6 Tips for Making Healthy Fast Food Choices

It is possible to get out of a fast food restaurant without totally undoing all of your hard work, you just have to make the right choices. 

Cooking your own food offers much more control over your dier than eating out, but if you make smart choices, that trip to the drive thru doesn't have to ruin your whole diet plan. Compiled from Eat This, Not That author David Zinczenko and a recent article from the editors of Men's Health magazine, these simple tips can make your fast food choices much healthier.

1. Just because it sounds healthy, doesn't mean it is. When you eat at Subway or Panera Bread, you can't just assume that everything on the menu is low in calories. In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, diners were asked to estimate the number of calories in their meals, both at Subway and McDonalds. They both underestimated but Subway patrons were further off. When people eat at a healthy restaurant, they tend to order more food.
2. Get the fresh fruit. If you're eating a fast food breakfast at a restaurant like IHOP or Denny's, the pancakes covered in fruit and whipped cream and sugary syrup look delicious, but all that extra sugar does you no good. Instead, skip the cream and syrup and ask for a side of fresh fruit instead to put on top of your short stack.
3. Cappuccino is better than latte. Cappuccinos are made with steamed milk which has more air and fewer calories than the latte. The Grande Cappuccino at Starbucks with 2% milk has 70 calories less than the equivalent size latte. Over the course of a week, that adds up to around 500 calories less.
4. Ham over Bacon over Sausage. No, this isn't the plan for one meat packed sandwich. When it comes to meats at breakfast, ham is the best choice of the three, then bacon, and sausage comes in last. At McDonalds, the McGriddle with sausage, egg and cheese has 560 calories and 32 grams of fat but the bacon, egg and cheese McGriddle has 420 calories and 18 grams of fat.
5. Choose sides wisely. Some fast food chains now offer more choices than just fries. You can get a side salad or baked potato rather than french fries which are cooked in oil and covered with salt. Zinkzenko says that at Wendy's, the small chili saves you 320 calories and offers three times the protein over the large fry. Combined with a Jr. Cheeseburger and you have a meal for under 500 calories.
6. Pass on the drinks. There is no soda that's a good soda. Even if you do opt for the diet variety, you're still not as healthy tips as simple water. Some chains offer bottled water, or you can always get the water from the fountain machine. It can sometimes be hard to find though and is usually a small button found underneath one of the larger soda logos.

If you order smart, you can still have some of your fast food faves without overdoing it. Stay away from the fries and the drinks and stick to some of the core items to keep calories from piling up. 

Source  http://www.americanhealthandbeauty.com/articles/?article=3697

Simple tips towards building a healthier lifestyle

We all know that being healthy is a vital part of a long and happy life. However, actually taking action to stay healthy can sometimes seem like a chore. After a busy day at the office, relaxing with a packet of crisps and a television programme often seems like a more attractive option than an apple and a trip to the gym. However, if you’re keen to stay healthy and but can’t seem muster up the energy to do so, rest assured that there are plenty of ways to keep fit and eat well without completely giving up on the things you love.

When it comes to eating well, a mix of restraint and purchasing the right food can work wonders. For starters, eating a large, healthy breakfast can help. Choose porridge oats or another a cereal that is high in fibre and low in sugar, and pairing it with a piece of slow energy releasing fruit – like a banana – can ensure you remain full until lunch and don’t snack in between meals. If you’re accustomed to buying pre-prepared sandwiches for lunch, try making your own instead as shop-bought sandwiches can have a surprisingly high sugar and fat content. Alternatively, make a little extra food at dinner and have leftovers for lunch. In general, avoid crash dieting and choose foods with a low glycaemic index to boost your overall energy levels. Low GI carbohydrates include sweet potatoes, brown rice and spaghetti, while broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms and frozen peas are all low GI vegetables.

Remember, however, that eating well is only part of the solution to a healthy  tips for a healthy lifestyle. Exercise is important too and doesn’t need to be difficult. For instance, if the idea of a run doesn’t appeal to you and you live within two miles of your workplace, consider a brisk walk to work rather than driving – that should total around one hour’s exercise each day you make the journey by foot. On the other hand, if you’d like to visit a gym but you’re embarrassed about being seen to be a novice, think about hiring a personal trainer to workout with once or twice a week. Yoga is also worth considering. Usually associated with meditation and stress relief, there are many types of yoga to choose from and some can be surprisingly strenuous, aiding respiration and muscle tone. Some yoga instructors may even pay house calls, if you can organise a large enough group to attend.

