issue relating to our kids' sex life, and who wants to talk about oral sex?"

Convincing parents to vaccinate their sons as well as their daughters is a "hard sell," said Mishori.

"Oftentimes it's the moms who take the kids to the doctor, and we tell them we have this great vaccine that can prevent their daughter from getting cervical cancer," she said. "Moms can easily relate."

But it's harder to tell her "to give her son three painful shots so that he won't transmit it to his girlfriend in the future and might not transmit cancer or have oral cancer himself," said Mishori.

As for potential side effects with the vaccine, Mishori said those concerns are "pretty minor compared to the potential."

"It hasn't been around too long, but it's been tested on thousands of women," she said. "The fact that the vaccine prevents cancer is astounding in itself."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ReproductiveHealth/hpv-oral-cancers-rise-oral-sex-popular-spread/story?id=11916068&tqkw=&tqshow=

If you must go through a drive-thru, get something small just to tide you over.

2010-11-06T18:50:00.004-06:00

Eating fast food is terrible for your body and health. However, sometimes while out there are few other options... :(

11 Best Fast Food Post-Workout Snacks Under 200 Calories.

Some protein bars can be more like candy bars, providing sugar and fillers rather than actual healthy nutrition. While a fast food restaurant may not be the best choice for a quick bite after your workout, these options are good. They provide protein, carbohydrates and, most of all, satisfaction for fewer calories than a Snickers bar.

Best in-hand option
No time to use utensils? A Starbucks latte gives you a dose of protein and carbohydrates to refuel.

Starbucks
Skim Latte (Grande)
130 calories
19 grams carbohydrates
13 grams of protein

Best breakfast option
If you work out in the morning, this wrap will get much-needed protein to your muscles.

Dunkin' Donuts
Egg White and Cheese Wake-Up Wrap
150 calories
13 grams carbohydrates
8 grams protein

Best open 'till 2 a.m. option
For the night owl, Taco Bell has a Fresco menu that offers a few low-cal options that pack a good amount of protein.

Taco Bell
Fresco Crunchy Taco
150 calories
13 carbohydrates
7 grams of protein

Best drive-thru hand held
Wipe the sweat from your brow and cool off with this chocolately boost of protein and moderate amount of carbs. Men's Health swears by the muscle building power of chocolate milk.

Burger King
1% Chocolate Low-Fat Milk
190 calories
31 grams carbohydrates
9 grams protein
See other options at Burger King.

Best high protein option
Even though this isn't under 200 calories it's very close. And it has a commendable amount of protein and slow-acting good carbs in the form of beans.

Wendy's
Small Chili
220 calories
22 grams carbohydrates
18 grams of protein

Best filling sandwich option for early risers
This sandwich will keep you filled up through to lunch. You can even add some veggie toppings for some more vitamins.

Subway
Black Forest Ham, Egg and Cheese English Muffin
180 calories
18 grams of carbohydrates
15 grams of protein

Best sides as a snack option, plus a high-protein treat
These side dishes are perfect post-workout snacks, combining good carbs and an excellent amount of protein with low-calories.

KFC
Red Beans With Sausage and Rice
160 calories
26 grams of carbohydrates
24 grams of protein

Macaroni and cheese
180 Calories
20 grams carbohydrates
6 grams protein

2 grilled chicken drumsticks
160 calories
0 carbohydrates
20 grams of protein

Best protein splurge option
Remember your childhood with these crispy little bites. While this a higher fat option, this little treat has a good amount of protein for satiety.

McDonald's
4 piece Chicken McNuggets
190 calories
11 grams carbohydrates
10 grams protein

Best sweet treat option
For when you need a sweet fix. Plus, who doesn't get great joy out of eating one of these!

Carvel
Low-Fat Vanilla Flying Saucer
190 calories
35 grams of carbohydrates
4 grams of protein

Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/11-best-fast-food-post-workout-snacks-under-200-calories-2402237/

Paying with Cash Curbs Junk Food Spending

2010-11-01T23:56:00.002-06:00

If you’re trying to make better food choices at the grocery store, you may want to try leaving the plastic at home and paying with cash. A new study from researchers at Cornell and SUNY reports that people buy less junk food when they pay with cash, as handing over bills is "psychologically more painful" than paying with credit.

Shopping carts were filled with more junk food and impulse purchases when shoppers used credit or debit cards. In contrast, paying with cash was linked to fewer unhealthy food items in the cart.

The researchers followed 1,000 families as they shopped for food over a period of six months. They tracked what the participants added to their carts and the methods they used to pay for their groceries. The results showed that shopping carts were filled with more junk food and impulse purchases when shoppers used credit or debit cards to pay for the purchases. In contrast, paying with cash was linked to fewer unhealthy food items in the cart.

Why is this? The authors’ follow-up study showed that "cash payments are psychologically more painful than card payments, and this pain of payment can curb the impulsive responses to buy unhealthy food items." And people who have paid with cash customarily over a long period of time are apparently more sensitive to this "vice-regulation" effect. The authors write that in contrast to cash payments, "credit card payments... are relatively painless and weaken impulse control." In other words, if you don’t actually see the money changing hands as (one does not when credit or debit cards are used), you’re more likely to spend on unnecessary items, including junk food.

Is there a relationship between the rise in credit card spending and America’s expanding waistline? The authors suggest that there is a link, pointing out that 40% of grocery purchases are paid for with credit or debit cards these days. They write that "the epidemic increase in obesity suggests that regulating impulsive purchases and consumption of unhealthy food products is a steep challenge for many consumers". Being aware of the credit-junk food phenomenon may help people make better choices at the grocery store. It can’t hurt to try leaving the cards at home and making a quick trip to the ATM before embarking on a grocery shopping excursion.

The study was published in the October 6, 2010 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. Source: http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/dieting/art3111.html

Can Your Sunscreen Cause Skin Cancer?

2010-07-13T14:46:00.000-06:00

A dermatologist sheds light on a new study that claims your SPF might be doing more harm than good.

A new study has found that an overwhelming amount of sunscreens on the market contain an ingredient that speeds cancerous cell growth. That's right: sunscreen might cause cancer, the very thing people lather it on to protect themselves from.

But don't go throwing out your white creams, sprays, oils, and lotions just yet. Many doctors and dermatologists aren't convinced that sunscreen should go the way of canola oil and old-school Coppertone.

Dr. Marta Rendon, a board-certified dermatologist and global spokesperson for Procter & Gamble's Head and Shoulders division, tries to assure worried consumers that the results — released last week by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit public health organization — come from animal testing only and are the findings of "just one study."

According to that study, nearly half of the 500 most popular sunscreens may actually increase the speed at which malignant cells develop and spread skin cancer such as melanoma.

Why? Because they contain Vitamin A, an ingredient that was added to sunscreen formulations because it's an antioxidant that slows skin aging.

This isn't necessarily new information to Rendon, who acknowledges that some studies suggest "that vitamin A might have some phototoxicity." Still, she says that "it does not necessarily correlate that it'll increase your risk of skin cancer."

To be safe, however, Rendon recommends using sunscreen that blocks both UVA rays — the ones that penetrate the skin more deeply to cause aging issues such as fine lines and wrinkles — and UVB rays, which are the ones that can give you a sunburn and are more responsible for cancer.

"Both forms of ultraviolet light are carcinogenic and increase the risks of skin cancer, but some sunscreens don't target both — most of the new ones are UVA blockers," Rendon says. "You need to block both."

Although in its annual report, the EWG only recommended 39 of the 500 products they examined as safe to use, Rendon says that all FDA-approved sunscreens have undergone rigorous trials to prove their efficacy and hold up against safety standards. (Some brands she recommends? Any with Helioplex, such as Neutrogena's line, or with Mexoryl like La Roche-Posay.)

But regardless of where you stand, she says that by following a few simple rules, you'll be safe in the sun:

Check the product label. Make sure your sunscreen includes zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which act as physical barriers and keep ultraviolet light out best.

Don't worry about SPF. Sun protection factor is not regulated by the FDA, and as it turns out, sunscreens with a high SPF — like 70, 80, or 100+ — really don't work any better than those half its count. "The difference between SPF 30 and SPF 60 is maybe five percent," Rendon says. "Those with lighter complexion, freckles, or red hair should use SPF 45 to 50 with good UVA and UVB blockage. For normal complexions, SPF 30 is just fine."

Don't under-do it. "A shot glass is the right amount, and reapply every two hours," she says, adding that you can't really ever put on too much.

Remember that sunscreen isn't the only armor against sun damage. "You have to be conscious of sun exposure," Rendon warns. "Wear hats and sun-protective clothing."

Look for European brands. "It's true that Europe has better sunscreens because they process ingredients faster than we do," she admits.

Source: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/skin-and-hair/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100260739>1=31036

Age at Menopause May Predict Cardiovascular Risk

2010-07-03T22:13:00.000-06:00

Researchers at the University of Alabama say that asking a woman at what age she went through menopause may be a good tool to predict her future risk of cardiovascular disease. The results of the study were presented the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society, on June 19, 2010 in San Diego, CA.

The researchers found that women who reported early menopause were twice as likely as others to have any kind of heart disease.

Approximately 2,500 women who were part of the Multi-Ethnic Study for Atherosclerosis were followed in the current study. All women had gone through menopause naturally or surgically (for example, by having their ovaries removed). Early menopause was defined as occurring before the age of 46, and 693 of the study’s participants fell into this category. More women undergoing early menopause were African-American or Hispanic than other ethnicities, and more women who’d reported early menopause went through it because of surgery.

The researchers found that women who reported early menopause were twice as likely as others to have any kind of heart disease, which included “heart attack, resuscitated cardiac arrest, definite angina, probable angina (if followed by revascularization), stroke, stroke death, coronary heart disease death or other atherosclerotic/CVD death," said lead researcher Melissa Wellons in a University news release.

Wellons did point out that it’s important to remember that this study was correlational in nature, so it does not provide concrete evidence of cause and effect. Still, the age of onset of menopause could be an effective marker to help predict a woman’s likelihood of having a cardiovascular event down the road. She says that the findings “will give clinicians a new tool potentially to assess cardiovascular risk... the simple tool of asking when a woman had a hysterectomy or their ovaries removed or when they went through natural menopause.”

The ethnic differences found in the study may also be important for doctors to keep in mind: "Because black and Hispanic women reported more incidence of early menopause, these findings may be particularly helpful and relevant to them," said Wellons. "However, more research still is needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms behind early menopause and cardiovascular disease."

Source: http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/womens_health/art2979.html

Bad habits can age you by 12 years, study suggests

2010-04-27T22:08:00.001-06:00

CHICAGO – Four common bad habits combined — smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet — can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests.

The findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000 British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Overall, 314 people studied had all four unhealthy behaviors. Among them, 91 died during the study, or 29 percent. Among the 387 healthiest people with none of the four habits, only 32 died, or about 8 percent.

The risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per week; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.

These habits combined substantially increased the risk of death and made people who engaged in them seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest group, said lead researcher Elisabeth Kvaavik of the University of Oslo.

The study appears in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.

The healthiest group included never-smokers and those who had quit; teetotalers, women who had fewer than two drinks daily and men who had fewer than three; those who got at least two hours of physical activity weekly; and those who ate fruits and vegetables at least three times daily.

"You don't need to be extreme" to be in the healthy category, Kvaavik said. "These behaviors add up, so together it's quite good. It should be possible for most people to manage to do it."

For example, one carrot, one apple and a glass of orange juice would suffice for the fruit and vegetable cutoffs in the study, Kvaavik said, noting that the amounts are pretty modest and less strict than many guidelines.

The U.S. government generally recommends at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level; and about 2 1/2 hours of exercise weekly.

Study participants were 4,886 British adults aged 18 and older, or 44 years old on average. They were randomly selected from participants in a separate nationwide British health survey. Study subjects were asked about various lifestyle habits only once, a potential limitation, but Kvaavik said those habits tend to be fairly stable in adulthood.

Death certificates were checked for the next 20 years. The most common causes of death included heart disease and cancer, both related to unhealthy lifestyles.

Kvaavik said her results are applicable to other westernized nations including the United States.

June Stevens, a University of North Carolina public health researcher, said the results are in line with previous studies that examined the combined effects of health-related habits on longevity.

The findings don't mean that everyone who maintains a healthy lifestyle will live longer than those who don't, but it will increase the odds, Stevens said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_med_bad_habits_survival

Blood Pressure Meds Might Reduce the Spread of Breast Cancer, Study Says

2010-04-19T06:03:00.000-06:00

Women taking the widely-prescribed blood pressure medications known as beta-blockers when they are diagnosed with breast cancer appear to have a significantly reduced risk for the cancer spreading, or metastasizing. The new study also reported that these women were much less likely to die from breast cancer than women who did not take the medication.

The research team, based at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, England, says that their study is the first ever to look at the relationship between beta-blockers and the spread of cancer. The study was presented last month at the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO)’s European Breast Cancer Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

The team found that the women who were taking beta-blockers had a 71% reduced risk of dying from breast cancer, and a 57% lower risk of developing a second type of cancer.

Des Powe and his colleagues followed 466 breast cancer patients, 92 of whom were on some sort of blood pressure medication. Of these, about half were taking beta-blockers when they were diagnosed with breast cancer. The team found that the women who were taking beta-blockers had a 71% reduced risk of dying from breast cancer, and a 57% lower risk of developing a second type of cancer. These numbers are in relation to women who were either taking a different kind of blood pressure medication or who weren’t taking any kind of blood pressure medication at all. This suggests that the differences seen were actually due to the action of the beta-blocker itself, rather than to the effect of lower blood pressure.

Powe explains that beta- blocker drugs compete with stress hormones and bind, at a cellular level, to the same target receptors as those hormones. But unlike stress hormones, beta-blocker drugs do not activate cancer cells. In other words, blocking the stress hormones may block the ability of the cancer to spread, because cancer cells depend on the presence of these hormones to do so.

Powe says that more research will be needed to assess proper dosing and potential side effects and whether beta-blockers should be given as a supplement to existing breast cancer treatment. Still, he and his colleagues are encouraged by these early results.

Source: http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/cancer/art2897.html

Caring for yourself?

2010-03-23T10:58:00.003-06:00

"When did you last talk to your heart, asking if it approves of the way you live? And did you ever listen to it? Also, the liver, kidneys, pancreas, and your skin..." -- Michael J. Roads

4 More Reasons to Exercise

2010-03-18T11:55:00.001-06:00

Discover the benefits for your bones, brain and more.

If you’re like most women, you can usually dream up good reasons to get regular workouts: They help you manage your weight, build muscle and generally stay in shape. Go ahead and rely on those motivators if they work for you. But if you need a little extra incentive to get moving, read on: A slew of scientific studies reveal that regular exercise can improve your health in important —and potentially life-saving —ways.

1. Stave off heart disease. Aerobic exercise does your heart a world of good: It can help lower blood pressure and levels of bad cholesterol while also reducing body fat — all factors that affect your risks of heart disease and stroke. How much is enough exercise? According to the latest American Heart Association guidelines, all healthy adults ages 18 to 65 should try for at least 30 minutes of moderately intense activity five days a week.

2. Reduce your risk of developing breast cancer. There’s a correlation between being overweight and breast cancer, based on the link between fatty tissue and an increase in the production of estrogen, which may increase breast cancer risk. Research suggests that it’s never to late to start: A study conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that postmenopausal women who exercised regularly reduced their risk of breast cancer by about 20%.

3. Keep your mind sharp. According to a Mayo Clinic study, regular exercise (and other forms of physical activity) may help protect against mild cognitive impairment. What’s that? People with mild cognitive impairment can handle easy, everyday stuff. But they often have difficulty with the kind of brain activities that require you to dig a little deeper — recalling specific details of a conversation, for example, or keeping track of upcoming appointments. And it doesn’t take much exercise to benefit the brain, according to a study published in the medical journal Neurology, which found that regular walking was enough to significantly lower people’s risk of developing vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Protect against osteoporosis, or bone disease. You know that exercise can help you build up muscle mass. But did you know that bones, too, can become stronger with regular exercise, specifically when workouts include weight-bearing activities that force your bones to handle your body weight? Walking, dancing and tennis all qualify; swimming does not. Strong bones are your best defense against osteoporosis, a disease characterized by porous, brittle bones that are prone to fractures and breaks and cause postmenopausal women to appear to shrink in height.

Source: http://www.makinglifebetter.com/vitality-wellness/article/4-i-more-i-reasons-to-exercise

Sleep And Rhythm: How To Live In Accordance With Your Natural Cycles

2010-03-08T18:06:00.003-06:00

In addition to a healthy diet and regular exercise, getting enough restful sleep is the most important thing you can do for your health. Proper sleep is one of the keys to looking and feeling your best, yet it's estimated that up to 70 percent of Americans are chronically sleep deprived. Unfortunately this is consistent with what I see in my NYC practice.

Chronic sleep problems interfere with your body's natural rhythms and rob it of the time it needs to restore itself. The incidence of many diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and depression increases with a lack of sleep. Recent research has even shown a connection between poor sleep and weight gain. We simply weren't built to just go, go, go. We were built to go, go, go and then rest, rest, rest. We evolved according to the natural rhythms of darkness and light; our bodily functions reflect this and undergo similar fluctuations. They perform best when we live in accordance, as much as possible, with these cycles.

It is during sleep that your body's innate healing capacities kick into full gear. Your immune system gets revitalized. Hormones and metabolism are balanced, and general maintenance, fine-tuning and repair of all bodily systems is performed. A good night's sleep, not just once in a while, but on an ongoing basis, is absolutely critical for your good health.

Insomnia is not a disease, but is usually a symptom of a deeper underlying bodily imbalance which can be corrected. For real success, the causes of the imbalance must be removed.

The most common underlying causes of chronic sleep issues are:
* Chronic stress or an over-stimulated nervous system.
* Hormonal imbalances (adrenal, thyroid and reproductive hormones in particular.)
* Poor diet (too much sugar, processed and refined foods and the common foods that cause sensitivities: gluten and dairy.)
* Stimulants or substances that can affect sleep (alcohol, caffeine, medications, recreational drugs, herbs, and even some vitamins.)
* Gastro-intestinal dysfunction
* Chronic pain
* Sleep Apnea

Although each of us is unique and, ideally, treatment should be individualized, my experience shows that the most effective long-term strategy for overcoming the most common type of insomnia in our fast-paced world is to better attune our bodies to the natural rhythm of darkness and light. This ultimately brings it back in sync with its natural rhythm. This can be done, for the most part, by changing bad habits and behaviors. In my practice, by doing this, I have seen a normalization in hormonal imbalances and a calming of the over-active nervous system, the two most common causes of sleep disorders.

Night and Day
As a result of living in tandem with the predictable patterns of day and night for thousands of years, these 24 hour cycles and rhythms became imprinted in our genes and, over time, we have developed internal body clocks that run in sync with nature. They are comprised of a variety of rhythmic patterns influencing every aspect of bodily function including hormone levels, digestion, body temperature and sleep.

But still our biology has not yet caught up with our ability to live without rest. And one of the most fundamental stresses on our systems is that we are living so out of sync with the natural fluctuations of light and dark. Our bodies evolved in dependence on signals from the sun, but to a large extent, we now get up without the sun, go to bed long after dark, work longer and longer days indoors under artificial lighting and spend little time outdoors, even in summer. During the day, we receive artificial light from fluorescent bulbs rather than the vitamin D-rich sunlight that our bodies need. Then, at night, when we need the dark to trigger essential melatonin production, excessive light throws our body rhythms out of balance even more.

Since the invention of the light bulb, obvious as its benefits have been, our lifestyles have really changed. Staying up all night can really sabotage our health. With light as with food, we must be careful of being overfed and undernourished. It becomes all too to easy to miss the very signals that regulate almost every system in the body, signals we're primed to receive and without which we cannot function properly.

Sleep Tips
It's essential to understand that it's not just what you do at night that affects your sleep. How you go about your day and shift into the evening also plays a big role in how well you sleep. So, I've put together some general sleep-friendly tips, broken down into daytime, evening and night time to help you start thinking in terms of how your body is affected by the day/night cycle and how you can get more in sync with it.

Daytime
Maintaining a sense of calm throughout the day, getting some natural light and avoiding stimulants is essential for restoring normal sleep chemistry.

Wake Up Right
Sleep researchers at the Mayo Clinic believe that if you need an alarm clock to wake you up, it's a sign that you're not sleeping right. Alarm clocks interrupt the sleep cycle and prevent sleep from completing naturally, pushing sleep problems into succeeding days. Dawn simulation devices are much more effective at establishing a healthy sleep cycle and gently rousing you from sleep.

Take Mindfulness Breaks
Close your office door, or find a quiet spot somewhere and get comfortable. Take 5 minute breaks throughout your day to focus on your breath. If that's challenging, then focus on your feet and then your hands. Feel them for a few minutes; become aware of them. This will calm you down. Quieting and slowing your mind calms the body, which is the perfect antidote to the over-stressed state we are often in.

Get Some Natural Sunlight Every Day
We live and work in artificially lit environments and often miss out on the strongest regulatory signal of all, natural sunlight. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that it's actually light itself that governs our sleeping patterns. As sunlight enters our eyes it regulates and resets our biological clocks, which involves triggering our brains and bodies to release specific chemicals and hormones that are vital to healthy sleep, mood, and aging. Studies show that adults across America are spending less than one hour outdoors each day, far less than in the past. Try to get at least half an hour of regular exposure to natural sunlight a day.

Exercise
Exercise is one of the best defenses against insomnia because it increases the amplitude of our daily rhythms. It signals the body to promote deeper sleep cycles. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise work well. The best time to exercise is four to six hours before bedtime, but studies also show that people are more likely to stick to a routine if they exercise first thing in the morning. In general try to avoid exercising after 8pm as it may be too stimulating to your body and make it more difficult to get to sleep. This effect does vary, however, from individual to individual. Make an exercise plan for yourself that works for you and that you can stick to.

No More Caffeine
Caffeine, even in small doses, blocks sleep neurotransmitters, the calming chemicals your body makes to make you sleepy. If you have a problem with sleep, you must cut out all caffeinated beverages, even your morning cup of coffee. But caffeine is not just in coffee. It's in colas and other soft drinks, teas, including herbal teas, chocolate and some medications. There's even a little caffeine in decaffeinated coffee. Caffeine is a powerful stimulant with effects that can last up to seven hours. For people who have liver problems, or who are taking oral contraceptives or other medications (Anacin and Excedrin, for example), caffeine's effects can last much longer. It interferes with the bodies natural regulatory rhythms and chronic use of it can create a chronic bodily imbalance.

Try an Elimination Diet
Go for it! For two weeks, eliminate sugar, corn syrup, sodas, refined grains and processed foods. These are metabolic disruptors which overstress the organs involved in hormone regulation and can seriously affect your sleep cycles. In addition, avoid dairy and gluten products, especially wheat, for the two weeks as these can cause food reactions or sensitivities which can affect your sleep cycle, too.

Eat In Accordance With Your Body Rhythms
Your digestive system function peaks at lunchtime, so most of your food should be eaten by then. Your metabolism slows down in the late afternoon, leaving you poorly prepared to digest a large dinner; in other words: have a small one. Eat it early, at least three hours before going to sleep. Give your body a chance to recover and rebuild, instead of having to work on digestion while you sleep.

Note the Medications or Other Drugs You Are Taking
Medications such as antihistamines, diuretics, antipsychotics, antidepressants, decongestants, asthma medications, and some blood pressure medicines can cause sleeplessness. If you're taking any necessary medication that interrupts your sleep, talk with your doctor about an alternative.

Evening
Expecting to go from full speed to a standstill without slowing down first is unrealistic. You should prepare for sleep by giving your body the right signals. It takes time to produce the sleep neurotransmitters needed by the brain's sleep center to release the hormones that will allow you to sleep. Reducing stimulation in the evening before going to bed boosts the production of sleep hormones. Taking some time to wind down and prepare your environment before hopping into bed will encourage a good nights sleep.

Create an Electronic Sundown
By 10 pm, stop sitting in front of your computer or TV screen and switch off all other electronic devices. They are too stimulating to the brain and inhibit the release of these sleep neurotransmitters.

Prepare for Sleep
Dim the lights an hour or more before going to bed, take a warm bath, listen to calming music or soothing sounds. Remove any distractions (mental and physical) that will prevent you from sleeping.

Practice a Relaxation Technique
Too much stress is one of the most common causes of sleep disorders so learning to relax is key. Many people tell me they can't switch off their racing minds and therefore have trouble sleeping. Do some breathing exercises, restorative yoga or meditation. These will calm the mind and reduce the fears and worries that trigger the stress.

Nighttime
Creating consistency and optimizing the sleep environment are essential.

Create a Regular Routine
Going to bed around the same time, even on weekends, is the most important thing you can do to establish good sleep habits. We stay up late on weekends, expecting to make up sleep later or use the weekend to make up for lost sleep during the week. Both practices disrupt bodily rhythms and late night weekends, in particular, can cause insomnia during the workweek. We often think we can make-up for lost sleep by going to bed extra early another night, but the body clock's ability to regulate healthy sleep patterns depends on consistency. A regular sleep rhythm reminds the brain when to release sleep and wake hormones, which in turn effects all the other hormones, ultimately effecting our overall health.

Keep the Room As Dark As Possible
Our bodies need complete darkness for production of the important sleep hormone, melatonin. If your bedroom is not pitch dark when you go to sleep, it interferes with this key process and disrupts your circadian rhythms. Even the tiniest bit of light in the room can disrupt your pineal gland's production of sleep hormones, disturbing your sleep rhythms. Look around your bedroom for glowing indicator lights and try to remove or cover them: alarm clock read-outs, charging indicators on cell phones or PDA's, the monitor on your computer, battery indicators on cordless phones or answering machines, the DVD clock and timer etc. Cover all the lights of any electronic device and use dark shades or drapes on the windows if they are exposed to light. If any of this is not possible, wear an eye mask.

Keep the Room Cool
Lowering ambient temperature sends a feedback signal to the brain's sleep center that it's nighttime, and that it needs to release more sleep hormones. A sleeping temperature of 60 to 65 degrees is best for most people, even in the winter. In hot weather, use a floor or ceiling fan to create a breeze, or an air-conditioner set at about 70 degrees. Interestingly, I have heard from a number of patients with chronic cold feet who swear by wearing socks to bed.

Block Out Noise
If noise from the street, an upstairs neighbor, pets or a snoring bed partner is a problem, try using earplugs, an electronic device that makes "white noise" or a fan that hums to drowns out the surrounding sounds.

Do Not Rely on Sleeping Pills to Fall and Stay Asleep
Sleeping pills mask sleep problems and do not resolve the underlying causes of insomnia. Many sleep studies have concluded that long-term use of sleeping pills, whether prescription or over the counter, do more harm than good. They can be highly addictive and studies have found them to be potentially dangerous. If you have been taking them for a long time, ask your doctor to help you design a plan to eliminate them.

Don't Use Alcohol to Fall Asleep
Because of alcohol's sedating effect, many people drink to promote sleep. Alcohol does have an initial sleep inducing effect, but as it gets broken down by the body it sends the wrong metabolic signals which can cause you to wake up later on. It usually impairs sleep during the second half of the night leading to a reduction in overall sleep time.

Take Nutrients That Calm Down the Nervous System
Instead of sleeping pills or alcohol, try some supplements or herbs that have a calming effect half an hour to an hour before bedtime. Magnesium (300-600 mg) can be helpful as can calcium. The amino acids, L theanine (100-500mg), 5 HTP (50-100mg), taurine and GABA, and herbs like lemon balm, passion flower, chamomile, magnolia and valerian root can also help.

Try Some Melatonin at Night
For some people, melatonin can be extremely helpful. The dosage I usually use is anywhere between half a mg to three mg right before bedtime (sublingual tablets are better than oral). Melatonin is good for initiating sleep, not maintaining it.

Don't Make Sleep a Performance Issue
Often just thinking about sleep affects your ability to fall asleep. What happens frequently is that the way we cope with the insomnia becomes as much of a problem as the insomnia itself. It often becomes a vicious cycle of worrying about not being able to sleep which leads to worsening sleep problems. Like so many things in life, it is about letting go and going with the flow. If you can't fall asleep, don't fight it - instead try to do something that will help you relax, and then try again. Sleep needs to become a natural rhythm like breathing, something that comes automatically.

Although the vast majority of my patients have been helped with these general tips, addressing the particular causes more specifically in some cases is necessary. Those with thyroid, adrenal or gastro-intestinal dysfunction, and women in peri-menopause or menopause may need additional targeted treatments. Similarly for women in peri-menopause or menopause. Those in pain may need more specific treatments and for chronic insomniacs, especially heavy snorers and those who are obese, it is a good idea to rule out Sleep Apnea as the cause. This is a serious condition that affects at least 12 million Americans, many of whom have not been diagnosed.

I know from personal experience and from the many patients I have seen, that incorporating these sleep tips into our lives has made a huge difference. There is nothing quite like going from being worn out and exhausted to bouncing back to life when you find a new sleep groove; start catching your sleep wave and start sleeping well. The British poet Thomas Dekker observed that sleep is "the golden chain that ties health and the body together." I couldn't agree more. Here's to a good night's sleep on a regular basis.

One love
Frank

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-frank-lipman/sleep-and-rhythm-how-to-l_b_486491.html. This article was originally published in Goop.

Frank Lipman MD, is the founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in NYC a center whose emphasis is on preventive health care and patient education. His personal blend of Western and Eastern Medicine combined with the many other complimentary modalities he has studied, has helped thousands of people recover their energy and zest for life. He is the author of the recent REVIVE: Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again (2009) and Total Renewal; 7 key steps to Resilience, Vitality and Long-Term Health (2003).

20 Ways to Stick to Your Workout

2010-03-08T01:48:00.000-06:00

By: Adam Campbell

You have the right to remain fat. Or skinny. Or weak. But you should know that every workout you miss can and will be used against you to make your belly bigger, your muscles smaller and weaker, and your life shorter. Unfortunately, most Americans are exercising their right not to exercise.

A recent study by the National Center for Health Statistics found that only 19 percent of the population regularly engages in "high levels of physical activity." (That's defined as three intense 20-minute workouts per week.)

Another 63 percent—about the same percentage as that of Americans who are overweight—believe that exercising would make them healthier, leaner, and less stressed, but they don't do it. At the root of this problem is motivation, or the lack thereof.

It's the difference between wanting to exercise and actually doing it. That's why the advice you're about to read is priceless. We've filled these pages with the favorite motivational strategies of the top personal trainers in the country. Their livelihoods, in fact, depend on the effectiveness of their tips to inspire their clients to exercise—and to stick with it. After all, statistics don't pay by the hour.

