Iron, Folate Supplements May Harm Kids in Regions Rife With Malaria (Healthday)
For years, health workers have distributed iron and folic acid supplements to malnourished children throughout the developing world, to help fight pediatric anemia. (more…)
A Paleolithic diet confers higher insulin sensitivity, lower C-reactive protein and lower blood pressure than a cereal-based diet in domestic pigs
Background:
A Paleolithic diet has been suggested to be more in concordance with human evolutionary legacy than a cereal based diet. This might explain the lower incidence among hunter-gatherers of diseases of affluence such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to experimentally study the long-term effect of a Paleolithic diet on risk factors for these diseases in domestic pigs. We examined glucose tolerance, post-challenge insulin response, plasma C-reactive protein and blood pressure after 15 months on Paleolithic diet in comparison with a cereal based swine feed.
Methods:
Upon weaning twenty-four piglets were randomly allocated either to cereal based swine feed (Cereal group) or cereal free Paleolithic diet consisting of vegetables, fruit, meat and a small amount of tubers (Paleolithic group). At 17 months of age an intravenous glucose tolerance test was performed and pancreas specimens were collected for immunohistochemistry. Group comparisons of continuous variables were made by use of the t-test. P (more…)
Are You Overweight, Is It Too Late ?
When is it too late to start exercising and eating healthy. Some people say never, I disagree with that. I think it would be hard to do that when you are 6 feet under because you never started eating healthy and exercising. But as long as you are still breathing, it is not too late.
If you are overweight it makes life much harder, getting up and down, walking anywhere, much less trying to exercise. Out of the corner of your eye you see people staring and whispering. They might as well go ahead and point, too.
The best time to start an exercise program and eating healthy is when you are young. Unfortunately that is not always the case. As a person gets older, that old saying, “It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks”, is very true, but not impossible. For whatever reason people tend to be less active.
At any age a person should and can improve their way of eating and getting some kind of exercise. You don’t have to quit eating, if you do that, you might dry up like a prune. Learning a new way of eating and enjoying new foods, with a friend or group, is a good way to lose the weight.
Walk with a friend 2 or 3 times a week. Start off walking short distances and increase it a little at a time. You’ll be surprised at how much better you begin to feel each day. Between the eating healthy and exercising you’ll feel like an new person in no time and life will be better and easier.
Soon those same people who were staring and whispering will come up to you and say, “Don’t I know you, you look so familiar, but I just can’t place you?” And you will smile and say, “You must be mistaken, that was another person.”
Start today with your new way of life; you’re going to love the way you feel.Rita Tate is the webmaster and editor for the website
My Pal's Place http://www.mypalsplace.com/ [Re-print is permitted if a clickable link to www.mypalsplace.com/ is included with the article] (more…)
Low-Fat + Exercise = Weight Loss
Reducing your saturated fat intake is only part of the healthy body formula. You need to burn more calories than you consume in order to avoid having that excess food stored as body fat. That’s where exercise comes into play. (more…)
Low-Fat + Exercise = Weight Loss
Reducing your saturated fat intake is only part of the healthy body formula. You need to burn more calories than you consume in order to avoid having that excess food stored as body fat. That’s where exercise comes into play. (more…)
Lose Weight Permanently Without Dieting
How To Lose Weight And Keep Fat Off Forever Without Strict Diet How many times have you heard a friend say, “I am on a diet”? Then what happens is your friend would lose some weight for a while before putting them all back on again. I’ll bet you have also seen someone say that “Cardio is the best for losing weight”. This person would then religiously pound the treadmill but results are agonizingly slow. Soon, he gives up and gains back all the weight he had lost, and sometimes even gaining some extra kilos! Ah, so you thought you’ve finally found the answer to permanent weight loss. You went on a strict diet and ran your heart out. You dropped kilos real quickly. But somehow, something is wrong when you look into the mirror in your birthday suit. Yes you have lost some weight, but somehow your body shape isn’t as flattering as you would like it to be. And then suddenly, you hit a plateau. No matter how strict your diet and cardio workouts are, your weight just simply refuses to drop any further. Then horrors of horrors, you actually start to gain some weight! You get disillusioned because with the unrewarding program and soon you succumb to ‘guilt food’ more often, and the weight comes right back up once again. The program fails and you blame it on your bad genes. Why??? Here’s why. Firstly, take a good look at the title of this article. It’s to “Fend Off Fats” and not “lose weight”. My point is, by merely losing weight, you will also lose some muscle mass in the process. By losing muscles, you will lose body tone and thus your metabolism rate for burning calories will slow down. Therefore, you have got to build muscles while losing fats. You may even gain some weight because muscles are heavier than fats. To lose fats and keep them off permanently, you have to combine healthy eating habits, incorporate cardio exercises and lift weights to build muscles. For every kg of muscles you pack, you will burn an extra 70-100 calories per day even without doing anything. Can you imagine the benefits of building up 5kg of extra muscles? You will be burning 350 to 500 extra calories a day even if you just laze around. You’ll be burning a Big Mac everyday! To further illustrate my point, 1 kg = about 7,700 calories, thus if you burn 500 calories a day because of the extra muscles you have, you will be burning off about 1 kg every 2 weeks simply because of your higher metabolism rate! You’ll also look good, healthy and well-toned too! Is it any wonder why body builders eat so much but do not put on fat as easily? Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fats. So while you will lose some weight at the beginning, you will look like, well, just a smaller version of you without any muscle tone. That’s not what we want is it? So, as you lose more and more muscles, your metabolism begins to slow down. On top of that, your body will start conserving fats and ‘eat’ your muscles for energy because it is reacting to your strict diet. What happens then is that you will hit a plateau and no matter what you do, you will not reduce anymore weight and your fats will start creeping up again. This, in a nutshell, is the ‘yo-yo’ dieting effect that we hear so much about. Losing fats is simple. And notice that I said ’simple’ but did not say that it is ‘easy’. My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline on your part. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fats off permanently and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the changes in only a few weeks. By then, it will become a cultivated habit for you, especially when you are rewarded with a fitter, healthier, hunkier you, together with a glowing complexion to boot! Here is how you do it. Simply, losing fats just means you must burn more calories than you consume. Period. Lift weights with compound exercises - Forget those puny biceps curls and tricep push downs. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with bigger parts with more mass, and that means more body parts are working, translating into more calories being expended. If you are fit, do giant sets (4 or more exercises or sets with no rest in between sets or exercises). Here’s an example. Do only one set of each exercise with no rest in between the exercises. Choose a weight of about 60%-70% of what you normally lift and go for at least 25 reps. Do more if you can or until your muscles are fatigued, then stop. Leave the gym. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes. After thoroughly warming up, start with squats, then dip, bench press, barbell row and military press. Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a lifting workout and your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this 3 times a week with at least a day’s rest in between lifting days. After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you usually squat first, then squat last. Then after another 4-8 weeks, change some of the exercises, like substituting squats with dead lift, or bar bell rows with lat pull down. This is to shock your muscles so that they continue to adapt and grow. For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are jogging at normal speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. If you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running), then 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle break down. You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs in between to catch your breath. Do these 5-6 times a week. Eating habits? Just eat less of what you normally eat. For example if you have 2 slices of bread with 2 eggs in the morning, now take just one slice and an egg. Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you can. This is to feed your body frequently so that it will not go into starvation mode and start to conserve fats. At the same time, it will boost metabolism because your body burns calories while digesting the food. Chuck away all soft drinks, sugared drinks and stop adding sugar into your coffee and tea. Just by abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid yourself of 200 calories per day. Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can. Oh, by the way, all work and no play makes Jack a dull (and very tired) boy. Do choose a day to relax a week. No exercise on that day. Indulge in your favorite food if you must. Hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. After all, your body needs to recover too. As you reach your fat loss goals and you are happy with your muscular development, you can then take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently, have shorter runs and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your greater musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that luxury. Simple? Sure. But do you have the determination enough to lose those fats and keep them off permanently? Who said you must go on a strict diet to lose weight and keep the fat off forever? It’s your call folks! Chris Chew fitness personal trainer of actors, pageant winners, models and celebrities. See his websites <A HREF="http://www.sgfitness.com">Lose Fat Fast Build Muscles Quickly!</A> and <A HREF="http://www.sgfitnessonline.com">Singapore Fitness Personal Trainers</A> (more…)
Summer Shape Up! 4 Alternative Weight Loss Solutions
