2010 September | Quality of Life

Fruits and Veggies for Healthy Diets

Everyone is constantly looking for that perfect diet to lose weight. In America, there is a prevalent problem of obesity that rises from having cheap food that is extremely bad for you. Go to any McDonald’s, Burger King, or Wendy’s and you’ll be given the option of buying a cheeseburger for a $1. With food that cheap and convenient, it’s hard to say no – especially when you’re out running errands or need something quick so you can get back to the office.

But when it comes to eating right and losing weight, what most people need is to slow down and really think about what they’re putting in their bodies. How many people eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day? Not many! Many people treat produce as expensive food that they can’t afford, but will easily spend $4 on a bag of chips or $5 on a grand latte frappuccino.

If you’re looking to lose weight, the first thing you’ll need to do is change your habits. That’s hard for many people, but habits rule our life for good or for bad. Change your habits and you can change your life. The first habit is to eliminate certain food from your diet, at least for the majority of the time. These include soda pop (including diet sodas), fried foods, and desserts. As they teach kids on Sesame Street, these are “sometimes” foods. As in you only eat them sometimes.

Replace these foods with fruits and vegetables. There are some easy ways to do this:

Put fruit on your cereal in the morning (and if you’re not eating breakfast, then start. Not eating in the morning can lead to eating unhealthy food from vending machines mid-morning). Or you can have a piece of fruit on the side or a fruit smoothie instead of cereal.

Make stir-fries, which are fast, easy, and have lots of veggies.

Bring lunch every day to work and make sure there’s a side of veggies (carrot sticks, celery sticks, or a side salad) and put veggies on your sandwich (such as cucumbers).

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Burger King, Health, Weight loss

Is the Bad Economy Hurting Your Health?

Bad News These Days
Everyday it seems that things are looking down. The news continues to report uncertainty with government and the stock market. Layoffs and unemployment abound and no one seems to have the answers or solution to so many difficult and widespread problems. Housing and real estate markets are crashing just in time for the holidays and many middle class, hard working Americans will be evicted from their homes. Upper and middle class families with two bread winners are having to resort to pay day loans just to squeak by on ever increasing housing and grocery costs. It’s no surprise that all of this has left many Americans feeling under the weather.

Refusal or Delay of Health Care Services
How could the bad economic times be making us sick? Recent surveys indicate that Americans are cutting back on health care. They are delaying needed care, skipping tests and treatments, and refusing to fill costly prescriptions as a way to save money. Many Americans are without insurance but many more who have insurance are opting out of treatments because they are still too expensive or are not covered under their plans. Not taking care of yourself to save money could have “ill” effects.

Increased Stress and Depression
Increased layoffs and stress of making ends meet can have a detrimental affect on your health. Many people report depression, alcohol abuse, strokes, heart attacks and even violent mood swings as a result of being laid-off. Doctors report increases in anxiety and depression treatments during periods of economic downturn and stress. Many physical ailments stem from stresses that are related to the economy. Economic stress can contribute to conditions such as headaches, high blood pressure and insomnia.

The poor economic forecast calls for an extra dose of taking care of yourself mentally and physically. Remember, tough times don’t last but tough people do.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Health care, Stress, United States

Do Diets Work?

: Image via Wikipedia

It’s seems like everyone is going on a diet, especially once January hits and people are determined to lose weight gained by holiday treats and start New Year’s Resolutions (and you’ll notice a huge increase in the cars in the parking lot of your local gym the first half of January).

The question is, Do diets work? The answer in short is no, not really. The reason? No matter how much weight you lose, you will always gain it back if you go back to your old habits once the diet is over. It’s not about dieting – it’s about changing your lifestyle.

When it comes to eating healthy, the number one thing to know is how many calories you can eat each and every day. This depends a lot on the rate of your metabolism, your age, your weight, your target weight, and your activity level. If you’re sedentary, your metabolism is likely to be slower than someone who is active and has a fast metabolism. There are a lot of websites, including the U.S. government’s Food Pyramid website that can help you guess about how many calories you can eat every day.