And for even more ways to shape your body, check out The Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises. With complete instructions of more than 600 exercises, along with hundreds of workouts and useful tips, it’s the most comprehensive guide to fitness ever created.

Blackmail Yourself

Take a picture of yourself shirtless, holding a sign that shows your e-mail address. Then e-mail it to a trusted but sadistic friend, with the following instructions: "If I don't send you a new picture that shows serious improvement in 12 weeks, post this photo at hotornot.com and send the link to the addresses listed below . . . " (Include as many e-mail addresses—especially of female acquaintances—as possible.) "It's nasty, but extremely effective," says Alwyn Cosgrove.
Buy a Year's Worth of Protein

"If a guy believes that a supplement will help him achieve better results, he'll be more inclined to keep up his workouts in order to reap the full benefits and avoid wasting his money," says Kuebler. Stick with the stuff that really does help: protein and creatine, from major brands like MuscleTech, EAS, and Biotest.
See Your Body Through Her Eyes

Ask your wife to make like Howard Stern and identify your most displeasing physical characteristic. "It's instant motivation," says Mejia. If she's hesitant, make a list for her—abs, love handles, upper arms, and so on—and have her rank them from best to worst. Make the most-hated body part your workout focus for 4 weeks, then repeat the quiz for more motivation.
Make Your Goals Attractive

"To stay motivated, frame your goals so that they drive you to achieve them," says Charles Staley, owner of staleytraining.com. For example, if you're a 200-pound guy, decide whether you'd rather bench "over 200 pounds," "the bar with two 45-pound plates on each side," or "your body weight." They're all different ways of saying the same thing, but one is probably more motivating to you than the others.
Start a Streak

There's nothing like a winning streak to attract fans to the ballpark. Do the same for your workout by trying to set a new record for consecutive workouts without a miss. "Every time your streak ends, strive to set a longer mark in your next attempt," says Williams.
Go Through the Motions

On days when you don't feel like working out, make the only requirement of your exercise session a single set of your favorite exercise. "It's likely that once you've started, you'll finish," says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S. If you still don't feel like being in the gym, go home. This way, you never actually stop exercising; you just have some gaps in your training log.
Don't Do What You Hate

"Whenever you start to dread your workout, do what appeals to you instead," says John Raglin, Ph.D., an exercise psychologist at Indiana University. If you loathe going to a gym, try working out at home. (Check the Men's Health Home Workout Bible for ideas.) If you despise the treadmill, then jump rope, lift weights, or find a basketball court. Bottom line: If you're sick of your routine, find a new one.
Have a Body-Composition Test

Do this every 2 months for a clear end date for the simple goal of losing body fat or gaining muscle. "Tangible results are the best motivator," says Tim Kuebler, C.S.C.S., a trainer in Kansas City, Missouri. Your gym probably offers the service for a small fee—just make sure the same trainer performs the test each time.
Squat First

If you have trouble finishing your weight workout, start with the exercises you dread. "You'll look forward to your favorite exercises at the end of your workout, which will encourage you to complete the entire session," says John Williams, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Spectrum Conditioning in Port Washington, New York.
Plan Your Workouts in Advance

At the start of each month, schedule all of your workouts at once, and cross them off as they're completed. For an average month, you might try for a total of 16 workouts. If any are left undone at the end of the month, tack them on to the following month. And make sure you have a contingency plan for bad weather and unscheduled meetings. "You're about 40 percent more likely to work out if you have strategies to help you overcome these obstacles," says Rod Dishman, Ph.D., an exercise scientist at the University of Georgia.
Burn a Workout CD

Studies have shown that men who pedal stationary cycles while listening to their favorite music will do so longer and more intensely than men who exercise without music. So burn a disc with your favorite adrenaline-boosting songs (maybe something by Limp Bizkit or—if you're over 40—Hot Tuna).
Strike an Agreement with Your Family

The rule: You get 1 hour to yourself every day, provided that you use it for exercise (and reciprocate the favor). So there's no pressure to do household chores, play marathon games of Monopoly, or be a doting husband (a fat, doting husband). "Since it's for your health, it's a contract they can't refuse. And that will allow you to exercise guilt-free while acting as a role model for your children," says Darren Steeves, C.S.C.S., a trainer in Canada.
Join a Fitness Message Board

It'll be full of inspiration from men who have accomplished their goals and are working toward new ones. Our particular favorite: the 52-Day Challenge. Created by a Men's Health Belly Off! Club forum member with the username Determined, it's designed to foster encouragement, discipline, and accountability. "Each participant posts and tracks his goals for a 52-day period so that everyone is accountable to the other members," says Determined. To sign up, click here.
Do a Daily Gut Check

Place your fingers on your belly and inhale deeply so that it expands. As you exhale, contract your abdominal muscles and push your fingertips against your hard abdominal wall. Now pinch. "You're holding pure fat between your fingers," says Tom Seabourne, Ph.D., author of Athletic Abs. Do this every day, 30 minutes before your workout, and you'll find that you'll rarely decide to skip it.
Think About Fat

Your body is storing and burning fat simultaneously, but it's always doing one faster than the other. "Understanding that you're getting either fatter or leaner at any one time will keep you body-conscious so you won't overeat or underexercise," says Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., owner of Results Fitness Training in Santa Clarita, California.
Compete

Find a sport or event that you enjoy and train to compete in it. "It adds a greater meaning to each workout," says Alex Koch, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., an exercise researcher (and competitive weight lifter) at Truman State University. Consider training for the World Master's games, an Olympics-like competition for regular guys. Events include basketball, rowing, golf, triathlon, and weight lifting.
Switch Your Training Partners

Working out with a partner who will hold you accountable for showing up at the gym works well—for a while. But the more familiar you are with the partner, the easier it becomes to back out of workout plans. "Close friends and family members don't always make the best training partners because they may allow you to slack off or cancel workouts," says Jacqueline Wagner, C.S.C.S., a trainer in New York City. To keep this from happening, find a new, less forgiving workout partner every few months.
Tie Exercise to Your Health

Check your cholesterol. Then set a goal of lowering your LDL cholesterol by 20 points and increasing your HDL cholesterol by 5 points. "You'll decrease your risk of heart disease while providing yourself with a very important, concrete goal," says John Thyfault, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., an exercise researcher at East Carolina University. Ask your doctor to write a prescription for new blood work in a month. You'll just have to go to the lab, and the doctor will call you with the results.
Make a "Friendly" Bet

Challenge your nemesis—that idea-stealing coworker or a non-mowing neighbor—to a contest. The first guy to drop 15 pounds, run a 6-minute mile, or bench- press 250 pounds wins. The key: "Make sure it's someone you don't particularly like," says Michael Mejia, C.S.C.S., Men's Health exercise advisor. (It's okay if your rival thinks you're best friends.)
Sign Up for a Distant Race

That is, one that's at least 500 miles away. The extra incentive of paying for airfare and a hotel room will add to your motivation to follow your training plan, says Carolyn Ross-Toren, chairwoman of the Mayor's Fitness Council in San Antonio.

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/workout_motivation_strategies/index.php

Natural Sunscreen Recipe

2010-03-07T13:50:00.000-06:00

Everyone needs a little bit of sunshine to get their vitamin D, it’s healthy. What’s not healthy is over exposure to the sun. Sunburn increases the risk of dangerous skin cancers. Did you know however, that many of our commercial sunblocks and sunscreens can also increase your risks of cancer? And exacerbate many other problems such as eczema.

These chemicals, have all been linked with causing cancers – and are commonly found in commercial sunscreens.

* Benzolalcohol
* BHA {Butylatedhydroxyanisole}
* Butyl {methoxydibenzoylemethane}
* Diazolodinyl Urea
* Dimethicone
* Diasodium EDTA
* Ethanol
* Homosalate
* hydroxybenzoates {parabens}
* Methylisothiazolinone
* 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor
* Octorcrylene
* Octyl Methoxycinnamate
* Octyl Salicylate
* Oxybenzone
* Phenoxyethanol
* Polysorbate 20
* Titanium Dioxide {The “sunblock” component of most sunscreens}
* Triethanolamine

Sunscreens containing Zinc Oxide as an alternative to titanium dioxide is a healthier idea, or y0u can mix your own sunscreen using the following recipe:

In a saucepan on low heat combine:

* 70 grams of apricot kernel oil
* 35 grams of coconut oil
* 35 grams of bees wax

Mix gently until all ingredients are dispersed. Remove from the heat and add 100 grams of distilled water. Stir until thick and smooth, and add:

* 2 tablespoons of zinc oxide (Available at health food stores, and drug stores)
* 1 tablespoon of wheat germ oil

Leave it to set and store in a dark coloured glass jar.

When it comes to sun protection, covering up and limiting exposure is your safest bet. Wear a hat, sunglasses, and long sleeved clothing, and stay out of the sun during peak periods. When swimming, use protective swimwear and stay out of the sun during peak times.

No sunscreen is ever 100% effective in preventing sunburn.

Source: http://www.naturalparentingtips.com/child-health/natural-sunscreen-recipe/

The Unhealthiest Salads in America

2010-03-07T07:26:00.003-06:00

If you’re looking to eat healthfully at your favorite restaurant, don’t automatically turn to the salad menu. Turns out, restaurant salads can often be as bad as—or worse than—any burger or steak on the menu. Sure, salads may contain a fresh produce base, but those leafy greens are too often weighed down with cheese, deep fried croutons, and high-calorie dressings. In fact, one salad from a popular chain restaurant contains over 1,500 calories! Surprised? Then check out this list of the Worst Salads in America, culled from the new book Eat This, Not That! 2010.

#6. Quizno’s Honey Mustard Chicken Regular Chopped Salad
920 calories
65 g fat (20 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
1,685 mg sodium

The secret to this salad’s salacious calorie count is in the sauce. A general rule of thumb when you eat at Quizno’s: Serving sizes are often not what they seem. This “Regular Chopped Salad” accounts for nearly half your day’s caloric allotment. Even most of the small chopped salads pack over 500 calories. Unless you order the Pan Asian small, consider a salad at Quizno’s a meal unto itself, not a side dish.

Bonus tip: Want to make sure your lunch doesn't destroy your diet? Familiarize yourself with this indispensable list of the 30 Unhealthiest Sandwiches in America. It'll help you keep your waistline from ballooning.

Eat This Instead: Pan Asian Small Chopped Salad
270 calories
11 g fat (2.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,190 mg sodium

#5. Romano’s Macaroni Grill Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Salad
960 calories
16 g saturated fat
1,990 mg sodium
49 g carbohydrates

Here’s a little menu magic for you: Anytime you see the words “parmesan-crusted,” assume the dish has been slathered in cheese and given the frying treatment. Which is probably why this Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Salad has nearly a full day’s worth of sodium and half a day’s worth of calories. One of the biggest problems with Mac Grill’s menu items—though we love it in general—is the sodium content. We’d say order the Warm Spinach Salad, but it’s packed with as much salt as you’ll find in five large orders of McDonald’s french fries. Your only smart salad side dish selection at this chain is the Fresh Greens or Caesar.

Eat This Instead: Fresh Greens
320 calories
5 g saturated fat
300 mg sodium
20 g carbohydrates

#4. Chili’s Quesadilla Explosion Salad
1,400 calories
88 g fat (26 g saturated)
2,370 mg sodium

This salad is explosive all right. Here’s a tip: At most Mexican restaurants, the salads are actually the absolute worst items on the menu. For example, with burritos and tacos, the amount of high-fat, high-calorie fillers is limited to what will fit in the shells. But there’s no built-in portion control with salads. So it’s no surprise that this Quesadilla Explosion Salad contains a full day’s worth of salt and nearly three-quarters of your day’s calories (it’s the caloric equivalent of 172 Cheetos, in fact). Unfortunately, Chili’s offers only three salads with less than 500 calories. Stick with the Guiltless Grill options, or the salad mentioned below.

Bonus tip: Corona may taste great with Mexican food, but is it the smartest beverage option? Read The 40 Best and Worst Beers to find out. (Otherwise it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between a bottle of beer with more than 300 calories versus one with just 100—knowing the difference and choosing the smarter swap can save you 20 lbs of fat a year!)

Eat This Instead: Small Caribbean Salad with Grilled Chicken
490 calories
24 g fat (4 g saturated)
420 mg sodium

#3. Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad with Oriental Vinaigrette
1,430 calories

This salad starts out with a bed of “Fresh Asian greens,” according to the menu. Unfortunately, these greens serve as a bed for deep-fried chicken tenders and carbohydrate-heavy crispy noodles. Without dressing, this dish rings in at 840 calories—already more than in an Applebee’s hamburger. But factor in the super-heavy dressing and you’re adding another 590 calories to the mix. To put that in perspective, a lunch sandwich shouldn’t pack more than 500 calories, tops. At Applebee’s, the only salad that won’t sink your entire meal is the Paradise Chicken Salad, which cuts back on calories by using grilled chicken instead of fried and actual produce instead of noodles. (Note: Applebee's refuses to disclose their nutrition information, so you just might be consuming days' worth of sodium as well!)

Eat This Instead: Paradise Chicken Salad
340 calories

#2. Cheesecake Factory Caesar Salad with Chicken
1,513 calories
16 g saturated fat
1,481 mg sodium
23 g carbohydrates

The top three words you never want to see sharing a space with “salad” on a menu: tuna, taco, and yes, the mighty Caesar. Consider that tangle of romaine a hapless vehicle for the troubling trinity of croutons, Parmesan cheese, and viscous Caesar dressing. This Cheesecake Factory version is the worst; the elephantine portion yields a salad with more calories than 10 Twinkies! If you’re looking for a salad meal at Cheesecake Factory, choose from the Weight Management varieties—every other salad tops 500 calories.

Eat This Instead: Weight Management Pear & Endive Salad
479 calories
4 g saturated fat
1,509 mg sodium
31 g carbohydrates

#1. California Pizza Kitchen Waldorf Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing (full)
1,570 calories
30 g saturated fat
2,082 mg sodium

CPK is no stranger to the title of “Worst Salad in America”—in fact, last year’s Thai Crunch Salad from California Pizza Kitchen won this dubious distinction for having over 2,000 calories. CPK has since downgraded the Asian-inspired leafy disaster (to a more modest 1,399 calories). Unfortunately, the rest of their salad lineup is still sorely lacking in smart options. This Waldorf Chicken Salad takes the title this year—the blue cheese dressing certainly doesn’t help, and neither does the oversized plate this salad is served on. Believe it or not, your best bet at CPK is to order two slices of thin-crust pizza with any toppings you want. But if you’re set on a salad, choose a half-size of the Moroccan Chicken, below.

Eat This Instead: Moroccan Chicken Salad (half)
412 calories
4 g saturated fat
309 mg sodium

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/47832/the-unhealthiest-salads-in-america/

The 30 Worst Sandwiches in America

2010-03-06T09:25:00.003-06:00

When it comes to sandwiches, remember this: With the power to create comes the power to inflate. Want proof? Scroll through this jaw-dropping list of the 30 Worst Sandwiches in America for a lineup of disastrous hand-held mega-meals that'll bloat your belly and call for a loosening of belt buckles. It's not all disastrous, though - for a bit of relief, we've also listed the reasonable alternatives you should eat instead.

30. WORST LUNCH SANDWICH FROM ARBY’S
Ultimate BLT Market Fresh Sandwich
779 calories
45 g fat (11g saturated)
1,571 mg sodium

This isn’t even the worst of the Market Fresh Sandwiches; the Pecan Chicken Salad weighs in at a hefty 870 calories. The lesson? Trust the ingredients, not the name. “Market Fresh” is little more than a marketing ploy to persuade consumers to indulge without guilt. Opt for the Bacon Cheddar Roastburger instead. Arby’s roast beef sandwiches are all relatively safe, and unless you order double meat, not one of the Roastburgers exceeds 500 calories.

Eat This Instead: Bacon Cheddar Roastburger
440 calories
18 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,427 mg sodium

29. WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH FROM ARBY’S
Ham, Egg & Cheese Wrap
575 calories
31 g fat (10 g saturated)
2,005 mg sodium

Ever since wraps became erroneously associated with healthy eating, restaurants have been slowly beefing up the amount of cheese and sauce they stuff inside. The reasoning is simple: The perception of health might make you test it out, but the surreptitious loads of fat and salt will keep you coming back for more. Opt for a croissant instead. Croissants make a surprisingly decent foundation for a breakfast sandwich, but the same rules still apply: Keep the bacon to garnishlike levels, and avoid sausage when possible.

Eat This Instead: Bacon, Egg & Cheese Croissant
378 calories
25 g fat (12 g saturated)
850 mg sodium

28. WORST SANDWICH FROM ATLANTA BREAD COMPANY
Bistro Chicken Press Sandwich
780 calories
41 g fat (11 g saturated)
1,660 mg sodium

This sandwich is lined with pesto, which ordinarily we approve of for its load of healthy fats. Unfortunately, here that pesto is muddled with an aggressive application of mayo, bloating this into the fattiest chicken sandwich on the menu. To contrast, ABC’s Chicken Waldorf is what chicken salad would be if it were dreamed up by a nutritionist. This version uses a minimal amount of mayonnaise and leans on antioxidant-rich fillers like cranberries, apples, and walnuts.

Eat this instead: Chicken Waldorf Sandwich
450 calories
29 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
510 mg sodium

27. WORST SANDWICH FROM AU BON PAIN
Prosciutto Mozzarella Sandwich
780 calories
40 g fat (16 g saturated)
2,270 mg sodium

Au Bon Pain’s sandwiches tend to suffer from serious sodium overload, so adding übersalty prosciutto only exacerbates the problem. Even sans sides, this thing eats through almost your entire day’s sodium requirement. Go for the Thai Chicken Wrap. Most of Au Bon’s sandwiches hover around 700 calories (including a number of their meat-free options), but you’ll beat the average every time with this one.

Eat This Instead: Thai Peanut Chicken Wrap
530 calories
15 g fat (2 g saturated)
1,340 mg sodium

26. WORST SANDWICH FROM BAJA FRESH
Chicken Quesadilla
1,330 calories
80 g fat (27 g saturated)
2,590 mg sodium

Quesadillas are second only to nachos in terms of belt-breaking potential. There’s not one on the menu—not even the veggie quesadilla—with fewer than 1,200 calories. Try a torta. Tortas are Mexican sandwiches loaded with grilled or braised meat, avocado, salsa, and other fresh fixings. At Baja, it’s one of your best bets for a decent entrée. Order this one without the side of chips, and you’ll cut 240 calories off your meal.

Eat This Instead: Chicken Torta
620 calories
23 g fat (6 g saturated)
1,330 mg sodium

25. WORST SANDWICH FROM BLIMPIE
Roast Beef & Cheddar Wrap
684 calories
36 g fat (12 g saturated)
1,928 mg sodium

Here’s a secret most sandwich shops would rather not tell you: Wraps carry more starchy carbohydrates than regular breads do. Guess that puts an end to the myth of the “healthy wrap.” Roast beef doesn’t have the same lean reputation as turkey and chicken, but in truth, most cuts are nearly as reliable as either of those poultry choices. Feel free to make it the anchor of any sandwich you order.

Eat This Instead: Roast Beef and Provolone (6” wheat)
385 calories
12 g fat (5 g saturated)
990 mg sodium

24. WORST SANDWICH FROM BOSTON MARKET
Classic Chicken Sandwich
800 calories
41 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,900 mg sodium

It’s not surprising to find a load of fat in a chicken salad sandwich. It’s built around a deluge of sticky mayonnaise, after all. What’s shocking is the egregious load of trans fat. We still can’t figure out how they managed to squeeze twice the daily limit into one little sandwich. The Dark Chicken Individual Meal makes for a pretty well-balanced meal by providing a load of protein with relatively few carbohydrates. Just take it easy with the saltshaker—sodium is the one area where Boston Market’s chicken falls flat.

Eat This Instead: Dark Chicken Individual Meal
580 calories
30 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,850 mg sodium

23. WORST LUNCH SANDWICH FROM BURGER KING
Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich
800 calories
46 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,640 mg sodium

Don’t let trifling terms like “tender” distract you from more telling terms like “crisp,” which is a fast-food euphemism for deep-fried. Not even the Whopper with cheese has this many calories. Go straight for the tenders themselves; these are some of the lowest-calorie fried chicken pieces in the treacherous world of fast food. Their only decent rivals are the nuggets at Chick-fil-A.

Eat This Instead: Chicken Tenders
400 calories
21 g fat (4 g saturated)
920 mg sodium

22. WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH FROM BURGER KING
Sausage and Cheese BK Breakfast Shots
420 calories
31 g fat (10 g saturated)
910 mg sodium

Sausage is the clear loser in the battle of the breakfast meats. The sooner you learn to skip it, the sooner you can start dropping pounds. Go straight for the Ham Omelet Sandwich. You won’t find a better breakfast sandwich at any fast-food window in the country.

Eat This Instead: Ham Omelet Sandwich
290 calories
12 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
870 mg sodium

21. WORST SANDWICH FROM THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY
Grilled Chicken and Avocado Club
1,752 calories
28 g saturated fat
2,309 mg sodium

Who would have guessed that a dish with a name like this could pack more calories than 11 scoops of Breyers All Natural Mint Chocolate Chip? Skip sandwiches entirely. The “lightest” on the menu is the 1,052-calorie Grilled Cheese. Go for the Factory Burger. Surprisingly, this is one of the best burgers offered at any sit-down restaurant in America, and so long as you swap out the fries for something healthier, it’s also one of the safest entrées you’ll find on Cheesecake Factory’s misguided menu.

Eat This Instead: The Factory Burger
737 calories
15 g saturated fat
1,018 mg sodium

20. WORST SANDWICH FROM CHICK-FIL-A
Chicken Caesar Cool Wrap
480 calories
16 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,810 mg sodium

Chick-fil-A joins two of the most overrated “health” foods—wraps and Caesar salad—into one handheld package. At some establishments, it would still be a “this,” but at Chick-fil-A, it's one of the worst items on the menu. Most chicken clubs suffer from at least one of three major blights: mayonnaise, breading, or bacon overload. Thankfully the Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich avoids all, making it the only club sandwich we've seen with fewer than 500 calories.

Eat This Instead: Chick-fil-A Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich
380 calories
11 g fat (5 g saturated)
1,560 mg sodium

19. WORST SANDWICH FROM COSI
Chicken TBM Sandwich
722 calories
40 g fat
845 mg sodium

This version of three classic flavors—tomatoes, basil, and chicken—will saddle you with an extra 212 calories and more than double the fat of its pesto-paved relative. The Tuscan Pesto Chicken Sandwich harnesses the powers of pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, which collectively bring big flavor and plenty of healthy fat to the table. Both ingredients rely on olive oil, an excellent source of blood- and brain-boosting monounsaturated fats.

Eat This Instead: Tuscan Pesto Chicken Sandwich
510 calories
18 g fat
452 mg sodium

18. WORST SANDWICH FROM CULVER’S
North Atlantic Cod Fillet Sandwich
663 calories
41 g fat (7 g saturated)
979 mg sodium

Here’s a new rule to live by: Fish stops being seafood as soon as it gets battered and fried. After that, it’s no better than the grease it was cooked in. However, the burgers at Culver’s are some of the best you’ll find anywhere. Any single burger you order—so long as it doesn’t have bacon on it—will have fewer than 500 calories. Now if only they could figure out how to cut the gram of trans fat from their patties.

Eat This Instead: Mushroom & Swiss Burger
431 calories
20 g fat (9 g saturated)
551 mg sodium

17. WORST SANDWICH FROM DUNKIN’ DONUTS
Chicken Parmesan Flatbread
480 calories
22 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,220 mg sodium

What's the point of using low-calorie flatbread if you're just going to stuff it with fried chicken and cheese? Sadly, Dunkin's chicken sandwiches only get worse from here. The flatbread cohort offers some pretty reliable options. All of them come with a hefty dose of protein, and only one—the Chicken Parm—has more than 400 calories.

Eat This Instead: Turkey Cheddar & Bacon Flatbread
390 calories
19 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,090 mg sodium

16. WORST SANDWICH FROM HARDEE’S
Charbroiled Chicken Club Sandwich
560 calories
30 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,430 mg sodium

What goes into a club at Hardee’s? Cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise—the unholy trinity of sandwich toppings. Try the Little Thick Cheeseburger, instead. With this burger, Hardee’s has achieved what so many other restaurants fail to do: Create a quarter-pound cheeseburger with fewer than 500 calories. Remember this the next time you have a hankering for red meat.

Eat This Instead: Little Thick Cheeseburger
450 calories
23 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,180 mg sodium

15. WORST SANDWICH FROM HOOTERS
Smothered Chicken Sandwich
800 calories

It’s not just fried and “crispy” chicken you need to watch for; even the straight grilled stuff often comes at an unexpectedly high caloric price. Truth is, this is nothing more than a chicken cheese steak with 200 mystery calories tacked on. Go for the Philly Cheese Steak instead. Yes, it’s hard to believe that a steak sandwich beats out a chicken sandwich, but we’ve seen stranger things at chain restaurants. Truth is, nearly half of this sandwich’s heft comes from a rewarding trio of onions, peppers and mushrooms, and if Hooters is using sirloin here (as many cheesesteak slingers do), then they’ve nailed the recipe for a solid sandwich.

Eat This Instead: Philly Cheese Steak
600 calories

14. WORST SANDWICH FROM JIMMY JOHN’S
Italian Night Club
951 calories
51 g fat (12 g saturated)
2,166 mg sodium

Most traditional cured Italian meats (think salami, pepperoni, and capicola) are utterly packed with fat and salt. Stick to the more common toppers—turkey, ham, chicken, and roast beef—and avoid exotic-sounding meats. Try a Big John with grey poupon (instead of the traditional bread-buckling load of mayonnaise) to bring the sandwich to an even more admirable 349 calories.

Eat This Instead: Big John
533 calories
24 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,014 mg sodium

13. WORST SANDWICH AT KFC
Crispy Twister
580 calories
30 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,250 mg sodium

The crispy chicken is not the only problem here—there’s also a heft of carbs in the tortilla and a load of fat in the “pepper mayo sauce” to worry about. Not even Original Recipe chicken can drop this thing below 500 calories. Opt for the KFC Snackers Honey BBQ instead, which is the leanest of all KFC’s Snackers.

Eat This Instead: KFC Snackers Honey BBQ
420 calories
6 g fat (2 g saturated)
940 mg sodium

12. WORST SANDWICH AT LONG JOHN SILVER’S
Fish Sandwich
470 calories
23 f fat (5 g saturated)
1,210 mg sodium

The American Heart Association recommends keeping your trans fat intake below 1 percent of your total calories. How does this sandwich fare? Not well: 9 percent of its calories come in the form of the dangerous oil. The rule at Long John Silver’s is that if the fish isn’t grilled, it just isn’t safe. Go for the Grilled Pacific Salmon instead. Salmon has more omega-3 fats than any other fish in the sea, and it hasn’t been dipped in LSJ’s trans-fatty frying oil. That means you’re swapping out the world’s worst fats for the world’s best.

Eat This Instead: Grilled Pacific Salmon
245 calories
8 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
440 mg sodium

11. THE WORST LUNCH SANDWICH AT MCDONALD’S
Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich
530 calories
17 g fat (6 g saturated)
1,410 mg sodium

Mayonnaise and bacon destroy any benefit you might have earned by ordering this sandwich grilled instead of crispy. Go for the McDouble instead. This new addition to the Dollar Menu is the best double burger we’ve encountered, and even if you decide to add extra cheese, you’re only looking at a 50-calorie tariff.

Eat This Instead: McDouble
390 calories
19 g fat (8 g saturated)
920 mg sodium

10. THE WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH AT MCDONALD’S
McSkillet Burrito with Sausage
610 calories
36 g fat (14 g saturated)
1,390 mg sodium

Outside of the disastrous Deluxe Breakfasts, this is the single worst item on the morning menu. Start your day this way and you’ll have just 6 grams of saturated fat and 1,000 milligrams of sodium to negotiate with the rest of the day. Go for the Egg McMuffin with hash browns and coffee, instead. A nice balance of protein, fats, and carbs makes the McMuffin one of our all-time favorite breakfast sandwiches.

Eat This Instead: Egg McMuffin (with hash browns and coffee)
450 calories
21 g fat (6.5 g saturated)
1,130 mg sodium

9. THE WORST SANDWICH AT PANERA
Chipotle Chicken on Artisan French Bread
1,020 calories
57 g fat (20.5 g saturated)
1,900 mg sodium

Panera’s Signature Sandwich menu houses some of the biggest gutbombs in the entire restaurant, so minimize the damage by sticking to the Café sandwiches. With the bulk of Panera’s sandwiches floating in the 700- to 900- calorie range, the Chicken Bacon Dijon on French Bread emerges in the lead as the clear winner. Just be sure to watch your sodium intake for the rest of the day.

Eat This Instead: Chicken Bacon Dijon on French Bread
650 calories
24 g fat (11 g saturated)
1,140 mg sodium

8. THE WORST SANDWICH AT QUIZNOS
Prime Rib Cheesesteak Sandwich
670 calories
41 g fat (10 g saturated)
1,085 mg sodium

Quiznos relies heavily on bottled sauces, which creates a wide discrepancy between the best and worst subs on their sandwich menu. This fat-laden faux-Philly sub is officially the worst on offer. For a leaner option, try the Roadhouse Steak Sammie. At a mere 195 calories, it’s the best, but none of them stray beyond the 300-calorie range.

Eat This Instead: Roadhouse Steak Sammie (and a cup of chili with crackers)
380 calories
12 g fat (3 g saturated)
1,335 mg sodium

7. THE WORST SANDWICH AT RUBY TUESDAY
Turkey Minis
1,058 calories
58 g fat
79 g carbohydrates

Generally, you can count on sandwiches to outperform wraps in the battle for nutritional honors, but Ruby’s Minis are the exception to the rule. If you must have Minis, order them as double. You’ll get two burgers instead of four, but you’ll also save a couple hundred calories. A better option is the Turkey Burger Wrap, which takes a rare (and nutritionally savvy) approach by using mustard in place of fatty mayonnaise. This move puts it hundreds of calories ahead of most other wraps in the country.

