Entrepreneurs Are Healthier, Report Finds

People who go into business for themselves may be healthier than other workers, according to a new report from Gallup.

The report shows that entrepreneurs are less likely to have chronic diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and high blood pressure compared to other workers.

Entrepreneurs are also more likely to lead healthy lifestyles than other workers, such as eating produce at least four times a week and exercising on a regular basis, according to the findings.

Scent Of A Woman

“Legs. I don’t care if they’re Greek columns, or second-hand Steinways, but what’s between them… passport to heaven”. (Al Pacino as Lt. Col. Frank Slade, Scent of a Woman, 1992).

Every woman has a signature scent. It’s her own unique perfume produced by the healthy flora (bacteria) that live in her reproductive zone and keep her system in balance. Just to clarify, this is all part of a woman’s natural freshening process and means that the vagina is kept clean by nature and is not, as some soap companies will have you think, a dirty place, in need of fake fragrances.

Postpartum Hair Loss: It's Normal

By Parentables | Parenting

This post was written by Jessica McFadden. Photo credit: iStock Photography

A few months after a woman has had a baby is usually not a gal's hottest time. She is sleep deprived, has loose skin and extra pounds hanging around her midsection, and if she is nursing she is serving as a walking milk truck. But at least she still has that thick, lustrous hair leftover from pregnancy, right?

Wrong. In fact, her hair very likely is falling out...sometimes in clumps.

Is this a dirty trick of Mother Nature? A sick joke? The side effect of all those salads you're consuming to slim down to your pre-pregnancy dress size, or those deliciously deserved glasses of wine after baby finally goes to sleep?

Nope, it's totally normal. Technically, your hair is just going back to its normal, pre-pregnancy state. During pregnancy the extra estrogen in your system is responsible for less strands ending up in your brush and down the shower drain. The average non-pregnant woman loses about 100 strands a day, but while you are pregnant you retain more of those precious hairs.

The 11 Best Sources of Magnesium

by guest blogger Morley Robbins, wellness coach and magnesium advocate

I’m often asked, “Where can I find more magnesium in my diet?” That’s such an important question! In fact, it’s usually the second question people ask me after first wanting to know how its deficiency is related to most, if not all, of their day-to-day symptoms.

If you’ll remember from my previous post, I explained the many functions of this key mineral for health and began to discuss how stress causes magnesium loss—it’s a fact of life, and it’s how we’re wired as a species. So today’s post will focus on the magnesium-rich foods you can eat to deal with that stress! (In my next post, I’ll help you better understand what aspects of your stress can be reduced—or possibly eliminated—to help you preserve your magnesium stores.)

'Drop Dead Healthy': Is the Perfect Healthy Lifestyle Possible?

By JOHN BERMAN and MARY MARSH | Good Morning America

There are thousands of diet and exercise studies for how to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle: Don't eat that, drink more of this, run hard for this length of time then rest, but wait, maybe try a walk-run combo, or extreme yoga, or perhaps meditation. The tips constantly change when new studies are published.

For his most ambitious project, author A.J. Jacobs followed the latest medical advice about getting healthy -- all of it -- and found out what really works.

"I was in bad shape," Jacobs said. "I had a huge stomach. I looked like a snake that swallowed a goat. It was sort of the skinny fat, and you know, my diet was terrible. I ate sugar, salt, fat. Those were my three food groups, so I really wanted to -- I needed to do a big revamp."

Following the success of his book, "The Year of Living Biblically," in which he tried to follow every rule in the Bible for a year, Jacobs, 44, spent two years trying out every diet plan, every workout routine, every self-improvement trick and technique out there. He documented his journey in his new book, "Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Quest for Bodily Perfection," which he wrote while walking on a treadmill, by the way -- a chapter every 12 miles or so.

"More and more research shows how horrible sitting is for you," he said. "It's really bad. It's like a Paula Deen bacon doughnut. It's just so ... if you are sitting for more than six hours a day, that'll increase your risk for heart disease by 60 percent."

Jacobs is now a walking encyclopedia of health insight, from applying sunscreen daily, to having certain plants nearby to filter the air -- even proper water bottle care.

"Holding a cold bottle is actually good for your workout," he said. "It keeps your core temperature lower, and you can increase your endurance."

It could get a bit annoying, his wife, Julie, admitted.

"There were certain things that he would like to look over my shoulder when I was eating -- white bread and say, 'enjoy your empty calories,'" she said. "I'm having my everything bagel, please let me be."