Once you have an idea of how many calories you can eat each day, the next step is to keep track of how many calories you eat. This needs to include everything, not just the three meals you eat every day. It needs to include snacks, what you eat of your kids’ plates after they’re done, and any candy or nuts you pop into your mouth absentmindedly.

Next, you’ll want to change your habits so your calorie intake is in line with how many calories you burn, which will likely mean reducing how much you eat. This will be hard for awhile because you’ll often be hungry in between meals. Changing which foods you eat will help. For example, eating more beans will keep your full longer, and beans are low in calories, high in fiber, and high in protein (which will help you feel full longer). Soon you’ll be eating healthier so you can eat more!

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: diet, Shopping, Weight loss

Cancer and Diets

Have you thought about how much your diet affects whether you develop cancer? Sure, there are a lot of cancers that are hereditary and you could be the healthiest person – eating the right foods and exercising daily – and still get cancer. In fact, recently Dr. Oz had a colonoscopy for his TV show and found out that he has pre-cancerous polyps. Dr. Oz, who promotes the better life diet, who doesn’t smoke, and who is in great health at only 50 years old could have had colon cancer if it weren’t for his colonoscopy.

Even so, most cancers are less likely to occur by eating healthy. At the TED Conference in February 2010, Dr. William Li talks about how blood vessels play a role in cancer growth. Cancer grows through the process of angiogenesis, the process in which blood vessels grow. When these blood vessels grow too much, the result is often cancer.

Cancer starts as a nest of cells that can only grow as big as the tip of a ballpoint pen because they don’t have a blood supply that gives them the nutrients and energy in which to grow. Without this blood supply, they will never get bigger; this has been termed as “cancer without disease.” Most of us have them in our bodies and the older we get, the more likely we’ll have them.

The best way to prevent cancer is to prevent angiogenesis. Dr. Li decided to find out if we can “eat to starve cancer” – if there were naturally occurring foods that prevent angiogenesis. He was successful in finding many foods with this property. And you won’t be surprised at what they are. Many antioxidants have this quality including the following foods: red grapes (resveratrol), strawberries, soy beans, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, lemons, pineapple, Earl Gray tea, vitamin E, green tea, parsley, garlic, and tomatoes (lycopene). This is just a shortened list, but includes all foods that are healthy for you.

Preventing angiogenesis also prevents obesity because without blood vessels, fat isn’t able to grow either. So eating right helps cancer and obesity.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Cancer, Colorectal cancer, Health

Anorexia: An Illness or an Addiction

: Image by David A Villa via Flickr

Anorexia is an illness that is characterized by being severely underweight, restricting food, and overexercising, but is anorexia a form of addiction. Many are starting to think so, which would mean that treating anorexia would be a like treating an addict.

There are many who deal with anorexia but despite recognizing how damaging their actions are to their body, they can’t seem to stop. In the end, sometimes hitting bottom and being hospitalized is the only way they’ll get help. When it comes to anorexia, there are a lot of actions that are similar to those addicted to substances.

Hiding their behavior. Many with anorexia hide what they’re doing. They may pretend to eat food but really put the food in the garbage. they may even put it in a garbage bag and then dump the bag in a public garbage can to hide the fact that they threw the food away. This is similar to how a junkie might hide his drugs and drug paraphernalia and only use when no one else is around.

Many will catch on when anorexics start looking too thin. Those concerned will often ask the anorexic person to step on a scale. But anorexics can fool scales. For example, you can put heavy objects in your pocket to make you weigh more or tie weights under your clothes.

Those who are anorexic will do anything to stay anorexic. At some point, it’s like the disease takes over and you can no longer control your actions. This is very similar to drugs. Every time you exercise, every time you lose weight, you feel a high that’s euphoric. Because of this, it’s hard to stop. Even if you see that what you’re doing isn’t healthy and you could get hurt if you continue doing it, for many who have anorexia, that is not enough to stop because you feel so out of control.

Unfortunately, many who suffer from anorexia end up in the hospital for malnutrition. For many, the road to recovery is long and hard, but luckily it is possible to break the chains of anorexia.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Anorexia nervosa, Eating, Health

Why Whole Grains Are Important for a Healthy Diet

Before we talk about the health benefits of eating whole grains, first let’s define what whole grains are. A whole grain is the form that the grain takes naturally and has not been altered. All parts, including the bran and the germ. It contains more protein and more fiber. Refined grains, on the other hand, have had their bran and germ removed, which means they no longer contain the same health benefits. This is done because the taste of refined grains is preferable to whole grains.

