Coffee anyone?

A new study of 60,000 women showed that those who drank four or more cups of the java a day cut their risk for endometirial cancer by 25%, compared with those who had a cup or less. The risk fell by 46$ for obese women, who are most prone to developing the disease.

For men, they can achieve a 60% drop is the rish of developing aggressive prostate cancer among those who drink 6 or more cups of coffee a day.

Excerpt from the 2/10 Readers' Digest article on Health

Your bones need that pounding

You need to pound your bones to make your skeleton strong. If you're like me, the thought of jogging or jumping rope is a turn-off. A recent study from Oregon State University shows walking instead in a weighted vest will do the same trick.

The study found that women who exercised while wearing a weighted vest increased bone density by 1.5% in a fracture-prone area of the hip, while active women who didn't wear weights lost 4.4% of bone mass at that spot during the same time.

To look at a weighted vest and see if that might work for you, go to www.nyknyc.com.

Excerpt from a 2/10 Readers' Digest article on health.

Meditate: it's more than relaxation

Everyone knows meditation helps tame stress, but did you know it also decreases blood pressure and plaque buildup in arteries?

Meditation actually prevents heart attacks, strokes and premature death in people with heart problems.

Recent studies showed that of 201 African Americans with cardiovascular disease, those who learned to meditate using the Transcendental Meditation technique were 47% less likely than nonmeditators to have a heart attack or stroke, or to die of any cause.

Another example of an action you can take that makes your life better. Better than taking yet another pill. Ommmmh

Excerpt from a 2/10 Readers' Digest article on Health

Survey shows fruit, vegetable consumption down in 2009

Excerpt from an article published in The Packer on 01/25/2010 by Tom Karst

Consumers are contradicting themselves.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index shows more Americans said they were eating healthy in 2009 compared with the previous year. However, the percentage reporting that they ate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables four days out of the previous week, declined.

The group said the recession and higher unemployment may have taken a toll on the consumption of fruits and vegetables, and said that trend was particularly evident in the first few months of 2009.

The group said that healthy eating is most common for those Americans living in the West, older consumers and Hispanics,

The survey indicated that healthy eating in 2009 was lowest among Midwesterners, though that region improved the most compared with 2008 levels. The East was the only region that recorded a “healthy eating” decline in 2009, Gallup said.

While Hispanics and older Americans are the top “healthy eating” performers in 2009, the survey said blacks and consumers from 18- to 29-years old were the least healthy eaters in 2009.

Better to eat fish

There's a lot to like about fish oil.

• If you have high cholesterol, fish oil can lower your odds of cardiovascular problems by nearly 20%.
• If you've had a heart attack, it can cut the likelihood of a second one by 15 to 30%

"It has to do with the fatty acids EPA and DHA. You should get 500 milligrams a day of combined EPA and DHA," says Carl J. Lavie, MD. "You can get that with two fish dishers per week or through a supplement."

Kudos to Dr. Lavie for putting the requirements into what you should eat not just in supplements. Unless you're vegan, we should all be eating fish twice a week.

Excerpts from an article in the 2/10 Readers' Digest .

Del Monte's fresh-cut vending machines

Where are they? I'm so tired of granola bars and trail mix as considered healthy snacks at work and at school. Del Monte is putting in vending machines with fresh cut fruit.

They're putting banana slices, pineapple chunks, apple slices, grapes, baby carrots, and celery in vending machines. Most of the packages have unnecessary ranch dressing for dip, but I admit I may think unnecessary but I'll always dip the fruit in it.

The fruit sizes are between 4 - 6 ounces and cost between $1 to $2.25. Sounds alike a lot but then that's the going price for a bag of bar-be-que chips at school.

Kudos to Del Monte, this vending machine wasn't a quick trip to the snack area. The machine had to be built so that the upper section could hold bananas at their optimum temperature of 57 to 60 degrees. The lower 2/3rds of the machine holds rows of fresh-cut items at 38 degrees for optimum shelf life.

Each item is less than 120 calories and ready-to-eat. Well done Del Monte.

I wish the vending machine was in the hospital I was at with my mom this last weekend. The salad bar was dreadfully filled with mayonnaised and whipped cream salads, the fish was tilapa but was kept warm in a pool of butter, the chicken looked a ghostly white and the steamed veggies had almost all the color steamed out of them. And I love steam string beans and their beautiful bright greens but turn away from dark brown greens whose shape make the only differential from the baked beans beside them. And this was hospital-fare!

Exercise makes you gain weight?

In a study of postmenopausal women, it was found that women who exercised the most lost far less weight than had been predicted.*

The researchers concluded that this was probably due to the stimulating effect exercise has on appetite. The more you burn the more you'll want to eat.