Eat This Instead: Turkey Burger Wrap>
551 calories
19 g fat
44 g carbohydrates

6. THE WORST SANDWICH AT SCHLOTZSKY’S
Original-Style Turkey Sandwich
831 calories
35 g fat (14 g saturated)
2,529 mg sodium

Half the medium subs on the menu break the 700-calorie barrier, and few sound as harmless as this one. The problem is the salami and three types of cheese. Eat a Smoked Turkey Breast Sandwich, instead. It has no secrets. Or, you can save nearly 300 calories and eat a delicious Mediterranean Pizza. Even with two types of cheese, this pizza competes with the best medium-size subs on the menu. Just be sure to keep your sodium in check for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, Schlotzsky’s has a bad habit of lacing their items with more salt than you should eat in one sitting.

Eat This Instead: Mediterranean Pizza
560 calories
20 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,581 mg sodium

5. THE WORST SANDWICH AT SONIC
Chicken Club Toaster Sandwich
740 calories
46 g fat (11 g saturated)
1,740 mg sodium

This sandwich suffers from a gut-bloating trio of cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise. You’re better off with any other Toaster Sandwich on the menu. That includes both the Bacon Cheeseburger and Country Fried Steak versions. Try the BLT Toaster instead. Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches are far better than you’ve probably given them credit for. It has 170 fewer calories than any other Toaster Sandwich, making it one of the best sandwiches on Sonic’s menu.

Eat This Instead: BLT Toaster Sandwich
500 calories
29 g fat (7 g saturated)
950 mg sodium

4. THE WORST SANDWICH AT STARBUCK’S
Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwich (with Grande Berry Chai Infusion)
740 calories
12 g fat (2 g saturated)
73 g sugar
1,335 mg sodium

We applaud Starbucks for using light mayo in their chicken salad, but it’s not enough to keep this sandwich from being the worst lunch option on the menu. What’s worse is the Berry Chai Infusion: It has more sugar than three Twinkies. Choose, instead, a sandwich prepared with pesto instead of mayonnaise. It decreases the quantity while increasing the quality of fats in your lunch—just be sure you don’t wash it down with a sugar-loaded beverage bomb. A cloyingly sweet drink is the fastest route to lunchtime disaster at Starbucks.

Eat This Instead: Turkey Cranberry Pesto (with Grande Green Shaken Iced Tea)
480 calories
19 g fat (2 g saturated)
26 g sugars
990 mg sodium

3. THE WORST LUNCH SANDWICH AT SUBWAY
Meatball Marinara
580 calories
23 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,660 mg sodium

Subway’s fat-loaded meatballs make this the biggest blemish on the restaurant’s menu. Go for a footlong, and you’re facing more than half your day’s calories, nearly the entire day’s saturated fat, and well over a day’s worth of sodium. Opt for the Steak and Cheese instead. This particular sub didn’t make the cut for the roundup of Jared’s Favorites, but that doesn’t make it a bad lunch option. In fact, crafting your sandwich with steak instead of chicken breast adds only 22 calories to your sub. That’s a manageable tariff for such a generous upgrade. Now pile on the produce.

Eat This Instead: Steak and Cheese
390 calories
10 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
1,670 mg sodium

2. WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH AT SUBWAY
Sausage & Cheese Flatbread Breakfast Sandwich
740 calories
25 g fat (11 g saturated)
1,210 mg sodium

So you really love sausage? Okay, fine, but are you willing to gain 13 pounds a year over it? That’s exactly what you’re looking at if you make a choice like this three times a week. We’ll take the ham and pocket the calories every time. Go for the Black Forest Ham & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich. You won’t find a breakfast sandwich with fewer than 400 calories at Subway, and this one is you best option. But what gives these sandwiches good A.M. potential is the option to load them up with lunchtime fixings. Pile on the spinach, peppers, onions and anything else from the produce department.

Eat This Instead: Black Forest Ham & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
450 calories
19 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,450 mg sodium

1. WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH AT WENDY’S
Chicken Club Sandwich
550 calories
26 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,290 mg sodium

The three strips of bacon, Swiss cheese, and a load of mayo are basically three types of fat on top of a piece of chicken that’s already been fried in fat. Any other chicken sandwich or wrap on the menu will save you at least 100 calories. Try, for example, the Spicy Chicken Fillet Sandwich. It’s a truly rare specimen; crispy fried chicken, slathered with mayo, with fewer than 500 calories. Wendy’s has somehow managed to pull off this feat of culinary craftsmanship, so if you want to indulge, this is the best way to do so without inflicting any waistline destruction.

Eat This Instead: Spicy Chicken Fillet Sandwich
440 calories
16 g fat (3 g saturated fat)
1,200 mg sodium

Source: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/30-worst-sandwiches-america

Are You Cheating Yourself by Choosing the Treadmill?

2010-03-02T17:39:00.002-06:00

What's Better: the Treadmill or the Open Road?

When it comes to running (and walking), you have two types of people: those who adore the outdoors and those who would rather have their try at the treadmill. I've heard countless reasons from each type of runner on exactly why they choose to run indoors or out, but for the newbie runner, it can be confusing. Which is better? Is there really a big difference between the treadmill and the sidewalk? Which offers a higher calorie burn? What are the pros and cons of each option?

In order to clear up confusion and settle this debate once and for all, we're pitting treadmill running vs. outdoor running. In this head-to-head match, we'll rate indoor and outdoor running's pros and cons on different and important variables. Read on to find out which type of running reigns supreme for you!

Surface
On the treadmill, you run on one surface: the treadmill belt. This is good because it's flat and has some give for your knees, as long as the belt is properly waxed and cared for. On the other hand, the treadmill is flat and, even with an incline, doesn't give your muscles the same variability or challenge that you'd get outside.

Running outside gives you greater variability and challenge because of the changes in terrain and slope, but if you're running on the cement sidewalks or asphalt, running can be very jarring on your knees and joints. When it's wet or icy, it can also be quite risky. Running on a trail or track is best on your body for outdoor running, but depending on where you live, may not be available.

Tips: For those with bad knees, the treadmill or a cushioned running track is probably best. And for those who love the treadmill, don't forget to use that incline button every once in awhile to add some hills into your workout.

Climate
When you run on a treadmill, you pretty much know that the temperature is going to be in the upper 60s or lower 70s. You know what to wear to regulate your body temperature, and there's no wind, rain, snow to battle. But treadmill runners miss out on the sunshine (and the vitamin D it provides) and outdoor experience that so many people crave.

When the weather is a perfect 68 degrees and the sun is shining, it's hard to imagine wanting to run indoors. But when it's dark, cold, rainy or windy, the weather can really play a factor in your comfort level, performance and safety. In the winter, if you're not properly prepared, you can get frostbite, get dehydrated, slip and fall on ice, or even pull a muscle and be stranded miles away from home. Extreme heat also has its risks. And for people suffering from seasonal allergies, outdoor exercise isn't even an option sometimes.

Tips: For carefree running year-round, it's hard to beat the treadmill. For those outdoor runners, be sure to always dress in layers, and carry your ID, cell phone and some change just in case of emergencies. And to treadmill runners, don't be afraid to get out there and enjoy it when the weather is beautiful.

Feedback
What's great about the treadmill is that you always easily know exactly what's going on with your run. You know how far you've gone, how many calories you've burned (or at least an estimated count) and how fast you're moving and the steepness of your incline. The treadmill is perfect for doing interval training because it's so easy to watch your pace and speed up or slow down your speed accordingly. But for those who are discouraged by watching the clock or seeing these stats, they can be hard to avoid on the giant console right in front of your eyes.

Running outdoors obviously doesn't have the bells and whistles of the treadmill, but it can be a nice break from technology. Many of us spend so much time in front of the computer that being outdoors in nature is a great and rejuvenating break. For those who want it, there are plenty of portable gadgets that can give you all of the same real-time running stats (pace, distance, time and more) for a fraction of the cost of a treadmill. So whether you want the solitude or the data, there's an outdoor option for you.

Tips: If you're a treadmill runner and find that you're always watching the clock tick by, throw a towel over the feedback display. If you’re outdoors and want more feedback, invest in a running gadget (such as the Nike+ sportband or the Garmin Forerunner) to track your speed and distance.

Fun Factor
Although many treadmill runners swear by watching TV or listening to music to keep them motivated, on the whole, most people find the treadmill to be a tad boring—especially if you're always at the gym (or you can't nab a treadmill by a TV). Let's be honest: It can be boring (and a little odd) to put in all that work but not really go anywhere. However, most treadmills also have workout programs that automatically change up your incline or speed, which can shake things up a bit.

There is just so much more to look at and think about when you're running outside, thanks to the changing scenery. If you're in a park, the people watching alone can keep you entertained for miles. Many outdoor runners have no qualms about running without their iPods or external motivation sources because the scenery alone is enough to entertain them. And by varying your route regularly, it never gets boring. Plus, you can run outdoors in a purposeful way: to the bank, to the post office, or to work, while a treadmill run will always be running in place.

Tips: Whether you're running inside or out, run with a buddy! That always makes the time fly.

Functionality
Even with the programs, feedback and incline changes, treadmill running is a stationary movement on a motorized belt. No matter how much you enjoy it, it's kind of a one-hit wonder. The best workouts will improve your ability to do everyday things—like play with your kids or get to first base faster in that softball game. While treadmill running is a fantastic workout and will improve your fitness level, it doesn't mimic how you will walk or run in a real-life situation. Even a seasoned treadmill runner in great shape will have a harder time running the same speed or distance when outdoors—because outdoor running is more challenging and uses your body differently. On the flipside, the general safety and stability of a treadmill will allow you to do lateral movements and even backwards walking, which are great ways to cross-train that you might not attempt outdoors.

Running outdoors is extremely functional. Even when you think you're running on flat ground, the ground is never completely flat. This means your foot, leg and core muscles are constantly making small adjustments to contend with the varying surfaces. These small muscle movements are important for your coordination, balance and ability to do everyday things. It may not sound significant, but it really makes a difference: The more muscles you can recruit in any given movement, the more calories you will burn and fitness you will build.

Tips: If you're a hardcore treadmill runner, do not be afraid to take that run outdoors occasionally. Even if you can't run as far as you can on the treadmill, know that you're doing your body good by running outside. But outdoor runners shouldn't fear that the treadmill will decrease their fitness level. As long as you're getting a balance of outdoor running, you're golden.

Difficulty Level
If the section above was any indication, treadmill workouts are by easier and less intense than outdoor ones. They utilize less muscle fibers, coordination, and balance and actually help propel you forward so that you do less of the work. In addition, there are handles for support (if needed), making a treadmill a great way for a beginner (or person with joint or balance issues) to get fit. But not every treadmill workout has to be easy. By bumping up the incline, you'll counteract that propelling motion of the belt and by increasing your speed, you can get a great workout. Ultimately, treadmills offer a lot of variety in difficulty level.

Outdoor running and walking doesn't have to be hard, especially because you have so much control over how fast you choose to go. Flat, paved paths will be easiest for beginners and people with balance issues, but they're not always easy to find. Overall, outdoor running is more functional, uses more muscle fibers and burns more calories for the same amount of work when compared with a treadmill.

Tips: By selecting the proper terrain, incline and speed, you can cater an indoor or outdoor workout to your fitness and ability levels.

Safety
In general, your chances of slipping, falling, encountering extreme weather conditions or being attacked are probably a lot lower when you're indoors on a treadmill. For people who exercise alone, in the early or late hours, or in an unsafe area of town, the treadmill can provide a lot of peace of mind. Although there are many things to consider when picking your workout mode, you should never skimp on safety. That said, a treadmill is no guarantee that you won't injure yourself. Plenty of people can lose their footing, trip or overheat when exercising indoors.

Because of the changes in weather and terrain, mixed with traffic and other parameters, outdoor running is riskier for most people. While you can take a lot of precautions to stay as safe as possible, there is no guarantee that they'll work out in your favor.

Tips: Use your best judgment and always be aware of your form, footing and surroundings, whether you're indoors or out. Many accidents and injuries can be prevented just by paying attention and keeping safety at the forefront of your mind.

As you can see, both types of running have their pros and cons. At the end of the day, running—on whatever surface you and your body enjoys the most—is the best pick for you because that means you're going to stick with it. And don't forget, variety is the spice of life, so don't be afraid to run outside some days and inside on others. Life is too short to suffer through boring workouts, so enjoy yourself and make every stride count!

Source: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1461

(the aspartame song) Super Size My Aspartame by TRILLION

2010-03-02T09:24:00.003-06:00

Super Size My Aspartame by trillion
(lyrics)

"hi, can i take your order?"

"yes, I'll have the depression, insomnia, migraines,
muscle cramps and chronic fatigue thanks..."

"so that's 4 packs of gum for you sir, anything else with that?..."

"ah.. and the chemical soup..."

"so that's a diet soda and 4 packets of gum, that comes to $4.60 thank you sir"

(sample - Sage Francis)
"they tell me that it's not that bad -- it fucks you up good but it's not that bad"

(chorus)
leave it in the fridge -- or right there it on shelf
cause it's time to grow up and take care of yourself
you don't put water in the petrol tank, so why ya puttin petrol in your water tank...
you'd think grown ups would be sure to think . so think about what you oughta drink
cos you aren't a baby now...

danger! Danger!
NutraSweet - Equal - Aspartame
it's poison...
danger! Danger!

"today we are talking about as-par-tame or aspart-a-me... it's the same thing.."

yo Someone will be peeved that I crash the game
cos those suckers wanna leave you with a plastic brain
It's drastic. They're sane but they act deranged
just read up all the facts about Aspartame
It's aspartic acid, methanol and phenylalanine as carrier;
which easily helps it get through the blood-brain barrier,
methanol is the poison in Metholated spirits and
it's a solvent and fuel in common death related irritants
it becomes formaldehyde and your body cant break it down...

eating Formaldehyde is deceit because your health's denied

so then it travels through your body depositing in your tissue.
The likely end is in your brain and to slowly dismiss you.
and look who's at the helm of this dreadful rotten barge
it's Captain Monsanto and it's deadly entourage

(chorus)
leave it in the fridge -- or right there it on shelf
cause it's time to grow up and take care of yourself
you don't put water in the petrol tank, so why ya puttin petrol in your water tank...
you'd think grown ups would be sure to think . so think about what you oughta drink
cos you aren't a baby now...

danger! Danger!
NutraSweet - Equal - Aspartame
it's poison...
danger! Danger!

dying to be thin -- crying, trying to fit in
expiring in the gym after buying diet slims
a grim outlook - a lunch brim full of naught
We've got more than a hunch but these crims are never caught
we can't trust insider studies - dump the books
cos the FDA are a bunch of crooks
allegiance to evil, deceit and bad facts
a seizure's the sequel of disease in lab rats
doctors see it in people on reprise of flagged snacks
it's a reason for unease in knees and bad backs

(bridge)
blasphemous swindlers playing tricks on the blind
the facts are like kindling -- sticks in your mind
then your action is instinct and quickly defined
so when you're actually dwindling it kicks you in line.

(chorus)
leave it in the fridge -- or right there it on shelf
cause it's time to grow up and take care of yourself
you don't put water in the petrol tank, so why ya puttin petrol in your water tank...
you'd think grown ups would be sure to think . so think about what you oughta drink
cos you are a big kid now...

danger! Danger!
NutraSweet -- Equal - Aspartame
it's poison...
danger! Danger!

"The corporations that make diet chemicals are the pharmaceutical companies making the medications that treat the symptoms from the use of these chemical sweeteners."

"oh hi, welcome back, can I help you sir?"

"hi, I'll have those anti-depressants, please"

"anything else? Would you like that super-sized?"

"yeah yeah, make it extra large thanks..."

"good choice sir, we wouldnt want you thinking and causing trouble..."

My Aspartame - Trillion

avoid all artificial sweeteners. they are no good for you!

thanks to Woodrow Monte
http://www.thetruthaboutstuff.com/

more research see:
http://www.thetruthaboutstuff.com/
http://www.myaspartameexperiment.com
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/aspartame.html
http://wudhi.com/aspartame/index.htm
http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/index.htm
http://www.dorway.com
http://www.safefood.org.nz/diefordrink.htm
http://stateandlake.net/ado/content/view/94/50/
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2006/050406goodforyou.htm
http://www.dldewey.com/columns/asparstu.htm
http://www.whale.to/a/bowen.html

www.myspace.com/trilli0n

The Danger of Daily Aspirin

2010-02-26T17:24:00.000-06:00

If you're taking a daily aspirin for your heart, you may want to reconsider.

For years, many middle-aged people have taken the drug in hopes of reducing the chance of a heart attack or stroke. Americans bought more than 44 million packages of low-dose aspirin marketed for heart protection in the year ended September, up about 12% from 2005, according to research firm IMS Health.

Now, medical experts say some people who are taking aspirin on a regular basis should think about stopping. Public-health officials are scaling back official recommendations for the painkiller to target a narrower group of patients who are at risk of a heart attack or stroke. The concern is that aspirin's side effects, which can include bleeding ulcers, might outweigh the potential benefits when taken by many healthy or older people.

"Not everybody needs to take aspirin," says Sidney Smith, a professor at the University of North Carolina who is chairing a new National Institutes of Health effort to compile treatment recommendations on cardiovascular-disease prevention. Physicians are beginning to tailor aspirin recommendations to "groups where the benefits are especially well established," he says.

Doctors generally agree that most patients who have already suffered a heart attack or ischemic stroke, the type caused by a clot or other obstruction blocking an artery to the brain, should take regular low-dose aspirin. But for people without heart disease, the newest guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force spell out much more clearly than before when aspirin should be administered.

The guidelines, announced last year, suggest aspirin for certain men 45 to 79 years old with elevated heart-disease risk because of factors like cholesterol levels and smoking. For women, the guidelines don't focus on heart risk. Instead, the task force recommends certain women should take aspirin regularly if they are 55 to 79 and are in danger of having an ischemic stroke, for reasons that could include high blood pressure and diabetes.

The panel urged doctors to factor in conditions that could increase a patient's risk of bleeding from aspirin, which tends to rise with age. The group didn't designate a dose, but suggested that an appropriate amount might be 75 milligrams a day, which is close to the 81mg contained in low-dose, or "baby," aspirin. The task force didn't take a position on aspirin for people who are 80 and older because of a lack of data in this age group.

Aspirin Advice

Doctors have been scaling back their aspirin recommendations for people who don't already have heart disease. Here are the current guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Aspirin recommended for:
* Some men 45 and older with risk factors for heart disease, assuming no history of ulcers or other bleeding dangers.
* Some women 55 and older with risk factors for stroke, and no history of bleeding danger.

Aspirin not recommended for:
* Men younger than 45, and women younger than 55.
* Anyone 80 and older.

Other medical researchers dispute the idea that there should be different guidelines for men and women. Still, many experts agree that doctors may have been recommending aspirin to people for whom the risks might outweigh the benefits.

Aspirin acts as a blood thinner, which is believed to account for much of its benefit of protecting against heart attacks and strokes. But that same action, along with a tendency to deplete the stomach's protective lining, can lead to a danger of gastrointestinal bleeding and possibly bleeding in the brain.

The task force issued its latest guidelines after reviewing the evidence from a number of studies on aspirin's benefits and risks. The recommendations update the panel's previous guidelines from 2002, which were more broadly written. Those suggested aspirin use for people of any age who were at elevated risk of heart disease.

"We would like doctors to re-look at their patients who are on aspirin and consider recommending stopping it where the chance of harm outweighs the benefit," says Ned Calonge, a Colorado public-health official who serves as the task force's chairman. He notes, however, that in studies of healthy people taking aspirin, the actual rates of bleeding and of prevented heart attacks were very low.

Not all patients accustomed to taking aspirin will want to stop. Maxine Fischer, 55 years old, recently figured out that under the new U.S. guidelines, she wouldn't be encouraged to continue with the drug. Using an online calculator, which factored such data as her age, blood pressure and medical history, she learned she had just a 1% likelihood of a stroke in the next 10 years. Under the guidelines, only women in her age group with at least a 3% or higher stroke risk should take aspirin.

Ms. Fischer, who works as a manager for seniors' lobby AARP in San Diego, has taken aspirin daily for two years after reading it could reduce the risk of stroke. For the moment, she says she'll keep it up, partly because she's more worried about strokes than ulcers. Strokes are "the big scary thing," she says.

Other patients say they would stick with aspirin because of other benefits attributed to the drug; past research has suggested that regular aspirin may reduce the risk of colon cancer, for instance. Virginia Douglas, 64, a retired trade-association executive, takes aspirin a few times a week. In addition to the possibly reduced risk of stroke, Ms. Douglas hopes to avoid colon cancer, which affected her father and grandfather. "There's always a new study with a new recommendation," says Ms. Douglas, of Sacramento, Calif. "You have to do what's best for you."

In a separate analysis, published in medical journal Lancet last May, an international group of scientists reached a broadly similar conclusion as did the U.S. task force—that doctors may have been recommending aspirin too widely. "You really have to have a clear margin of benefit over hazard before you should be treating healthy people," says Colin Baigent, a professor at Oxford University who coordinated the Lancet analysis.

What Aspirin Does

Aspirin's effects in the body can have good and bad implications.

* Blood thinner: It inhibits clotting, which helps reduce the risk of heart attack and ischemic stroke but increases the danger of bleeding.
* Inflammation reducer: It lessens pain and fever by preventing production of the hormone-like substances called prostaglandins. But this can also deplete a protective layer in the stomach and increase the risk of ulcers.

What You Can Do

If you want to figure out if the newest guidelines recommend aspirin for you, here's where to check:

* At ahrq.gov, type 'aspirin and prevention' into the search box, and the new guidelines will come up in the results. Click on 'clinical summary' for a table that explains what people of different ages should do, and includes links to online calculators to help you figure out your risk of heart attack or stroke. You should also speak to your doctor.
* An analysis published in the British journal the Lancet, which reached somewhat different conclusions.
* A letter from the task force responding to the Lancet authors' findings.

Still, the Lancet authors disagreed with the U.S. panel on some important details, particularly about who should be taking aspirin. The two groups examined evidence largely from the same studies of the drug, although the international team analyzed the data differently. In the end, the international team of scientists, unlike the U.S. officials, concluded that aspirin's effects on men and women were mostly the same.

Another disagreement between the two groups also emerged: The U.S. task force said that age is the biggest factor determining a person's risk of internal bleeding from aspirin. But the international team said other factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, also play a significant role. Unfortunately, the scientists noted, the same factors that increase patients' risk of bleeding also increase their risk of developing heart disease. This, in turn, can make it more difficult to calculate whether the benefits of aspirin would outweigh the risks of side effects.

The U.S. task force responded with a letter to the Lancet, defending its finding that men and women's results did appear different. There is a "wealth of evidence that men and women have different cardiovascular disease manifestations and respond differently to aspirin," the letter said. The panel also reiterated its position that bleeding risk is best parsed by age.

Amid the debate, some individual doctors are finding their own position. Rodney Hayward, who codirects a Veterans Affairs research center in Ann Arbor, Mich., says he's not convinced that aspirin's effects on men and women are so different. He says he continues to recommend aspirin for certain patients of both sexes with significant heart risk.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704511304575075701363436686.html?mod=yhoofront

What Your Face Reveals About Your Health

2010-02-23T09:24:00.002-06:00

What do you see when you look in the mirror? According to Chinese medicine, your face is a window to your health. Your forehead, nose, chin, right cheek, left cheek: Each of these five face zones gives you clues to what is going on inside your body--if you know what to look for! Read on to decode what your face reveals about you.

How Traditional Chinese Medicine Reads the Body to Detect Disease

Most people don't realize that their face provides information about what's going on beneath the surface. Your body speaks a unique language to communicate the imbalances within it. Chinese medicine has mastered the art and science of reading the body's language over its five thousand year practice. Each part of your face reflects a different element from the Chinese 5-Element network (fire, earth, water, metal, and wood), which in turn, corresponds to a particular organ grouping. Your reflection offers visual cues to what may be happening within your internal systems--such as your heart, stomach, hormones and even your mind and spirit.

In some situations visual cues will immediately alert you of an issue, and you can take measures immediately. But the real value of self-inspection is in detecting subtle imbalances and dealing with them preventively through diet, herbal supplementation, and lifestyle practices. By reading your body, you can take care of small problems before they become big health issues.

The Forehead

According to Chinese medicine, the forehead corresponds to the fire element. This is associated with the heart and small intestine organ network, as well as the mind and spirit.

Forehead: Fire Element - Heart/Small Intestine

When examining your forehead, look for redness or small blood vessels that appear as discoloration, which could indicate a heart problem. Skin discoloration could also be caused by a recent emotionally-charged experience, such as a breakup or loss. It is common for people whose emotions are regularly in turmoil to have a constant furrow between their eyebrows.

A heart attack can often be foretold by a subtle bluish-green hue on the forehead. If you have discoloration on your forehead accompanied by heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, and tingling or pain in your left arm, schedule an appointment with a cardiologist or visit an emergency room, if necessary.

Your Nose

Your nose corresponds to the earth element, indicating a connection to the stomach, spleen and pancreas network.

Nose: Earth Element - Spleen/Pancreas/Stomach

Symptoms of internal discord typically show up as a pimple on the tip or side of your nose. Think back to your meals from the previous day. Did you eat a lot of spicy, deep-fried, fatty, or rich foods? How about chocolate? If the answer is "yes," your choice of cuisine could be the problem. As a result, you may suffer from indigestion, constipation, or diarrhea.

Broken capillaries or redness across the bridge of the nose could reveal alcohol abuse, or it may simply mean excessive worry and stress, which taxes your earth element network. I had a patient who would de-stress from her taxing executive job with alcohol and sweets, and her nose always gave these indiscretions away. I recommended she calm her nerves in healthier ways, like meditation and other stress-releasing techniques.

Your Chin

The chin area is related to the water element, which is internally associated to your kidney and bladder organ network, including the hormonal system and glands.

Chin: Water Element - Kidney/Bladder

Blemishes, discoloration and dark patches of skin around the chin and mouth could indicate problems within the kidneys or bladder. Recurrent acne breakouts around your chin may signify a hormonal imbalance. The problem is most often due to the body producing excess estrogen or testosterone and tends to be coupled with irregular menstruation in women and prostate symptoms in men.

Be sure to also look at your philtrum, the indentation just above your lips. This small area relates to the uterus and ovaries in women and the prostate and genitals in men. Horizontal lines, blemishes or discoloration across the philtrum may indicate infertility issues due to problems such as endometriosis or uterine fibroid cysts.

According to Chinese medicine, people who have a small chin are genetically predispositioned to weakness in their kidney and bladder network. However, this doesn't mean that small-chinned people will develop kidney disease. The information is simply an alert that a tendency may exist, and patients can choose to make lifestyle changes to prevent the development of a condition.

Your Right Cheek

Your right cheek corresponds to the metal element, meaning this area of your face is connected to the lung and large intestine network.

Right Cheek: Metal Element - Lung/Large Intenstine

Problems in the lung and large intestine network present themselves as discoloration, blemishes and skin problems on your right cheek. A mild acne breakout, eczema patch or slight redness may mean a cold is coming on. Lung illness or upper respiratory ailments also trigger visual symptoms on the right cheek.

People who are prone to respiratory allergies or asthma have a tendency to have a reddish, scaly eczema, a slight rash or slight bluish-green hue along the right cheek--showing too much heat or inflammation in the respiratory system, or a lack of oxygen from bronchial constriction. One of my many pediatric patients who suffered from allergic asthma always displayed an eczema-like patch right before a flare up of her allergy attack, a very useful tip off. I instructed her mother to treat her right away with herbs for allergies to avert an asthma attack.

Your Left Cheek

The left cheek corresponds to your wood element, or the liver-gallbladder network.

Left Cheek: Wood Element - Liver/Gallbladder

Broken capillaries and redness, especially up next to the bridge of your nose, indicate heat, inflammation or congestion of toxins in the liver. Bulging veins, redness, and rash sometimes signal high blood pressure and pent-up anger. A yellowish hue under the left eye may indicate gallstones or high triglycerides or cholesterol, which are processed by the liver-gall bladder network.

Problems in this part of the face can also reveal emotional issues, such as anger and depression, since the liver and gallbladder network includes the nervous system.
Please keep in mind that there are many ways that your body alerts you to imbalances. As you learn this visual method, you'll want to be able to confirm your findings from one body part with observations from others, such as the eyes, tongue, and nails. Want to learn more? Get your own copy of Secrets of Self-Healing, where you can find in-depth information.

Keep all five elements healthy and get a whole body tune-up with a balanced combination of 44 traditional Chinese herbs that support healthy function of the bodily systems.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/24009/what-your-face-reveals-about-your-health/

Urgent: Tell the USDA What YOU Think about GMOs in Organics

2010-02-08T19:31:00.002-06:00

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently considering whether or not to approve the use of genetically engineered (GE) Roundup-Ready alfalfa. Their report says you don’t care about GMOs in organics. Comments are due to them by February 16th, so read on to hear how you can help. (Or go directly to the True Food Project’s Take Action website.)

As part of the approval process, they are required to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), a detailed analysis of how the crop will affect the environment, organic and conventional farmers, farm animals, and the public. They’ve released their EIS on GE alfalfa, and here’s how the True Food Network at The Center for Food Safety summarized the issue in a recent Action Alert:

In 2006, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its illegal approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa. The federal courts sided with CFS and banned GE alfalfa until the USDA fully analyzed the impacts of the plant on the environment, farmers, and the public in a rigorous analysis known as an environmental impact statement (or EIS). USDA released its draft EIS on December 14, 2009. A 60-day comment period is now open until February 16, 2010. This is the first time the USDA has done this type of analysis for any GE crop. Therefore, the final decision will have broad implications for all GE crops.

That Environmental Impact Statement, unfortunately, contains a number of questionable statements and conclusions. The part of the EIS that worries us the most is the claim that buyers of organic foods don’t care if those products are contaminated with GMOs (genetically modified, or genetically engineered, organisms). We know that nothing could be further from the truth, and that a huge number of our shoppers care deeply about avoiding GMOs in the foods they buy. We’ve gone to great lengths to keep GMOs out of organic foods and, through our work with The Non-GMO Project, have helped advance North America’s first standards and verification program for Non-GMO foods. We are intent on preserving our ability to provide non-GMO options for our shoppers. Every newly-approved GMO crop erodes our ability to provide non-GMO food, and leads to contamination of organic and non-GMO crops, due to pollen drift and other forms of contamination.

What can YOU do?

The True Food Project has set up a Take Action website to help you easily submit your comments to the USDA. These are due by February 16th so take the time to do it now. Please use the CFS’s form letter as a guide and personalize it as you see fit – let the USDA know exactly why you’re concerned about this issue, what you think about GMOs in your food, and what you think they should do with the approval of GE alfalfa.