So what did work? Over the course of two years, Jacobs developed definite opinions about how to maintain a healthier lifestyle. He said people need to exercise more, sit less, meditate, pet dogs -- because studies have found it lowers blood pressure -- and cook their own meals instead of eating prepared food.

Jacobs now has a healthier diet, mostly vegetables, fish and eggs. The dietary revelation came not with what he eats, but how he eats it.

"I chew as many times as possible, because you'll eat less and we eat way too much as a nation," Jacobs said. "There's actually a very passionate movement on the Internet called 'Chewdaism,' and they believe you should be chewing as many as 50 times a bite."

And then there were those health regimens that Jacobs said didn't work for him, such as colonics and juice fasts.

"I was not a fan of either one, and luckily the science is not there," he said. "There's really very little science that colonics are good for you. You don't really need them. The body cleans out by itself."

But the calorie restriction diet is what Jacobs called "one of the worst experiences of my project."

"This is the group that believes that if you eat very, very little, like if you are on the verge of starvation, then you're going to live 140 years," Jacobs said. "The obvious joke is why would you want to live 140 years if you're only eating, you know, five flax seeds a day."

His favorite workout: boulder tossing, log carrying and sprinting, part of the so-called "caveman workout."

"The caveman didn't do a lot of leisurely jogging," he said. "They did a lot of sprinting, running away from tigers."

At the end of two years, Jacobs said he managed to lose 17 pounds. His body fat dropped from 17 to 7 percent and he said he is now bursting with energy and feels great. He added that he has backed off doing some of the dozens and dozens of daily healthy rituals -- for example, he no longer does the colonics or juice diets anymore, and he doesn't do the caveman workout regularly -- because, Jacobs said, there just aren't enough hours in the day to be that healthy.

"I'm a bit of an 'obsessional' person, so I guess I might go too far," Jacobs said. "[But] being too obsessed with health is not very healthy."

Jacobs also said that the most detrimental part of the pursuit of being healthy is that he had to give up seeing his friends and his family because there wasn't enough time in the day for both.

"I had very little time to see my friends because I was being too healthy, and that turned out to be unhealthy ... Social interactions are such a crucial part of our health you know they really contribute to your longevity," he said.

A.J. Jacobs shares some of his tips for being healthy. Here's what he says:

Chew! There's a movement I discovered on the Internet called 'chewdaism' where people believe you should chew each mouthful of food 50 to 70 times. This is a bit much if you have a life. Twenty or thirty times works pretty well. And basically it slows you down to give those satiety signals enough time to reach your brain so that you realize you're full before you've overeaten. It really helped me eat less.

Self-tracking -- such as using a pedometer or keeping a food diary -- makes all the difference. Just something as simple as a pedometer can make you walk one mile more per day on average, because it becomes a game. Even just writing down what you eat changes your behavior.

Don't be sedentary. Sitting is so bad for you. I like walking better, which surprises me. I have more energy. So I run errands, literally. I run to the store for toothpaste and run home. I squat down to talk to my kids, which means I do 50 to 70 squats a day.

Stress truly affects your help. I thought diet and exercise would solve everything. But keeping stress down is important. You do that by making time for friends and family, making sure to laugh. And you know what is a big stress-inducer? Noise. That's why I got some noise-cancelling headphones (which were a stress-inducing three $300.)

Respect your future self. An app online aged a picture of me, showing me what I'd look like at 70. I keep the picture on a desk and look at it to remind myself to make things better for me in the future.

http://gma.yahoo.com/drop-dead-healthy-perfect-healthy-lifestyle-possible-224109928--abc-news-health.html

The Best Diet for COPD Patients

A healthy diet can play an important role in the management and treatment of COPD.

By Krisha McCoy, MS

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Finding the right diet can be tricky for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), since they need to eat a healthy diet and maintain their optimal weight to keep COPD symptoms in check.

COPD: The Impact of Body Weight

For COPD patients, maintaining a healthy weight is important for controlling symptoms.

"If you're overweight, you have to carry more of your weight around," says Barry Make, MD, co-director of the COPD program at National Jewish Health in Denver and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado. Having more weight to carry around can increase shortness of breath, which is one of the primary symptoms of COPD.

With that said, it’s even more crucial for COPD patients not to be underweight. "Being overweight is bad, but being underweight is probably even worse in COPD patients," says Dr. Make. "A lot of COPD patients want to lose weight, but we tell them not to lose too much." According to Make, losing too much weight when you have COPD is associated with a poorer prognosis, or worse long-term outlook. In addition, not weighing enough can zap your energy, making it difficult to adhere to your COPD management plan.

