A study done in 2002 showed that people who imbibe moderately daily were 70% less likely than non-drinkers to develop dementia, an age-related decline in mental ability; they were also more than 30% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Alcohol appears to offer a number of brain-related benefits. It thins the blood and helps prevent clots from jamming tiny blood vessels in brain; and it appears to stimulate the release of acetlycholine, a brain chemical involved in learning and memory.
Consume no more than two drinks daily. Alcohol’s protective effects are indeed impressive, but studies also show that overconsumption may significantly raise the risk of developing a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, liver disease, stroke, dementia, and several kinds of cancer, including the cancer of the liver, pancreas, esophagus, and mouth. Also, alcohol is addictive. Even a weekend of heavy drinking causes a build up of fatty cells in liver. While this organ has remarkable recuperative powers, continued use of alcohol can lead to permanent liver damage and problems with glucose metabolism, and eventually scarring, or cirrhosis.
Alcohol also interferes with the body’s metabolism of various vitamins and minerals. Women at risk for breast cancer should moderate their consumption. It has been shown that those who consume alcohol daily have a higher risk of breast cancer than those who do not. The risk increases with amount of alcohol consumed.
Alcohol’s heart benefits stop after that second drink. A third does more harm than good, actually raising triglyceride levels without reducing LDL cholesterol. The key, as with everything else in life, is moderation.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Fruits to help You Slim Down
You might be wondering how fruits can help us reduce weight and make our BMI within the normal range! Well, the answer is quite simple, most of the fruits are rich source of dietary fibers and provide us with good quantities of roughage to help us digest our food easily. This in turn aids in getting rid from digestive problems, frequent cravings, and have a well-working digestive system.
Narrowing down out discussion to only those fruits that will specially help you slim down, let us take a look at those wonder fruits. You will be amazed to know that they are not difficult to get too. What are you waiting for? Read on.
These are also known as the “superfruits” because of their highly beneficial nature in modern day society. These are:
Pomegranates, Goji Berries, Acai, which contain plenty of nutrients and antioxidants.
Fruit bars because apart from being yummy and unprocessed, they are protein rich and contain enough omega-3 fatty acids to help you protect from cardiac problems as well as boost your immunity.
Apples and pears that help you shed weight. We will talk about them in our next post in detail though.
Fruit bars come in various flavors and contain only 180-210 calories. They are gluten free, soy free, contain only 1 gram of saturated fat with no added sugars. The best part is, they are available throughout the season.
So, get ready to take that extra fat shed down by including fruits in your diet. In addition, they will make your skin glow and look younger too as they are a rich source of antioxidants.
Narrowing down out discussion to only those fruits that will specially help you slim down, let us take a look at those wonder fruits. You will be amazed to know that they are not difficult to get too. What are you waiting for? Read on.
These are also known as the “superfruits” because of their highly beneficial nature in modern day society. These are:
Pomegranates, Goji Berries, Acai, which contain plenty of nutrients and antioxidants.
Fruit bars because apart from being yummy and unprocessed, they are protein rich and contain enough omega-3 fatty acids to help you protect from cardiac problems as well as boost your immunity.
Apples and pears that help you shed weight. We will talk about them in our next post in detail though.
Fruit bars come in various flavors and contain only 180-210 calories. They are gluten free, soy free, contain only 1 gram of saturated fat with no added sugars. The best part is, they are available throughout the season.
So, get ready to take that extra fat shed down by including fruits in your diet. In addition, they will make your skin glow and look younger too as they are a rich source of antioxidants.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Is Rouphage Helping Or Hindering Your Constipation?
Roughage is the term that we usually give to fiber. Fiber is dietary material from plants that is difficult for the body to digest. Roughage definitely helps constipation. Most foods that we consume these days are very low in fiber. There are two main types of fiber.
They are soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is easier to break down and it is found in foods like beans, apples, oats, etc. Insoluble fiber is usually mostly past out, but insoluble fiber isn’t as useless as you might think.