In our own comments to the USDA, we emphasized a few key facts:

* Organic and natural foods consumers do care about the presence of GMOs in their food. In fact, avoiding genetically engineered ingredients is one of the key reasons that shoppers seek out organic foods.
* The contamination of organic and non-GE crops by GE material has presented a huge burden for our company and our industry.
* The unchecked proliferation of GE crops will directly harm organic producers and the integrity of the organic label.
* The approval of GE alfalfa would do more harm than previously approved GE crops, since alfalfa is a wind-pollinated perennial crop.

Everyone has their own opinion about GMOs; please tell your story to the USDA via the True Food Project action campaign by February 16th. We’d love to read what you think in the comment section below, but make sure you send your comments to the USDA first!

Source: http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2010/02/urgent-tell-the-usda-what-you-think-about-gmos-in-organics/

Natural Pain Relief for Back Pain

2010-02-01T18:39:00.005-06:00

Eight out of 10 adults in America have—or will soon experience—back pain brought on by the wear and tear of living. It seems simple to pop a pill for the pain, but why not avoid the side effects by trying natural possibilities first? You can turn to natural healing practices and herbs to alleviate back pain.

The Chinese medical perspective

According to Chinese medicine, the skeletal structure, bones, and lower back are part of the kidney network. Kidney energy tends to diminish as we age, more rapidly with unhealthy diet, excessive strain, and youthful indiscretions such as drug and alcohol use. Weakness in the kidney network results in symptoms of lower back pain, as well as general weakness, fatigue, and other signs of premature aging. Replenishing kidney energy is a slow and difficult process; that is why it is essential to preserve kidney energy. Fortunately, through qigong exercises, herbs, proper diet and lifestyle, you can slow down its depletion and even regenerate certain aspects of kidney energy, and in the process, ease some of your back pain. Try these tips!

1. Eucommia for your aching back

Eucommia is a traditional ingredient in herbal formulas for back and joint pain and helps to strengthen your bones, tendons, and ligaments. Western studies with rats have discovered that both the leaves and the bark of eucommia contain a compound that encourages the development of collagen, an important part of connective tissues like skin, tendons, and ligaments. A typical dosage is 350 mg twice a day. You can also try the traditional Chinese Arthritis/Joint formula, which includes eucommia and other herbs that support a strong back.

2. Press here for relief

Lower back pain is one of the most common problems that we treat at the Tao of Wellness. We use acupuncture and bodywork to reduce pain, which has proven quite effective. Like acupuncture, acupressure is the art of acupuncture without needles, where you use your own fingers to stimulate a specific acupoint. The combination of the following two acupoints is good for strengthening the kidneys and alleviating back pain:

• Find the acupoint: Forceful Torrent (Ki-3), which is in the depression between the inner anklebone and the Achilles tendon of the right foot. Apply steady pressure with your right thumb until you feel soreness. Hold for 3 minutes. Repeat on the left foot.

• Find the acupoint: Supporting the Core. It's in the middle of the popliteal crease behind the knee of the right leg. Apply pressure with your right middle finger until you feel soreness. Hold for 3 minutes. Repeat on your left leg.

You can also massage the parts or your back that are in pain. Tonic oil, which consists of oils of camphor, peppermint, eucalyptus, fennel, and wintergreen, can be massaged into your back for relief from minor aches and pains. For a traditional blend of tonic oil in a pure sesame oil base, click here.

3. Tasty treats for back pain

Make a delicious anti-inflammatory cocktail by mixing equal parts of unsweetened black cherry juice with dark grape juice and drink 3 to 6 glasses a day until the pain has eased. Also, feature more pineapple in your diet. Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain, which is a natural anti-inflammatory that helps with back pain, as well as muscle and joint pain.

4. Exercise can ease your back

Most back pain is caused by the wear and tear of living, which over time weakens our skeletal structure, in the form of bone loss or a displaced disk. Research conclusively shows that exercise early in life builds bone mass and strengthens the skeletal structure, helping to prevent injury down the road. The good news is that if you are advancing in age, regular exercise can slow the progress of degenerative bone disorders. Generally for a healthy back, I recommend a combination of exercises: a 30-minute daily walk, moderate weight training to strengthen muscles and bones, and tai chi or qigong to build endurance and flexibility. A good form to choose is Dao-In qigong, which is gentle on the body and great for loosening up the back. You can look for a local tai chi practitioner to teach you or learn from an instructional DVD. During acute back pain, exercise may be difficult or too painful. Until you are mobile, bed rest is the best.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/23499/natural-pain-relief-for-back-pain/

Are Your Friendships Making You Gain Weight?

2010-01-24T13:20:00.002-06:00

Perhaps you’ve heard about the studies that suggest hanging out with overeaters is more likely to make you overindulge, too. But there’s more to tipping the scale than the size of your best buds’ waistline. It all boils down to how you spend your time together. If “quality time” with friends regularly lands you at a restaurant table or bar brimming with caloric, hunger-inducing cocktails—and let’s face it, whose doesn’t?—it’s time to rethink your definition of the best ways to catch up with your pals. Next time you schedule a date, consider these five fun ways to burn calories without scorching your friendships or weight goals.

1. Be a card: Gather around a coffee table to play cards for two hours and bid about 216 calories goodbye! Browse the best board games!

2. Take a hike: Reconnect with nature and an old pal by hitting the trails. Show off your hottest workout wear and cutest athletic shoes while you leave 349 calories in the dust in just 45 minutes! Try carrying dumbbells or soup cans for an extra arm workout.

3. Have a ball: Meet up at your local bowling alley to burn 413 calories by engaging in some friendly competition for two hours.

4. Shop ‘til you drop: Make a date to go Valentine’s Day shopping. You can burn 485 calories by browsing for just three hours. Bonus: loading and unloading a car for about 20 minutes burns 72 calories!

5. Grow a garden: Set aside one hour a week with your best girl friends to get down and dirty in a brand new garden. Grow your own vegetables and then enjoy a fresh garden salad after you’ve weeded out 270 calories in just one hour!

Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/are-your-friendships-making-you-gain-weight-574681/

Raw Food and Thyroid Medication

2010-01-20T07:28:00.000-06:00

Arnold talks with Donald about how he cured himself of his thyroid issues and how he no longer needed medication after going on a raw food diet.

52 Health and Fitness Tips for the New Year

2010-01-06T15:39:00.001-06:00

Fitness tips for the new yearSince it's the beginning of a new year (which of course always includes those New Year's resolutions), we thought we would re-post this guest article by Marin fitness expert Michele Vaughan. There's one helpful tip here for each week of the year! Michele is president of The Balance Workout, Marin's premiere fitness studio.

Here are 52 things that you can do for the new year

1. Put yourself first. Write your exercise in your date book as if it were a doctor’s appointment and keep it! If we aren't healthy then we can't take care of our children or partners.

2. Put your fork down between each bite of food. It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that it is full.

3. Make dates with your girlfriends around fitness and health. Go for a walk, hike or run instead of going out to eat a high calorie lunch.

4. Never go to the grocery store hungry.

5. Don't buy anything that has white flour or sugar in it for a week.

6. Put exercise in the “brush-your-teeth” category, not the “manicure/pedicure” category.

7. Be an example for your children: eat healthy and exercise daily. They will inherit these habits. Remember, children are like sponges.

8. Get rid of your scale. Muscle weighs more than fat.

9. Drink more than 8 glasses of water a day. It is good for the skin!

10. Find an exercise class to go to with a friend and make an appointment to meet her there once a week.

11. Get an appointment with a personal trainer, and let them help you find ways to incorporate exercise into your life.

12. Only do exercise that is fun. If you don't enjoy it, you won't stick to it.

13. Work out in the mornings. Statistics show that after-work or evening workouts have a much larger attrition rate than first thing in the morning.

14. Sign up for a race with a friend and train for it.

15. Do one family event a week that involves exercise. Go for a hike, bike ride, swim, or walk.

16. Eat dinner together. Not only is it an important time to find out what happens in our children's day, it is an important time to be examples for our children's eating habits.

17. Throw your children's uneaten meals down the garbage disposal!! Don't eat their left over.

18. Eat a healthy breakfast. Women think if they start eating in the mornings they won't be able to stop. The reverse is true. If we starve ourselves in the mornings we will overeat at night.

19. Pack healthy snacks for both you and your children, so you are not tempted to grab unhealthy snacks on the run.

20. Cut up fruit and veggies and keep in the refrigerator for healthy snacking during the day.

21. Don't buy or keep junk food in the house, so you won't be tempted during the day or night.

22. Go for a walk after dinner and let your food digest.

23. Keep a food diary for one month. Write everything down that goes into your mouth. You might be surprised.

24. Order an appetizer and salad instead of a full meal at dinner.

25.Don't over-schedule yourself or your kids. It adds so much more stress than if we lighten our loads.

26. Try to eliminate sugar from your diet. Sugar produces insulin, and insulin causes us to store fat.

27. Make stretching a part of your workout. It helps prevent injuries and helps us to cool down after a workout.

28. Donate all your clothes that are too big. Don't let it be an option to go back there. Keep all the clothes that you once fit into and make it a goal to get back there.

29. Don't eat out at restaurants more than once a week. Restaurant meals average 800 more calories than if we eat at home.

30. Count how many minutes you spend in line at Starbucks each day and match it with a workout that lasts as long.

31. Challenge a spouse or friend to health or fitness goal. And put a date on it.

32. Buy a healthy cookbook and make a new meal once a week.

33. Limit your children's screen time to 30 minutes a day and allow yourself the same.

34. Limit your alcohol to only weekends.

35. Drink a sparkling water in between alcoholic beverages at parties or restaurants. It will cut the calories in half.

36. Get a relaxation CD or tape and keep it in the car. When you are in traffic or the kids are at each other, put it on. It has amazing effects.

37. Say one thing you are grateful for out loud each day. It could turn your day around.

38. On Sundays, prepare healthy soups or meals and freeze them for the week. It makes dinner easier during the week.

39. Make a list of all the healthy restaurants and make a commitment to only go to those places.

40. Take a picture of yourself with a bathing suit on, and put it on the refrigerator.

41. Find a picture of yourself when you felt good and put it next to the other picture.

43. Make an agreement with your spouse that you each get one hour a day to workout. And help each other stick to it.

44. Take a workout vacation, surf camp, yoga retreat, or to a spa with your spouse or best friend.

45. Make a workout CD or on your iPod. It truly helps to listen to our favorite music while we work out.

46. Make a goal with your spouse or partner that has a big reward at the end of it. Such as if you lose x amount of weight, you get to purchase the new watch you have been eyeing for the last year.

47. Compliment your friends and family when they have achieved something positive. Positive breeds positive.

48. Get plenty of sleep. It makes everyone happier.

49. Stop drinking soda, including diet.

50. Take 30 minutes a night and have the family read together.

51. On the days you want to blow off your workout, make a commitment to do only ten minutes instead of the usual hour. You will feel better and it will help you stay committed the next time you feel like blowing it off.

52. Eat as much high-fiber food as possible--it helps to fill us up.

Michele Vaughan has been in the fitness industry since 1980. She has a Masters of Science in Physical Education and Dance. Michele has the highest certifications of NSCA as a CSCS and ACSM Advanced Personal Trainer along with ACE group exercise, personal training, lifestyle and weight management. She has a certification in Pilates with the Stott Method, a certification in Yoga for Fitness Professionals and a certification as a Spinning Instructor.

Source: http://fwix.com/sfbay/share/f3b8fb7144/52_health_and_fitness_tips_for_the_new_year

What Foods To Avoid?

2010-01-01T15:32:00.004-06:00

We have attempted to give you a comprehensive list of what to avoid. You can see by the length of this list that most fast food establishments should be avoided - the worst offender by far is KFC®. It should become obvious as well, that the foods most likely to give someone an MSG reaction at ANY restaurant are: CHICKEN and SAUSAGE products, RANCH dressing, PARMESAN items, GRAVY, and DIPPING SAUCES and fries with any kind of seasoning on them except plain salt. FLAVORED salty snack chips that are usually sold with sandwiches are a problem - ESPECIALLY Doritos® and Cheetos® and items with cheese powder added.

At regular restaurants, you want to avoid PARMESAN encrusted ANYTHING, SOUPS, CEASAR salad, FISH SAUCE or EXTRACT, SOY SAUCE, BOAR'S HEAD® deli meats and anything that comes out of a can. Go to restaurants that make things from scratch - you can ask what is in food and also ask for special items without the offending ingredients. You WILL be glad you spoke up BEFORE you eat the wrong thing. DON'T smother your choice in the parmesan cheese at the table either- Parmesan cheese is 1% straight MSG by weight.

At your friends and relatives homes - the hardest place to avoid MSG - avoid your aunt's "secret" recipe, anything that has Accent® in it, anything with a boullion cube or meat extract or "seasoning" packet, the Latino seasoning Goya Sazon®, Lawry's® seasoning salt, Gravy Master®, tuna with "broth" or hydrolyzed or autolysed ANYTHING on the label, grandma's Jello® gelatin mold dessert, potato chip dip or hamburgers with Lipton's® Onion Soup Mix in them, Vegetable dips with Knorr® vegetable soup mix in it, Italian foods smothered in Parmesan cheese, Hamburger Helper, canned soups - especially Progresso® and tomato or mushroom soup, the "green bean casserole" heck, ANY casserole. Check packages of prepared baked items and avoid any with soy protein, casein, wheat gluten, malted barley, and non-fat dried milk as an ingredient. Avoid aspartame, Nutrasweet®, "diet" drinks and artificially sweetened desserts - ESPECIALLY gelatin. If you aren't sure - just eat the raw vegetables but don't dip them - eat them plain. Skip the hotdogs and cold cuts altogether unless you know they are safe. Have some iced tea and add plain sugar and fresh lemon. BRING foods you can eat so you aren't tempted and weak when your relatives ask why you aren't eating their prized recipe - and you cave in and poison yourself just to make them happy. Avoid Ultra-pasteurized dairy products, cheeses, cream, and half and half with carageenan added. Look for plain Pasteurized whole milk to put in your plain coffee and avoid low fat and non-fat milk - because low fat dairy products usually have dried, high-free glutamate, non-fat dried milk added to boost the protein content.

So, here is the official list which was obtained from the website links provided. (Amazing what they call food nowadays, isn't it?)

The following Fast Food menu items contain MSG or enough free glutamate to cause a reaction:

* McDonald's®
Grilled Chicken Filet
Hot and Spicy Chicken Patty
Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad
Grilled Chicken California Cobb Salad
Seasoned Beef
Sausage Scrambled Egg Mix, Sausage, and Sausage Patty
French Fries - the "seasoning" added to the oil the fries are precooked in.

The "seasoning" is made from beef, wheat and milk, processed to break down the proteins into free amino acids like glutamate. US laws allow "natural flavoring" to consist of "protein hydrolysates" containing free glutamic acid. That's why they do it - to free glutamate to act like MSG so they can declare a "clean label" while misleading the consumer.

McDonalds® Ingredient Webpage

* Burger King®
Breaded Chicken Patty
Spicy Chicken Patty
Breaded Tendercrisp Chicken
Chicken Tenders
BK Chicken Fries
Garden Veggie Patty - contains hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat - which contains free glutamate
Sausage Patty
Ranch dipping sauce
Ken's Fat Free Ranch Dressing

Burger King® Ingredient Webpage

* KFC®
Roasted Ceasar Salad (WITHOUT dressing and croutons)
Crispy Ceasar Salad (WITHOUT dressing)
Roasted BLT Salad (WITHOUT dressing)
Crispy BLT Salad (WITHOUT dressing
Hidden Valley - The Original Fat Free Ranch Dressing
KFC Creamy Parmesan Ceasar Dressing - contains parmesan cheese - very high in MSG naturally
KFC Garlic Parmesan Croutons Pouch - contains parmesan cheese - very high in MSG naturally
KFC Famous Bowls - Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Gravy
KFC Famous Bowls - Rice with Gravy
Rice
Seasoned Rice
KFC Snacker - Chicken
KFC Snacker - Honey BBQ
Honey BBQ Sandwich
Double Crunch Sandwich
Crispy Twister
Oven Roasted Twister
Oven Roasted Twister (WITHOUT sauce)
Tender Roast Sandwich
Tender Roast Sandwich(WITHOUT sauce)
Original Recipe Chicken (its in the marinade - it's literally soaked in MSG and salt)
Extra Crispy - MSG is in both the marinade AND the breading
Colonel's Crispy Strips
Popcorn Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie
Boneless HBBQ Wings
Boneless Fiery Buffalo Wings
Sweet and Spicy Boneless Wings
Hot Wings
Green Beans (yeah, this shocked us too)
Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Potato Wedges

KFC® Ingredient WebPage

* Chick - fil - A® we'll examine this menu next, but we're not optimistic, the Chicken Sandwich has MSG in it. MSG is the second ingredient in the seasonings after salt.

Chick - fil - A® Ingredient Webpage

We have not been able to get a real accounting of what is in Applebee's food, the website is particularly vague, but we have gotten many reports of MSG reactions to foods at the chain restaurants like TGI Fridays, Applebees, and most chain restaurants that have marinated and seasoned meats and that overuse parmesan and soy sauce. In our experience, the better restaurants have chefs willing to make a special meal for you, and also the owners of local eateries (not chains) where things are made from scratch will be able to tell you everything that went into your meal. Don't take chances on your health - often good chefs and chef/owners like the chance to be creative and keep a customer at the same time. The hardest part is dealing with your friends (who think you are high maintenance). It helps to eat out with friends who also have special diet requirements.

The best advice to anyone visiting a Fast Food establishment (if you have to):

AVOID all CHICKEN items
AVOID all SAUSAGE items
AVOID all PARMESAN items
AVOID all Ranch dressings - stick to oil and vinegar Italian
AVOID Croutons
AVOID KFC altogether - we're not kidding
AVOID Dipping Sauces
AVOID Gravy
AVOID TOMATO AND MUSHROOM soups

Unfortunately, certain food companies are experimenting on how to put more MSG in your MSG-free foods. We recommend you avoid ANY and all products from the following food companies - since they will NOT have a label that will alert you to the presence of free glutamic acid. They are trying to keep a clean label while increasing the amount of free glutamic acid in your food.

Nestle'
Campbells
Frito-Lay
Unilever
Dairy Management Inc.
The Mushroom Council
Ajinomoto Food Ingredients
Senomyx

The following foods contain MSG or its business end - the free amino acid glutamate - in amounts large enough to cause reactions in those sensitive to it.:

* Taco Bell® - seasoned meat - contains autolyzed yeast - which contains free glutamate
* Other menu items that contain soy sauce, natural flavors, autolyzed yeast or hydrolyzed protein which can contain up to 20% free glutamic acid - the active part of MSG.
* Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles® (targeted towards children)
* Doritos®
* Campbell's® soups - all of them - based on their commitment to add "umami" (read - MSG) to their products
* Pringles® (the flavored varieties)
* Boar's Head® cold cuts and most of their hotdogs
* Progresso® Soups - all of them
* Lipton® Noodles and Sauce
* Lipton® Instant soup mix
* Unilever or Knorr® products - often used in homemade Veggie dips.
* Kraft® products nearly all contain some free glutamate
* Gravy Master®
* Cup-a-soup® or Cup-o-Noodles®
* Planters® salted nuts - most of them
* Accent® -this is nearly pure MSG
* Braggs® Liquid Aminos - sold at Whole Foods
* Hodgson Mill Kentucky Kernel Seasoned Flour®
* Tangle extract (seaweed extract) - found in sushi rolls (even at Whole Foods) Seaweed is what MSG was first isolated from.
* Fish extract - made from decomposed fish protein - used now in Japanese sushi dishes - very high in free glutamate.
* sausages - most supermarkets add MSG to theirs
* processed cheese spread
* Marmite®
* supermarket poultry or turkeys that are injected or "self-basting"
* restaurant gravy from food service cans
* flavored ramen noodles
* boullion - any kind
* instant soup mixes
* many salad dressings
* most salty, powdered dry food mixes - read labels
* flavored potato chips
* restaurant soups made from food service soup base or with added MSG
* monopotassium glutamate
* glutamic acid
* gelatin
* hydrolyzed vegetable protein (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, like canned tuna and even hot dogs)
* hydrolyzed plant protein (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, like canned tuna and even hot dogs)
* autolyzed yeast (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, read labels)
* sodium caseinate
* textured protein
* beet juice - it is used as a coloring, but MSG is manufactured from beets and the extract may contain free glutamic acid - Yo Baby - organic baby yogurt has just changed the formula to include beet extract
* yeast extract
* yeast food or nutrient
* soy protein isolate
* soy sauce
* Worcestershire sauce
* Kombu extract
* dry milk and whey powder
* "natural flavors" - may contain up to 20% MSG
* carageenan
* dough conditioners
* malted barley
* malted barley flour - found in many supermarket breads and all-purpose flours including: King Arthur, Heckers, and Gold Medal flour
* body builder drink powders containing protein
* Parmesan cheese - naturally high in free glutamate
* over-ripe tomatoes - naturally high in free glutamate
* mushrooms - naturally high in free glutamate
* Medications in gelcaps - contain free glutamic acid in the gelatin
* Cosmetics and shampoos - some now contain glutamic acid
* Fresh produce sprayed with Auxigro in the field. (Yes the EPA approved this. It appalled us too.)

Food manufacturers are hiding MSG so you don't know where it is. Lately, food manufacturers mention a "clean label" when referring to soy sauce and other processed flavor enhancers that already contain MSG in the form of glutamic acid. Food manufacturers use these ingredients so they can claim "no added MSG". Hence a "cleaner" label. They know it's in there, they are just hoping you don't.

See exactly how food manufacturers are trying to use free glutamic acid without telling you about it: Food Product Design article

Foods that start out low in free glutamate become extremely high in free glutamate the more they are processed as shown in the following chart. Eating fresh whole foods WILL help you.

In the latest pro-MSG "news" article in the Wall Street Journal - everything old is new again as the writers try to make "umami" (the name for the flavor enhancing effect MSG has had since it was isolated in 1908) seem like something newly discovered. What is truly appalling is that in the article, MSG is said to be something consumers are trying to avoid, and at the same time, the writers tout "umami" foods while at the same time admitting that they are high in the glutamate - the business end of MSG. The makers of MSG, Ajinomoto, accurately point out that what makes an "umami" food is it's glutamate content. The "chefs" in the article KNOW that diners are trying to AVOID MSG in their food. These "chefs", like Jean-Georges Vongerichte are actually trying to INCREASE the use of MSG, not decrease it, and they find that OK because the food has a "Clean Label". The recent Cambell's soup commercial where "sea salt" is used instead of regular salt leads one to assume that "umami" figures into their motives. At least the Wall Street Journal has done us all a favor and let us in on what they are planning for your dinners. You may want to pass on their "umami bombs". And note that they don't think they can even come close to the MSG hit young men take when they eat Doritos. The "umami" pushers will continue to add straight MSG to Doritos, because they are afraid of a "riot" should the young men get less glutamate in their "umami bomb" snacks.

Just because the tongue can detect sugar, fat, and salt as well as the presence of protein - because even bound glutamic acid is typically found on the outer surface of a protein molecule, is not a mandate to add simple sugar, trans fat, and an unbalanced amount of free glutamic acid to all of our foods at the expense of other nutrients. Tell a diabetic they can eat as much sugar as they want in any food simply because their tongues were designed to taste it and let us know what they tell you, after they are done laughing at your ignorance.

The most blatant example of a so-called "clean label":

Unilever appears to be in trouble in Vietnam for marketing a product called Knorr Dam Dang as a substitute for MSG. Unfortunately for Unilever, (the makers of the Knorr dried vegetable soup popular in vegetable dips), their product was actually tested and found to have 30% MSG in it. Despite clearly misleading consumers in Vietnam, the company representatives argue that they are legally allowed to do this due to current labeling laws allowing it.
Vietnam news story.
Vietnam News Update

MSG by any other name.......

In Japan, MSG is labeled as 味の素 or Ajinomoto
In China, MSG = wie jing
In the Phillipines, MSG = Vetsin
In Thailand, MSG = phong churot
In Germany, MSG = Natriumglutaminat
In Europe - MSG = E621, but avoid E620-625 as they also contain glutamate
In the US - "umami", MSG, glutamate, free glutamic acid

We are also getting reports of MSG being added to sausages called "boerewors" and other meats found in supermarkets in South Africa.

MSG is also finding its way into "fast" foods in India, Brazil and Viet Nam

It is getting harder and harder to avoid MSG regardless of where on planet earth you live......

Be aware it is not just the brand names mentioned, but many similar products to the ones listed also contain MSG. You must always read labels. These product names were given as examples of the many products that contain MSG.

Four good rules of thumb are:

* The more salty a processed food is, the more likely it is to contain MSG or free glutamate.
* The more processed a food is, the more likely it is to contain MSG or free glutamate: powdered stuff that used to be food is likely to have added MSG because the original flavor has been degraded, AND processing concentrates and frees glutamate already bound and present.
* The more ingredients in a packaged food, the more likely MSG is present. Read labels carefully . Time is money. If a food has more than five ingredients and you don't have half an hour to read one ingredient label - put it back on the shelf - you'll be better off.
* Do not trust something simply because it is in a health food store and the label states it is natural or even organic. The US allows "natural flavors" to include protein hydrolysates which can contain up to 20% MSG by weight. A distinction without a difference.

The next wave of hastily approved "MSG replacers" you may wish to avoid will be Senomyx.
According to the New York Times April 6, 2005 article "Food Companies Test Flavorings That Can Mimic Sugar, Salt or MSG":

" Since Senomyx's flavor compounds will be used in small proportions (less than one part per million), the company is able to bypass the lengthy F.D.A. approval process required to get food additives on the market. Getting the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association status of generally recognized as safe, or GRAS, took Senomyx less than 18 months, including a 3-month safety study using rats. In contrast, the maker of the artificial sweetener sucralose spent 11 years winning F.D.A. approval and is required to list the ingredient on food labels."

And Senomyx DOESN'T have to be labeled as such. It will be grouped under "artificial flavors". They still don't believe the consumer should know what they are eating. In fact, that is exactly the strategy. Here is one last quote from the NYT article to leave you with:

"We're helping companies clean up their labels," said Senomyx's chief executive, Kent Snyder.

Mr. Snyder, that is EXACTLY what we are afraid of.

For more Information:
MSG and Aspartame
MSG as Crop Spray

Source: http://www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm

4 Diseases Doctors Get Wrong

2009-12-28T00:18:00.001-06:00

Doubting your diagnosis? Read on to find out what you might really have.

Sometimes even the best doctors miss the mark: About 40 percent of all mistakes that M.D.s make are misdiagnoses, says the National Patient Safety Foundation. That's because many ailments have similar symptoms or can be detected only with tests that your physician might consider unnecessary if he's confident in his verdict. If you're in the know about often-confused conditions, though, you can ask the right questions to prevent or fix an error — and even save your life.

1. YOUR SYMPTOMS: Numbness on one side, headaches, dizziness, suddenly blurred vision, lack of balance or muscle coordination, and/or slurred speech

* The doctor says it's: Vertigo, migraines, or an inner-ear disorder
* It could be: Stroke

* Why the confusion? Research shows that 14 percent of stroke cases in people under 45 are misdiagnosed. When patients are young and otherwise healthy, ER staff might point to milder problems first. But if you leave the ER with an undiagnosed stroke, you could suffer another one. You may also miss the chance to reverse impaired speech or vision, paralysis, and brain damage.

* Red flags: If one side is numb or you have any combination of the listed symptoms, rush to the ER, especially if symptoms persist more than an hour.

2. YOUR SYMPTOMS: Headaches and/or ringing or aching ears, plus aching back, neck, and/or teeth

* The doctor says it's: Migraines or an ear disorder
* It could be: Temporomandibular joint syndrome

* Why the confusion? When the joint connecting your jaw and skull becomes inflamed, the pain radiates and causes headaches or ear problems. TMJ is best treated by a dentist, but the symptoms will likely send you to an M.D., who might diagnose you with something else. The price you'll pay? Serious pain that could easily have been alleviated.

* Red flags: If your doctor gives a tentative diagnosis without conducting any tests or prescribes meds that don't do the trick, head to a dentist.

3. YOUR SYMPTOMS: Fatigue or trouble breathing plus chest pain or tightness and/or palpitations

* The doctor says it's: Stress or panic attack
* It could be: Heart attack or heart disease

* Why the confusion? Heart attacks tend to be more subtle in women than in men: Fatigue or shortness of breath might be your only sign of a problem. In fact, up to half of female heart attack victims are initially misdiagnosed — and heart disease remains the top killer of women in America.

* Red flags: If your doc's recommended treatment doesn't help, see a cardiologist, pronto.

4. THE SYMPTOMS: Sadness plus fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, and/or muscle aches or stiffness

* The doctor says it's: Depression
* It could be: Hypothyroidism

* Why the confusion? Doctors tend to link persistent sadness with depression and might not think to test for hypothyroidism, a condition in which your thyroid gland fails to produce enough hormones. Left untreated, hypothyroidism can cause high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and (ironically) clinical depression.

* Red flags: If the meds your doctor prescribes don't lift your mood, request a TSH blood test to check for hypothyroidism. Better yet, ask for the test during your initial visit.

Source: http://women.webmd.com/features/4-diseases-doctors-get-wrong?ecd=wnl_hrt_120109

Tomato Seed Extract Thins Blood

2009-12-23T00:28:00.001-06:00

Could millions of people trade in their daily dose of aspirin for tomato extract? On Monday, the European Commission, the European Union’s legal body, confirmed that the extract, patented as Fruitflow, contributes to healthy blood flow, and allowed manufacturers to use such claims in advertising. This is the first time such a health claim has been authorized by the Commission.

The allowance follows rigorous clinical trials out of Britain that suggest that foods and drinks fortified with Fruitflow have the same blood-thinning benefits as aspirin -- minus the harmful side effects, like gastric distress.

In 1999, while studying the particulars of the Mediterranean diet, Professor Asim Dutta-Roy, then at Aberdeen, Scotland’s Rowett Institute, found that a natural ingredient in the gel around tomato seeds promoted heart health, according to The Daily Mail. Dutta-Roy’s research showed that the tomato ingredient helped smooth platelets and prevent blood clots.