COPD: Nutrition Tips

Talk with your COPD medical team about the nutrition plan that is best for you. They may recommend that you see a nutritionist, who can work with you to develop a meal plan to best meet your needs and monitor your progress along the way.

In general, people who have COPD should consider the following to maintain an optimal weight:

• Monitor calories: If you are overweight, you can lose weight by eating fewer calories. But don't eat so few calories that you feel fatigued and hungry all of the time. If you need to focus on maintaining your body weight, talk with your medical team or nutritionist about the foods you should be eating to keep the weight on.
• Avoid fad diets: "Fad diets are not appropriate for COPD patients," says Make. Make recommends that COPD patients eat a healthful, balanced diet instead of going on fad diets to control weight.
• Focus on protein: Work with your medical team and/or nutritionist to determine the amount of protein you need. "A lot of people do not get enough protein in their diet," says Make. Make says that protein is particularly important for COPD patients who are exercising as part of their pulmonary rehabilitation plan.
• Watch your portions: "We tell our COPD patients to eat small meals frequently, rather than large meals," says Make. Eating several small meals throughout the day instead of two or three large meals can help lessen shortness of breath.
• Get balanced: Focus on consuming fruits, vegetables, dairy products, whole grains, and lean proteins.
• Limit salt: Consuming excessive sodium can lead to fluid retention, which can worsen your shortness of breath.
• Remember your oxygen: If your medical team recommends it, use supplemental oxygen during and after meals to aid in digestion.

A healthy diet is an important part of a COPD patient's treatment plan. Eating the right foods can help manage your symptoms, make you feel better overall, increase your energy level, and give your body the fuel it needs to fight infection. It takes energy to breathe when you have COPD, so feed your body well.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/diet-for-copd-patients.aspx

Some Spices Cut Cancer Risk That Comes With Grilled Burgers

(HealthDay News) -- Researchers report that adding certain spices to your burgers before tossing them on the grill this summer will not only add to the flavor of the meat, but they can also cut the risk of cancer long associated with the cooking of beef.

Scientists at Kansas State University (KSU) found that three spices in particular -- fingerroot, rosemary and turmeric -- seem to direct the greatest amount of antioxidant activity towards preventing the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCAs). HCAs, they note, are the cancer-causing compounds that are produced when foods such as beef are barbecued, grilled, broiled or fried.

Specifically, the three spices appeared to cut back on HCA production by upwards of 40 percent, the team observed, thereby significantly reducing the HCA-associated risk for developing colorectal, stomach, lung, pancreatic, mammary and prostate cancers.

"Cooked beef tends to develop more HCAs than other kinds of cooked meats such as pork and chicken," KSU food chemistry professor J. Scott Smith noted in a news release. "Cooked beef patties appear to be the cooked meat with the highest mutagenic activity and may be the most important source of HCAs in the human diet."

Therefore Smith and his colleagues looked into the HCA-inhibiting potential of six spices: cumin, coriander seeds, galangal, fingerroot, rosemary and turmeric.

Of all those investigated, rosemary came out on top as the strongest protector against HCA.

The authors suggested that consumers integrate these spices into their menus when appropriate, noting that some, such as rosemary, come in an extract form that has demonstrated HCA inhibition of 61 percent to 79 percent.

They pointed out that spicing allows for the sort of high-temperature cooking (above 352 degrees Farenheit) that is typically recommended for safe grilling, while at the same time blocking the increased HCA production that is known to occur when the flames intensify.

Smith and his team plan further research to see what other marinades and powders might do by way of HCA curtailment -- they noted that earlier work has shown that marinating steaks with particular herbs and spices effectively lowers HCA production.

More information

For more grilling safety tips, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/hsn/somespicescutcancerriskthatcomeswithgrilledburgers

Men who drink sugary drinks daily up risk of heart disease: study

AFP Relax

A new study has found that men who drink about a can of full-calorie soda or sugar-sweetened juice a day could be increasing their risk of developing heart disease by about 20 percent.

Published in the journal Circulation, Harvard researchers followed 42,880 men over 22 years, measuring the different lipids and proteins in the participants' bloodstream.

After controlling for risk factors like smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and family medical history, scientists found that those who consumed sugary beverages on a daily basis had higher levels of triglycerides -- or bad fat -- and lower levels of good cholesterol or HDL levels compared to men who refrained from sugary drinks.