Insoluble fiber gives healthy texture to our stool. It also acts as a diluting agent for all the waste products carried in our feices reducing their effect on the colon wall.
A diet rich in fiber, both soluble and insoluble, will help a great deal in digestion. Which makes bowel movements a lot easier and gets rid of all waste products from consumption of our food.
A diet low in fiber, however, could cause a disorder called Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).Symptoms of IBS include: abdominal pain, mucus and(or) blood in stool, depression, muscle and joint pain, headaches, anxiety, diarrhea directly following constipation, feelings of being bloated and abdominal cramps. This disorder most commonly goes away then comes back again just as sever as it was before.
20% of all our population has had, or will have IBS at some point of their life, as a result of not taking in enough fiber. Of course, the symptoms may differ from person to person. Treatment of IBS is not very difficult to find, just eat foods that are high in fiber, and you shouldn’t have any more problems with IBS. You should seek treatment before it gets worse.
If you realize that you may have it, its not a very good idea to let it go very long untreated. The best thing that you should do if you think you may have IBS is the next meal you should try to eat more beans (cooked with skin),yams, gari, corn on the cob, potatoes with the skin, lots of vegetables, or fruits. These are a few names of food that are very high in fiber.
Fiber also aids in the treatment of diabetes y helping to reduce rate at which glucose (sugar)is released from digested food, into the bloodstream. This helps temperate the requirement for insulin. The more fibre in your diet, the lower glycemic index of that food.
Fiber also helps to excrete fat from the body. aiding in diets promoting weight loss. Here are some tips for increasing dietary fiber: eat bread with beans instead of eggs, add beans to your rice or plantain or yam. Eat your rice with vegetables. eat your potatoes with the skin.
For snacks, nibble on carrots, or apples or pineapple. When you eat oranges, eat the flesh inside of the orange. Don't just suck it and throw it away. Slice cabbage and carrots into your rice, pasta, or macaroni when cooking them. If you like salads, you should make sure to include it with your meals regularly.
Before I started writing this article, I had no idea how important fiber, both soluble and insoluble, was to a healthy diet. Needless-to-say, it will be included in my day to day diet. And to answer the question in the title of this article,” Does roughage help or hinder constipation?" The answer is " It most definitely helps." Thanks for reading and may God bless you always, and always.
They are soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is easier to break down and it is found in foods like beans, apples, oats, etc. Insoluble fiber is usually mostly past out, but insoluble fiber isn’t as useless as you might think.
Insoluble fiber gives healthy texture to our stool. It also acts as a diluting agent for all the waste products carried in our feices reducing their effect on the colon wall.
A diet rich in fiber, both soluble and insoluble, will help a great deal in digestion. Which makes bowel movements a lot easier and gets rid of all waste products from consumption of our food.
A diet low in fiber, however, could cause a disorder called Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).Symptoms of IBS include: abdominal pain, mucus and(or) blood in stool, depression, muscle and joint pain, headaches, anxiety, diarrhea directly following constipation, feelings of being bloated and abdominal cramps. This disorder most commonly goes away then comes back again just as sever as it was before.
20% of all our population has had, or will have IBS at some point of their life, as a result of not taking in enough fiber. Of course, the symptoms may differ from person to person. Treatment of IBS is not very difficult to find, just eat foods that are high in fiber, and you shouldn’t have any more problems with IBS. You should seek treatment before it gets worse.
If you realize that you may have it, its not a very good idea to let it go very long untreated. The best thing that you should do if you think you may have IBS is the next meal you should try to eat more beans (cooked with skin),yams, gari, corn on the cob, potatoes with the skin, lots of vegetables, or fruits. These are a few names of food that are very high in fiber.
Fiber also aids in the treatment of diabetes y helping to reduce rate at which glucose (sugar)is released from digested food, into the bloodstream. This helps temperate the requirement for insulin. The more fibre in your diet, the lower glycemic index of that food.