Blood clots form when platelets, usually smooth, produce tiny threads called fibrin, which is due to inflammation, according to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. They then adhere to one another, forming clots that block arteries leading to the heart. These clots can cause stroke or heart attack. Those at risk for such illness -- including men over 50, people with heart disease or a history of heart attacks, or those in poor health from smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, stress or high cholesterol levels -- often take aspirin for its blood-thinning effects. Aspirin therapy can also reduce the severity of a heart attack. However, aspirin increases the occurrence of gastric ulcers, abdominal bleeding and bleeding in the brain during a stroke.

Fruitflow, a ripe tomato extract that comes in syrup form, has not been shown to have any such negative effects. “To date, no side effects have been demonstrated during the development of Fruitflow,” Dutta-Roy told The Daily Mail. Instead, 10 studies -- two of which were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- reported that three grams of Fruitflow were effective just three hours after consumption, making platelets smoother while leaving the rest of the blood able to clot normally in the case of injury. Regular tomato juice is subjected to multiple processing methods that degrade the gel ingredient, rendering it far less effective than its concentrated form. Plain tomatoes are also less effective because the body must slowly digest all parts of the fruit.

Fruitflow is now used in Sirco Fruit Juice, a brand only available in Britain. Its manufacturers hope to introduce the colorless, tasteless, fat- and protein-free syrup to other foods like yogurt and margarine, and to sell it in tablet and capsule forms.

Source: http://www.aolhealth.com/healthy-living/longevity/fruitflow-tomato-seeds-blood-thinner?ncid=webmaildl4

Cities with best and worst tap water

2009-12-12T23:31:00.004-06:00

Photo by Getty Images

How safe is the water that flows out of your tap? The answer very much depends on where you live.

It's now easier than ever for consumers to find out what's in their tap water. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) today released the results of a three-year investigation of municipal water supplies across the U.S.

The research and advocacy group looked at water quality tests performed by water utilities since 2004 and created an extensive database that contains info on the contaminants found in 48,000 communities in 45 states.

EWG also rated 100 big city (population over 250,000) water utilities. Below are the top and bottom results.

Cities with the best water:
1. Arlington, TX
2. Providence, RI
3. Fort Worth, TX
4. Charleston, SC
5. Boston, MA
6. Honolulu, HI
7. Austin, TX
8. Fairfax County, VA
9. St. Louis, MO
10. Minneapolis, MN

Cities with the worst water:
1. Pensacola, FL
2. Riverside, CA
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Riverside County, CA
5. Reno, NV
6. Houston, TX
7. Omaha, NE
8. North Las Vegas, NV
9. San Diego, CA
10. Jacksonville, FL

If you live in one of the few areas that weren't investigated, you can get an annual report of what's in your public drinking water. If your water comes from a well, then see the EPA's guidelines for those who use private wells.

The results of the investigation raise some concerns about municipal water supplies in the U.S. EWG says 316 different contaminants were found in the nation's tap water. The group also points out that more than half of those contaminants aren't regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Establishing more effective source water protection programs and developing enforceable government standards for contaminants would go a long way toward improving the nation's water supply, according to the EWG.

In the meantime, no one is suggesting that you go out and start drinking bottled water (although, of course, in emergency situations it can be necessary). Experts still agree that drinking tap is preferable to drinking bottled water. Bottled water is much more expensive than tap, it takes a huge toll on the planet, and it's not necessarily any safer than tap. "Bottled water is not regulated in the same way as tap water," says Olga Naidenko, a senior scientist at EWG. "With bottled water, consumers often do not know what they are getting, and 25 to 40 percent of bottled water on the market is simply tap poured into a bottle."

Knowing what's in your water is the key. Once you know which contaminants are present, you can find the best filter to get rid of them.

Source: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/110/cities-with-best-and-worst-tap-water.html

Healthy Detox after Overindulging

2009-11-25T07:08:00.002-06:00

Ask Dr. Mao

Stuffed with stuffing, filled with turkey, crammed with cookies, and saturated with alcohol. Now what? Holidays call for celebration, and many of us know the consequences that come from overindulging in alcohol and food. Sometimes, despite out best intentions, we overdo it. This holiday season, detoxify and recover naturally with the tips that follow.

FOOD OVERLOAD
Chinese medicine views proper digestion as the most essential component in living a long and healthy life. Your digestive function is made up of numerous organs all working together to break down, absorb, and process all of the nutrients in the food you eat. Without healthy digestion, you can become malnourished and toxins will build up in your body, leading to degenerative diseases and rapid aging down the road.

Indigestion is caused and made worse by overeating--especially rich, fatty, spicy foods, alcohol, coffee, and acidic foods. These remedies will get your digestion on the right track.

ONE HOUR AFTERWARD:

Walk it off
After a large meal, take a 10- to 20-minute stroll. Aside from the proven benefits to your heart, walking is the perfect gentle exercise for promoting digestion and encouraging cleansing of the lymphatic system. Walking helps food move along the digestive tract, improving digestion and absorption. For added benefits, walk while massaging your abdomen with your palms, in a circle around your belly button.

Herbal tea brings relief
Relieve that feeling of fullness with herbal teas that target your digestion: Steep 1 teaspoon each of mint, rosemary, oregano, cilantro, sage, and basil and in a cup of hot water. Drink after each meal to soothe and prevent bloating. Peppermint, chamomile, and ginger tea are other good choices for settling the stomach. Also, look for Chinese herbal formulas like Indigestion for digestive support and cleansing.

THE MORNING AFTER:

Start with apple cider
Apple cider vinegar is traditionally used to remedy digestive distress, support liver detoxification, normalize digestive juices, and reduce intestinal bloating. Mix 1 tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar with 12 ounces of warm water, and drink in the morning on empty stomach. Feel free to add a little honey or maple syrup. Lemon water will also help.

Eat right to lighten up
These meals will help your body recover from overindulgence.

* Breakfast: Eat oat bran cereal, brown rice, or any other whole grain cereal (as long as it is unbleached and does not contain any added sugar or chemicals.) Pair with unflavored soy milk.
* Lunch/Dinner: Eat any combination of beans, brown rice, oat bran, vegetables, and organic chicken, turkey, or soy-products.
* For a powerful Super Cleanse Broth, simmer any combination of the following ingredients for an hour: collards, Swiss chard, kale, mustard greens, cabbage, dandelion, Brussels sprouts, daikon radish, watercress, seaweed, shitake mushrooms, cilantro, garlic, leeks, fennel, anise, fresh ginger, and turmeric. Drink 8 ounces twice a day.
* A popular herbal formula among my patients is Internal Cleanse, a special combination of natural herbs to detoxify, clear the mind, promote emotional balance, and ease digestion. For more information, click here.

Try a detoxifying exercise
This movement is from Liver Cleansing Qi Gong, a body-mind exercise that was designed by ancient Chinese physicians to help stimulate the liver and drain the excess toxins from the body:

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart in front of a tree. Inhale while raising your right leg and exhale while placing your right foot on the ground in front of you between your body and the tree.
2. Inhale while raising both arms from the sides until they come together over your head. Exhale while lowering your hands in front of your face. Visualize green light running down your face as your hands move down to your chest.
3. Inhale as you move your hands to the right rib cage over your liver. Exhale as you move your arms down your right abdomen and right leg, as if pushing down and out with your hands. Visualize the green light moving the toxins out of the liver, down the liver meridian on the inside right leg, and out the big toe.

ALCOHOL OVERINDULGENCE
The liver is one of the hardest working organs in your body and performs a wide variety of functions. Its most important ones include the processing of nutrients, the production of bile to help in digestion of food and eliminating wastes, and cleansing the blood of toxins such as drugs, alcohol, and other dangerous substances.

The liver has the ability to regenerate itself, but the effects of alcohol eventually wear down the liver. I strongly suggest that you keep your drinking to a minimum for the longevity of your liver and your health, but on that rare occasion when you overindulge, consider these remedies.

ONE HOUR AFTERWARD:

Ginger tea to the rescue
Ginger is an ancient Chinese remedy to minimize the symptoms of hangovers. Ginger has been found to soothe the digestive lining and balance gastric juices, making it a great remedy for overeating, too. This remedy is even more effective if you drink it in between alcoholic beverages.

Cut a 2-inch piece from fresh ginger root, and thinly slice. Bring three cups of water to boil in a pot. Add the sliced ginger and reduce heat to a simmer. Brew for about five minutes. Then strain out the ginger and sip the tea slowly. You may also add honey to taste.

Drink up!
Water, that is. Though this is hardly a secret remedy for combating a hangover, it bears repeating. Alcohol dehydrates your system, so drinking plenty of water will help combat some of your unpleasant hangover symptoms, rehydrate your body, and flush out toxins. Drink a few glasses of room temperature, filtered water after a night of holiday extravagance.

THE MORNING AFTER:

Start with lemon water
First thing in the morning, drink one lemon squeezed in 12 ounces of warm filtered water. Lemon activates your liver to release toxins and helps to cleanse and move the roughage that stays behind in your intestines. Throughout the day, drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water to flush your system.

Detoxify with herbal tea
Chinese traditional medicine uses natural substances to help support the healthy functions of your liver, lymphatic system, bowels, urinary tract, and skin. Try these herbs in teas to cleanse and prevent a buildup of toxins and wastes in your body:

*
Chrysanthemum flower is traditionally used to cleanse the liver and neutralize toxins.
*
Hawthorn berry is used to cleanse the blood of plaque and other toxins.
*
Turmeric supports the detoxification process in the whole body by increasing bile production and releasing and eliminating toxins. Simply put a tablespoon of the spice in a pot and stir over medium heat for five minutes.
*
Milk thistle protects and restores the liver, due to its content of silymarin.
*
Dandelion root has been found by studies to enhance the flow of bile, relieving liver congestion, which in turn aids the body in detoxifying.
*
Popular among my patients is Hangover, a Chinese herbal remedy that is helpful for relieving symptoms of hangover.

Heal your aching head
If you wake up with a "morning-after" headache, try this herbal tea to reduce head pressure: Boil 2 tbsp each of chrysanthemum flowers and mint leaves in 4 cups of water for 15 minutes. Drink throughout the day until your headache subsides.

I hope this article helps you recover from the effects of overindulgence! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/22381/healthy-detox-after-overindulging/

FREE GLUTAMIC ACID (MSG): SOURCES AND DANGERS

2009-11-22T13:00:00.000-06:00

Why is free glutamic acid added in vast amounts to processed foods? Our large profit-driven food companies have found that manufactured free glutamic acid, in the form of monosodium glutamate (MSG), hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, etc., etc., when added to our processed foods, masks off flavors and makes the blandest and cheapest foods taste wonderful.

The story is fascinating. For thousands of years kombu and other seaweeds have been added to foods in Japan to enhance flavor. In 1908 a Japanese scientist discovered that the active ingredient in kombu is glutamic acid and then the use of its sodium salt, monosodium glutamate, began in Japan. During the Second World War American quartermasters realized that Japanese army rations tasted great. Following the war, they introduced monosodium glutamate, the flavor enhancing ingredient in the Japanese rations, to the food industry; and the world-wide use of processed free glutamic acid began to explode.

Since free glutamic acid is cheap and since its neurotoxic nerve stimulation enhances so wonderfully the flavor of basically bland and tasteless foods, such as many low-fat and vegetarian foods, manufacturers are eager to go on using it and do not want the public to realize any of the problems.

An excellent NOHA lecture on the dangers and hidden sources of processed free glutamic acid was given at Evanston’s Whole Foods Market on February 14, 2000, by NOHA Board Member Jack Samuels. He is president of the Truth in Labeling Campaign.

Glutamic acid is a neurotransmitter that excites our neurons (not just in our tongues). This electrical charging of neurons is what makes foods with added free glutamic acid taste so good. Unfortunately, the free glutamic acid can cause problems in many people. Actually, our brains have many receptors for glutamic acid and some areas, such as the hypothalamus,1 do not have an impermeable blood-brain barrier, so free glutamic acid from food sources can get into the brain, injuring and sometimes killing neurons. At least 25 per cent of the U.S. population react to free glutamic acid from food sources. Today, we recognize that those reactions range from mild and transitory to debilitating and life threatening. Please see Table 1.

. . . free glutamic acid from food sources can get into the brain, injuring and sometimes killing neurons

Glutamic acid is widely distributed in proteins. When we eat it bound as part of whole, unprocessed proteins, it helps nourish us as it has for millennia. Glutamic acid bound as part of whole, unprocessed protein does not cause problems in people who react to the free glutamic acid in manufactured food, where it is hidden in ingredients with about 40 different names. Please see Table 2.

Monosodium glutamate and other forms of free glutamic acid can be manufactured cheaply and sometimes it is even just a byproduct of other food processes. For example, the brewer’s yeast from the brewing industry contains free glutamic acid. Since free glutamic acid is cheap and since its neurotoxic nerve stimulation enhances so wonderfully the flavor of basically bland and tasteless foods, such as many low-fat and vegetarian foods, manufacturers are eager to go on using it and do not want the public to realize any of the problems. In 1999 in an article in a peer-reviewed journal, NOHA Board Member Adrienne Samuels, PhD, wrote a history of the many deceptions used by those manufacturers, "The Toxicity/Safety of Processed Free Glutamic Acid (MSG): A Study in Suppression of Information."2 She points out "how easily truth can be hidden and how seemingly isolated incidents actually can be badly flawed research, direct suppression of information, and dissemination of biased information orchestrated by one group or industry."

According to Dr. Samuels, the evidence of toxicity is overwhelming. Exposed laboratory animals suffer brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders. Scientists studying retinal degeneration in mice treated with free glutamic acid have noted that these mice also became grotesquely obese following administration of free glutamic acid. The vulnerable hypothalamus in our brains regulates weight control, as well as other endocrine functions. When the brain is deluged with more free glutamic acid than it can handle, scientists know that problems and diseases can develop. For example, they know that a diverse number of disease conditions such as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive degeneration of neurons and motor cells of the brain), Alzheimer’s disease, seizures, and stroke are associated with the glutamate cascade.

Glutamic acid bound as part of whole, unprocessed protein does not cause problems in people who react to the free glutamic acid in manufactured food, where it is hidden in ingredients with about 40 different names

Faced with growing evidence of toxicity from processed free glutamic acid, its manufacturers and users formed The Glutamate Association. Dr. Samuels states:

Membership in The Glutamate Association is secret. However, a source from within the glutamate industry, who has asked to remain anonymous, told me that besides Ajinomoto, among its member are Archer Daniels Midland, Campbell, Corn Products Corporation, McCormick & Company, Pet Foods, Pfizer laboratories, and Takeda.

The parent organization of The Glutamate Association funded scientists to do research and to make public statements about the "safety" of MSG. Dr. Samuels describes their research and many of their actions in fascinating detail. A few of their ploys are as follows:

* Although it had been established that brain lesions could not be identified if examination was not done within 24 hours after insult, glutamate-industry researchers routinely examined the brains of test animals after 24 hours had elapsed.

* Monkeys are much less sensitive to glutamate than humans. Mice and rats have reactions closer to ours. According to Dr. John Olney, "The same oral dose of glutamate that causes a dramatic increase in blood glutamate concentrations in humans, causes no increase at all in monkeys. Therefore, it is difficult to understand why so much money and effort was expended on oral glutamate monkey studies, unless the goal was to amass an unchangeable mountain of negative evidence that could serve as basis for fostering the misleading impression, and fueling the spurious argument that if monkeys are resistant to glutamate-induced brain damage, other primates, including humans, must be similarly resistant."

* In studies with people, glutamate industry researchers have sometimes used aspartame (Nutrasweet®) as the "placebo" for their "control" groups. Aspartame contains aspartic acid, which is a structural analog of glutamic acid and causes the same toxic effects. Thus, they could be confident that they would get the same effects in the experimental and in the "control" groups.

* In statistics we need to be acutely alert to the manner in which the population for study is chosen. For instance, scientists can say they are doing a random study, but, we must ask, "From what group are the people drawn?" One approach used by glutamate industry researchers was to pretest the group with placebos containing, for example, aspartame, carageenan, or enzymes to which MSG-sensitive people would react. In this way, by choosing for their population people, who do not react to the so-called "placebos," the scientists could be pretty sure that their subjects would not react to MSG.

* Another way to reduce reactions is to put the MSG in capsules. Then, it will be slowly released and reactions of MSG-sensitive people will be blunted—compared to their reactions to the same amount of MSG sprinkled on food.

* Give MSG with sucrose. This will also blunt reactions. Dr. Blaylock has explained that a tremendous amount of energy is required for the brain to manage glutamic acid and, of course, glucose is what our brains use for energy.

* To defend themselves against epidemiological studies indicating that 25-30 per cent of the population reacted to monosodium glutamate and against individual reports of human adverse reactions that included migraine headache, seizures, asthma, and depression, the glutamate industry built the fiction that a few people might react to monosodium glutamate with the "Chinese restaurant syndrome": "burning," "tightness," and "numbness," all occurring at the same time, within two hours following ingestion. They sent out a questionnaire and got 3,222 respondents, of whom 1.8 per cent reported having the exactly defined "Chinese restaurant syndrome." The fact that an additional 41.2 per cent of the subjects reported experiencing conditions that are associated with MSG-induced adverse reactions such as headache, diarrhea, chest pain, dizziness, palpitation, weakness, nausea/vomiting, abdominal cramps, chills, heartburn, unusual thirst, unusual perspiration, flushing sensation in face or chest, and tingling was ignored. Migraine headache, seizures, tachycardia, hives, skin rash, and depression, which were not offered as options, were not considered. Soon the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) began to disseminate the misinformation that approximately 2 per cent of the population might be sensitive to MSG, reacting with the mild and transitory reactions of "Chinese restaurant syndrome."

Dr. Samuels spells out much evidence of cooperation between governmental departments, especially the FDA, and the glutamate industry. Scientists at many prestigious universities have done glutamate-industry funded research and peer-reviewed journals have published flawed research on the "safety" of MSG. Glutamate industry representatives and friends sit on boards of "independent" organizations. Glutamate industry researcher and spokesman Ronald Simon, MD, has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Monsanto’s Robert Shapiro sits on the board of the Tufts University School of Nutrition.

On January 14, 1998 AuxiGro®, which contains processed free glutamic acid, was registered as a growth enhancer with the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and permission was granted to spray it on all agricultural products. AuxiGro® gives plants sprayed with it the false signal that they are under "stress." The plants respond by pulling additional nutrients from the soil and thus grow much larger, increasing yields. The recent huge potatoes and yams in the supermarket would appear to be a direct result of AuxiGro®.

Dr. Samuels has presented us with many facts. She concludes: "The key to having the system work for those who use it to deceive others is the fact that few, if any, will take the time to review the facts with detachment and without prejudice and that whistle blowers are punished."

. . . mice also became grotesquely obese following administration of free glutamic acid. The vulnerable hypothalamus in our brains regulates weight control . . .

Some people are sensitive to minute amounts of free glutamic acid. For others, a larger dose or more than one dose is required to elicit reactions, which can be either immediate or delayed. In all cases, babies and small children are most vulnerable. Reacting to pressure stemming from the research on neurotoxicity and on injury to the developing infant’s endocrine system, baby food manufacturers voluntarily removed monosodium glutamate from their products in the early 1970s but they often left actual free glutamic acid in their products, as "autolyzed yeast and hydrolyzed vegetable protein."

Today, free glutamic acid is ubiquitous in processed food. What should we do?

* For ourselves individually, we need to consume truly natural, unfermented, unadulterated, unprocessed protein.
* For everyone everywhere, we need to communicate to our friends and relatives, our local newspapers, over the Internet, and to our congresspersons and senators—the facts about the deceptive research and the misleading food labeling.

When the word spreads and the public demands food without neurotoxic free glutamic acid, then our lives can be dramatically improved and we can be free from this often hidden source of suffering.

For more information, contact Jack and Adrienne Samuels at the Truth in Labeling Campaign, P. O. Box 2532, Darien, IL 60561; adandjack@aol.com; or http://www.truthinlabeling.org

Table 1

REACTIONS TO FREE GLUTAMIC ACID IN SENSITIVE PEOPLE

Cardiac
Arrhythmias
Extreme rise or drop in blood pressure
Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
Angina

Circulatory
Swelling Muscular
Flu-like achiness
Joint pain
Stiffness

Neurological
Depression
Dizziness, Light-headedness, Loss of balance
Disorientation, Mental confusion
Anxiety, Panic attacks
Hyperactivity, Behavioral problems in children
Lethargy, Sleepiness, Insomnia
Migraine headache
Numbness or paralysis
Seizures
Sciatica
Slurred speech

Gastrointestinal
Diarrhea
Nausea/vomiting
Stomach cramps
Irritable bowel
Bloating

Respiratory
Asthma, Shortness of breath
Chest pain, Tightness
Runny nose, Sneezing

Skin
Hives or rash
Mouth lesions
Temporary tightness or partial paralysis (numbness or tingling) of the skin Flushing Extreme dryness of the mouth

Urological
Swelling of prostate Nocturia
Visual Blurred vision Difficulty focusing

Table 2

Using the term "MSG" to stand for processed free glutamic acid, which causes the reactions in sensitive people, Mr. Jack Samuels gave us at his NOHA lecture the following listing for hidden sources:

These ALWAYS contain MSG:

Glutamate, Monosodium glutamate, Monopotassium glutamate, Glutamic acid, Calcium caseinate, Gelatin, Textured protein, Hydrolyzed protein (any protein that is hydrolyzed), Yeast extract, Yeast food, Autolyzed yeast, Yeast nutrient

These OFTEN contain MSG or create MSG during processing:

Flavor(s) & Flavoring(s), Natural flavor(s) & flavoring(s), Natural pork flavoring, Bouillon, Natural beef flavoring, Stock, Natural chicken flavoring, Broth, Malt flavoring, Barley malt, Malt extract, Seasonings (the word "seasonings"), Carrageenan, Soy sauce, Soy sauce extract, Soy protein, Soy protein concentrate, Soy protein isolate, Pectin, Maltodextrin, Whey protein, Whey protein isolate, Whey protein concentrate, anything Protein fortified, Protease, Protease enzymes, anything Enzyme modified, Enzymes, anything Ultra-pasteurized, anything Fermented

Jack Samuels also warned us about low fat milk products with milk solids that contain MSG and about soaps, shampoos, and cosmetics. We also need to watch the binders and fillers in medications, nutrients, and supplements. "Reactions to MSG are dose related, i.e., some people react to even very small amounts." MSG-induced reactions can be delayed as much as 48 hours or can occur immediately after ingestion or exposure.

__________

1Blaylock, Russel L., MD, Excitoxins: The Taste that Kills, Health Press, Santa Fe, NM, 1994, page 19. Dr. Blaylock spoke for NOHA in November 1995 on "Food Additives and Brain Damage." 2Accountability in Research, 6:259-310, 1999.

Article from NOHA NEWS, Vol. XXV, No. 2, Spring 2000, pages 1-4.

Source: http://www.advancedhealthplan.com/msgstudy.html

Does Water Affect Weight?

2009-11-20T12:04:00.001-06:00

This week a young man asked me, “Does water affect weight?” After some digging, I realized he has been observing his mother use one of the 45 Day Plans to lose weight / get fit and this program requires the user to drink more water than they normally would – up to 3-4 quarts a day!!

Most people do not drink enough water in a day PERIOD. The Mayo Clinic states, "Water is your body’s principal chemical component, making up, on average, 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don’t have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.

The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 quarts (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 quarts (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. Total beverages mean water and other drinks as well.

As with most things in health / nutrition and exercise, there is always some study that disproves another study.

Many doctors agree that eight ounces of water – eight times a day (2 quarts) has no scientific backing. This is true! Water intake does not and probably should not have a universal standard as water intake depends on the individual / environment / activity level, etc…

The explanation of this question has a few levels of details, so it is broken up in the following sections:

Daily Weight Gain – By drinking more water per day, you will have a series of weight gains throughout the day as a quart (32 oz) of water weighs two pounds. So, as I write this article and sip from my 32 oz glass, I will gain two lbs in the next 90 minutes. Now, I will likely be interrupted by Mother Nature and lose 1-2 lbs from the previous 32 oz glass of water I drank after my early workout. The easy answer is yes – drinking water does affect weight significantly enough to be seen on a scale immediately. Usually, in a 24 hour period, you will cycle through this process of gaining water weight and losing water weight and have either a net loss or stable weight for the day.

What About Weight Loss? – Here is where I came up with the saying – “Want to Lose weight? – Just Add Water!” Adding more water to your diet will help you lose weight a few ways. ONE – hunger suppressant – you will not be as hungry when drinking water through the day as your stomach will constantly have something flowing through it. TWO – when your body realizes it is getting enough water, it will allow you to release retained waters from your cells through digestion.

I had a client who lost 20 pounds in one week after adding JUST water to his diet. He was so bloated, his rings did not fit him, stomach was large, and socks would indent his lower legs when he removed them. Have you ever felt bloated, hands and feet puffy, belly extended – well this is your body holding onto water. This could also be a symptom of a variety of medical issues so alerting your doctor is never a bad idea when bloated for long periods of time with no relief. But it is also easily removed by adding water if you are just bloated due to dehydration or high sodium diet.

Replacement of water lost – Humans sweat, digest, and breathe. All three are processes that help our bodies to expel water. These fluids should be replaced and depending on your activity level and environment, your replacement maybe significantly different that someone with a different lifestyle. Regardless, everyone needs water. The amazing thing about the human body is that it is capable of pulling water out of every piece of food we eat. So by eating, you can actually survive and have enough water in your body to excrete toxins, sweat (some), and breathe. You can also lose significant weight through sweating (like wrestlers cutting weight). This is not healthy as you are also losing vital electrolytes that is not replaced will negatively affect performance and could cause death. However, what performance fitness experts agree on is that additional water will help us perform better by staving off dehydration, overheating, and even heat stroke. A common formula is to take 1/2 to 2/3 of your bodyweight in pounds and replace that many ounces of water in a 24 hour period. For instance, I am 200lbs so I typically get 100 oz of water a day – especially after exercise.

Too much water – How much is too much? I tackled this one a few years ago when a water drinking contest on the radio actually caused someone to die from water intoxication. That person had downed nearly two gallons within a short period of time (less than 2 hours). This caused her body to shut down causing kidney failure as well as electrolyte imbalances that affect all organ function. Many endurance athletes have died from the same issues, however they sweat profusely and re-hydrated with ONLY water and had the same electrolyte imbalances that caused death. When drinking water after sweating profusely, you should consider foods or supplements with electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc) so that does not happen.

I like to eat a can of chicken noodle soup after a workout where I lose 5-7 lbs of water through sweating – it can happen in humid or arid environments. The chicken noodle soup (especially kids double noodle style) can offer several hundred milligrams of sodium and potassium – much more than sports drinks. See related article – Too Much Water

Another question to ask is “HOW does water affect weight loss?” Over the course of a 10 day period, you can see significant weight loss by adding water to your daily intake. So, let’s see for ourselves. (try at own risk)

Take a 10 Day Challenge – Below is a chart that will take you through a ten day extra water consuming process to show you that a few quarts of water a day will make you feel better, make skin look better, make you less hungry, and best of all help you release water that is retained in your body’s cells – perhaps you will lose some weight.

Weigh yourself in the morning after using the bathroom and in the evening after dinner

Try adding 2-3 quarts a day for men and 1-2 quarts a day for women and let’s see what happens!!!

NOTE – if you are already consuming the above amounts there is no need to try this 10 Day Challenge or add more water to your diet.

Source: http://policelink.monster.com/police-fitness/articles/126862-does-water-affect-weight?utm_source=frontpage&utm_content=fronthot

Prevent Swine Flu - Good Advice

2009-11-03T05:34:00.001-06:00

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

What Soft Drinks are Doing to Your Body

2009-11-02T18:21:00.002-06:00

Soda, pop, cola, soft drink — whatever you call it, it is one of the worst beverages that you could be drinking for your health. As the debate for whether to put a tax on the sale of soft drinks continues, you should know how they affect your body so that you can make an informed choice on your own.

Soft drinks are hard on your health
Soft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars — or worse, sugar substitutes — and often food additives such as artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives.

A lot of research has found that consumption of soft drinks in high quantity, especially by children, is responsible for many health problems that include tooth decay, nutritional depletion, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Why the sugar in soft drinks isn’t so sweet
Most soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption for a 2,000-calorie diet is a daily allotment of 10 teaspoons of added sugars. Many soft drinks contain more than this amount!

Just why is too much sugar so unhealthy? Well, to start, let's talk about what happens to you as sugar enters your body. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease.

Something else to consider is that most of the excess sugar ends up being stored as fat in your body, which results in weight gain and elevates risk for heart disease and cancer. One study found that when subjects were given refined sugar, their white blood cell count decreased significantly for several hours afterwards. Another study discovered that rats fed a high-sugar diet had a substantially elevated rate of breast cancer when compared to rats on a regular diet.

The health effects of diet soda
You may come to the conclusion that diet or sugar-free soda is a better choice. However, one study discovered that drinking one or more soft drinks a day — and it didn’t matter whether it was diet or regular — led to a 30% greater chance of weight gain around the belly.

Diet soda is filled with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin. These artificial sweeteners pose a threat to your health. Saccharin, for instance, has been found to be carcinogenic, and studies have found that it produced bladder cancer in rats.

Aspartame, commonly known as nutrasweet, is a chemical that stimulates the brain to think the food is sweet. It breaks down into acpartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol at a temperature of 86 degrees. (Remember, your stomach is somewhere around 98 degrees.) An article put out by the University of Texas found that aspartame has been linked to obesity. The process of stimulating the brain causes more cravings for sweets and leads to carbohydrate loading.

Carbonation depletes calcium
Beverages with bubbles contain phosphoric acid, which can severely deplete the blood calcium levels; calcium is a key component of the bone matrix. With less concentration of calcium over a long time, it can lower deposition rates so that bone mass and density suffer. This means that drinking sodas and carbonated water increases your risk of osteoporosis.

Add in the caffeine usually present in soft drinks, and you are in for even more trouble. Caffeine can deplete the body’s calcium, in addition to stimulating your central nervous system and contributing to stress, a racing mind, and insomnia.

Skip the soda and go for:

• Fresh water
Water is a vital beverage for good health. Each and every cell needs water to perform its essential functions. Since studies show that tap water is filled with contaminants, antibiotics, and a number of other unhealthy substances, consider investing in a quality carbon-based filter for your tap water. To find out more about a high-performance filtration system, click here.

On the go? Try using a stainless steel thermos or glass bottle, filled with filtered water. Enhance the flavor of your water with a refreshing infusion of basil, mint leaves, and a drop of honey.