Both biomarkers are known to be associated with a higher risk of heart disease.

"This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health," said lead author Frank Hu. "Certainly, it provides strong justification for reducing sugarybeverage consumption among patients, and more importantly, in the general population."

The role of artificially sweetened beverages, meanwhile, is unclear.

Beginning in 1986, participants were asked to fill out questionnaires about their diet and health habits every two years until 2008. The men also provided a blood sample midway through the project.

It's the latest study to find an association between the consumption of sugary drinks and the increased risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.

Last year, the American Heart Association also warned that women who drink more than two sugar-sweetened drinks a day may also up the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Another US study estimated that imposing a soda tax could prevent 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes and prevent 26,000 deaths a year.

Meanwhile, in response to charges that caramel coloring in soda is an animal carcinogen, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi said last week they will lower levels of the chemical 4-MEI to comply with recently imposed California requirements.

The southwestern state has a 29-microgram benchmark for 4-MEI in products. Anything that may expose consumers to a daily level higher than that must carry a warning label.

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/men-drink-sugary-drinks-daily-risk-heart-disease-152503409.html

Findings On Cholesterol Alarming – DOST

Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines - People normally think that high cholesterol level is only a middle-aged persons' concern, but a study of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) showed otherwise.

Based on the latest National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), one out of every three Filipinos aged 20 and up already has borderline high-to-high total cholesterol levels.

FNRI's Charmaine Duante cited the prevalence of dyslipidemia and its four components: high total cholesterol, bad cholesterol, good cholesterol and high triglyceride, among 7,700 young adult population.

"Based on the results, females have higher total cholesterol levels than males," said Duante, in a press conference held in Makati City.

The study results also showed that almost 17 percent of those ages 20-29 years old already have borderline high-to-high cholesterol levels. The incidence increases amongst those in their 30s and 40s (nearing 26 percent and 31 percent respectively) and closely doubles for those in their 50s (48 percent).

"The proportion of adults with borderline to high cholesterol level peaked at the age range of 50-59 years," she added. Dr. Mario Capanzana, FNRI director, said considered the statistics "alarming."

"Alarming because it may indicate that more and younger adults may be at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure or other diseases as they advance the adult years," Capanzana pointed.

Among the factors that may contribute to high cholesterol levels, Capanzana pointed are mostly diet, plus lifestyle and lack of physical activities."

In response to this, the FNRI has joined hands with Del Monte Philippines, Inc. for an advocacy dubbed "Be smart, Care for your Heart," which aims to raise the awareness of the Filipinos on how to fight against hypercholesterolemia, a condition characterized by very high levels of cholesterol in the blood.

Dr. Trinidad Trinidad, Department of Science and Technology scientist, also urged the public to eat local root crops such as camote, gabi, ube, cassava and tugi, which are excellent sources of dietary fiber, a food component that has been associated with the prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and diabetes.

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/findings-cholesterol-alarming-dost-142352027.html

Postpartum Hair Loss: It's Normal

By Parentables | Parenting

This post was written by Jessica McFadden. Photo credit: iStock Photography

A few months after a woman has had a baby is usually not a gal's hottest time. She is sleep deprived, has loose skin and extra pounds hanging around her midsection, and if she is nursing she is serving as a walking milk truck. But at least she still has that thick, lustrous hair leftover from pregnancy, right?

Wrong. In fact, her hair very likely is falling out...sometimes in clumps.

Is this a dirty trick of Mother Nature? A sick joke? The side effect of all those salads you're consuming to slim down to your pre-pregnancy dress size, or those deliciously deserved glasses of wine after baby finally goes to sleep?

Nope, it's totally normal. Technically, your hair is just going back to its normal, pre-pregnancy state. During pregnancy the extra estrogen in your system is responsible for less strands ending up in your brush and down the shower drain. The average non-pregnant woman loses about 100 strands a day, but while you are pregnant you retain more of those precious hairs.

Vogue article by mom about 7-year-old daughter’s weight sparks heavy backlash

By Dylan Stableford | The Cutline

An article by a woman who is "fighting" her 7-year-old daughter's "childhood obesity" at home--published in the April issue of Vogue--is causing a big backlash online among readers critical of the magazine and its author.

Dara-Lynn Weiss, the author, wrote about her response to a pediatrician who suggested that her daughter, Bea, should be put on a diet because--at 4'4" and 93 pounds--she was clinically obese and could be at risk for high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes.