Nevertheless, no matter how much we try to maintain a balanced lifestyle, it can be hard to banish small – and often unhealthy – everyday comforts. If you’re worried about the state of your health, you may be able to put your mind at ease by having a medical check-up. Such health assessments usually involve a physical test, an examination of medical history and a lengthy consultation with a doctor to determine health strengths and weaknesses. Though they can be expensive, they’re often worth considering in order to gain a realistic picture of your health situation and may even be covered by a cash plan, if you have one. Ultimately, a check-up offers you valuable peace of mind and your results may indicate whether you’re eating the right number of apples and pears, or whether you should cut back on a few more chips each week.

Source  http://www.lonad.com/2010/10/28/simple-tips-towards-building-a-healthier-lifestyle/

Tips on how to get good quality sleep

The clocks go back at the weekend and experts say it will take many of us three days to adjust to the change in our normal sleeping patterns.

It's bad news for anyone who already struggles to get enough shut-eye. So here Dr Neil Stanley, who has been researching sleep for 28 years, gives his tips on getting a good quality kip.

1) Your bedroom should be a nest to encourage sleep. Block out excess light and noise, especially from gadgets like mobiles, which could disturb you unexpectedly. Make your bed as comfortable as possible - after all, you spend a third of your day in it.

2) You should be in a relaxed physical state for sleep. Eat big meals at least three hours before bed or your body will still be digesting it. But don't go to bed hungry, either - if you're peckish, eat something simple, like toast and butter. And don't exercise three hours before lights-out, or your body will still be buzzing from the natural high we get from vigorous activity.

3) You need to be mentally calm to sleep. If your mind's still ticking over, you won't nod off, so don't tackle a tricky Sudoku last thing at night.

4) Sleep's as important to our health as diet and exercise and you'll feel the instant benefits of a good night the next day. Go to bed early for a change.

5) Our sleeping patterns are as individual as our shapes and sizes. Anything between three and 11 hours sleep could be normal for you.

6) Research has shown that half of disturbed sleep is due to our partner tossing and turning. Consider having separate beds or even separate rooms.

7) Nocturnal leg cramps affect 13 million of us a year and are one of the five main factors that cause us to wake in the night. It happens when our muscles shorten in our sleep and when we stretch, we feel an instant, excruciating pain. Crampex, which you can buy over the counter, can be effective if cramps frequently bother you.

8) Most people accept tiredness as part of life, but we owe it to ourselves to try to get a good sleep every night. If you're having trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, the real cause might be due to stress or a medical problem, Your best course of action is to talk to your GP about it.

Source  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health-news/2010/10/27/tips-on-how-to-get-good-quality-sleep-115875-22661193/

5 Lifestyle Tips that Lower Your Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Keeping a healthy lifestyle — by refraining from smoking, limiting alcohol intake, eating healthily, working out and maintaining a small waistline — can go a long way in preventing colorectal cancer, according to a new study.

Nearly a quarter of colorectal cancer cases could be prevented by adhering to these five lifestyle 

recommendations, said study researcher Dr. Anne Tjonneland, of the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology at the Danish Cancer Society in Copenhagen.

"Bowel cancer is probably one of the cancers where lifestyle habits have the highest impact on risk," Tjonneland told MyHealthNewsDaily.

In the United States, the National Cancer Institute anticipates 51,370 deaths from colon and rectal cancers in 2010. Together, these cancers were second only to lung and bronchial cancer in the number of U.S. deaths from 2003 through 2007.

According to the Danish study, the risk of colorectal cancer can be lowered by being physically active for more than 30 minutes every day, having no more than seven drinks for a woman or 14 drinks for a man every week, not smoking, having a waistline smaller than 35 inches (88 centimeters) for women and 40 inches (102 cm) for men, and maintaining a healthy diet.

Even modest differences in lifestyle habits can have a substantial impact on colorectal cancer risk, Tjonneland said.

The study was published online today (Oct. 26) in the British Medical Journal.

Following the rules

The researchers surveyed 55,489 men and women between the ages of 50 and 64 over the course of nearly 10 years to learn about their lifestyle habits. By 2006, at the end of the 10-year period, 678 people had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Researchers then compared how closely those with colorectal cancer and those without had adhered to the five lifestyle recommendations.

They found that if participants had adhered to all five lifestyle recommendations, 23 percent of the colorectal cancer cases could have been avoided. If all participants had followed just one of the recommendations, 13 percent of the colorectal cancer cases could have been avoided, the study said.