Fiber also helps to excrete fat from the body. aiding in diets promoting weight loss. Here are some tips for increasing dietary fiber: eat bread with beans instead of eggs, add beans to your rice or plantain or yam. Eat your rice with vegetables. eat your potatoes with the skin.
For snacks, nibble on carrots, or apples or pineapple. When you eat oranges, eat the flesh inside of the orange. Don't just suck it and throw it away. Slice cabbage and carrots into your rice, pasta, or macaroni when cooking them. If you like salads, you should make sure to include it with your meals regularly.
Before I started writing this article, I had no idea how important fiber, both soluble and insoluble, was to a healthy diet. Needless-to-say, it will be included in my day to day diet. And to answer the question in the title of this article,” Does roughage help or hinder constipation?" The answer is " It most definitely helps." Thanks for reading and may God bless you always, and always.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Milk and Honey - Recipe for Good Health
How about taking a glass of sour milk and honey at the start of each day?
Bifidobacteria is a group of good, friendly bacteria which are essential for life and good health and particularly important to the health and proper function of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. One way to increase the Bifidobacteria populations in the intestine is by consuming foods containing prebiotics -- nutrients that stimulate the growth of probiotic Acidophillus and Bifidus bacteria. Research conducted at Michigan State University has shown that honey, a natural sweetener comprising vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and antioxidants, contains a number of fermentable carbohydrates including a variety of oligosaccharides that can function as prebiotics enhance the growth, activity and viability of bifidobacteria in milk, and fermented dairy products such as yoghurts.
Honey is known as a compound made up of fructose sugar molecules linked together in long chains -- fructooligosaccharide (FOS), which can also be in other plants such as Jerusalem artichoke tubers, onions, leeks, barley, rye, oats. FOS are also available as a nutritional supplement and the food industry is jumping on the band wagon by adding FOS such as honey to yoghurts, and combining milk and honey to form healthy food. Benefits of FOS are numerous. They help carry moisture through the digestive system and therefore promoting healthy bowel movements. Growth of the beneficial bacteria encourages the production of short chain fatty acids, lowering pH, inhibiting unhealthy bacteria land detoxifying carcinogens in the diet. FOS helps to lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels by reducing absorption of carbohydrates and fats into the blood stream, nourishes the cells in the gut which is important for digestive well-being and the prevention of constipation. Improving digestion is key to establishing good health. When in good health, we get rid of wastes and toxins through regular bowel movements and eliminate the build up of unhealthy micro-organisms and internal toxins, providing a strong and intact intestinal barrier to prevent the leaking of undigested food fragments into the blood stream.
As more research becomes available and we learn more about bacteria and how they affect our health, the more important both probiotic and prebiotic products will become and the more of these home remedies such as milk and honey you will see on the supermarket shelves.
Honey also has a major role to play as a carrier of foods containing relatively high levels of vitamins and minerals, and has been shown to help the body absorb minerals such as calcium. Elderly people have higher risk for fractures from osteoporosis or low bone mass. One of the ways to avoid this is to consume adequate calcium, and make sure that it is absorbed. And researchers at Purdue University has shown in its preliminary findings that honey added to milk could enhance calcium uptake.
Many facial cleansing and skin moisturising products have also included milk and honey as part of their ingredients to claim beauty benefits such skin hydration, smoothness, purification, anti-aging, and revitalization. A warm glass of milk with a teaspoon of honey is also known to be a good remedy for sleeplessness.
Bifidobacteria is a group of good, friendly bacteria which are essential for life and good health and particularly important to the health and proper function of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. One way to increase the Bifidobacteria populations in the intestine is by consuming foods containing prebiotics -- nutrients that stimulate the growth of probiotic Acidophillus and Bifidus bacteria. Research conducted at Michigan State University has shown that honey, a natural sweetener comprising vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and antioxidants, contains a number of fermentable carbohydrates including a variety of oligosaccharides that can function as prebiotics enhance the growth, activity and viability of bifidobacteria in milk, and fermented dairy products such as yoghurts.