It wasn't the diagnosis that readers railed against, but Weiss' management of Bea's subsequent year-long diet.

"Sometimes Bea's after-school snack was a slice of pizza or a gyro from the snack vendor," Weiss wrote. "Other days I forced her to choose a low fat vegetable soup or a single hard-boiled egg. Occasionally I'd give in to her pleas for a square of coffee cake, mainly because I wanted to eat half of it. When she was given access to cupcakes at a party, I alternated between saying, 'Let's not eat that, it's not good for you'; 'Okay, fine, go ahead, but just one'; and 'Bea, you have to stop eating crap like that, you're getting too heavy,' depending on my mood. Then I'd secretly eat two when she wasn't looking."

Weiss continued:

I once reproachfully deprived Bea of her dinner after learning that her observation of French Heritage Day at school involved nearly 800 calories of Brie, filet mignon, baguette, and chocolate. I stopped letting her enjoy Pizza Fridays when she admitted to adding a corn salad as a side dish one week. I dressed down a Starbucks barista when he professed ignorance of the nutrition content of the kids' hot chocolate whose calories are listed as "120-210" on the menu board: Well, which is it? When he couldn't provide an answer, I dramatically grabbed the drink out of my daughter's hands, poured it into the garbage, and stormed out.

After Bea lost 16 pounds--meeting her mom's weight-loss goal for her before a Vogue photoshoot--Weiss wrote about her daughter's reaction:

"That's still me," she says of her former self. "I'm not a different person just because I lost sixteen pounds." I protest that indeed she is different. At this moment, that fat girl is a thing of the past. A tear rolls down her beautiful cheek, past the glued-in feather. "Just because it's in the past," she says, "doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"I have not ingested any food, looked at a restaurant menu, or been sick to the point of vomiting without silently launching a complicated mental algorithm about how it will affect my weight," Weiss admitted. "Who was I to teach a little girl how to maintain a healthy weight and body image?"

"The socialites who write personal essays for Vogue aren't known for their kindness and humility," Katie Baker wrote on Jezebel.com. But Weiss "has to go down in history as the one of the most f---ed up, selfish women to ever grace the magazine's pages."

Weiss "comes across as obsessive and the fact that she made such an issue of her daughter's weight, both in public and in Vogue—seems wrong," Dhani Mau wrote on Fashionista.com.

An anonymous blogger for New York magazine added: "I'm pretty sure Weiss just handed her daughter the road map to all her future eating disorders."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/vogue-article-mom-7-old-daughter-weight-sparks-175546979.html;

Healing Thyself

While the Church has its part in healings, so does the sick person. For instance, you can take preventative measures -- proper diet, physical conditioning, and quitting smoking. 

Gluttony and laziness are sin, not because they make you ill, but because they undermine your sense of spiritual (and bodily!) proportion about yourself and show a lack of inner discipline. 

If your body is a temple for the Spirit, and is made to be that way by dint of God's creative hand, then it is an insult to God for you to lay waste to it.

Then, there is your devotional life. When you turn your attention to God, and open yourself up ever more to the inner work of the Spirit, it helps in every aspect of your life. Devotional disciplines like daily prayer, quiet time, and journaling help keep you in tune with God and helps you to turn over more of your life to God. 

If your illness is caused by a sin you're still holding onto, as it sometimes is, the disciplines help you find the sin, where its roots are, and how it can be ended. Also, the Spirit might bring you the gift of spiritual healing of yourself -- making you both the healer and the healed.

If this should happen to you, give praise and thanks to the God who made it possible. Let yourself go in the praise of God! It's fun, and it's right!

It's not illness, faith healers, doctors, unusual occurrences, or even the sick person that merits our greatest attention. It is Jesus the Healer who merits it. This remains true even if health is not restored.
http://www.spirithome.com/healings.html

5 ways you can stay fit as a couple

By Patricia Hizon | Yahoo! SHE

It takes two to keep fit and healthy.  If you’re a health buff, imagine being married to a junk food-eating, non-exercising, potbelly-scratching couch potato.  Not pretty! 


It is important for couples to work together, like they do in other aspects of their relationship, to achieve a healthier lifestyle.


Here are simple and easy tips.


1. Watch each other’s diet.


It’s really not that easy to go on any kind of diet if the person you’re constantly with is munching on the very same food you’re trying to avoid.  This sometimes leads to tension in the relationship. 