I am embarrassed to admit how many different commercial weight loss programs I’ve tried. I’m sure you’ll nod in agreement when I tell you I’ve grown tired of talking heads touting empty promises. None of them helped me look the way I think I should and most of them left me agonizing over eating the same boring foods over and over. If you’ve been in the game for awhile, you already know the basics of exercise: train with resistance and train with cardio. When it comes to food though, what’s a body to do? If you’ve been frustrated by commercial dieting take heart: In this article you’ll find a few not-so-commercial shape up tidbits. Ones that they don’t always tell you. Ones that I’ve found really work. So whether you need to lose a few pounds left over from winter or are looking for a healthy lifestyle change and are tired of the same-old routines, these four alternative weight loss solutions will help get you started. Solution #1: Use Creative Visualization Stimulating the mind to help your body achieve a desired result is a great way to bring about change. “Seeing” yourself thinner and imposing the mind with positive thoughts is one of the most successful ways to decrease your body size and improve body image. Known often as guided imagery, it works by training your mind to stimulate changes in your body. This can be accomplished by using some of my favorite tools: Audio CD’s: If you are an auditory person, you will love the guided imagery and weight loss CD available from Donate Your Weight: www.donateyourweight.com. This CD is a combination of creative visualization, hypnosis and body affirming exercises. Join your host hypnotherapist Sheri Zampelli as she leads you though several positive body changing exercises. I use this CD often and love it. Not only does it stop negative body-image feelings in their tracks, but as a bonus the listener also receives a feeling of relaxation that lasts throughout the day. Writing Affirmations: Using affirmations will train you mind by stating or affirming your intentions. It will retrain your thinking toward positive thoughts. When I use affirmations, I like to use positive statements such as these: My Body Is Beautiful! I Love My Body! To increase their effectiveness, I write these messages to myself on an index card or piece of paper and carry them with me. I review them several times throughout the day. Books: One of my favorite positive affirmation books is Love Your Body! By Louise L. Hay available from www.hayhouse.com. Inside this book, Louise has created affirmations for you . If you read through them each day you are sure to reap the rewards of loving your body. Solution #2 Try An Herbal Wrap If you need to lose a few extra pounds, you may want to try an herbal wrap. Herbal wraps help the body lose water and inches. You can get a wrap from your favorite salon, however, they tend to be expensive. It’s just as easy to give yourself a spa treatment at home. Herbal wrap products are everywhere. If you’d like to get a wrap but prefer the privacy of your own home. check out www.slenderwrap.com Some of the benefits of herbal wraps include: - Weight loss - Water loss - Decreased inches - Smoothness of tissue Solution #3 Stop When You Are Full In her book Appetites, Geneen Roth gives us a simple outline to manage portion control. Her two major mantras are: take time to eat and stop when you are full. These are both shape-shifting ideas. To some people, including myself, food is a friend. Therefore the tendency to overeat stems out of emotion: food provides comfort and security. Others are in a hurry. Food and the need to eat are just obstacles that get in the way. In effort to break free from these unhealthy behaviors, ask yourself several questions: Am I enjoying what I am eating? Do I eat standing up or on the run? Do I continue to eat even after I know I am full? Next, begin to carve out time to eat and enjoy food with friends or family. Or to take time to enjoy a nourishing meal even if you are alone. Eat to the point of being full, then stop. Most of the time, weight loss can be easily stimulated through portion control. Solution #4 Keep A Food Journal In addition to the aforementioned, it may be wise for you to keep a food journal. By tracking what you eat every day, you hold yourself accountable for everything you place in your mouth. it’s simple to start. Record everything you eat for a week and document your weight. At the end of the week take inventory of yourself. have you gained weight? Lost? Remained the same? If you are gaining weight, simply cut back on your refined sugars (sweets) and heavy carbs like white rice or white potatoes. For these, substitute brown rice or sweet potatoes instead. Track your habits for a second week. When you’ve reached the point in your eating program where your weight remains the same, you will need only consume a few less calories (Or burn a few extra during exercise) each week to lose weight. Keep in mind: in order to lose weight, your body needs to burn more calories than it consumes. Remember: First find you melting point, then adjust your portion control and exercise program accordingly. In Conclusion: With just a few adjustments and an enjoyment of food by recognizing its beauty for nourishing your body and a conscious change in body image awareness, you can shift your focus from frustration to enjoyment. Give these alternatives to weight loss a try. Your health and your waist line will thank you for it. The Author: Laura Turner is a natural health practitioner and author. She hosts <a href="http://www.beauty-and-body.com" title="http://www.beauty-and-body.com" target="_blank">http://www.beauty-and-body.com</a> and publishes the New Body News and Wellness Letter, The Online Magazine Healthy People Read. ( <a href="http://www.new-body-news.com" title="http://www.new-body-news.com" target="_blank">http://www.new-body-news.com</a> ) Subscribe for f.r.e.e. and receive her Special Report: ?Take Charge of Your Health!? and check out her latest book:
Spiritual Fitness! (more…)