Because whole grain contains more health benefits, your body will benefit from having more whole grains. You’ll also find that you are full longer with whole grains than with refined grains, which means that if you’re on a diet and counting calories, you feel fuller with the same amount of calories. There are many products that have whole grain. They include:

- Brown rice
- Buckwheat
- Oatmeal
- Whole wheat bread and pasta (make sure to look on the ingredients list for “100% whole wheat”)
- Wild rice
- Popcorn
- Barley

It’s important to eat whole grains because the health benefits you receive from these foods are vital to your health. For one, they reduce the risk of developing some chronic diseases. Fiber, which is found in whole grains, can reduce the chances of developing coronary heart disease and help keep you regular (i.e., no constipation). Because whole grains keep you full longer, you’re less likely to overeat, which leads to obesity.

There are many vitamins and nutrients found in whole grains which include the following. B vitamins are able to help get energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrates so you feel more energize. Folic acid (also called folate) is essential in pregnancy to help a fetus develop normally in the first trimester preventing defects such as spina bifida and other neural tube defects. It can also help form red blood cells. Iron carries oxygen in the blood. Magnesium builds bones and releases energy from muscles. Selenium protects cells from oxidation (which boosts the immune system).

See how important whole grains are?

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Cereal germ, Folic acid, Whole grain

General Information about Brain Tumors

: Image by NationalLungCancerPartnership via Flickr

Do you know much about brain tumors? Well the following is all about brain tumors – maybe even more than you ever wanted to know. Brain tumors are classified by the location in which the tumor begins to grow. Here are the major types:

Gliomas

Gliomas are the most common brain tumor. These tumors begin in glial cells, which are cells that form tissue. This tissue supports the brain. Gliomas are further subcategorized by where the tumors are found within the brain and include astrocytomas, brain stem gliomas, ependymomas, optical nerve gliomas and oligodendroglimoas.

Metastic Tumors

Metastic tumors are the most commonly found tumor within adults. What happens with these tumors is they grow elsewhere in the body and then spread through the bloodstream into the brain, specifically to the cerebral hemisphere or to the cerebellum (most commonly). Because of how these tumors form, it’s common for patients to have many of these tumors throughout the brain. The cancers that often metastasize to the brain include colon cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer, and lung cancer. These tumors are very aggressive and commonly will come back even after all treatments have been performed including radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery.

Meningiomas

This type of brain tumor is most commonly benign and can exist in the brain for years before they’re found. About 15 percent of all brain tumors are meningiomas. They form separate from the brain, which makes it easier for doctors to remove during brain surgery, but they will often return despite this.

Schwannomas

This type of brain tumor is also very often benign. They often form around sensitive areas of the brain such as where the brain controls hearing and balance. Because of this, symptoms of schwannomas often include hearing loss or having problems with balance. Surgery or radiation are often the treatments.

Pituitary Tumors

Tumors that grow around the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain, are often benign. Because the pituitary gland helps control other glands in the body by producing hormones, symptoms of this tumor is having problems with thyroid, impotence, and irregular menstrual cycles.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Brain tumor, Cancer, Health

What Antioxidants Are and Why They’re Important to Your Health

You might not have heard about antioxidants unless you’ve noticed that just about every health product touts how they have the most antioxidants, but if you’ve heard of vitamins, then you’ve heard about at least some antioxidants.

These molecules found in foods are basically like eating armor for your body – once digested, they protect your cells from attack. This attack typically comes in the form of free radicals. Free radicals are volatile because they’re missing an electron. They can get rid of disease or a virus by harming the intruder, but they have no way of distinguishing from the enemies and the allies in the war of health. Free radicals will go around trying to find an electron so it’s no longer missing one and do so can cause damage to cells around it. This can lead to disease, chronic illness, and even cancer.