Couples should mutually agree on the terms of the diet—whether it’s to cut down on carbs or sodium, use organic ingredients, or go vegetarian.


Agreement is key to commitment.  That means that you have to manage your food intake together as a couple and check on one another.


The best way to get this started is to consult a nutritionist.  You and your partner might have different dietary needs and goals, but the reality is you share the same pantry and kitchen.

Read: Do vitamin supplements do more harm to the elderly?

2. Go to bed earlier.


This is a great excuse to get a head start on snuggling up. That might mean turning off the laptop, the TV, getting the kids out of the room and adjusting your evening routines so you hit the sack earlier.


When you improve your sleeping habits, you are allowing your body to recover and priming it to take on the demands of the day. 


Plus, studies have shown that people who sleep less than six hours a night undergo hormone changes that lead to an increase in hunger.

Read: 10 ways to break bad habits

3. Make gym dates a regular thing.

Using cardio machines side by side can help motivate and encourage the other to reach his or her individual goals.


On weights, you or your partner can praise each other as you flex in front of the mirror.  Ladies, squeeze his biceps and show some admiration.  A regular pat on the back (or the lower extremities) can put your partner in a giddy mood.


Use opportunities like wiping the sweat beads off the side of your partner’s face to keep the flames of romance alive.  At least you’ll be burning more than just calories!


Go on gym dates two to three times a week.

Read: The best time to stretch

4. Enjoy the outdoors.


Look for activities you and your partner would enjoy.  A brisk walk or a run around the neighborhood, a bike ride on a trail both of you can conquer, or a weekend fun run.


Or, try a little basketball, volleyball and even football at the local park. You don’t need to be great, but you need to be determined.


There are so many activities you and your partner can take up to make your bond strong...and your bones and muscles even stronger.

Read: 5 healthy reasons to get walking

5. Dance like no one’s looking.


It doesn’t matter if you have two left feet. What matters is that you’re willing to spice up your workout with a partner who won’t laugh (that much) at you for your not being blessed with rhythm and grace.


Dancing is a sure-fire way to add sizzle to your relationship while allowing those unwanted fats to fizzle.


There are many dance classes and dance workouts being offered in malls, hotels and neighborhood studios. You can also hit the many dance clubs in the city.


Staying fit and healthy not only allows you to enjoy life more fully, it also puts more excitement in your relationship.

Remember, it takes two to tango.  So drop the chips, get off the couch and vow to get through the challenge together, in fitness and in health.

Read: Street dance for fitness

Patricia Hizon is an accomplished sportscaster, mother of two, wife of a basketball player turned golf addict, free lance producer and writer, owner of a travel agency, marketing and events consultant, and founder of the "Everyday Is Your Birthday Foundation". Get to know more about her on her blog 
www.patriciahizon.com.

http://ph.she.yahoo.com/5-ways-you-can-stay-fit-as-a-couple.html;_ylt=ArEv_azmVf4OD.pyiC8YkHiIeeR_

What Does "Zero Trans Fats" Really Mean?

By Emily Dillon 
Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board

If the nutrition label reads "zero grams trans fat" it must be healthy, right? Wrong! As it turns out, federal regulations allow labels to read "zero grams trans fat" as long as a product contains less than 0.5 grams of the artery-clogging fat per serving.

Food for Thought

Unfortunately, most food packages contain more than one serving. A snack-size bag of cupcakes, for example, may contain zero grams of trans fat per serving, but when you consider that each bag contains two to three servings, that number jumps considerably. By the time you've devoured that bag of cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, you may have consumed up to two grams of trans fat.

Consumer groups and health officials have campaigned to phase out the use of trans fat completely because it contributes to heart disease by raising levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, while lowering HDL, or good cholesterol. Despite the movement to phase it out, many food companies continue to sneak small amounts into their products.
Label Literacy

What does this mean for health-conscious consumers? According to Bonnie Taub-Dix, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, it means following a few smart guidelines when filling your supermarket cart.

gotquestions qualityhealth.com

How to be Superwoman

By Jeanne Faulkner

Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board

What if Superwoman were overweight, depressed, anxious, and crabby? What if she was forgetful, distracted, and downright unhappy? Would we still consider her a superhero? That's what millions of women worldwide experience when they try to do it all; simultaneously giving their best as professionals, mothers, wives, friends, sisters, daughters, and more. She works inside and outside the home and somehow finds time for everyone...except the one person who is most important: Herself.