Honey is known as a compound made up of fructose sugar molecules linked together in long chains -- fructooligosaccharide (FOS), which can also be in other plants such as Jerusalem artichoke tubers, onions, leeks, barley, rye, oats. FOS are also available as a nutritional supplement and the food industry is jumping on the band wagon by adding FOS such as honey to yoghurts, and combining milk and honey to form healthy food. Benefits of FOS are numerous. They help carry moisture through the digestive system and therefore promoting healthy bowel movements. Growth of the beneficial bacteria encourages the production of short chain fatty acids, lowering pH, inhibiting unhealthy bacteria land detoxifying carcinogens in the diet. FOS helps to lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels by reducing absorption of carbohydrates and fats into the blood stream, nourishes the cells in the gut which is important for digestive well-being and the prevention of constipation. Improving digestion is key to establishing good health. When in good health, we get rid of wastes and toxins through regular bowel movements and eliminate the build up of unhealthy micro-organisms and internal toxins, providing a strong and intact intestinal barrier to prevent the leaking of undigested food fragments into the blood stream.
As more research becomes available and we learn more about bacteria and how they affect our health, the more important both probiotic and prebiotic products will become and the more of these home remedies such as milk and honey you will see on the supermarket shelves.
Honey also has a major role to play as a carrier of foods containing relatively high levels of vitamins and minerals, and has been shown to help the body absorb minerals such as calcium. Elderly people have higher risk for fractures from osteoporosis or low bone mass. One of the ways to avoid this is to consume adequate calcium, and make sure that it is absorbed. And researchers at Purdue University has shown in its preliminary findings that honey added to milk could enhance calcium uptake.
Many facial cleansing and skin moisturising products have also included milk and honey as part of their ingredients to claim beauty benefits such skin hydration, smoothness, purification, anti-aging, and revitalization. A warm glass of milk with a teaspoon of honey is also known to be a good remedy for sleeplessness.
Low fat diets are the worst and most disease causing of all diets
Eating fats will make you slim. Eating fats is cleansing. Eating fats cures depression. Eating fats will allow you to absorb much more fat soluble vitamins and will help cure many diseases. Eating fats is satisfying and delicious. Eating a high fat diet will regulate your blood sugar levels. I’m talking about natural fats, fats our ancestors have eaten for hundreds of thousands of years. I’m talking about the good fats coconut meat, coconut cream, olive oil, nuts, egg yolks, animal fats, animal marrow, animal suet and more.
FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU. Good fats do not cause heart disease. That is the Cholesterol MYTH. See the Cholesterol Myth book I previously reviewed.
Fat is the most important part of your diet. Fat is so important that you should be consuming fats as the majority of your diet in weight. You should be eating more fats than lean meat, more fats than grains. In fact, it is grains that cause many, many diseases.
If you are Filipino, you should be replacing rice with fats. You can also use sweet potatoes sparingly. But the best carbs come from fruits. You might like to know that coconut meat is FAT.
How did I come to this conclusion? Self experimentation will lead you to the truth.
I tried raw vegan. I also did raw fruitarian.
I learned that to survive on raw vegan, you must have high fat. (coconut meat, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, durians)
I learned that to survive on raw fruitarian, you must have high fat. (coconut meat, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, durians)I went with Wai Diet, a raw fruit diet plus raw egg yolks and raw sea food diet.(Raw paleolithic already)
Wai Diet is High Carb, High Fat.I’m now experimenting with low carb high fat these days and I’m still learning the ropes.
What I do know from experience is, that a HIGH FAT diet is A MUST!
Low FAT diets are just plain wrong. I had to experience raw vegan and raw fruitarian diets to learn that a LOW FAT diet is completely, totally and forever wrong.
FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU. Good fats do not cause heart disease. That is the Cholesterol MYTH. See the Cholesterol Myth book I previously reviewed.
Fat is the most important part of your diet. Fat is so important that you should be consuming fats as the majority of your diet in weight. You should be eating more fats than lean meat, more fats than grains. In fact, it is grains that cause many, many diseases.
If you are Filipino, you should be replacing rice with fats. You can also use sweet potatoes sparingly. But the best carbs come from fruits. You might like to know that coconut meat is FAT.
How did I come to this conclusion? Self experimentation will lead you to the truth.
I tried raw vegan. I also did raw fruitarian.
I learned that to survive on raw vegan, you must have high fat. (coconut meat, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, durians)
I learned that to survive on raw fruitarian, you must have high fat. (coconut meat, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, durians)I went with Wai Diet, a raw fruit diet plus raw egg yolks and raw sea food diet.(Raw paleolithic already)
Wai Diet is High Carb, High Fat.I’m now experimenting with low carb high fat these days and I’m still learning the ropes.
What I do know from experience is, that a HIGH FAT diet is A MUST!
Low FAT diets are just plain wrong. I had to experience raw vegan and raw fruitarian diets to learn that a LOW FAT diet is completely, totally and forever wrong.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Tips For Running Summer
Use the two-minute rule. It takes about two weeks for your body to get used to warmer temps, so take a two-minute walk break for every five to eight minutes of running. As the summer wears on, your body will gradually become better at cooling itself and you’ll be able to get back up to speed.
Protect yourself. Keep cool with light-colored, loose-fitting running gear made of a noncotton technical fabric like Coolmax that allows sweat to evaporate. For sun protection, wear a mesh cap or visor and sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rays. Slather on some waterproof sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) 20 minutes before heading out.
Time it right. Avoid running between noon and 3 p.m., when heat and humidity are worst.
Breathe easy. If there’s a heat or air-quality alert for the day, stick to the treadmill. And stay hydrated no matter where you run. For workouts shorter than 45 minutes, drink 8 ounces of water 15 minutes pre- and postrun. For longer bouts, sip 6 ounces of sports drink every 15 to 20 minutes during your run to replace the electrolytes you lose through sweat.
Protect yourself. Keep cool with light-colored, loose-fitting running gear made of a noncotton technical fabric like Coolmax that allows sweat to evaporate. For sun protection, wear a mesh cap or visor and sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rays. Slather on some waterproof sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) 20 minutes before heading out.
Time it right. Avoid running between noon and 3 p.m., when heat and humidity are worst.
Breathe easy. If there’s a heat or air-quality alert for the day, stick to the treadmill. And stay hydrated no matter where you run. For workouts shorter than 45 minutes, drink 8 ounces of water 15 minutes pre- and postrun. For longer bouts, sip 6 ounces of sports drink every 15 to 20 minutes during your run to replace the electrolytes you lose through sweat.
Staying Safe in The Sun
Next time you’re scanning the aisles for your summer sun protection, consider that producers of five well-known sunscreen brands are facing a class action lawsuit alleging that their claims mislead consumers about their products’ ability to ward off UV rays and prevent skin damage and cancer. The suit got us thinking: Are we really clear on what sunscreens can and can’t do? Maybe not. So we took some of the biggest claims and ran them by experts. You might want to take what they say—along with the sunscreens they use—to the beach with you this summer.
Myth 1: Sunscreen is all you need to stay safe.
“Sunscreen is only one part of the sun-protection picture,” explains Francesca Fusco, MD, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. “Just slathering it on and doing nothing else isn’t going to cut it because, even with sunscreen, there’s still up to a 50 percent risk that you’ll burn.” You also need to seek shade between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when sunlight is strongest; cover up with clothing, a broad-brimmed hat, and UV-blocking sunglasses; do regular skin self-exams; and get a professional skin evaluation annually.
