Healthy B.P.M.

Did you know that there is a link between your sleep habits and what you eat? The diet of sleep is a relatively new area where a lot of research is being conducted. Nowadays people are so work-stressed that they don’t mind going sleep deprived. There are many good reasons to get at least seven hours of shuteye every night.

When you lose out on sleep, the amount of leptin(an appetite suppresor in your body) goes down and the amount of ghrelin(an appetite inducer) goes up. Losing out on sleep gives you more time to think of eating while sleeping gives your body more time to metabolize all that food you’ve eaten. Its no surprise then that studies have revealed that sleep deprivation is another cause for obesity.

Read these links for more details:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/16/health/main656062.shtml

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2006/11/06/hsleep06.xml

Another side to this story is some foods help you get that sleep elixir and some don’t.Milk, starchy foods,honey and some herbal teas are believed to help insomniacs.Tea, coffee, alcohol, soda pop and chocolate don’t. Even what you eat dictates how well you sleep. Its a vicious cycle. You have to sleep to stay trim and you have to eat healthy to get that sleep.

leptin, ghrelin, metabolize, obesity

Today the buzz is diabetes day. With over 200 million people suffering from this silent killer, diabetes has become a global epidemic of sorts. If left unchecked diabetes is fatal. Diabetes affects people all around the world and it is not just a disease of the rich; the poor get it too and die untreated.

Read this link on how diabetes can really threatened the human race:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/diabetes-threatens-aborigine-extinction/2006/11/14/1163266531107.html

Diabetic diet tips:

1.The most important thing is to understand what kind of diabetes you suffer from(type 1 and type 2). Visit your doctor and discuss your eating habits and your likes and dislikes. Maybe you will be referred to a dietitian. If you read all the literature on diabetes and diet you will find solutions that suit you. Just make sure you get professional help first and don’t forget to take your medication on time.

2.Though diabetic patients were told to live on high protein and fat combinations and to stay off carbohydrates, too much fat equals too many calories and could lead to cardiovascular complications. Make sure that you are not overweight. A diabetic diet is a healthy diet with the right amount of carb-protein- fat portions.

3.Fiber is good and gives the right supply of vitamins. But be careful of having too many fruits since they could push up your blood sugar levels. Stay away from canned fruits and vegetables too.

4. Eat on time. Its all about timing for a diabetic. Overeating is out of the question. Also snacking at night is not such a good idea unless you adjust your medication accordingly.

5. Cut down on high salt intake since chances of blood pressure going up are higher in case of a diabetic.

6. While shopping, read the labels. Be aware of the carb ,fat and salt content in your canned foods.

7. Opt for foods sweetened by artificial sweeteners but remember that these sugar subs have no calorie value and cannot provide any nutritional value.

8. Drink lots of water and stay off sugar-filled drinks. Also be careful about drinking alcohol since alcohol is high n calories and empty on energy value.

9. Substituting honey for sugar doesn’t help either since honey is high on carbohydrates and that is what the diabetic finds hard to assimilate.If you want to have sweets once in a while, cut down on the carb foods.

10.Its okay to become a vegan even if you are a diabetic as it actually reduces your risk of getting cardiovascular problems.

Read this link for more details:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes/DA99999

world diabetes day, diabetes

What are artificial sweeteners?

Artificial sweeteners ,as the name suggests, are used in place of sugar. The health concerns that these raise have to do with their debatable carcinogenic and thereby cancerous aspect. Artificial sweeteners are very popular in the food industry today since they are much cheaper than regular sugar and corn syrup, which were used as traditional sweeteners. Diabetics also benefit from using products with sugar substitutes since they can indulge their sweet tooth and not have to burn the excess calories either. Sugar subs are safe on the teeth and those with no calories are not metabolised by the body. These only provide taste value and are empty on food value. Entirely substituting sugar with sugar subs is not a good idea since you don’t get food energy, only taste.

Some kinds of sweeteners:

Aspartame:This sweetener is used in over 1500 products in the U.S alone. Extensive research has been conducted on the breakdown products of aspartame. When these products enter your bloodstream, they could create adverse reactions. Some reported effects are headaches, allergic reactions, seizures, sleeplessness and even brain tumors(though there is no scientific proof for this sort of cancer). People with PKU, a rare genetic disorder, should stay off aspartame. Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than regular sugar and so can be used minimally. It also has minimal calorie content. Don’t worry too much about the side-effects. The WHO has declared it safe. Just be aware.

Saccharin: This sugar sub is 300 times sweeter than sugar and has no-calorie value. The problem with saccharin is its health value. Studies on rats have revealed that intake of saccharin aggravates chances of bladder cancer. This study doesn’t seem to apply to humans as the dosages of saccharins given to rats was really high and didn’t agree with the rodent’s urinary system. Right now, saccharin is on the safe list.