When you ask Superwoman what she does in a day, she'll probably dictate a mind-boggling list of duties and obligations. She'll certainly include work, household chores, childcare duties, carpools, committees, emails, and commitments galore. If that list doesn't also include exercise and a little downtime, she's not setting her priorities right. If she's short-changing her diet with too much fast food or prepackaged processed meals, she may be doing real damage to her health. If she's flying too fast from activity to activity, multitasking as she goes, she may be missing the good stuff in life or worse, ruining her health.

What should Superwoman do? She should put herself on the top of her to-do list and take care of her emotional, physical, and mental health. That means the following:

1. Make a list and cut it down to size. If Superwoman's schedule is too supercharged, she might be filling her time with unnecessary energy-burners. Evaluate which responsibilities can be delegated or eliminated to free up some "me time."
2. Make exercise a priority. Schedule in three to five workouts every week that include at least 30-minutes of cardio exercise and two or three strength training sessions, each followed by stretching.
3. De-stress. Schedule fifteen minutes (or more) every day for meditation or other stress relieving activities. Tai Chi, yoga, deep breathing, mindful walking, and even knitting are all great ways to integrate the mind-body connection.
4. Eat right. Keep a food journal for a week and look closely at what Superwoman is using for jet fuel. If she's not eating mostly fruits and veggies, lean protein, whole grains, dairy (or another calcium source), and healthy fats, and drinking lots of water (not soda, juice, or alcohol), she runs the risk of being supersized and developing chronic health problems like diabetes, hypertension, and more.
5. Get help. No one says Superwoman has to do it all by herself. Get family to help with chores. Get coworkers and office mates to do their share. Don't create more work by micromanaging, though. Give clear instructions, insist on a good job, then step back and let other people be superheroes too.
   http://www.qualityhealth.com/womens-health-articles/being-superwoman-5-ways-not-overwork-yourself

Eat to Beat Bowel Cancer

By Susan McQuillan

Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board

Fruits and vegetables provide some of the most important nutrients you can consume, namely, disease-fighting antioxidants in the form of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (substances found only in plants that are known to protect your cells from destruction).

One of the many diseases that antioxidants can help prevent is bowel, or colorectal, cancer. But it gets even more specific than that. An Australian survey study, published in the October 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that different fruits and vegetables may affect certain parts of the bowel.

Previous studies that link bowel cancer risk and fruit and vegetable consumption have had conflicting results. The Australian researchers point out that this could be because until now, no study has looked specifically at the relationship between diet and the different parts of the bowel where tumors could form.

Your gastrointestinal tract is a long tube that stretches from your mouth to your rectum, with lots of twists, turns, bulges, and folds in between. The food you eat travels this entire course to be broken down, digested, and stripped of its nutrients along the way. Those nutrients are absorbed through your intestinal wall and travel through your bloodstream to wherever they are needed. What's left of your meal is eliminated, along with any indigestible fiber contained in the food.

Your bowel has three main parts and each part is divided into distinct areas. Your distal colon includes the large intestine, sigmoid colon, and descending colon in your distal colon. Your proximal colon includes the cecum, appendix, ascending colon, and transverse colon. Your rectum leads to your anus, which is the end of your large intestine and the end of your gastrointestinal tract.

More clinical studies need to be performed to confirm these results, but upon analyzing the diets of almost 2,000 adults who participated in this study, the Australian researchers found the following associations:

• Eating more cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts may be linked to a lower rate of cancer in both the distal and proximal colons.
• Eating more apples and dark yellow or orange vegetables, such as winter squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and carrots may be linked to a lower risk of developing distal colon cancer.
• Higher total fruit and vegetable intake may be linked to a lower risk of distal colon cancer, but not proximal colon cancer or rectal cancer.
• Increased consumption of fruit juice may be linked to an increased risk of developing rectal or anal cancer.

Sources:

Annema, N. et al; "Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and the Risk of Proximal colon, Distal Colon, and Rectal Cancers in a Case-control Study in Western Australia." Journal of the American Dietetic Association 111(10):1479-1490 October 2011 Web 20 Oct 2011
http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223(11)01215-6/abstract

Science Daily: Fruits and Vegetables Reduce Risks of Specific Types of Colorectal Cancers, Study Finds 26 Sep 2011 Web 20 Oct 2011
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110926083346.htm

http://www.qualityhealth.com/digestion-articles/eat-beat-bowel-cancer?ct=39995

Hyperhidrosis and Dating

Jan 23, 2012

Excessive armpit sweating (hyperhidrosis) and dating can be an embarrassing combination. However, it doesn't have to be. The common treatments already available include:

• Antiperspirants
• Medications
• Lontophoresis
• Botox
• Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy
• Diet
• Retrodermal Curettage
• Liposuction

Hyperhidrosis is an annoying, but treatable condition. If you suffer from excessive armpit sweating, don't hide it, come clean. Finding a partner who is accepting and supportive of who you are is more important than hiding it.