The lesson learned is that you still need to carefully monitor your food intake to lose weight even with exercise.

*2009 study done by Dr. Timothy Church

The scoop on greek yogurt

Greek yogurt has an extra-creamy texture and is higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates than conventional yogurt. It also contains probiotics.

Use greek yogurt as a healthy substitute for dips and sauces. I replace mayonaise in my favorite waldorf salad (chunks of pineapple, apples, banana slices, and bits of walnuts).

McDonald's, of all places, introduced me to greek yogurt. It's the dip in their walnut and fruit salad that is sold for $1.79. A great snack for when you're on the go, I might add.

Does yo-yo dieting ruin your metabolism?

Your metabolism will forgive you, that's the good news. But when you regain weight you often gain back proportionally more fat than muscle. This will take a toll on your metabolism, because, pound for pound, muscle burns more calories than fat.

Doctors recommend consuming 50% of your body weight in grams of lean protein (e.g. 75 grams for a 150 pound person) to maintain muscle mass. Also you should do strength-training 2 to 3 times a week.

Excerpt from a Parade article of 1/17/10 on page 15.

Can muscle turn to fat?

Muscle and fat are different substances. It just seems like muscle can turn into fat.

When a muscular person stops working out and eats more. Muscles shrink in size while the fat cells plump up. You may not see it at first on the scale because fat gains are offset by muscle losses, but eventually the weight will go up and flab will form.

Boost your mood with exercise

Excerpts from Boost Your Mood, Drop Pounds article found in Family Circle 1/10

Feeling stressed out is your body's way of telling you to take a break or make a change for the better.

Karen Matthews, Ph.D., professor psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine says stressed-out people often do themselves more harm when the change they do make is cutting back on enjoyable activities.

Instead, you should do the opposite, get yourself out there and bump up the fun in your life. Take a walk and stop to talk to neighbors, call a friend and go to the movies. Getting out, moving more is a surefire recipe for weighing less, having lower blood pressure and lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels. Plus you become more satisfied with life.

Soup, a great way to start a meal

Filling up on soup can be a great way to start a meal or make an entire meal as long as you're savvy in the soup selection.

Power to Progresso for their 1 and even 0 point soups. The entire can (1 pointers) is 120 calories for 18 ounces of tasty soup. No fat and 8 grams of fiber delivers the low points. 70% of your daily allotment of sodium though. I'm told you can microwave the soup in the can (top off) but I don't have the guts to do it.

The roast beef has been a mainstay for my lunch. I remember hearing a Weight Watcher leader scolding our group not to eat the entire can because it was 2 portions and 2 portions of 0 point soup can be 2 points. I sat there thinking 'who cares.'

But what a difference in choosing between a nice creamy tomato soup and clam chowder. It pays to know your soups.

Although my lunch is often a Progresso point saver, I have coughed up enough lunch points to have Campbell's new butternut acorn squash soup. It comes in a container not a can. Easy to pour into a microwavable dish and heat for 2.5 minutes.

I know Campbells has come out with a line to rival the Progresso low points line. Maybe someone out there can give a shout out for their favorite.

Lose that belly, eat those veggies

Information from an article in the Family Circle 1/10

Eat your veggies, Mom was right. Caroots, spinach, red peppers and tomatos all contain carotenoids can help take inches off your belly.

Parental enthusiasm builds children's for exercising

Advice from a Family Circle article written 1/10 called Fan Base

Health Psychology Journal states that if parents enjoy exercising - or simply are enthusiastic about watching sports - your child is more likely to be active. Regardless of how athletic you are, showing enthusiasm for physical fitness by walking or running in races or taking kids to sporting events will bring rewards beyond the actual event. Your child will want to move more. Always a good thing.

Brownie points for the bad economy

Excerpts from an article by Ginny Graves in Family Circle 1/10

Find the good points in a bad economy. Why not? There's not much you can personally do to cure it. It turns out there are good points to take advantage of.

• You take better care of yourself - Tightening the wallets means eating out less, eating out less usually means eating better (avoiding the brick of fried onions at Outback, etc.). When you do the cooking, you have better control of the fat,sugar,sodium and calorie content of your food. Laura Kaiser, R.D., of Montefiore Community Program in NYC says that adding exercise to 'waist watching' may prove to be stress busting and help overall mental health.
• You save more - According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, we're saving more. I don't know if our credit-happy ways are cured, but saving more is definitely positive.
• You hang out more with your family - With less money, people are spending more time at home with their families, bonding more. Experts says the more time together strengthens the relationship.
• Kids learn responsibility - Children are expected and actually help out more when the family hits financial straits.
• Good for the environment - Some of the ways to save money has helped the environment like: drinking straight from the tap is one less water bottle hitting the dump, checking out books from the library instead of buying the latest thriller, popping some corn and watching a movie at home means consuming less fuel.
• Rediscovering fresh foods - The National Gardening Association estimates the number of families growing their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and / or berries will jump by 19% this year. Burpee the seed company says that investing $50 in a garden can bring a harvest to your table worth $1,250.
• Volunteering is up - It's a great way to get out in the community and feel that you belong.