• Fruit Juice
If you are a juice drinker, try watering down your juice to cut back on the sugar content. Buy a jar of organic 100% juice, especially cranberry, acai, pomegranate, and then dilute three parts filtered water to one part juice. You will get a subtle sweet taste and the benefit of antioxidants. After a couple of weeks, you will no longer miss the sweetness of sugary concentrated juices.

• Tea
Tea gently lifts your energy and has numerous health benefits. Black, green, white, and oolong teas all contain antioxidant polyphenols. In fact, tea ranks as high or higher than many fruits and vegetables on the ORAC scale, the score that measures antioxidant potential of plant-based foods.

Herbal tea does not have the same antioxidant properties, though it is still a great beverage choice with other health benefits, such as inducing calming and relaxing effects.

If tea doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, try adding cinnamon or a little honey, which has important health benefits that refined sugar lacks. For a selection of healthy teas that promote total body wellness, click here. Drink up!

I hope you find the ways and means to avoid soft drinks. I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

--Dr. Mao

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/20270/what-soft-drinks-are-doing-to-your-body/

Living to Eat: Do You Have a Food Addiction?

2009-10-25T17:38:00.000-06:00

Jane sneaks out of the house at midnight and drives six miles to the local 7-Eleven to get a chocolate bar. This has become a nightly ritual. She's gaining weight and feels profoundly ashamed of her lack of self-control. Though she vows to stop this behavior, she can't seem to shake the craving night after night.

Jane is a food addict.
In many ways, food can closely resemble a drug - caffeine and sugar offer a quick pick-me-up while carbohydrates and comfort foods can help soothe and relax the mind. Some people use food, like drugs, to feel at ease in social situations or to unwind after a long day. If you think about food constantly throughout the day, have compulsive cravings for certain types of foods, or waste more than half of your daily calories binging on unhealthy snacks, you may be one of the 18 million Americans who suffer from food addiction.

What Is Food Addiction?
Food addiction, like any other addiction, is a loss of control. Food addicts are preoccupied with thoughts of food, body weight, and body image, and compulsively consume abnormally large amounts of food. Even though they understand the harm caused by their behavior, they just can't stop. Food addicts tend to crave and eat foods that are harmful to their bodies. For example, people with food allergies may crave the foods they are allergic to, while diabetics may crave and overindulge in sugar, despite the adverse effects.

Food-aholics generally gorge on fat, salt, and sugar in the form of junk food and sweets. If they are feeling depressed, lonely, or disappointed, they consume large amounts of chips, chocolate, or other comfort foods for a "high." As with most addictions, the high wears off, leaving the person feeling sick, guilty, and even more depressed. Because the addict is out of control, she will repeat the same eating patterns over and over again in an effort to feel better.

Compulsive overeaters often eat much more rapidly than normal and hide their shame by eating in secret. Most overeaters are moderately to severely obese, with an average binge eater being 60% overweight. Individuals with binge eating disorders often find that their eating or weight interferes with their relationships, their work, and their self-esteem. Although compulsive overeaters or binge dieters often struggle with food addiction, eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are also considered types of food addictions.

Addiction or Bad Habit?
Unlike drug and alcohol addiction, which have been recognized by the medical profession for years, addiction specialists still question whether food can be genuinely addictive. Is the obsession with eating a true addiction, or just a bad habit?

Some experts are quite skeptical of putting food in the same category as drugs or alcohol. They argue that people like junk food because it tastes good, not because they are physically incapable of controlling their behavior. Others contend that individuals who abuse substances in excess of need, despite the harm it can cause, are addicts, whether the substance is alcohol, drugs, or food.

In some cases, food addicts trying to break the habit claim to experience both physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, mood changes, tremors, cramps, and depression. In an animal study at Princeton University, researchers found that after rats binged on sugar, they showed classic signs of withdrawal when the sweets were removed from their diet, which suggests foods like sugar can be addictive.

Brain imaging studies conducted by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have found that food affects the brain's dopamine systems in much the same way as drugs and alcohol. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and reward. When psychiatrist Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and her colleagues compared brain images of methamphetamine users with obese people, they found both groups had significantly fewer dopamine receptors than healthy people. Moreover, the higher the body mass index, the fewer the dopamine receptors, which may explain why it is so difficult for some people to lose weight and keep it off.

Are You a Food Addict?
Whether the obsession with food is a true addiction or simply a bad habit, one thing is clear: Your health is on the line. Obesity, psychological disorders, and diabetes are just a few of the health risks associated with compulsive eating.

If you're worried that you may have a food addiction, FoodAddicts.org recommends that you answer the following questions:

1) Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn't?
2) Do you think about food or your weight constantly?
3) Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?
4) Do you binge and then "get rid of the binge" through vomiting, exercise, laxatives, or other forms of purging?
5) Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people?
6) Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?
7) Do you eat large quantities of food at one time?
8) Is your weight problem due to your "nibbling" all day long?
9) Do you eat to escape from your feelings?
10) Do you eat when you're not hungry?
11) Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve it and eat it later?
12) Do you eat in secret?
13) Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?
14) Have you ever stolen other people's food?
15) Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have "enough?"
16) Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control your weight?
17) Do you obsessively calculate the calories you've burned against the calories you've eaten?
18) Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you've eaten?
19) Are you waiting for your life to begin "when you lose the weight?"
20) Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you may have, or be in danger of developing, a food addiction or eating disorder. Although food addiction is not nearly as intense as alcohol and drug addictions, you may need help regaining control of your life.

Treating Food Addiction
Change is never easy, and overcoming food addiction is no exception. It will require a combination of discipline, healthy eating habits, and exercise. In many ways, treatment of food addiction is similar to drug and alcohol addiction. The first step to recovery is recognizing and accepting the problem, and identifying which foods cause allergic symptoms and cravings. However, unlike drug and alcohol addiction, food addicts can't quit cold turkey. Everyone has to eat. Instead of taking drastic measures, make the following changes gradually, one small step at a time.

Reprogram your taste buds. If you eat tons of sugar-laden foods, your taste buds get used to the flavor and you will start craving sweeter and sweeter foods. When buying foods that aren't supposed to be sweet, like pasta sauce, bread, and crackers, make sure they don't have added sweeteners like fructose, dextrose, and corn syrup. Slowly try to limit sweet or salty foods in favor of fruits and vegetables to restore the sensitivity in your taste buds.

Plan your meals. Food addicts often hide food or binge when they are alone. One way around this is to avoid hiding a stash of food in your car, desk, or nightstand. Also, plan out healthy meals in advance, portion out single servings on smaller plates, and eat scheduled meals at the dinner table. If you eat in front of the TV or while talking on the phone, you're more likely to eat large amounts of food without realizing it. Though it may take a few weeks to change your eating patterns, your brain will eventually get used to smaller portions of healthy foods and generate fewer snack-food cravings.

Moderate your hunger. People with food addiction tend to take an all-or-nothing approach to dieting, bouncing from ravenous to overstuffed. A useful tool to moderate food consumption is to rate your hunger on a scale of zero to ten, zero being starving and ten being overstuffed, then try to stay between three and five. If you wait until you hit zero, you may not stop eating until you reach ten.

Know your weaknesses. Everyone has a list of foods that are hard to turn down. If you can't resist a fine loaf of bread at a restaurant, ask the waiter not to bring the bread basket to your table. If you can't walk past an ice cream parlor without stopping for a scoop or two, take a different route. If you have a habit of eating cookies or popcorn while watching TV at night, read a book or walk the dog instead. If these tricks don't work, stop buying unhealthy foods at the grocery store. If it's in your kitchen, you're probably going to eat it.

Deal with the real issues. Typically a food addict will numb unpleasant feelings with food. If you stop relying on food, you can learn to tackle problems head-on and let yourself feel the sadness, anger, or boredom without using food as a crutch.

Find healthy ways to cope. For food addicts, the next salt or sugar fix becomes the dominating force in their life. The best treatment is to find other ways to fill the void, like working out, hiking, going out with friends, or talking to a therapist. Exercise sparks the same pleasure centers of the brain as food, and offers a similar high without the guilt. If you're not physically hungry but you're struggling to resist a craving, brush your teeth, drink water, leave the house for a few minutes, or choose a healthy substitute like yogurt instead of ice cream or baked chips instead of potato chips.

Give yourself a break. The guilt people feel after overeating perpetuates the addiction. They're sad because they ate too much, so they turn to food for solace. Learn to forgive yourself and don't get discouraged by minor setbacks.

Food addiction can be a serious problem. Just ask the people who habitually visit the drive-thru at midnight or load up on candy bars on a daily basis. To beat the addiction, sometimes all you need is motivation to change and a few lifestyle modifications. In more severe cases, you may need to seek help from a food addiction group like Overeaters Anonymous, a mental health professional, or an addiction treatment center. In either case, a shift in outlook must occur: Eat to live, don't live to eat.

Source: http://www.drugrehabtreatment.com/food-addiction.html

Breaking The Junk Food Addiction

2009-10-24T09:10:00.000-06:00

4.1 The Psychological Appeal of Junk Food

We cannot blame the entire junk food problem on the manufacturers and advertisers of these products. After all, if people did not eat such foods, they would never be kept in the marketplace. But people do eat junk foods. And they eat them almost compulsively, without regard to their health or to the innate harmfulness of these foods.

Why do junk foods exercise such a stranglehold on America's nutritional well-being? Primarily because such foods are psychologically addictive. A habitual use of junk food occurs not because the food is fulfilling any physiological need, but because they answer some psychological need. People eat non-nutritious, worthless foods purely for emotional and psychological reasons.

Psychological studies have shown that food is the single most powerful emotional stimulus in our lives. We use foods as much to cheer us up, to fight depression, to reward ourselves, to indulge ourselves as we do to satisfy any hunger, real or imagined. And because we often eat for emotional reasons, we often choose foods that are associated with specific emotional experiences. Unfortunately, such foods are often "pleasure" foods or junk foods.

"Most people do not eat foods because they are good for them," says Dr. Robert S. Harris, a professor of nutritional biochemistry at MIT, "But because the foods appeal to their appetite, to their emotions, to their soul."

Junk foods have a strong appeal to the primitive and infantile emotions. They are usually very sweet, very rich, and very filling. They remind us of our first rich and sweet food, mother's milk. They take the place of the natural sweets, like fruits, that our sweet tooth craves.

Junk foods are often the foods that our parents gave us for being "good"—ice cream, candy, cookies. Consequently, when we have been "good," we still reward ourselves with these foods. It is an early conditioning that persists long into adulthood.

It is interesting to observe that junk food is the single largest class of pollutants that modern man inflicts upon himself. Forget about air pollution, cigarette smoke, contaminated water, radiation, or so on. It is the junk food eaten everyday by almost every person in this country that is the biggest source of internal pollutions. Now psychologically, this is an interesting situation.

Junk foods, besides being a way to reward ourselves, now also become a way to punish ourselves. People who are depressed and who have a low self-esteem often eat health-destroying foods in an effort to punish themselves for being unworthy or for having committed imagined wrongs. Junk food becomes for these people a socially-sanctioned form of suicide.

A successful avoidance and elimination of junk food from the diet requires efforts from two sides. First, a barrage of nutritional information and hard facts about the destructiveness of these foods must be obtained. Second, the person's psychological state must be evaluated and improved so that this addiction can be exposed and eliminated forever.

4.2 The Economic Benefits of Avoiding Junk Food

Nutritional arguments for the elimination of junk food may not be effective enough to wean people away from a poor diet. Almost everyone, however, understands the benefits of saving money. Eliminating junk food not only results in better health, but it means a real savings in the amount of money spent every day.

Let's look at the typical costs for a junk food habit for the average person. During a week, every person in this country is calculated to consume, on the average; the following amounts of junk food:

One Week of Junk Food And Us Cost

7 bottles of soda
1 package of gum
2 quarts of ice cream
2 ounces of snack chips
1 dozen doughnuts
1 pound of cookies or sweets
6 ounces of candy
1982 costs for such foods: $16

Notice that the above does not take into consideration any fast food eaten out or convenience foods prepared (such as frozen desserts, sugared cereals, etc.) The average spent on such foods per week varies greatly, but a conservative estimate of the costs of such foods per week is around $18.

Not only do these junk foods and fast foods cost money to eat, but the after-effects of consuming such foods often results in additional money being spent. Indigestion, headaches, colds, hemorrhoids, colitis, and many other ailments may be traced to junk food consumption. The average person may spend another $5 per week just on "medicine cabinet" remedies or over-the-counter drugs for these illnesses that result from such foods.

A year of junk food eating also typically results in about six new cavities and a tooth needing capping or pulling, according to figures from Army dentists. This translates into an average $10 per week for dental care.

We still do not know the costs of medical expenses that accumulate because junk food eaters go to their doctors, nor can we accurately figure in how many lost days of work result from such a diet. Even so, the total costs of eating junk food for a year are impressive. Consider these 'figures:

Annual Costs of a Junk Food Diet

Junk foods $832
Fast foods $936
Drugs and Medication $260
Dental Bills $520
Medical Bills (estimate) $250
Days lost from work (estimate) $350
Total yearly loss of income from junk foods $3,148

By eliminating junk foods from the diet, a person would realize enough yearly savings to purchase a new car every three years. He or she would have more energy, a higher level of health and well-being, and literally extra years to enjoy such benefits. No one really knows how much junk foods shorten the lifespan, but it would probably not be unrealistic to use the same figures that are often quoted for cigarette smokers. Every cigarette smoked means a 15-minute decrease in your life. Junk foods, with all their poisons and additives, may be more harmful than smoking and it would not be unreasonable to assume for every bag of cookies or quart of ice cream, you're knocking off hours, days, and weeks of your life.

Understand that these figures are speculative and have no sound basis in hard research simply because no one has had an opportunity to study the long-term effects of eating junk foods. We are the first generation of guinea pigs for the high-sugar, high-salt, high-fat and high-poison junk food diet.

Regardless, it is painfully obvious that people who consume junk foods not only steal money from themselves and their families, but also lay the foundation for expensive and painful suffering in the years to come. Can any type of food or sensual pleasure be worth these costs? Is a chocolate chip cookie or a scoop of ice cream or a diet soda worth $3000 plus a year?

The next time someone says to you, "I'm just dying for a piece of that cake or pie," you should let them know that that is just precisely what they are doing, and they are also paying dearly for this "privilege."

4.4 Kicking The Habit

As we have seen, the junk food problem is not simply one of nutrition. Good nutrition is easy to teach, but is only partially effective in getting people away from their junk food habits.

People must also be made aware of the economic and psychological aspects of eating junk food. This lesson should help you educate others who are ready to abandon the typical high junk food diet of most Americans.

First, teach the person the economic facts of life about junk foods.

Junk foods are very expensive to eat in terms of the actual nutrition provided. Most junk foods have only about 10% of the food you are paying for. The rest is for pretty packaging, promotion, advertising and profits.
Junk foods cost you twice. Once when you pay the overinflated prices for them and again when you pay the costs of ill health that they produce.

A typical overfed American family can save anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 a year if they eliminate all fast foods and convenience foods from their diets. This saving results from the actual costs of the junk food, the sick time lost because of them, and the incidental expenses of eating such foods.

Second, the person must be made aware of the psychological reasons for junk food addiction. He should be told that most eating patterns are based on emotional and not rational decisions. Foods as a reward or punishment should not be used—neither for children nor adults.

Negative eating habits and poor choices sometimes result from a lack of self-esteem or self-worth. A person addicted to junk food may have other serious problems connected with the personality or with social behavior. To eliminate junk foods from such a person's diet, he or she must also embark upon an overall health program of improvement. They must view themselves in a different light, and consider themselves worthy of good health and sickness-free living.

Third, children are especially vulnerable to junk foods. Outside of rational explanations and setting a good example, you can wean children away from junk foods with healthy substitutes. Sweet dried fruits can replace candies. Fresh juices or blended fruits can take the place of sugary drinks. Realize that most children want the sweetness of junk foods because they have a natural sweet tooth and demand for high-carbohydrate foods that can supply them with energy. In this case, give them plenty of natural carbohydrates with fresh fruits, dried fruits and occassional nuts and seeds.

The way to fight junk food addiction is through education. Tell your friends, your family and your clients about the nutritional inadequacies of these foods. Let them see the economic harm that also comes from consuming such foods. An approach to this problem on several levels—nutritional, economic, and psychological—can help most people end their romance with junk food and give them years of healthy and illness-free living.

Source: http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/junk-foods/breaking-the-junk-food-addiction.html

Are Artificial Sweeteners Really That Bad for You?

2009-10-21T17:13:00.001-06:00

Too much sugar will make you fat, but too much artificial sweetener will ... do what exactly? Kill you? Make you thinner? Or have absolutely no effect at all? This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration's decision to ban cyclamate, the first artificial sweetener prohibited in the U.S., and yet scientists still haven't reached a consensus about how safe (or harmful) artificial sweeteners may be. Shouldn't we have figured this out by now?

The first artificial sweetener, saccharin, was discovered in 1879 when Constantin Fahlberg, a Johns Hopkins University scientist working on coal-tar derivatives, noticed a substance on his hands and arms that tasted sweet. No one knows why Fahlberg decided to lick an unknown substance off his body, but it's a good thing he did. Despite an early attempt to ban the substance in 1911 — skeptical scientists said it was an "adulterant" that changed the makeup of food — saccharin grew in popularity, and was used to sweeten foods during sugar rationings in World Wars I and II. Though it is about 300 times sweeter than sugar and has zero calories, saccharin leaves an unpleasant metallic aftertaste. So when cyclamate came on the market in 1951, food and beverage companies jumped at the chance to sweeten their products with something that tasted more natural. By 1968, Americans were consuming more than 17 million pounds of the calorie-free substance a year in snack foods, canned fruit and soft drinks like Tab and Diet Pepsi.

But in the late 1960s, studies began linking cyclamate to cancer. One noted that chicken embryos injected with the chemical developed extreme deformities, leading scientists to wonder if unborn humans could be similarly damaged by their cola-drinking mothers. Another study linked the sweetener to malignant bladder tumors in rats. Because a 1958 congressional amendment required the FDA to ban any food additive shown to cause cancer in humans or animals, on Oct. 18, 1969, the government ordered cyclamate removed from all food products.

Saccharin became mired in controversy in 1977, when a study indicated that the substance might contribute to cancer in rats. An FDA move to ban the chemical failed, though products containing saccharin were required to carry warning labels. In 2000, the chemical was officially removed from the Federal Government's list of suspected carcinogens.

In 1981, the synthetic compound aspartame was approved for use, and it capitalized on saccharin's bad publicity by becoming the leading additive in diet colas. In 1995 and 1996, misinformation about aspartame that linked the chemical to everything from multiple sclerosis to Gulf War syndrome was widely disseminated on the Internet. While aspartame does adversely effect some people — including those who are unable to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine — it has been tested more than 200 times, and each test has confirmed that your Diet Coke is safe to drink. Nor have any health risks been detected in more than 100 clinical tests of sucralose, a chemically altered sugar molecule found in food, drinks, chewing gum and Splenda.

The fear-mongering and misinformation plaguing the faux-sweetener market seems to be rooted in a common misconception. No evidence indicates that sweeteners cause obesity; people with weight problems simply tend to eat more of it. While recent studies have suggested a possible link between artificial sweeteners and obesity, a direct link between additives and weight gain has yet to be found. The general consensus in the scientific community is that saccharin, aspartame and sucralose are harmless when consumed in moderation. And while cyclamate is still banned in the U.S., many other countries still allow it; it can even be found in the Canadian version of Sweet'n Low. Low-calorie additives won't make you thinner or curb your appetite. But they help unsweetened food taste better without harming you. And that's sweet enough.

Source: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1931116,00.html?xid=rss-fullhealthsci-yahoo

Out Of Energy?

2009-10-20T05:25:00.000-06:00

SEE NINE THINGS THAT ZAP YOUR VITALITY AND HOW TO GET IT BACK

It's 3 p.m.--do you know where your energy's gone? You probably expect to feel that late-afternoon drag, but you don't always have to. Turns out, some of your regular habits may be sneakily zapping your zip. Fix some or all of these energy stealers, and you just may be feeling brighter this afternoon.

Energy Zapper #1: Being Addicted to E-mail
Isn't being wired to the hilt--e-mail, voice mail, IM, BlackBerry--supposed to boost productivity, freeing up your energy? More often, the opposite is true. If you continually halt what you're doing to answer e-mail, check voice mail, and attend to a thousand other beeps and blips, your attention becomes diluted, which leaves you feeling depleted.

There are two things going on here, says John Salerno, MD, a New York City family physician and director of the Salerno Center for Complementary Medicine. "The brain needs a lot of physical and mental energy to multitask, which gets drained," he says. And continually redirecting your attention from the BlackBerry to other stimuli siphons more energy and distracts your brain further.

Energy Fix
Switch off electronic gadgets during your most productive work hours, which for most people tend to be in the morning, says Laura Stack, author of The Exhaustion Cure. As for e-mail, try to limit yourself to checking it once every hour, instead of hopping to whenever it beeps. (Hint: Turn off the beep sound.) If something pops into your mind that you need to remember--call back your mom, e-mail the soccer coach about the snack schedule--write it down and take care of it later.

Energy Zapper #2: Visual Clutter
We may be used to living in enclosed spaces with lots of stuff--a refrigerator door packed with artwork, a countertop laden with mail, a desk that's little more than a shifting pile of folders and paper--but it's not how we're meant to live, says Dr. Salerno. "Clutter signals disorder, which makes us anxious. Our brains sense that anxiety."

Energy Fix
Do your best to clear visual clutter, so when you look around, your eyes can "rest" rather than dart from mess to mess, says Janice Ash, organization expert and owner of I Declutter!. Instead of layering papers on a bulletin board, leave a small border of space around them. Clear the front of the fridge of all but the most current kids' artwork, and make a habit of leaving the kitchen counter stuff-free before bed each night.

Energy Zapper #3: Being Bored
Ever sat around for an hour or more not tackling a chore or work because it's just so darned monotonous? Mental foot-dragging, boredom and lack of motivation are draining, says Dr. Salerno. "Put simply, we like to see results, and getting things done gives us a mental energy boost." So avoiding tasks deprives you of that high.

Energy Fix
Find a partner for encouragement--a friend, a coworker--and call or e-mail to enlist her in a time challenge. "Say, ‘I'll check back in with you in an hour, and we'll see if we've gotten these reports/ organizing chores done.'" Or promise yourself motivational rewards for completing the task at hand, suggests Dr. Salerno.

Energy Zapper #4: Poor Posture
You already know that not sitting or standing straight is bad for your body. But all that hunching over a computer screen or cradling a phone on your shoulder wreaks havoc on your energy level, too, says Pia Martin, a San Diego health and wellness chiropractor. "When you sit for long periods, you tend to slump forward, leading to rounded shoulders and a tilted lower spine. Your muscles contract, and blood flow is impaired," which limits the amount of oxygen to your brain.

Energy Fix
Sit up straight! Your legs should be at right angles to the floor, your arms at right angles to your keyboard. Be conscious of keeping your shoulders down, not up near your ears. Adjust your computer screen so your eyes gaze at the middle of it. And don't just sit there--if you have to, set a timer to go off hourly to remind you to get up, stretch and get a drink of water. When you get back to your desk, do a quick posture check: Shoulders down! (Reboot your posture with these tips.)

Energy Zapper #5: Toxic Indoor Air
Humming copy machines. Cleaning products. Dry-cleaning chemicals. Synthetic carpeting. Even the desks in your office may be contributing to the load of toxins you breathe each day, because all of them release chemicals into the air. "No one knows for sure how much harm these cause to our bodies, but they do build up over time, and can drain your energy by potentially interfering with thyroid function and overloading the body's detox system," says Frank Lipman, MD, a New York City physician and author of Spent: End Exhaustion and Feel Great Again. (Reduce your exposure to chemical toxins.)

Energy Fix
Get outside. If you're feeling tired, go out for 10 minutes to breathe fresh air. Indoors, cultivate houseplants, which are remarkably good at absorbing toxins. And don't wear shoes inside the house--you're dragging not just dirt indoors on your soles, but pesticides and other harmful chemicals too.

Energy Zapper #6: Eating Too Much at Once
Consuming a big meal is always something that will cause a dip in energy later, but that effect is most noticeable in the afternoon because the slump happens at that reach-for-coffee-or-sugar hour: 3 p.m. Here's what happens: You fill up on a carb- and calorie-rich lunch and, as nutrients are absorbed by your body, excess glucose is dumped into your bloodstream, and your body releases insulin to process all that sugar. "A better idea is to spread out what and how you eat throughout the day to keep energy levels steady," says Gloria Tsang, RD, founder of the nutrition website HealthCastle.com.

Energy Fix
Eat every four hours, instead of the usual six. To reform lunch, "try to brownbag more often than eating out," says Tsang. It's a fact that if you buy takeout or dine in a restaurant, you're likely to eat more. Four hours after lunch, have a snack. If you're going to eat dinner a couple of hours later, keep the snack small, such as half a turkey sandwich, or a yogurt and some crackers. Other ideas: Drink liquids (water, tea) all day. "Dehydration makes you tired, too," says Tsang. If you usually have coffee right after lunch, try it a little later in the afternoon and make it a latte. The caffeine's an obvious pick-me-up, but the little bit of fat and protein in the milk gives you a snack-like boost. (Increase your energy with a smarter lunch.)

Energy Zapper #7: Living in Artificial Light
Our natural body rhythms are keyed to the rising and setting of the sun, says Carol Ash, DO, medical director of Sleep for Life, a sleep-disorder clinic in Somerset, New Jersey. When you open your eyes in the morning and get your first glimpse of sunlight, your brain receives a signal that helps it set its sleep-wake clock for the day. Similarly, seeing sunlight during the day gives your brain a boost. So if you are awake before the sun, and/or don't see much sun all day, your body is experiencing something a lot like jet lag.

Energy Fix
Instead of hitting the coffee cart when you're flagging, hit the sidewalk--the combination of physical exercise and a shot of sunlight will energize you. You don't need much: "A 10- to 20-minute walk in the sunshine will give you a boost," says Dr. Ash.

Energy Zapper #8: Listening to Negative Nellies
You may be upbeat, but it can be exhausting to listen to complainers all day long, whether it's the fellow mom who calls to trash-talk the neighbors or the coworker who never has a positive word to say. It's not your imagination: A 2006 study at Chicago's Northwestern University found that people forced to listen to "high-maintenance" colleagues became frustrated and unfocused, and suffered a decline in the quality of their work.

Energy Fix
Insulate yourself as best you can. If a coworker loves to enumerate her complaints, cut her off with a firm but polite "I really have to get this finished," then smile and get to work. She'll get the message. If it's your own negative thoughts that drag you down, train yourself to banish them by listing, daily, the things you're grateful for, so you can pull out that list when the negative stuff intrudes.

Energy Zapper #9: Holding a Grudge
It takes a surprising amount of energy to remember whom you have a grudge against, and to continually update the faults, missteps and things you're mad about. "Resentment is a huge drain physically as well as mentally," says Dr. Lipman. "Anger, resentment, grudges--all of these emotions are toxic, and we hang on to them in our bodies especially in tense, tired muscles."

Energy Fix
It takes practice, but try to forgive old mistakes. An easy way to start is to simply be aware of the times negative thoughts about others creep into your mind, says Dr. Lipman. "Think of others as flawed humans, which we all are," which makes it easier to forgive-and free up energy.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/featured/50/out-of-energy/

What Makes You Eat More Food

2009-10-17T18:21:00.000-06:00

Seven ways our bodies tell us we're hungry--even when we're not:

Time of Day
Through routine, we condition our bodies to expect breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time each day, says Randy Seeley, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati." Part of the reason you're hungry at noon is because that's the time you've eaten for the last 100 days."

Sight
Research using MRIs shows that brain patterns of people viewing photos of foods they like and foods they don't like are "very different," Seeley says. "The body anticipates when food is about to enter the system." And that's why your mouth starts watering when you see Mom's pie.

Variety
Even after eating a large meal, we often "make room" for dessert, because a desire for sweets hasn't been satisfied. Ann Gaba, a registered dietitian at New York Presbyterian Hospital, says that sometimes all it takes is a bit of fruit in a salad during a meal to curb a sugar craving.

Smell
Scent is one of the key ways we cue our bodies that food is near. Once the trigger goes off, it can induce the insulin secretion that makes us think we're hungry. Says Sharron Dalton, a nutrition professor at New York University: "Smell and sight alone activate the appetite cascade."

Alcohol
Drinking has not been scientifically proved to stimulate appetite, but too much beer, wine or liquor can impair judgment, causing us to eat more. "Most people who are on a diet will say it's a lot harder to push themselves away from the table if they've been drinking," observes Seeley.

Temperature
The colder the temperature, the more people tend to eat, which is why restaurants often keep thermostats low. "Your metabolism drops when it's time to eat, and eating warms you up," says David Ludwig, professor of pediatrics at Harvard. "Heat is a satiety signal."

Refined Carbs
After a meal heavy in refined carbohydrates, like white pasta, the body may crave food again within only a few hours. These foods cause blood sugar to drop, and "when our blood sugar is crashing, we're going to be a lot more interested in food in general," Ludwig says.

Source: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626481,00.html

Organic Food -- Is 'Natural' Worth the Extra Cost?

2009-09-02T20:41:00.000-06:00

12 organic foods that are worth the expense -- and 12 that probably aren't.

Once upon a time, organic food was available only at health food stores, marketed to "tree-hugging" consumers willing to pay extra for "natural," environmentally friendly foods. Today, organic foods are undeniably mainstream. Not only can they be found at most every neighborhood grocer, but even giants like Wal-Mart are getting into the act.

People who buy organic are seeking assurance that food production is gentle to the earth, and/or looking for safer, purer, more natural foods. But are organic foods really worth the added expense?

"If you can afford them, buy them," recommends New York University professor Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH. "It really is a personal choice but how can anyone think substances, such as pesticides, capable of killing insects, can be good for you?"

But American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Keecha Harris, DrPH, says, "There is no evidence that organic foods are superior over traditional foods."

Food does not have to be organic to be safe and environmentally friendly, she says. She recommends focusing on eating food grown close to where you live. She notes that some organic foods come from multinational companies and have been trucked across the country.

"They may be organic, but the ... environmental footprint includes lots of petrochemicals used in transportation, whereas if you buy produce from your local farmers market, it may not be organic but it is farm-fresh and less impactful on the environment," says Harris

One thing the experts agree on: Regardless of whether you choose locally grown, organic, or conventional foods, the important thing is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. The health benefits of such a diet far outweigh any potential risks from pesticide exposure.

What Makes a Food 'Organic'?