Myth 2: SPF measures levels of protection against both UVB and UVA rays.
The SPF (sun protection factor) measures only the level of protection against UVB rays. But several of the 16 active ingredients approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in sunscreens also block or absorb UVA rays, says Warwick L. Morison, MD, professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins Medical School and chairman of the Skin Cancer Foundation’s Photobiology Committee. Ingredients include: avobenzone (Parsol 1789), octocrylene, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide, as well as the recently approved Mexoryl SX. Make sure one of these is in your sunscreen, or look for products labeled “broad spectrum,” which means they protect against UVB and UVA rays.
Myth 3: Some sunscreens can protect all day.
“Regardless of the SPF or what the label says, sunscreens must be reapplied every two hours,” Fusco says. “The active ingredients in most products begin to break down when exposed to the sun.” Only physical blockers like zinc oxide stay potent after two hours, but not all sunscreens are made with these ingredients.
Myth 4: Some sunscreens are waterproof.
The FDA does not recognize the term “waterproof,” so don’t count on sunscreen to last through hours of swimming. The agency does recognize “water/sweat/perspiration resistant” (which means a product offers SPF protection after 40 minutes of exposure to water) and “very water/sweat/perspiration resistant” (which means it still protects after 80 minutes). To be safe, reapply sunscreen after swimming or sweating.
Myth 5: A sunscreen can provide “total sunblock.”
“No sunscreen blocks 100 percent of UV rays,” Fusco says. An SPF 15 protects against 93 percent of UV rays, SPF 30 protects against 97 percent, and SPF 50 wards off 98 percent. You should slather two tablespoons on your body a half-hour before going outside, so the sunscreen has time to absorb into your skin.
Myth 1: Sunscreen is all you need to stay safe.
“Sunscreen is only one part of the sun-protection picture,” explains Francesca Fusco, MD, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. “Just slathering it on and doing nothing else isn’t going to cut it because, even with sunscreen, there’s still up to a 50 percent risk that you’ll burn.” You also need to seek shade between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when sunlight is strongest; cover up with clothing, a broad-brimmed hat, and UV-blocking sunglasses; do regular skin self-exams; and get a professional skin evaluation annually.
Myth 2: SPF measures levels of protection against both UVB and UVA rays.
The SPF (sun protection factor) measures only the level of protection against UVB rays. But several of the 16 active ingredients approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in sunscreens also block or absorb UVA rays, says Warwick L. Morison, MD, professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins Medical School and chairman of the Skin Cancer Foundation’s Photobiology Committee. Ingredients include: avobenzone (Parsol 1789), octocrylene, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide, as well as the recently approved Mexoryl SX. Make sure one of these is in your sunscreen, or look for products labeled “broad spectrum,” which means they protect against UVB and UVA rays.
Myth 3: Some sunscreens can protect all day.
“Regardless of the SPF or what the label says, sunscreens must be reapplied every two hours,” Fusco says. “The active ingredients in most products begin to break down when exposed to the sun.” Only physical blockers like zinc oxide stay potent after two hours, but not all sunscreens are made with these ingredients.
Myth 4: Some sunscreens are waterproof.
The FDA does not recognize the term “waterproof,” so don’t count on sunscreen to last through hours of swimming. The agency does recognize “water/sweat/perspiration resistant” (which means a product offers SPF protection after 40 minutes of exposure to water) and “very water/sweat/perspiration resistant” (which means it still protects after 80 minutes). To be safe, reapply sunscreen after swimming or sweating.
Myth 5: A sunscreen can provide “total sunblock.”
“No sunscreen blocks 100 percent of UV rays,” Fusco says. An SPF 15 protects against 93 percent of UV rays, SPF 30 protects against 97 percent, and SPF 50 wards off 98 percent. You should slather two tablespoons on your body a half-hour before going outside, so the sunscreen has time to absorb into your skin.
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