Less is more, and a bad economy is proving it.

Exercise with others and work up more endorphins

Excerpt of the article "Health, Smart ways to live well" in Family Circle 1/10

British research has found that if you exercise with others your body produces more endorphins (the 'happy hormones').

That makes sense to me but I won't be signing up for the spinning class any time soon. Every time I'm in the YMCA when one of those classes are in sessions, the thumping of the bass is hard on my eardrums and I don't understand why they spin in the near dark - or worse yet- spin in black light!

And I don't think I could do Boot Camp. There are non-patriotic reasons why I didn't sign up for the Army, and boot camp is one of them. Something about someone yelling over you to move faster or harder is not my style.

But I am impressed with the people who do spin and show up every night for boot camp proving there are exercise programs for all.

Weight Loss Saboteur 6: Carbs

Eating the wrong amount of carbs, too few is too bad.
Getting enough carbohydrates may help you maintain a healthy body weight. A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association examined Canadians' dietary patterns and observed that people who ate 47 to 64 per cent (290-310 g) of their calories per day as carbohydrates were less likely to be overweight or obese, compared to those consuming a lower percentage of carbs.

Weight Loss Saboteur 3: Know your calcium needs

Know how much calcium you need. This isn't going to be easy. The USDA says you need at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day from foods: one cup of milk (250 mL), plus one cup of yogurt and a cube of cheese (42 g).

For overweight women who are calcium deficient, boosting intake may spur weight loss, according to a 2009 study in the British Journal of Nutrition. The brain may detect the lack of calcium and try to compensate by increasing appetite to boost intake, say researchers.

For women who exercise regularly, you may want to think twice about the USDA guidelines. That's a lot of calories in 1000 milligrams.The recommendation is based on the average American, and if you're exercising four days a week (so unlike the average American) your requirement may be a third less.

You need calcium for strong bones. Before 30, calcium builds bones. After 30, you need calcium so your body doesn't take the calcium it needs from your bones leaving you with brittle bones that easily break. According to a recent article by the Harvard School of Public Health, osteoporosis or the weakening of bones can be avoided by:

• Getting regular exercise
• Getting adequate vitamin D, (through food, exposure to sunshine, or supplements)
• Consuming enough calcium
• Consuming adequate vitamin K, found in green, leafy vegetables.
• Not getting too much preformed vitamin A.

So try to feed your body calcium with foods containing the mineral taking a supplement only if you have to (with a vitamin D kicker). And yes, dairy products have the highest concentration per serving of highly absorbable calcium. Not too far behind are dark leafy greens and dried beans.

But how much calcium? However, the healthiest or safest amount of dietary calcium hasn't yet been established. Different scientific approaches have yielded different estimates, so it's important to consider all the evidence. Article by the Harvard School of Public Health

For myself, I thought of taking 1300 mg of calcium a day, just to be safe. Wrong, do it and you may be contributing to problems such as heart disease or cancer (ovarian or prostate). Some scientists don't even think calcium helps prevents breaks or fractures. Take time to read the above article.

Three groups of people have low rates of bone loss: the Japanese, the Indians (Asian), and Peruvians. On average they eat 300 mg. of calcium a day. What they do, on the whole, that the average American doesn't do, is exercise and apparently get more sunshine. I exercise, I limit my caffeine intake, my diet is well balanced. From a calcium requirements perspective, I'm more Japanese than American. I'm going to stay the course I've already set for myself with calcium. If I stop exercising, or start drinking more Diet Coke (my only source of caffeine), I'll have to increase my calcium intake.

Further supporting my thoughts, the British committee that suggest dietary guidelines for the UK, looked at the same data and recommended just 700 mg of calcium for people over 19. Makes you wonder the role of the American Dairy Association in putting together the US guidelines. I'll leave you with this last quote from the Harvard School of Public Health article.

Currently, there's no good evidence that consuming more than one serving of milk per day in addition to a reasonable diet (which typically provides about 300 milligrams of calcium per day from nondairy sources) will reduce fracture risk. Because of unresolved concerns about the risk of ovarian and prostate cancer, it may be prudent to avoid higher intakes of dairy products.