Sucralose:This sweetener is artificially produced from sugar and has no calories. Its safe on PKU patients and has no eported side effects at all. Also known as ‘Splenda’, this sugar sub seems to be the best bet!

artificial sweeteners, aspartame, PKU, WHO, saccharin, bladder cancer, sucaralose

Have the sweet tooth? You just might be obese.

Its funny how all living beings have an affinity toward the sweet taste. Studies say it has something to do with the larger number of sweet taste receptors on the tongue. Animals love sweets and even new born babies prefer the sweet taste.

If that love for sweets has stayed with you, you are more likely to be obese. Genetics aside, most people who live on donuts, pastries,cakes and junk food are fighting the flab. Sugar makes you fat and there other reasons to stay away from too much sweet- cancer.

Studies have shown that unreasonable sugar intake could lead to cancer of the kidneys, esophagus and even pancreas. The unnecessarily large consumption of sugar leads to metabolism syndrome and this leads to pancreatic cancer.

The sweet tooth is not all that sweet anymore!

obese, cancer

The secret to staying trim this Thanksgiving is to eat all the turkey, cranberry sauce,stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes……but not all you want.

Portion them and eat a little bit of each dish. And by portions I mean small portions of turkey and larger portions of veggies. The low-density diet works well. That way you get to eat a lot of water-rich foods like veggies and fruits and still keep the weight off.

Don’t starve yourself to gear up for the big meal. Have some fruits and vegetables before the big meal so that you are not starved and ready to overeat. Use smaller plates. Nowadays the size of dinner plates has increased and so has the size of the serving. With a smaller plate you have smaller portions and you can eat with an impression of fullness.

If you do want extra servings, have the water-rich foods first. Think about all the time and effort you took to lose all that weight. You don’t want one meal to ruin that!

low density diet

The richer the country you live in, the more chances you have of being overweight. Today around 16 to 33% of the under -18 population in America is obese. More and more kids have jelly bellies. Fat which accumulates in the abdominal region is far more dangerous than general body fat as it can lead to cardiovascular problems, blood pressure and diabetes.

It is best to take precautions when young. Studies have reported that toddlers who are obese have more chances of remaining that way even late into their adulthood. Doctors would do best to advice parents about special diet plans for their kids. Even kids need a diet these days! Blame it on junk food, sedentary life style and too much fruit juice.Fruit juices are loaded with calories and can prove to be a health hazard if drunk continuosuly without any parental supervision.

If your child suffers from binge eating(an eating disorder), s/he will eat an entire meal and feel hungry soon afterwards. There are many reasons for this never-ending appetite. Some kids suffer from depression and go through emotional eating phases when they simply can’t stop gorging on food. Hunger is stimulated more by the smell than a real feeling of hunger.

Encourage your child to eat less and accept the child as overweight. A heart-to-heart talk with your child will help. Explain the health hazards of being obese and stack your refrigerator with healthy foods like low-calorie juices, fruits and veggies. Coax your child to engage in more physical activities and try to stay clear of fast-food restaurants. If you do go, opt for lowe-calorie meals.

Obesity is fatal. Help your child now.

obese, blood pressure, diabetes, fruit juice, binge eating

The diet pill medication seems to be working for many people out there.

Check these links to read a detailed account of obesity and diet pills:
http://www.prn2.usm.my/mainsite/bulletin/sun/1996/sun42.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diet-pill.htm

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/5-8-2006-95457.asp

By suppressing your hunger, diet pills give you a ‘full’ feeling. The problem is that if you don’t eat at all you are cutting down on important nutrients that you need to keep you going. You can’t eliminate food altogether. You just have to put together the right diet and be wary of scams!

diet pills

You just might get to see menus like that in New York if the law for including calorie count in menus gets passed.

Read this story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061101/ap_on_he_me/diet_menus_calories_3

Is it such a good idea? Every time you bite into a cheeseburger the calorie calculator in your head will keep counting. And with every bite you’ll see the scales going higher and higher! It won’t help restaurants since big-calorie meals will drive away even the bravest eater.

But the consumer will be better off. At least s/he will know how much s/he’s eaten and will think twice about the extra cheese and the soda pop. Menus like that will make eaters calorie-conscious and healthy eaters.

Will it be that good for business though. Let’s wait and watch.

Everyone has a story.

The diet story starts with the embarassed kid in school, the kid who eats the most and can’t stop eating and eats all the way through college and one day wakes up and looks in the mirror and says “I need to diet”. Some people don’t care about the way they look. Its okay as long as you are okay with it. But being obese is being unhealthy. Its dangerous and you have to take care of yourself.