Don't confuse terms such as "free-range," hormone free" or "natural" with organic. These food labeling terms are not regulated by law.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has created an organic seal. Foods bearing it are required to be grown, harvested, and processed according to national standards that include restrictions on amounts and residues of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "organic" foods cannot be treated with any synthetic pesticides, sewage sludge, bioengineering, or ionizing radiation. They may use pesticides derived from a natural source.

When buying organic, look for the following regulated terms on food labels:

* Food labeled "100% organic" has no synthetic ingredients and can legally use the USDA organic seal.
* Food labeled "organic" has a minimum of 95% organic ingredients. It is eligible to use the USDA organic seal.
* Food labeled "made with organic ingredients" must contain at least 70% organic ingredients. It is not eligible for the USDA seal.
* Meat, eggs, poultry, and dairy labeled "organic" must come from animals that have never received antibiotics or growth hormones. "It is almost impossible to get organic meat," Nestle notes.

It should be noted the USDA has yet to set standards for organic seafood or cosmetics. Most cosmetics are blends, including ingredients that may or may not be organic.

Experts recommend spending most of your organic food dollars on produce, as it is most likely to contain pesticides.

Organic Food and Your Health

The USDA makes no claims that organic foods are safer, healthier, or more nutritious than conventional foods. There is also little research on the health outcomes of people who eat primarily organic diets.

Government limits do establish the safe amount of pesticides that can be used in growing and processing foods, and the amount of pesticide residue allowable on foods.

According to the EPA web site, because kids' immune systems are not fully developed, they may be at greater risk from some pesticides than adults. The web site also notes that the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act set tougher standards to protect infants and children from pesticide risks.
The Price of Buying Organic Food

Just how much more expensive is it to go organic? You can expect to pay 50%-100% more for organic foods. That's because, in general, it is more labor-intensive, and without the help of pesticides, the yield is not always as favorable.

To maximize your organic food dollar, the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., recommends going organic on the "dirty dozen" -- types of produce that are most susceptible to pesticide residue:

* Peaches
* Apples
* Sweet bell peppers
* Celery
* Nectarines
* Strawberries
* Cherries
* Pears
* Grapes (imported)
* Spinach
* Lettuce
* Potatoes

And which organic produce is probably not worth the added expense? The group lists these 12 items as having the least pesticide residues:

* Papayas
* Broccoli
* Cabbage
* Bananas
* Kiwifruit
* Sweet peas (frozen)
* Asparagus
* Mangoes
* Pineapple
* Sweet corn (frozen)
* Avocadoes
* Onions

You can help keep costs down by shopping for sale items, comparing prices, buying locally grown products either at farmers' markets or via a co-op. The sale of organic foods in large grocery store chains is also likely to help keep prices down in the long run.

Reduce Pesticide Residues

Whether or not you buy organic, you can do your part to reduce pesticide residues on foods with the following tips:

* Wash and scrub produce under streaming water to remove dirt, bacteria and surface pesticide residues, even produce with inedible skins such as cantaloupe. Do not use soap.
* Remove the peel from fruits and vegetables.
* Remove the outer leaves of leafy vegetables.
* Trim visible fat and skin from meat and poultry because pesticide residues can collect in fat.
* Eat a variety of foods from different sources.
* Join a co-op farm that supports community agriculture.

"Is Organic Food Any Better" Video

Found at: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/organic-food-is-natural-worth-the-extra-cost

Low-carb diets 'damage arteries'

2009-08-24T21:35:00.000-06:00

Low-carb slimming diets may clog arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, a study suggests.

Diets based on eating lots of meat, fish and cheese, while restricting carbohydrates have grown in popularity in recent years.

But the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found such eating habits caused artery damage in tests on mice.

The researchers and independent experts both agreed a balanced diet was the best option.

Low-carb diets have attracted a lot of attention and controversy after a surge in interest in them in the 1990s.

The Israeli team decided to investigate their impact on the cardiovascular system after hearing of reports of people on the diets suffering heart attacks.

They fed the mice three different diets - a standard mouse type, a western diet which was high in fat, and a low-carb, high-protein version, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported.

The low-carb diet did not affect cholesterol levels, but there was a significant difference on the impact on atherosclerosis - the build-up of fatty plaque deposits in the arteries that can lead to heart attacks or strokes.

After 12 weeks, the mice eating the low-carb diet had gained less weight, but developed 15% more atherosclerosis than those on the standard mice food. For the western diet group there was 9% more atherosclerosis.

The team could not be certain why the effect was seen, but thought low-carb diets may affect the way bone marrow cells effectively clean arteries of fatty deposits.

Adverse effects

Lead researcher Anthony Rosenzweig said the findings were so concerning to him that he decided to come off the low-carb diet he was following.

He added: "Our research suggests that, at least in animals, these diets could be having adverse cardiovascular effects.

"It appears that a moderate and balanced diet, coupled with regular exercise, is probably best for most people."

Joanne Murphy, from the Stroke Association, agreed following a balanced diet was the best advice.

"We know that foods such as red meat and diary products, which are high in protein, also contain high levels of saturated fat. These fats then cause the build up in the arteries."

But she added the research was still at an early stage and she wanted to see more work done on the subject.

Ellen Mason, from the British Heart Foundation, said it was difficult to apply the findings to humans.

But she added: "Low-carb, high-protein diets are not considered as healthy as eating a balanced diet, which is good for health because we get the different nutrients our body needs by eating from the different food groups every day."

Found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8218780.stm

HIV and AIDS

2009-06-26T16:56:00.000-06:00

HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) damages the immune system, making a person infected with it more likely to develop a range of health problems including infections and cancer. Approximately 33 million people are living with HIV worldwide.

In Australia the experience of HIV and AIDS has been different to that in many other countries with a much smaller proportion of people living with HIV.

* Information about statistics from South Australia is available on the website of Clinic 275
http://www.stdservices.on.net/stats/hiv-aids.htm
* Australian statistics are available on the site of National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of NSW (Australia)
http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecr/
* International information is available on the World Health Organization (WHO) site:
http://www.who.int/hiv/data/en/index.html

Even though most people with HIV in Australia have access to treatments, many people have had their lives profoundly affected by living with HIV/AIDS.

What are HIV and AIDS?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.

* HIV is a virus that affects only humans. It lives and multiplies within immune cells (mainly white blood cells called T-lymphocytes), destroying them and weakening the immune system, making the body vulnerable to a range of other diseases and infections.

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

* Acquired means people are not born with AIDS. It is not a genetic condition.
* A syndrome is a collection of symptoms or illnesses that occur together as the direct result of one cause. In the case of AIDS, the cause is HIV.
* During advanced stages of AIDS, a person may develop a range of illnesses and conditions typical of the syndrome.

How do you get HIV?

Three body fluids contain HIV in a high enough concentration for the virus to be passed on if even a small amount of one of them enters the bloodstream of another person. These fluids are blood, semen and vaginal fluids. These may enter a person's bloodstream in the following ways:

Unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse ('unsafe sex')

* During unprotected vaginal and anal intercourse, tiny cuts or abrasions in the vagina, anus or penis can allow infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids to enter the bloodstream.
* 'Unprotected' means without the use of a condom and lubricant (see the topic 'Safer sex' for more information).

Blood contact between an HIV-positive and an HIV-negative person

* Sharing syringes or needles (or other injecting equipment) can pass blood from one person to another. After injecting drugs there is often blood left in the needle or syringe, even if the syringe and needle look clean. If another person uses this injecting equipment, they may be exposed to blood containing HIV if the first person is infected.
* HIV can be passed on when any other equipment that is not sterile punctures the skin if it has already been used on someone who has an HIV infection. This includes equipment used for:
o body and ear piercing
o tattooing
o some medical and dental procedures.
* Blood contact can also occur during an accident such as a 'needlestick' injury. However, if proper infection control procedures are used, the chances of infection are extremely small, even if the source of the blood is a person with an HIV infection.

During pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding

* If a woman who is HIV-positive becomes pregnant, there is a less than 2% chance that the baby will also become HIV-positive if she is having appropriate treatment for her HIV infection.
* If a woman is HIV positive and is not having treatment, the risk of her baby becoming infected is about 30%. This may happen:
o during pregnancy, by infected blood passing through the placenta into the baby’s bloodstream
o during the birth itself - vaginal or caesarean delivery
o during breastfeeding (breast milk is not a risk for older babies, children or adults, who all have enough stomach acid to kill HIV. A new born baby, however, may not have enough acid).

Saliva or oral sex

There is no risk of contracting HIV from the saliva of an HIV-positive person.

* HIV infection is only possible when enough of the virus enters your bloodstream. With saliva, around a litre and a half would have to be injected or swallowed.
* If saliva enters your mouth through, for example, kissing an HIV positive person, your own saliva will dilute theirs and your stomach acid will kill the virus.

The risk of getting HIV from oral sex is very low.

* Of the millions of HIV infections in the world, only two or three are thought to have been acquired from oral sex. (If there are bleeding sores in the mouth, gum disease, or cut lips, for example, there is a theoretical possibility of transmission.)

Blood transfusion

* Giving blood is completely safe, as a clean needle is used for each blood donor.
* All blood donated at Australian blood banks is thoroughly screened for HIV. Any blood that shows traces of HIV antibodies is destroyed. Because of this, receiving a blood transfusion from the Australian blood supply is considered safe. No one has contracted HIV through receiving a blood transfusion in Australia since screening began in 1985.

How long does the virus survive outside the body?

HIV is very fragile.

* Unlike some other viruses (e.g. hepatitis C), HIV will not survive outside the body for very long.
* As soon as it leaves the body and is exposed to air, the virus will start to die, particularly if there is only a small quantity of blood, semen or vaginal fluid involved.
* Soap and water, shaving cream and ordinary disinfectants will kill the virus.

Day-to-day contact

There is no risk of contracting HIV through normal day-to-day activity or by caring for a person with HIV or AIDS. For example, you cannot catch HIV through:

* shaking hands with someone
* kissing and hugging
* being sneezed or coughed on
* using toilet seats, telephones, pens or paper
* sharing food, drink, cups, cutlery, towels or a bed
* washing, massaging or rubbing someone
* being in the same room with someone
* touching blood on pads or tampons
* insect or mosquito bites.

Throughout the AIDS epidemic, millions of people have lived with, hugged, kissed and cared for family members, lovers and friends with HIV. If this type of activity was risky, there would be many millions more HIV positive people than there are.

Safe sex?

Can a person who is HIV positive still have safe sex? Yes! That is what 'safe sex' is all about.

* Any sexual practice not involving the exchange of blood, semen or vaginal fluids is considered safe.
* If a condom and water-based lubricant is used properly during vaginal or anal intercourse, the chance of contracting HIV is very low.

Have a look at the topic Safer sex for more information.

Syringes and needles

Sharing or re-using syringes and needles ('fits') is not safe.

* Clean fits are available from a range of Clean Needle Program ('needle exchange') outlets throughout South Australia, free, with no questions asked.

Accidents involving blood

If you are ever required to give first aid, or if there is an accident involving blood, you should treat all blood as if it were infectious. The main risks are from Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, but it is possible that HIV could be spread this way.

To protect yourself, standard infection control precautions should always be followed:

* wear disposable gloves
* wash the relevant surface with disinfectant (ordinary household bleach is adequate)
* cover open cuts or sores with a water proof bandage
* dispose of waste matter (rags, soiled paper, etc.) in a sealed plastic bag
* wash and dry soiled towels, clothes and linen as normal.

The blood test for HIV/AIDS

When a person is infected with HIV, their blood will produce specific antibodies in response to the virus. If a person's blood contains these antibodies it is because it also contains HIV. If there is no HIV, then there are no HIV antibodies.

Unfortunately, the blood can take some time to produce a sufficient quantity of these antibodies to be detected in a blood test. In 99% of people, the maximum period (window period) this takes is 12 weeks (3 months).

* A positive result means that the blood contains HIV antibodies and therefore contains HIV.
* A negative result means that no HIV antibodies can be found in the blood because either:
o there is no HIV in the blood
o the infection has occurred so recently that the blood has not yet produced a sufficient quantity of HIV antibodies to be detected (seroconversion) i.e. the test has been taken during the window period.
* If you have a test and the result is positive, this result will be accurate.
* If you have a test and the result is negative, and you have not engaged in any unsafe behaviour in the past 12 weeks, then the result will be accurate.
* If, however, you believe that you may have recently been exposed to infection, you should have another follow up test no earlier than 12 weeks after the first. If this result is also negative, and you have not engaged in unsafe behavior during these 12 weeks, then you will not have been infected with HIV.

What happens after a person is infected with HIV?

Once a person has been infected with HIV, they could react to the infection in different ways.

Seroconversion (sero-con-ver-sion)

* Over 50% of people have a short lasting reaction to the infection a couple of weeks after HIV first enters their blood.
* They may develop a cold or flu-like illness from which they will recover quite quickly. Since this reaction is the same as happens with many other virus infections, it is rare for this to be recognized as being due to HIV.
* This is called seroconversion ('sero' means blood), meaning the conversion from being HIV antibody-negative to positive.

Asymptomatic (no symptoms)

* Most people who are HIV-positive will look and feel well for many years after getting HIV.
* This asymptomatic period can last on average in Australia from 4 to 15 years after seroconversion.
* However, the virus continues to replicate during this time and is active in destroying immune cells.
* The virus can also be passed on to other people by unsafe behaviours.

Symptomatic

* A person with HIV may at some point develop lymph gland enlargement that does not go away, in the neck, armpits and/or groin. This is called 'persistent generalized lymphadenopathy' (PGL).
* Other symptoms include a lack of energy, fevers and night sweats, persistent oral or vaginal thrush, persistent diarrhea and weight loss.
* HIV-positive people who have symptoms may get better and be asymptomatic again.

AIDS-defining

* During advanced stages of HIV infection, a person may develop any of a number of illnesses and conditions which indicate they have AIDS.
* These are called AIDS-defining conditions and include:
o continuing weight loss
o neurological (brain) disorders such as dementia
o severe infections that don't get better with normal treatment
o cancers such as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Over recent years, highly effective treatments for HIV have been developed. It has been proven that by using combinations of powerful drugs, the activity of the virus can be limited a great deal. Before long, HIV may be considered as a manageable long-term condition over the period of a normal life expectancy.

What treatments are available for HIV/AIDS?

The is no cure for HIV infection and there is no vaccine to protect anyone from the infection.

Over recent years, highly effective treatments for HIV have been developed. It has been proven that by using combinations of powerful drugs, the activity of the virus can be limited a great deal. Before long, HIV may be considered as a manageable long-term condition over the period of a normal life expectancy.

Treatments used are dependent on the individual’s needs, circumstances and choice.

* Maintaining a healthy lifestyle
* Preventative (prophylactic) medications to prevent specific illnesses that may arise in someone with HIV/AIDS.
* Treating llnesses that arise in people with HIV/AIDS using the same medications as are used for other people for the same problems. For example, infections may be treated with antibiotics, and cancers may be treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy.
* Antiviral medications - to attack HIV by interfering with its ability to reproduce. This keeps the amount of HIV in the body as low as possible, thus slowing the damage to the immune system.
* Alternative/complementary therapies. The use of alternative medicines and therapies has proven quite successful in assisting many people in dealing with the consequences of HIV infection. Techniques such as massage and meditation, for example, have obvious benefits to a persons general well-being.

Resources
South Australia

* AIDS Council of South Australia (ACSA)
Internet site provides lists of resource agencies, plus links to many other South Australian and Australian organizations, agencies and research organizations.
http://www.acsa.org.au
* Women’s Health Statewide HIV project, support for HIV positive women
http://www.whs.sa.gov.au/project_hiv.php
* People living with HIV/AIDS (SA) and the Adelaide Positive Living Centre
http://www.hivsa.org.au/
* Clinic 275 (Sexually Transmitted Infections Clinic). Free and confidential advice, testing and treatment for all sexually transmitted infections.
http://www.stdservices.on.net
* SHine SA (Sexual health and information)
http://www.shinesa.org.au
* The Second Story Youth Health Service, Youth Healthline 1300 13 17 19
* Department of Health, South Australia HIV Action Plan 2009 - 2012 http://www.health.sa.gov.au/pehs/publications/090525-hiv-action-plan.pdf

References and further reading

AIDS Council of SA, frequently asked questions,
http://www.acsa.org.au

Department of Health, South Australia, HIV/AIDS statistics
http://www.stdservices.on.net/stats/hiv-aids.htm

Department of Health, South Australia 'Human Immunodeficiency Virus'
http://www.dh.sa.gov.au/pehs/Youve-got-what/ygw-hiv.pdf

National Association of People living with HIV/AIDS, Australia (NAPWA)
http://napwa.org.au/

National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of NSW (Australia)
http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecr/

UNAIDS, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
www.unaids.org/en

Women’s Health Statewide, HIV women’s project
http://www.whs.sa.gov.au/project_hiv2.php#support

World Health Organisation and HIV/AIDS
http://www.who.int/hiv/en

Source: http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=243&np=292&id=2446

Loss of Sense of Smell with Intranasal Cold Remedies Containing Zinc

2009-06-18T21:49:00.000-06:00

FDA is alerting consumers that Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs, and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size, a discontinued product that consumers may still have in their homes, have all been associated with long lasting or permanent loss of smell (referred to as anosmia). These products, marketed by Matrixx Initiatives, are zinc-containing, nasal cold remedies used to reduce the duration and severity of cold symptoms. However, these products have not been shown to be effective in the reduction of the duration and severity of cold symptoms.

This advisory does not concern oral zinc tablets and lozenges taken by mouth.

FDA recommends that consumers stop using these products and throw them away. See the FDA website for How to Dispose of Unused Medicines.

For treating symptoms of the common cold, consumers can take a number of other over-the-counter drugs. However, the common cold goes away without treatment, usually within seven to ten days.

Since the introduction of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel to the market in 1999, FDA has received more than 130 reports of anosmia associated with the use of Zicam zinc-containing intranasal products. The reports vary. Many people state that the loss of sense of smell occurred with the first dose of the Zicam product, although some people report it happened after later doses. The loss of sense of smell may be long-lasting or even permanent in some people.

Loss of the sense of smell may cause serious problems, such as failing to smell smoke, a gas leak, or spoiled food. Also, loss of the sense of smell is often linked with a loss of the sense of taste. People who cannot taste could unintentionally eat spoiled food and not appreciate flavors, and lose much of the pleasure of eating.

FDA recommends that consumers contact their healthcare provider if they experience loss of the sense of smell or taste, or experience other problems after using any zinc-containing nasal products.

Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this Product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax, using the contact information at the bottom of this sheet.

Source: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PublicHealthAdvisories/ucm166059.htm

The H-Factor Can Make Dieting Easier

2009-06-04T11:18:00.000-06:00

Happiness and emotional well-being are overlooked in many diets, but they have so much to do with curbing your appetite, inspiring you to choose healthier foods, and long-term change. Without happiness or satisfaction, weight loss is a daunting, laborious, often impossible endeavor. To find out how to infuse a diet with the H-factor of happpiness, I got in touch with renowned macrobiotic counselor, author, and speaker, Denny Waxman for tricks to change your body and your life.

DENNY WAXMAN'S STEPS FOR A HAPPY DIET...

Play more, workout less.
Children do not want to eat when they are playing. They want to eat when they are bored or forced to do things they do not want to do. The principles are the same for adults. Satisfying activities enhance your appetite for healthy foods and help you feel satisfied with less. The wrong activities make you want to reward yourself with rich foods and unhealthy sweets.

Have a serving of vegetable soup everyday.
Soup helps condition your digestive system and gets it ready for the meal. Soup also makes you feel more satisfied and naturally helps you eat less.

Plan your meals around grains, vegetables, and other high fiber foods.
Make your metabolism active to maintain your proper weight without effort.
Metabolism is your ability to digest and absorb the nutrition from your food and then eliminate the excess efficiently. There are two ways to activate your metabolism. The first is to plan your meals around grains, vegetables, and other high fiber foods. This combination makes you feel the most satisfied without feeling that you need to restrict the amount of food you eat. The second way to activate your metabolism is to...

Eat at regular times without skipping meals.
Eating between meals has a stagnating effect. The ideal starting times for stimulating your metabolism are between 5:00 & 8:30 am for breakfast, 11:00 am & 1:00 pm for lunch, and 5:00 & 7:00 pm for dinner.

Sit down to eat without reading, watching TV, or working.
Develop a relationship with your food, and you will feel more satisfied, have better digestion, and eat less. Eating with family and friends strengthens communication and creates a strong feeling of connectedness that can also leave you feeling less hungry.

Try to make your daily foods both satisfying and nourishing.
Try to find healthy foods that satisfy your basic needs, instead of eliminating the foods you think are causing your problems. Feeling deprived does not lead to happiness. Restriction in your diet inevitably leads to excess. This is the reason most diets fail.

Eat more high-fiber foods.
Grains, vegetables, fruits, soups and other plant-based foods make your digestive system happy. They pass through your digestive system more easily than animal and dairy foods, and help keep it clean and healthy.

Walk outside for at least a half hour daily.
Walking is not exercise, it is a natural activity that makes your body and mind work better and returns you to a state of harmony and balance. Life-related activities including cleaning, gardening, and dancing are the most satisfying and beneficial to your health and weight.

Give yourself a daily massage.
A daily body rub cleans and renews your skin, making it look and feel younger in just days or weeks. It also activates your blood, lymph, and energy circulation to help keep your metabolism active. Fill your sink with just hot water. Dip in a cotton face cloth, wring it out, and rub your skin lightly. Gentle pressure is more effective than a vigorous scrub. Frequently re-dip the cloth and try to get all your body with a back and forth motion.

Stop eating 3 hours before getting into bed.
Your body wants to clean and repair at night while you are sleeping. When your stomach is empty, you are much more efficient at this process because your liver will not be bogged down storing unused nutrition. This allows it to more easily neutralize acidity and detoxify your body. You will sleep more deeply and wake feeling more refreshed and happy.

Source: http://food.yahoo.com/blog/yahoofreshpicks/7938/the-h-factor-can-make-dieting-easier/

What Chain-Food Favorites Cost in Exercise

2009-06-03T10:48:00.000-06:00

My "two scoops won't hurt and neither will these french fries" approach to eating doesn't lend itself well to swimsuit season. Although the beach treks may have begun, there is time to make change. So, let me have it. What's that ice cream going to cost me in workout minutes? To tell us is Charles Stuart Platkin, also known as the Diet Detective. He is the author of five books and and host of WE TV's I Want To Save Your Life. Here is his report on what some of our chain-food favorites should cost us in time spent doing common exercises...

Note: Calorie content of foods are based on official website information at the time of publication. Minutes of exercise are averages based on a 155-pound person. The greater the weight of the person the more calories burned per minute.

DONUT
Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donut (230 calories)
59 minutes of walking (3 mph).

BREAKFAST SANDWICH
McDonald's Egg McMuffin (300 calories)
32 minutes of running (5 mph).

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE
Panera Chocolate Chipper (440 calories)
62 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

PIZZA
Pizza Hut Large Hand-Tossed Style Cheese Pizza (1 slice; 320 calories)
39 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

CINNAMON ROLL
Starbucks Cinnamon Roll (500 calories, varies by location)
85 minutes of dancing.

HAMBURGER
Burger King Original Whopper With Cheese (770 calories)
94 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

BROWNIE
Au Bon Pain Chocolate Chip Brownie (380 calories).
129 minutes of yoga (Hatha style).

FRIES
Wendy's Large French Fries (540 calories)
77 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

ICE CREAM
Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream (0.5 cup; 270 calories)
29 minutes of running (5 mph).

BURRITO
Taco Bell Burrito Supreme, Beef (410 calories)
70 minutes of dancing.

Found at: http://food.yahoo.com/blog/yahoofreshpicks/9960/what-chain-food-favorites-cost-in-exercise/

10 'Healthy' Foods That Aren't So Healthy

2009-05-18T04:55:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder why you can’t lose weight even though you’re eating “healthy?”

More than likely it’s because you’re misinformed as to what really constitutes healthy food, nutritionist and dietician Tanya Zuckerbrot told Foxnews.com.

“When I see some of the food choices people make I wonder if it’s just that people don’t care,” said Zuckerbrot, author of the F-Factor Diet. “But I really think it’s just that people don’t know what’s good for them and what’s not.”

Here are 10 healthy foods that aren’t:

Olive oil: Sure it’s a heart-healthy monounsaturated oil, but it’s also rich in calories and fat. “Oil is oil,” Zuckerbrot said.

“Whether it’s olive oil or some other kind of oil, it still has 120 calories and 14 grams of fat per tablespoon. You’re better off using a pat of butter (for bread) than dipping it in olive oil because the bread sops up the oil like a sponge. So a little bit of butter is better than a lot of olive oil.”

Tuna fish: Think that tuna sandwich is a light lunch? Think again. The average overstuffed tuna sandwich served in a restaurant contains 700 calories and 43 grams of fat.

The reason? The mayo. “Tuna fish has just 35 calories per ounce and it’s full of omega-3s, but mayonnaise has 100 calories per tablespoon,” Zuckerbrot said. “You’re better off having a turkey or even a roast beef sandwich. Even chicken salad is better than tuna salad, because tuna is so fine there’s a lot more surface area for the mayonnaise to fill.”

Granola: The term granola may be used to describe health-conscious people, but the cereal itself is actually quite fattening. That’s because granola cereals often contain oils, including high in saturated fat coconut oil, sugar, nuts and other high calorie foods.

“Something like Fiber One has 60 calories per half cup and 14 grams of fiber versus a half cup of granola, which was 240 calories, 5 to 10 grams of fat and just 3 grams of fiber,” Zuckerbrot said, adding that fiber is the key to feeling full and satiated.

Organic food: Organic food may be preservative and pesticide free, but that doesn’t mean it’s also calorie-free, said Zuckerbrot. “I mean they make organic potato chips so what does that tell you,” she said.

Sushi: Tuna sashimi is very healthy. A California roll or tempura roll, not so much, said Zuckerbrot.

“Japanese food is inherently healthy, but when you Americanize it and start adding things like cream cheese and avocado, that’s when you run into problems,” she said.

Tuna sashimi, for example, has about 35 calories and 1 gram of fat per ounce. But a spicy tuna roll has 290 calories and 11 grams of fat, and a tempura roll has 320 calories and 17 grams of fat. “You’re better off going with tuna sashimi, miso soup (36 calories) and a salad (35 calories with a tablespoon of non-creamy ginger dressing).”

Pizza: “Yes the sauce is high in lycopene, but all the lycopene in the world is not going to convince me pizza is a heart-healthy food,” Zuckerbrot said. “And mozzarella cheese is a good source of calcium, but it’s also high in calories.”

An average slice of pizza sold in New York City has between 600 and 700 calories. A more traditional slice, about one-twelfth of a pie, has between 300 and 400 calories, said Zuckerbrot. “And most people eat at least two slices to feel satisfied,” she said. “Your best bet is to eat one slice and get a salad or a cup of minestrone soup on the side so that you feel satisfied and save on the calories.”

Frozen diet meals: Sure Lean Cuisine and Weight Watcher frozen entrees are fairly low in calories and convenient, but they’re also highly processed and high in sodium.

“I understand the convenience factor, but most of these meals have more than 600 milligrams of sodium and the portions are really small and they’re not really satisfying,” Zuckerbrot said. “So you eat one for dinner and then by 9:00 you’re hungry again. You’re better off eating a slice of whole wheat bread with some light sauce and light mozzarella or an egg white omelet with some vegetables.”

Protein bars: Another convenient food, but not very nutritious. Zuckerbrot describes protein bars as her least favorite food and said they are basically glorified candy bars. They’re also often high in calories, fat and do little to satisfy a person’s hunger.

A better choice, said Zuckerbrot, is hitting the salad bar and grabbing lots of lettuce, artichokes and broccoli, topped with plain balsamic vinegar. For 100 to 200 calories, you get a lot more for a lot less calories.

Pretzels: They’re low in fat and low on nutrition. “They’re basically empty calories,” Zuckerbrot said. “Inherently, pretzels themselves are not unhealthy, but they’re basically all sugar so they’ll make you hungrier and you’ll gain weight as a result of over-eating."

Fat-free, sugar-free muffins: Regardless of whether a muffin is fat free or sugar free, they still usually have around 600 calories, according to Zuckerbrot.

“It’s nothing but cake in disguise, especially these double chocolate chip-type muffins,” she said. “But even bran muffins, they’re very dense, very high in calories. The same thing goes for scones. People think that because they’re not sweet, they’re healthy. But scones are full of butter.”

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316477,00.html

America’s Unhealthiest Restaurants

2009-03-26T11:16:00.000-06:00

Your favorite fast food restaurant is often like your favorite city: Visit some neighborhoods and you live the high life. Visit others and you’re just plain asking for trouble. And that’s where Eat This, Not That! comes in: We’ve analyzed and graded 66 different chain restaurants—fast food and sit-down—to determine which ones have healthy options, and which could turn out to be diet disasters.

What we found will surprise you. Specifically, some of the fast food joints you’ve come to think of as terrible for you actually ranked alright—McDonald’s scored a B+, for example, so the Micky D’s drive-thru just might be your fast-lane to weight loss. Something even more shocking, though: more than half of the sit-down restaurants we graded ended up with our lowest scores!

To separate the commendable from the deplorable, we calculated the total number of calories per entrée. This gave us a snapshot of how each restaurant compared in average serving size—a key indicator of unhealthy portion distortion. Then we rewarded establishments with fruit and vegetable side-dish choices, as well as offering whole-wheat bread. Finally, we penalized places for excessive amounts of trans fats and menus that tempt you with fat-laden desserts. Hey, if the neighborhood is crowded with shady characters, sooner or later, one of them will jump you.

Here’s our restaurant report card for some of the unhealthiest restaurants in America. It’ll help you stay on the safer side of town.

D+
Baskin-Robbins
We thought we'd see some improvements after we identified Baskin's Heath Shake as the Worst Drink on the Planet. All they did was lower it from 2,300 to 1,900 calories, leaving an almost equally egregious drinkable disaster to set back unsuspecting sippers. It’s typical of the menu there; B-R’s soft serve is among the most caloric in the country, the smoothies contain more sugar than fruit, and most of what Baskin sticks into a cup winds up with more fat than what'll end up on your plate at a steakhouse buffet. Check out our complete list of the 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America to see the other liquid offenders. If you learn how to make smart choices when you sip, you can lose a few pounds a month—without giving up your favorite foods, or ever dieting again.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: With frozen yogurt, sherbet, and no-sugar-added ice cream, Baskin's lighter menu is the one bright spot. Just be sure to ask for your ice cream in a sugar or cake cone—the waffle cone will swaddle your treat in an extra 160 calories.