*The Mypyramid.gov website says 3 cups (1000 mg), dig deeper and it varies by gender and age. For example a woman over 50 needs 1300 mg according to this web site. **How Mypyramid.gov presents the 'meat' category, again 'meat' not 'protein', is also problematic but not covered here.

Stand up straight

Mom was right to nag us. If you slouch, your back or neck may hurt and slouching may be why.

Get comfortable with how it feels to stand up straight - shoulders back, head up, chin up, and spine straight.

If you're not sure how it feels, look at yourself in a full-length mirror. Good posture balances the
head directly above the neck and a straight spine.

Try standing against a wall, your shoulder blades and buttocks should touch with your head about an inch away.

Source: Dr Lipomis of the CBS early show

Buying bread, weigh the difference

Commercial bread is often made with simple sugars like high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, and maltose that delivers a lot of calories per slice. The good news is you can eat bread without automatically putting on weight.

The weight of the bread will tell all!

Starches like breads and baked goods are usually about 80 calories per ounce. Heavier breads are going to contain a higher calorie count. A slice of regular bread weighs about an ounce (80 calories); a single slice of dense, "all-natural" bread, however, might weigh 2 or even 3 ounces (160 to 240 calories).

In the grocery store, pick up two different loaves, holding one in each hand; the one that is lighter is generally going to be the one with fewer calories. It's that simple.

Muffins and most other baked goods, like banana breads and plain cakes, contain roughly 125 calories per ounce. So if you pick up a "healthy," "all-natural" bran muffin and it feels like a brick, consider the caloric consequences: A standard 4-ounce muffin weighs in at around 500 calories, almost the equivalent of 7 slices of standard bread.

"Weigh in" on breads and starches before you buy them.

Source: an article by Margaret Furtado, M.S., R.D. posted on Yahoo.com 12/21/09.

Weight Loss Saboteur 1: Weekend Over-Indulge

You eat right and you exercise but those extra pounds just won't budge.

The little things you do on a daily basis can make a difference. Are you sabotaging your efforts by over-indulging on the weekend?

Everyone needs a break. But if you're making your weekends also days off from your diet, it's time to clock back in.

To combat overindulging on Saturday and Sunday, pay attention to portion size, weigh yourself daily (or on Fridays and Mondays only) and watch your alcohol intake, which provides empty calories and lowers your food inhibitions.

Sometimes if you're diligent about calorie intake during the week, you think you can treat yourself on the weekends. You should have treats, but maybe you treat yourself too much.

The take-away tip, is to enjoy your favourite food and drink but do it in moderation — even on the weekend.

How to tell if produce is GMO

If a fruit or vegetable is genetically modified (GM), the sticker on the produce will have 5 digits and it will start with 8. This sticker is not the barcode sticker.

The sticker on this apple has a 4-digit number which means the produce is conventionally grown. A 5-digit number beginning with 9

Don't sweat the scale

Excerpts taken from a 12/22/09 Miami Herald article by Nancy Churnin

Stop worrying about being up or down a few pounds. Instead focus on being fit says a consensus of doctors. The numbers you should pay attention to are your Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference.

That's because if you exercise the way you should, your body composition will change. Fat will be replaced by muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. So if you're near your ideal weight, the number on the scale may stay the same or even increase slightly as you become healthier.

Body Mass Index (BMI)
This number is the most important. It's your weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. No need to look up the conversion rate of kilograms to pounds, input your vital statistics on the Center for Disease Control's BMI calculator. Your target is to get between 18.5 to 25. A BMI of over 30 is obese and brings a substantially increased risk of health issues, ranging form diabetes to depression.

However, the calculator does not take into consideration exercise. There are professional athletes like tennis star Venus Williams that has a BMI that would classify her as overweight. Many professional football players would be considered morbidly obese.

But you're not a professional athlete, but what if you do exercise more, maybe a lot more than the average person. Doctors say that exercise is such an important component of fitness that people with a BMI of 30 who exercise four days a week have a lower risk of a heart attach than people with a BMI of 24 who don't exercise. That's where waist circumference comes into play.

Waist Circumference
Yes, it's what you think. It's the number of inches around your waist at the smallest area above the navel (and it's not your pants size, men). Men, you're shooting for 40 inches or less: Women, the number is 35. And those numbers are regardless of how tall you are.

Any number above that, your risk for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, strokes and some cancers is increased.

Other measures of fitness

Weight Doctors say this is the least useful measurement. Focus on losing sizes rather than losing pounds.

Bone Size Your doctor can determine this, but he'll also probably tell you that the differences between 'big boned' and 'small boned' is not significant enough to recommend higher BMI or waist size.

Skin-Fold Thickness Hold up your arms and let someone pinch your skin fold between the ribs and hips. The number of inches is directly related to your underlying body fat.