This is why your body needs antioxidants. Because it’s being bombarded by these free radicals daily, your body needs a way to protect itself. Antioxidants have the unique ability to neutralize free radicals by donating one of its electrons. This helps reduce the number of free radicals in your body so there’s damage occurring.

Antioxidants are found in most foods, but especially in fruits and vegetables. The brighter the color of the fruit or veggie, the more antioxidant power it has. The deep blues of blueberries, the bright red of red peppers, the dark green of spinach all help to protect your body. Each fruit and vegetable has its own form of antioxidant that works best in specific areas of the body. Because of this, it’s important to get a variety of produce in your diet.

If you’re not already eating fruit and vegetables on a regular basis, start now. Consider it an investment on your future health. If you not only want to live to be 100 but also feel like you’re 30 years younger doing it, then eat a well balanced diet of fruits and veggies now. Combine that with exercise and you have a winning combination for health.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Antioxidants, Health, Important for halth

10 Handy Travel Gadgets No One Should Be Without

: Image via Wikipedia

In-flight magazines are chock full of handy items guaranteed to make your business trip or vacation more comfortable, more connected, and safer. Which of these gadgets are really worth their weight and space in your travel bag? Here is a list of our favorite 10 travel gadgets; the ones we love and can’t do without.

Travel sheets are lightweight, bedroll-type sleeping bags that protect users from bedbugs, dust and other allergens, and, as much as we hate to think about it, dirty bedding.
Noise cancelling headphones are a must for frequent fliers. By blocking out the sounds around them, travelers can make good use of their in-flight time by napping or working.
A handheld translator makes it possible for the world traveler to communicate even though he or she does not speak the local language.
A laptop allows you to work or play, making productive use of travel time.
A smart phone keeps you in contact with everyone and is fast becoming a travel and business essential. The GPS loaded on most smart phones will assist greatly with local travel once you arrive at your destination.
E-books are easy to carry. You can bring your whole library in a piece of hardware the size of a small book.
Chargers are not to be forgotten. Make sure you have the necessary power for essential gadgets by packing their respective chargers.
An MP3 player may be considered more of a utility than a gadget. MP3 players are not only music players, they are media players. A great playlist makes for a very pleasant trip.
An eye mask is low tech, but can save travelers from jet lag and allow them to sleep during a flight or in a new time zone.
Supplies from an electronic cigarette company will keep your cigarette cravings at bay and keep you from disturbing others with second-hand smoke.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Digital audio player, Global Positioning System, Smartphone

Saving Calories by Changing Your Drink

If you’re looking for ways to cut calories and eat healthier, you not need to look further than what you drink. Many people don’t think to add in the calories from beverages when keeping track of what calories were consumed in a day, but calories from drinks are huge. Before you fill another glass, you’ll want to consider the following information.

Soda

The number one calorie-killer for a meal is soda. A typical 12-oz soda can have anywhere from 140 to 200 calories. On top of that, the calories are empty, meaning that they have no nutritional value for your body. So the next time you’re out for a meal, consider skipping the soda (even if it’s free) or paying a high premium for that beverage that while enjoyable, will add unnecessary calories to your meal.

Diet Soda

You may be wondering why diet soda was included in the list. It’s true that diet soda does not contain calories, but if you’re looking to not only lose weight but be healthier, than skip the diet soda. There are many chemicals in diet soda that are just not good for you including caffeine, sodium, phosphoric acid, and (most importantly) artificial sweeteners. There have been studies that found that those who drink diet soda increase their risk of being obese by 41 percent.

Juice and Fruit Cocktails

Of the many drinks available, drinks made of 100% juice are probably a better choice than most, but unfortunately, many of these are “fruit drinks” or “fruit cocktails” that are not made just from fruit. They have added sugar. Fruit juices are better, but they still have a lot of natural sugar and have much less nutritional value than the actual fruit (which contains fiber and more).

Water

If you’re looking to reduce your caloric intake, the best choice really is water. It not only is calorie free, but it hydrates you and helps you to feel full sooner than if you didn’t drink (especially if you drink prior to eating). So whenever possible, choose water. You’ll never go wrong with a cold glass of water!

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Diet soda, Juice, Soft drink