Use this helpful infographic to learn more about hyperhidrosis, and the myths that surround it.

http://freethinkermatch.com/index.php?page=showarticle&articleid=7

Does Your Body Need Probiotics?

Author: Kyle Ellen Nuse

Recently, 57-year-old, Anne Turner started researching gentle ways to treat her irritable bowel syndrome, constipation and chronic digestive issues.

"I was not getting any relief with conventional methods, so I went to my local natural food store and asked the nutritionist if she had any recommendations for my specific conditions," she said.

To her surprise, the answer was simple and pain-free—she needed to take a dietary supplement called probiotics to replenish her digestive flora.

Probiotics, meaning "for life," are the antithesis of antibiotics, which are designed to kill most bacteria in the body, both good and bad.  Up to one in five people on antibiotics stop taking their full course of antibiotic therapy due to diarrhea. Physicians could help patients avoid this problem by prescribing probiotics, according to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University published in American Family Physician.

Probiotics are naturally occurring beneficial bacteria located in the intestines, whose job it is to help prevent the harmful bacteria from wreaking havoc.

After a few weeks of taking a recommended probiotic supplement and making small changes in her diet, Turner started feeling better than she had in years, affirming her decision to take control of her health with probiotics.

According to holistic nurse Luanne Pennesi, almost everyone, especially in today's industrialized society, can benefit from taking probiotics to help strengthen the immune system, utilize certain vitamins effectively, and regulate the digestive system.

"Probiotics are vital for proper digestion of fats and proteins, synthesizing vitamin K, which is vital for the prevention of osteoporosis and production of many of our B vitamins, plus they detoxify the intestinal tract," she said.

The digestive track is home to more than 500 million species of bacteria; ideally 80 percent should be beneficial bacteria and 20 percent harmful bacteria.

"Probiotics are helpful when it comes to maintaining the body's chemical and hormone balance. Their ability to protect the body from absorbing toxins from the GI tract also makes them vital to our health and longevity," said Pennesi.

Good Bacteria vs. Bad

But with literally trillions of bacteria residing in the digestive tract, how do you know which ones are the “good” guys and which are the 'bad?”

According to experts in digestive care, the two most prevalent probiotics are lactobacilli, which make up the majority of the probiotics in your small intestine, and bifidobacteria, which make up the majority of the probiotics in the large intestine.

Lactobacilli help regulate the immune system, digesting nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates and milk sugars; and produce compounds and acids that create an unfriendly environment for harmful bacteria. Lactobacilli are also the most prevalent in the vagina and help guard women from yeast infections.

Bifidobacteria, on the other hand, is located in the large intestine and are present in much higher in numbers. This is because there is less constant movement in the large intestine compared to the small intestine, which makes it easier for harmful bacteria to build up and multiply.

Bifidobacteria also ferment soluble fiber and produce compounds including short chain fatty acid, vitamin B and K. However, studies show that the population of bifidobacteria significantly declines with age and with unhealthy lifestyle practices.

"If its balance and function is thrown off by a poor diet, lack of proper hydration, overuse of antibiotics, overweight conditions, constipation and lack of exercise, you are setting yourself up for chronic illness and premature aging," said Pennesi.

So what are different kinds of ways you can get more healthy bacteria in your body?

Here are Pennesi's Top 3 recommendations:

• Consult with your health care professional and take a high quality probiotic supplement.
• Take supplements or enjoy foods with Fructo-oligo-saccharides (FOS), which feed the healthy flora (probiotics) of the body, like bananas, onions, garlic, artichokes, barley and tomatoes.
• Eat more kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, umeboshi plum and yogurt.

However, Pennesi cautions that not all probiotics products contain both lactobacilli (lactobacillus) and bifidobacteria (bifidus).

Minimizing the use of synthetic antibiotics, as they kill off healthy bacteria in the body, is also a great way to keep your healthy bacteria counts up.

http://www.diabetesinfocenter.org/View.aspx?url=Probiotics_Constipation_Irritable_Bowel_Digestion