D+
Carl’s Jr.
Most fast-food restaurants today are making at least some attempt to offset their bulging burgers and deep-fried sides with healthier options such as lean sandwiches or yogurt parfaits. But Carl's Jr. is swimming against the nutritional tide, trying to attract those with hearty appetites and less concern about fat, salt and calories. The lightest item on the breakfast menu, for instance, is the Hash Brown Nuggets—but even they have 21 grams of fat, and 5.5 of them are trans fats. (As a rule, you should try to get 2 grams or fewer of the stuff in an entire day!) The burgers are worse, and there's not a side on the menu that hasn't been given a long, bubbling bath in their trans-fatty frying oil.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Find another place to grab lunch. Failing that, you should settle on either the Charbroiled Chicken Salad with Low-Fat Balsamic Dressing or the Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich—the only sandwich on the menu with fewer than 400 calories.

D+
Denny’s
Too bad the adult menu at Denny's doesn't adhere to the same standard as the kids' menu. The famous Slam breakfasts all top 800 calories, and the burgers are even worse. The Double Cheeseburger is one of the worst in the country, with 116 grams of fat, 7 of which are trans fats! (This explains why it made our list of the worst burgers in America (and what you should eat instead). Make sure you try to avoid it (and all others on the list) whenever possible.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The Fit Fare menu gathers together all the best options on the menu. Outside of that, stick to the sirloin, grilled chicken, or soups. For breakfast, order a Veggie Cheese Omelet or create your own meal from a la carte options such as fruit, oatmeal, toast, and eggs.

D+
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen’s taste for excess rivals that of other fast-food failures such as Carl's Jr. and Hardees. But unlike Carl's, DQ offers an avalanche of ice cream creations to follow up its sodium-spiked, trans-fatty foods. Here's a look at one hypothetical meal: a Bacon Cheddar GrillBurger with Onion Rings and a Small Snickers Blizzard is a staggering 1,740-calorie meal with 2,640 mg sodium and 83 grams of fat—2 grams of which are trans fats.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Play solid defense. Skip elaborate burgers, fried sides, and specialty ice cream concoctions entirely. Order a Grilled Chicken Sandwich or an Original Burger, and if you must have a treat, stick to a small soft-serve or a small sundae.

D+
Ruby Tuesday
The chain earned its fame from a hearty selection of hamburgers. The problem: They average 75 grams of fat a piece—more than enough to exceed the USDA's recommended limit for the day. Even the veggie and turkey burgers have more than 850 calories! The chain rounds out its menu with a selection of appetizers that hover around 1,000 calories (supposedly to be split 4-ways), a smattering of high-impact entrées like potpie and ribs, and a sloppy selection of salads that is just as bad.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Solace lies in the three Ss: steak, seafood, and sides. Sirloins, salmon, and shrimp all make for relatively innocuous eating, especially when paired with one of Ruby Tuesday's half dozen healthy sides such as mashed cauliflower and baby green beans. Other than that, impersonate Mick Jagger and think about occasionally saying goodbye to Ruby Tuesday!

D
Chili’s
From burgers to baby back ribs, Chili's serves up some of the saltiest and fattiest fare on fast-food row. In fact, with 3,810 mg of sodium and 122 grams of fat, Chili's Smokehouse Bacon Triple Cheese Big Mouth Burger earns the distinction as being one of the worst burgers in America. The Guiltless Grill menu is Chili's attempt to offer healthier options, but with only eight items and an average sodium count of 1,320 mg, there’s meager hope for nutritional salvation.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: There's not too much to choose from after you omit the ribs, burgers, fajitas, chicken, and salads. You're better off with a Classic Sirloin and steamed vegetables or broccoli. Another decent option is the Chicken Fajita Pita with Black Beans and Pico de Gallo. A lot of the appetizers, while delicious, are worrisome too—one from Chili’s made it on our list of Worst Appetizers in America.

D
Uno Chicago Grill
Uno has some serious strikes against it: The chain invented the deep-dish pizza, they encouraged gluttony with their Bigger and Better menu, and in 1997 they faced false-advertising charges for erroneously claiming that some of their pizzas were low in fat. They've cleaned up some of the more conspicuous health hazards and have increased nutritional transparency at all of their stores, but from appetizers to desserts, this menu is still riddled with belt-busting fat.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: First off, cast aside the bloated breadstick that Uno tries to sneak onto most plates. Next, choose flatbread over deep-dish pizzas—it could save you more than 1,000 calories. Beyond that, stick to soups or entree items served with Mango Salsa.

D
Chevy’s
Don't let the made-fresh-daily shtick distract you; Chevy's massive portions push many of the meals beyond the 1,000-calorie threshold. The taco trader’s menu has three strikes against it: 1.) the consistently high amount of fat in its entrees (the average salad has 67 grams); 2.) the outrageous salt levels that make it difficult to find a meal with fewer than 2,000 mg of sodium (you should get around that amount in an entire day of eating); and 3.) the chain earns its poor score by failing to offer complete nutritional disclosure. It provides no information for its appetizers or quesadillas, for instance, and although it maintains it uses trans-fat free oils, there's no trans-fat data for the full entrees.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The best items on the menu are the Homemade Tortilla Soup, with just 393 calories and a full 26 grams of protein, and the Santa Fe Chopped Salad, which has only 470 calories when you order it without cheese. If you can't resist an entrée, order it without all the fixin's—tamalito, rice, sour cream, and cheese. That should knock more than 300 calories off your meal.

D-
On the Border
On the Border is a subsidiary of Brinker International, the same parent company that owns Chili's and Romano's Macaroni Grill. It should come as no surprise then that this chain is just as threatening to your health as its corporate cohorts. The overloaded menu offers appetizers with 120 grams of fat, salads with a full day's worth of sodium, and taco entrées with an horrific 960 calories—and that’s the calculation without rice and beans. Border crossing is a decidedly dangerous enterprise.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The Border Smart Menu highlights four items with fewer than 600 calories and 25 grams of fat. Those aren't great numbers considering they average 1,800 mg of sodium apiece, but that's all you've got to work with.

D-
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
For years now we've been on Romano's case to clean up the menu at the beloved Macaroni Grill. So far we've had no luck. This Italian grease spot serves some of the worst appetizers in the country, offers not one dinner entrée with fewer than 800 calories, and hosts no fewer than 60 menu items with more than 2,000 mg of sodium—almost an entire day’s worth of the salt! A select few menu items earn the restaurant's Sensible Fare logo—a fork with a halo over it—but unfortunately these items can still carry up to 640 calories and 25 grams of fat.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Macaroni Grill will let you build your own dish. Ask for the marinara over a bed of the restaurant's whole-wheat penne, and then top it with grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. Just beware their salads—one of them made our list of America’s Worst Salads!

D-
Baja Fresh
It's a surprise Baja Fresh's menu has yet to collapse under the weight of its own fatty fare. About a third of the items on the menu have more than 1,000 calories, and most of them are spiked with enough sodium to melt a polar icecap. Order the Shrimp Burrito Dos Manos Enchilado-Style, for instance, and you're looking at 5,130 mg sodium—that's more than 2 days' worth in one sitting!

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Unless you're comfortable stuffing 110 grams of fat into your arteries, avoid the nachos at all costs. In fact, avoid almost everything on this menu. The only safe options are the tacos, or a salad topped with salsa verde and served without the belly-busting tortilla bowl.

F
Applebee’s, IHOP, Outback, T.G.I. Friday’s
These titans of the restaurant industry are among the last national chains that don’t offer nutritional information on their dishes. Even after years of badgering their representatives, we still hear the same old excuses: it’s too pricey, it’s too time-consuming, it’s impossible to do accurately because their food is so fresh, or we have too much variety. Our response is simple: If nearly every other chain restaurant in the country can do it, then why can’t they?

Your Survival Strategy: Write letters, make phone calls, beg, scream, and plead for these restaurants to provide nutritional information on all of their products. Here’s the contact information for each of the restaurants that refuse to fess up!

Applebees: 888-59APPLE, or send an e-mail to http://www.applebees.com/GuestContact.aspx
IHOP: 818-240-6055 (press 1 for Guest Visit issues)
Outback: Send an e-mail at http://www.outback.com/contactus/generalcomment.aspx
T.G.I. Friday's: 800-FRIDAYS

For a comprehensive Restaurant Report Card on all of the other fast food and chain restaurants, please click here for the whole list.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/26542/americas-unhealthiest-restaurants

4 Simple Exercises for Strong, Shapely Arms

2009-02-12T04:24:00.000-06:00

Do these exercises three to four times a week and within a month you'll start to see ripples you never knew you had

Warm-Up: Do three minutes of cardio before your arm routine to increase your heart rate, loosen your muscles, and help avoid injury. Jumping rope, climbing stairs, and walking on a treadmill are great options. Once your torso begins generating a little heat, do two sets of 24 small (about five inches in diameter) arm circles to warm up your biceps, triceps, and shoulder muscles. Move your arms forward for the first set, backward for the second set.

Cooldown: Stretch the muscles you just worked to reduce soreness and maximize flexibility. Sit in a chair, extend your arms in front of you, one over the other, and clasp your hands to stretch out your biceps. Switch arms and repeat. Then bend forward and clasp your hands behind your back. Lift them gently for a deep stretch in the triceps.

Tip: If you don't have hand weights, use cans of food or water bottles filled with sand or uncooked rice.

Push-Pull Kickback

How to Do It: Stand in a squat position, legs shoulder-width apart, knees bent at about 45 degrees, and chest leaning slightly forward. Hold a light dumbbell (three to five pounds is a good starting point for all these exercises) in each hand, palms facing your thighs. Bending your arms, bring your fists up toward your torso, in front of your armpits. Push the dumbbells straight out in front of you, fully extending your arms, knuckles up. Bending your arms, pull them toward your armpits and extend them back behind you until they're straight (shown). During this part of the exercise, pretend your upper arms are glued to your sides to better isolate the triceps. Do three sets of 12 repetitions.

What It Does: Works your chest and triceps. You'll see results along the backs of your arms and in the area where your shoulders meet your chest.

Shadowboxing

How to Do It: Stand upright, legs spaced slightly wider than your shoulders, hands in front of your face (like a boxer getting ready for a bout), with a light dumbbell in each hand. Extend your right fist as if you were hitting someone in the face, angling the punch toward the opponent's opposite ear. As you pull your arm back, imagine that you're ducking an incoming punch and bend your knees into a squat. Stand and repeat with the other arm. For the next punch, move your fist in a rapid upward motion, as if hitting someone just under the chin. Squat, stand, and repeat with the other arm. For the last punch, extend your arm as if punching someone on the side of the jaw with your knuckles (shown). Squat, stand, and repeat with the other arm. Do two to three sets of punches, 10 seconds for each set.

What It Does: Works your biceps, triceps, shoulders, and upper back -- the whole package. The squats will develop your glutes and quadriceps. The rapid and dynamic moves will give your heart a workout, too.

Double Biceps Curl

How to Do It: Stand upright, feet close together, knees relaxed. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, pressing your elbows close to your sides, palms facing forward. Bend your arms so your forearms form 90-degree angles in front of you. Squeezing your biceps, slowly lift the weights up toward your shoulders. Lower your arms to the starting position. Palms facing up, slowly curl your arms back up, this time to the outsides of your shoulders (shown). Again, remember to press your upper arms tightly against your sides to really work the biceps. Do three sets of 12 reps.

What It Does: Works the very centers of the biceps from multiple directions, creating chiseled definition.

Standing Push-Up

How to Do It: Stand facing a desk or a sturdy ledge. Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the surface in a push-up position and place your body at a 45-degree angle with the floor. Pull your navel inward and balance your weight on the balls of your feet (shown). With elbows close to your sides, bend your arms and bring your chest toward the desk as low as you can, inhaling as you descend. Slowly push yourself back up to the starting position, exhaling as you rise. Do two to three sets of 8 to 10 reps. To increase the challenge, do half the sets underhanded, gripping the desk or the ledge from below. This focuses the benefits on the lower triceps, which most women have a particularly hard time firming up. As you improve, intensify the exercise by moving your hands closer together.

What It Does: Strengthens your triceps as well as your abdominals and shoulders, which can improve overall posture.

From Real Simple: Stretching 101

The 7 Best Foods for Weight Loss

2009-01-17T09:07:00.000-06:00

Losing weight is not about starving yourself and subsisting on seltzer. Eat too little and the only place you'll feel lighter is your head. Plus, research shows that any pounds you lose will likely come back--plus more. One of the healthiest ways to shed pounds for good is to eat power foods that are naturally filling, nutrient-packed and, yes, proven to help you peel off pounds. Pile your plate with these prize possessions!

Steak
Women on a diet that included red meat lost more weight than those eating equal calories but little beef, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. One reason: The protein in lean cuts of steak helps you keep muscle mass during weight loss, and muscle incinerates more calories than fat, so you will shed more stubborn pudge. Try it: Grill or broil a 4-ounce serving of top round or sirloin; slice thinly to top a salad, or mix with veggies for fajitas.

Eggs
The breakfast staple can trim off inches all over. Research from the Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge found that women on a low-calorie diet who ate an egg with toast and jelly each morning lost twice as many pounds as those who had a bagel breakfast with the same number of calories but no eggs. Turns out, egg protein is particularly satisfying, so you liikely eat less during the course of the day.
Try it: Enjoy a morning omelette or frittata, or top your lunchtime salad with hard-boiled eggs.

Lentils
These beans can help banish belly bloat and reduce your belt size. Chock full of protein and soluble fiber, lentils can stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent insulin spikes that cause your body to create excess fat, especially in the abdominal area.
Try it: Toss lentils in soups, salads or pasta sauce. Or try this delicious Lentil Pilaf with Turkey Sausage.

Pomegranates
Low in calories, this fruit gets high marks for taste and nutritional content, thanks to a healthy dose of folate, fiber and disease-deterring antioxidants.
Try it: Skip the juice and snack on the seeds instead. Toss them into salad in place of nuts. Or try these Pomegranate and Cranberry Bellinis from Giada DeLaurentiis (one of her holiday faves).

Chiles
Some like it hot, and for good reason. Eating spicy numbers will spike your metabolism, courtesy of a compound in chiles called capsaicin, which helps the body burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat them. Bonus: It can be downright painful to inhale a plate of chiles, so you'll eat slower, allowing your brain adequate time to register that it is full and prevent overeating.
Try it: Sample the savory entree that chef Nigella Lawson shared with SELF.

Quinoa
It might be hard to pronounce (it's KEEN-wah), but eating quinoa offers a simple way to ward off the munchies. The grain is teeming with fiber (2.6 grams per 1/2 cup) and protein to keep you humming and hunger-free for hours.
Try it: Replace the rice in stir-fries with quinoa.

Parmesan
Say cheese! Women who had one serving of whole milk or cheese daily were less likely to gain weight over time, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds. Dieters who ate lowfat varieties of dairy did not experience the same benefit. Why? Whole dairy may contain more conjugated linoleic acid, which could assist in the fat-burning department. And since Parmesan is so flavorful, you only need a few sprinkles to gain maximum flavor without compromising its pound-shedding power.
Try it: Grate Parmesan over veggies such as broccoli or asparagus, or pair a 1-ounce portion with an apple.

Found at: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthieryou/7852/the-7-best-foods-for-weight-loss/

The Truth About Diet Soda

2008-12-24T04:39:00.000-06:00

We talk a lot about ''watching what we eat,'' but if you never gave a thought to what you ate and instead watched only what you drank, you could probably cut 450 calories a day out of your life. (Yes, nearly a pound of fat loss a week!) That's what a study from the University of North Carolina found. Americans today drink about 192 gallons of liquid a year—or about 2 liters a day. To put it into perspective, this is nearly twice as many calories as we did 30 years ago.

When confronted with the growing tide of calories from sweetened beverages, the first response is, “Why not just drink diet soda?” Well, for a few reasons:

Just because diet soda is low in calories doesn't mean it can't lead to weight gain.

It may have only 5 or fewer calories per serving, but emerging research suggests that consuming sugary-tasting beverages--even if they're artificially sweetened--may lead to a high preference for sweetness overall. That means sweeter (and more caloric) cereal, bread, dessert--everything.

Guzzling these drinks all day long forces out the healthy beverages you need.

Diet soda is 100 percent nutrition-free, and again, it's just as important to actively drink the good stuff as it is to avoid that bad stuff. So one diet soda a day is fine, but if you're downing five or six cans, that means you're limiting your intake of healthful beverages, particularly water and tea.

There remain some concerns over aspartame, the low-calorie chemical used to give diet sodas their flavor.

Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar, and some animal research has linked consumption of high amounts of the sweetener to brain tumors and lymphoma in rodents. The FDA maintains that the sweetener is safe, but reported side effects include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss, and mood changes. Bottom line: Diet soda does you no good, and it might just be doing you wrong.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/22630/the-truth-about-diet-soda/

Produce: The Dirtiest and the Cleanest

2008-12-21T19:23:00.000-06:00

These days, we have more options for organic produce than ever before. Trends show that more consumers are buying organic more frequently because of concerns about health, pesticide exposure, and the environment.

But when you stroll into the produce section, do you ever wonder which organic fruits and vegetables you should be buying? Since organic foods are often more expensive, it's important to know what to look for, so you don't end up paying extra for organic fruits and veggies that are pretty clean, even in their non-organic versions.

One useful source for this information is the Environmental Working Group. Its Web site lists 44 fruits and vegetables ranked by the amount of pesticide residue each contains. Knowing which fruits and vegetables are usually carrying the most pesticides and which are cleanest, you can decide when it would be wisest to buy organic.

The EWG's "dirty dozen" are peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes (imported), pears, spinach, and potatoes. The "cleanest 12" are onions, avocados, sweet corn (frozen), pineapples, mangos, sweet peas (frozen), asparagus, kiwis, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, and eggplants.

Think especially about buying organic when you're choosing one of the "dirty dozen." And, once you're home, your best bet is to wash all produce, even the organic ones, in warm water before preparing them. Firm produce can be scrubbed with a vegetable brush; softer, riper produce can be washed with a sink sprayer — or use one of those special washing products designed just for produce.

Peeling fruits and vegetables does reduce pesticide exposure, of course, but peeling also removes some important nutrients found in the peel, such as fiber.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/nutrition/13728/produce-the-dirtiest-and-the-cleanest/

Worst trans fat offenders

2008-10-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

These popular restaurant dishes pack a huge punch in trans fat and calories.

The Fattiest Foods in America -- Eat This, Not That

By now, almost everybody knows that trans fats are the food additive that should rarely pass your lips. They add useless calories, build bad cholesterol (known as LDL), and lower your good cholesterol (known as HDL). The American Heart Association says you should only consume 2 grams or less of trans fats in our daily diets. (And we say less. Zero is a good number.)

So why on earth is trans fat still in food if it’s so terrible? Because even though trans fats may shorten your life, they actually add to the shelf life of baked goods, and keep the deep-fat fryers stoked batch after batch. Choosing between your personal health and their own financial health, some chain restaurants and food manufacturers go the wrong way.

Our mission: to raise the warning flag. Here’s a list of the worst trans fat transgressors. Put them on your do-not-eat list, and we’ll all feel a lot better.

TRANS FATTIEST BREAKFAST PASTRY
Cinnabon Classic Roll
5 g trans fat
813 calories
32 g fat

Eat these too often and you might have to be rolled out of the store. Not only do they serve a whopping 813 calories, but they’ll also set you back with a few days' worth of trans fats.

Eat This Instead:
Cinnabon Minibon Delight
300 calories
8 g fat (2 g trans fat)

This is the healthiest option on their menu, and it still has one day’s worth of trans fats. Offset your indulgence and help protect your ticker with these 10 foods that are great for your heart.

TRANS FATTIEST BISCUIT
Bob Evans Country Biscuit Breakfast
6 g trans fat
659 calories
45 grams fat

Beware of biscuits. Like deep-fried menu items, they should set off a trans fat alarm in your head. The lowliest lard keeps biscuits soft and tender. Of course, the fact that Bob’s trans fatty biscuit is drowned in gravy and cheese doesn’t help, either.

Eat this Instead:
Bowl of oatmeal and French Toast a la carte (1 slice)
303 calories
5 g fat (0 g trans fat)

The oatmeal will fill you up, so you won’t overindulge after the slice of toast. For 15 other tips for losing weight fast without sacrificing your favorite foods (or ever dieting again), learn these secret restaurant swaps!

TRANS FATTIEST FRENCH FRIES
Jack in the Box's large Natural Cut Fries
10 g trans fat
300 calories
33 g fat

Although most fast food restaurants have transitioned to trans-fat-free fryers, Jack in the Box hasn’t. Their large servings of natural cut fries and curly fries both pack more than 5 days' worth of dangerous fats. In fact, most of the items on their menu are riddled with more than a day’s serving of trans fats.

Eat this instead:
Jack in the Box Egg Roll (1)
130 calories
6 g fat (1 g trans fat)

The fruit cup and one egg roll are the only sides that do not have 2 or more grams of trans fats. If the fruit cup isn’t for you, limit yourself to one egg roll.

TRANS FATTIEST CHICKEN TENDERS
Dairy Queen Wild Buffalo Chicken Strip Basket (4 pieces)
11 g trans fat
870 calories
96 g fat

The Queen serves up another example of deep-fried danger. The nearly 100 grams of fat alone should deter you from ordering this basket of trouble. But the 4 strips also deliver more than 3 days' worth of trans fats. DQ stands for disqualified.

Eat this instead:
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
400 calories
16 g fat (0 g trans fat)

TRANS FATTIEST RESTAURANT ENTREE
Bob Evans Slow Roasted Chicken Pot Pie
13 g trans fat
908 calories
60 g fat

Trans fats happily make their home in crusts — like the one that surrounds this pot pie. Bob Evans is one of the worst trans fat offenders: many of their dishes contain two or three days' worth of trans fat. Down this pot pie and you’ll have consumed nearly a week’s trans fat quota.

Eat this instead:
Bob-B-Q Chicken
545 calories
14 g fat (0 g trans fat)

TRANS FATTIEST MILKSHAKE
Dairy Queen Large Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard
6 g trans fat
1,320 calories
52 grams fat

Treating yourself to ice cream now and then isn’t a problem. But if your frozen treat includes three days worth of trans fat, it’s time pick a new ice-cream parlor. (And make sure you avoid other drinkable disasters that might be on this indispensable 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America list!)

Eat this instead:
Small Artic Rush Slush
240 Calories
0 g fat (0 g trans fat)

Or try these 8 frozen desserts that won't wreck your waistline.

TRANS FATTIEST PANCAKES
Bob Evans Stacked & Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes
9 g trans fat
1,543 calories
77 g fat
Don’t be fooled by the bananas and pecans, which can be healthy on their own. But this dish delivers 3 days worth of trans fat, not to mention over half the recommended daily calorie intake.

Eat this instead:
Stuffed French Toast, No Topping
599 calories
20 g fat (0 g trans fats)

We don’t love the calorie count on this one, so you’re best off splitting this dish or taking half home. But it’s the only Bob Evans pancake or French toast meal that doesn’t slip you trans fats.

To discover other things restaurants might be surprising you with, make sure to check out these 16 secrets the restaurant industry doesn’t want you to know! It’ll help you save your waistline when you’re eating out.

And to avoid 22 other popular trans fat transgressors at your favorite fast-food and chain restaurants, check out this must-have list of big-name offenders. Don't leave home without it!

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/17837/the-fattiest-foods-in-america/

Top 10 Eating Tips to Stay Energized All Day

2008-10-17T10:17:00.000-06:00

Getting through the day can feel like a marathon. Mile 1: Roll out of bed. Mile 2: Feed yourself and everyone else in your house. Mile 3: Get to work on time. It's like you've run 5K, and it's not even lunch yet! Nutritionist Monique Ryan, MS, RD, the author of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, knows the secrets to get through real marathons. I asked her to pass some advice down to us mortals who simply want to stay alert until sundown.

Top 10 Tips to Stay Energized All Day
by Monique Ryan, MS, RD

1. Start the day right. Yes, that means breakfast. Combine a whole grain with fruit, skim dairy, or soy milk, and even add some lean protein to the mix to sustain energy levels throughout the morning. Cooked oatmeal with yogurt and a banana or Lite Mueslix with soy milk and blueberries are good choices.

2. Have a mid-morning snack. Combine a protein and a carbohydrate. It is fine to be hungry mid-morning, so honor your hunger and give your body fuel when it is asking for it. Try yogurt with a peach, low fat string cheese with an apple, or cottage cheese and grapes.

3. Eat lunch on time. Don't push back lunch until you are ravenous. Instead, eat your mid-day fuel right on time to keep your blood glucose levels nice and steady.

4. Boost your mental energy. Nature's nutrition for the brain are omega-3 fatty acids. Add light tuna or salmon to your lunchtime food choices, in addition to walnuts, tofu, and canola oil. Healthy fat keep you feeling full for a longer period of time, so add small amounts to meals and snacks. Some good choices include avocado and almonds.

5. Start the day with moderate caffeine levels and keep caffeine intake modest. While it does increase mental energy, too much caffeine may lead to energy highs and then lows, and it can interferes with quality sleep.

6. Limit processed foods high in sugar. Avoid the office candy jar, treats, and vending machine whenever possible. Processed foods do not provide sustained energy and can result in low-energy moments during the day.

7. Consume foods high in folate. Higher levels of blood folate have been associated with faster and better thought processing. Good sources include lentils, chickpeas, black beans, asparagus, broccoli, avocado, and orange juice. Also important are vitamins B6, found in bananas and spinach, and B12, found in lean proteins and skim dairy products.

8. Have an afternoon snack. If dinner is late or if you have an evening workout scheduled, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat yogurt provide energizing carbohydrate.

9. Consume complex carbohydrates that contain fiber. The fiber allows the carbohydrates to be released more slowly, providing sustained energy. Opt for whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and whole grain cereals.

10. Stay hydrated. About two-thirds of our body is water, and dehydration can contribute to reduced energy levels. About 80% of the fluid we consume comes from the fluids we drink, and the other 20% comes from foods. Always drink when you are thirsty, and have water available during the day to hydrate regularly.

Source: http://food.yahoo.com/blog/yahoofreshpicks/1829/top-10-eating-tips-to-stay-energized-all-day

The Origin of AIDS

2008-09-28T09:18:00.000-06:00

THE ORIGIN OF AIDS pt 1

THE ORIGIN OF AIDS pt 2

THE ORIGIN OF AIDS pt 3

THE ORIGIN OF AIDS pt 4

THE ORIGIN OF AIDS pt 5

THE ORIGIN OF AIDS pt 6

HIV

2008-09-28T09:13:00.000-06:00

The Importance of Condom Compliance

What's the Fastest Growing Cancer Diagnosis in U.S.?

2008-09-08T19:34:00.000-06:00

A full-page ad in a recent Time magazine, paid for by the Light of Light Foundation, recommends that you ask your doctor to check your neck for thyroid nodules — abnormal growths that form a lump in the thyroid gland. In fact, thyroid nodules have become the most common endocrine diagnosis in the United States, with thyroid cancer now being the fastest growing cancer diagnosis in the country.

Few thyroid nodules produce any symptoms, so people will usually only find them by chance. Far more often, they will be detected by your doctor during a routine physical exam or by an imaging study (ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance scan) that is looking at some other condition in the head or neck.

The likelihood of a thyroid nodule being cancerous is greater in those who are less than 20 years old or who are older than 70. The risk of this cancer is also higher in individuals who had undergone radiation of the head and neck, once a common treatment for acne.

How worried should you be if a nodule is found on your thyroid? Not very. About 90 percent to 95 percent of thyroid nodules are not cancerous. Also reassuring: Most common types of thyroid cancer are curable and rarely life-threatening. Nonetheless, nodules require further evaluation to determine whether cancer is present.

If a nodule is easily felt, the physician can usually evaluate it in the office under a local anesthetic by using a thin needle to perform an aspiration biopsy. A small needle is inserted into the nodule several times, each time in a different place, so that the cells withdrawn will be a representative sampling. For nodules that are difficult to feel, the biopsy is done using real-time ultrasound images to guide the needle into the lump. A pathologist then examines these cells under a microscope for cancer.

The biopsy of a thyroid nodule may be interpreted as being either benign, malignant, or indeterminate (suspicious). For benign nodules, only an occasional follow-up exam is required. Malignant nodules, however, are most often treated by removing nearly all of the thyroid gland. Removing the thyroid condemns the patient to a lifetime of taking thyroid hormone pills. The major risks of this surgery are the inadvertent removal of the parathyroid glands, which are closely associated with the thyroid, and damage to the laryngeal nerve.

For nodules considered suspicious, thyroid hormone pills may be administered in an attempt to suppress progression of possible cancer; more often, the suspicious nodules are removed surgically.

While some nodules can be felt easily, I have learned that many doctors are not adept at finding thyroid nodules that are located low down in the gland or buried deep in the thyroid tissue. Also, keep in mind that the utility of any fine-needle aspiration depends on the experience of the doctor who carries out the procedure and of the pathologist who examines the cells.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthnews/14182/whats-the-fastest-growing-cancer-diagnosis-in-us/

Veggies May Protect Women from Diabetes

2008-08-29T18:20:00.000-06:00

Diabetes is still on the rise. New numbers confirm that from 2005 to 2007 the total prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. increased by 13.5 percent.

This means that now 8 percent of the total population has diabetes (23.6 million children and adults). In 2007, 1.6 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 and older.

Amidst the bad news of these surging numbers, there's good news about prevention from researchers at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. They found that green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in women.

For every additional serving of green leafy vegetables a woman eats per day, there was a 9 percent reduction in risk. (Men, feel free to go ahead and up your intake of veggies and fruits, too, even if this study wasn't about you.)

This isn't the first study to show a relationship between a reduction in type 2 diabetes and the eating of more vegetables. Reasons for this reduction in risk may be that vegetables are low in calories and fat and high in antioxidants, fiber, and a variety of vitamins and minerals — all things definitely not associated with an increased risk of diabetes.

The take-home message here should be simply to include vegetables every day in your meals, and then some. Think about planning your meals around what vegetable you are having (in season, I hope) and then adding other foods. When you sit down to eat, vegetables should be covering half your plate.

Whether those vegetables are fresh, frozen, or canned, they are an important part of your diet and may reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/nutrition/13951/veggies-may-protect-women-from-diabetes/