I stumbled upon some diet success stories:
http://www.dietbites.com/stories.html

Do you have a story to tell?

obese

Surely this having sex is the best work-out in town!

Check out this link:
http://www.davesdaily.com/bizarrenews/sexdiet_11-04.htm

The love diet really does exist and has been researched upon. A lot of love in your life can really kill that obesity. Check this:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=16107

Have a look at some steamy recipes at:
http://health.ivillage.com/sexualhealth/sxarousal/0,,hkm0-2,00.html

A lot of healthy sex burns up calories. Even Oprah says so. Check out:
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200511/20051107/slide_20051107_284_201.jhtml

What do you have to say about that?

love diet, Oprah

Low-carb diets have been declared as safe.

What are carbohydrates? There are three kinds: sugars,starch and fiber. Sugar is the simplest in strucure and easily absorbed into the blood stream. Complex carbohydrates like starch in bread and potato take a longe time to get digested.

Why do you need carbs? Well the carbs that we eat turn into glucose and glycogen. We need these as fuel for all our activities. That’s why you can’t eliminate carbs from your diet.Low -carb eaters are usually more healthy in their food choices.

This link provides interesting reading:
http://www.torontodailynews.com/index.php/HealthNews/20061109111Low-Carb-Diet

Low-carb diets are believed to cut down on heart problems. So all of you who swear by the Atkins diet you are in luck! But you can’t cut the flab without the daily round of exercise and the calorie-counting!

atkins diet

I thought pizza was junk food!

Well if you think of the calories that come from all that cheese and the high content of sodium, you are pretty much near the junk category. But there is another side to pizza. The healthier pizzas you get in Italy are rich in tomatos. Tomatos contain lycopene, an antioxidant that is thought to fight against cancer. Check out this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/3086013.stm

Pizza is a complete meal in itself and contains healthy ingredients like olive oil and garlic that only increase its nutritional value

Ever heard of pizza palate? That happens when you greedily bite onto those steaming hot pizza slices and burn the roof of your mouth. Ouch! That really hurts.

nutritional value of pizza, pizza palate

Not just a spoonful…even a little more just might be good for you. At least its working on obese mice fattened up in laboratories. Testing on animals has always been a puzzling issue as far as I am concerned. Humanity needs the medication and animals are entitled to live. Catch 22 on that one, but then I am digressing….

Studies conducted have shown that obese mice fed on red wine were a happier, healthier lot than those deprived of the booze. The antioxidants in red wine seem to battle out cardiovascular problems, obesity-related problems like diabetes and other liver problems. The high dosage of red wine extract resveratrol only improved the quality of life of the obese mice. The French paradox that attributes red wine to longer lives for the French has been been validated further by these tests.

Let’s drink to that!

studies on mice, resveratrol, French paradox

1.Don’t be a couch potato. Walk, skip, dance, swim….and have a great sex life! Physical activity boosts energy levels, lowers bad cholesterol and improves mental fitness. Being inactive really plays havoc with your insulin and cholestorol levels

2. Eat nourishing foods. Check the labels while you go to supermarkets and pick out the healthiest foods that suit your palate. Check the ingredients and allergy warnings. If you want to be healthy, you have to shop healthy too!

3.Check your weight on the scales everyday. That way you get motivated to stay off high-calorie foods on a daily basis and you think twice before gorging on fat-filled foods.

4.Join a group of like-mined people. If you want to shed the flab, do it with your friends. That way its not torture but a fun-filled group activity.

5.Always consult a doc before you embark on any one of those diet and fitness exercise programs.Sometimes exercises can aggravate cardiovascular problems and arthritis. So its best to check with the experts first.

For more tips and tricks check out this link: http://www.weightlossmd.com/10_medically_proven_ways_to_lose_weight.asp

couch potato, check the labels, weight loss groups, how to lose weight

I have two left feet and so does my husband. So we never dance unless we are alone!

Dancing is a great low-impact exercise. It helps relieve stress, tones your muscles, improves your sense of coordination, doesn’t do much wear and tear on the joints, and improves your overall posture. Going to dance classes is a great way to socialize. There are all kinds of dance classes you can go to…ballroom dancing,flamenco,salsa,belly dancing, waltz,tap dancing…….
Who cares if you are not good at it? An instructor can help you through it and you can have a good laugh at your mistakes. If you are good well then that’s a great place to put on a good show!

Dancing is believed to reduce your blood pressure levels and improve your memory. Its a great way for people of all age groups to relax.

dancing