"What should be done as a next step would be to actually make people change their habits in an intervention study," Tjonneland told MyHealthNewsDaily.

The message isn't necessarily new, but the study itself is important because it looked at how lifestyle factors can act together to affect colorectal cancer risk, instead of looking at each factor on its own, said Dr. Jeffrey Meyerhardt, a colorectal cancer specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

"It's been well-known that avoidance of obesity, increasing physical activity, certain dietary things, lack of smoking, reduction of alcohol are all things that can relatively reduce one's risk of developing cancer, but most papers individually look at each of these things," said Meyerhardt, who was not involved with the study.

Research published in 2000 in the journal Cancer Causes & Control found similar results. Harvard School of Public Health researchers found, in a study of 47,927 men ages 40 to 75, that those who adhered to a similar set of lifestyle recommendations had a lower colon cancer risk than those who didn't. And a 2009 study published in the journal Colorectal Disease found a correlation between body mass index and colorectal cancer risk.

Explaining the events

The reasons why following the recommendations can help prevent colorectal cancer are not certain, but it is known that high insulin and diabetes are risk factors for the disease, Meyerhardt said.

"Obesity and lack of activity leads to high insulin states, which can lead to growth of cancer cells," Meyerhardt said.

An American Cancer Society official noted, however, that the new study doesn't address whether lifestyle changes have more or less of an impact on people with a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer than on the average person.

The biggest risk factor for colorectal cancer is a family history of the disease, or a family or personal history of colon polyps, which are small clumps of cells that can turn cancerous, said , said Dr. Durado Brooks, director of Prostate and Colorectal Cancers at the society, who was not associated with the study.

"Regardless of lifestyle — you can do everything right — and you can still have significant chance" of developing colorectal cancer, Brooks said. "Getting screened for all adults starting at age 50, or earlier if they have risk factors, is the single most important thing that people can do."

Source  http://myhealthnewsdaily.com/5-lifestyle-tips-that-lower-your-risk-of-colorectal-cancer-0632/

Health tips

I would like to give the people of my beloved country some health tips. These are: 

1. Potassium is a mineral. It helps to maintain correct blood pressure. It also keeps a person young. It doesn't mean that one has to take potassium without consulting a physician. Too much potassium, or too little of it, can be fatal for human body.

2. Coffee is full of anti-oxidants which are essential for our body. Coffee (with or without sugar) increases gluconeogenesis (increases the production and secretion of glucose into blood by the liver). That is why drinking coffee makes us feel better. Patients of hyperglycaemia (diabetes mellitus) must be very careful about taking coffee.

Source   http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=160066

Homemakers offer cooking, health tips

Participants in Saturday’s Blue Ribbon Recipes Cooking School had the opportunity to be served a five-course meal cooked by award-winning chefs.

They also had the opportunity to help make a difference to women statewide.

The Madison County Extension Homemakers hosted the cooking school, which featured chefs who have won first place, or blue ribbon awards, at the Madison County Fair and at a contest at Acres of Land.

All of the proceeds went to the University of Kentucky Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

This fund offers free ultrasounds to women age 50 or older who have no symptoms of ovarian cancer, as well as to women older than 25 who have a documented family history of ovarian cancer. This program was founded in 1987 and treats thousands of women each year. Kentucky Extension Homemakers help the program continue, by donating $1 per member annually.

Not only were the participants well fed, they also got the opportunity to learn and have fun at the same time.

Arritta Morris, a blue ribbon winner at this year’s county fair, made her peach mango ice tea and educated those in attendance about the origins of tea.

Morris is a retired school lunch coordinator for the Department of Education. She said the benefits of tea is its anti-oxidant power, thought to help slow aging. She suggested that tea always be brewed from leaves, as brewing through a bag interferes with the flavor of the tea. Black tea also contains tannins, similar to those found in red wine, which helps prohibit unhealthy levels of cholesterol, leading to better cardiovascular health, Morris said.

Pete Kensicki, also a blue ribbon winner at the county fair, delighted the audience with his teachings on the art of making homemade bread.

Kensicki said he fell in love with bread in his travels through eastern Europe. He taught audience members how to make a poolish, or a European type of bread starter. He also said that all good breads should be made with yeast and that yeast leaves holes in bread.

“The more holes, the better,” he said.

Making bread is an art, he said, one of love and of patience. Kensicki demonstrated to participants how to make his rustic hearth bread, which takes at least two days to complete.

“I like to say I have two things in my life that have taught me patience, baking bread and my daughter,” he said.

In addition, Katherine Land, owner of Acres of Land Winery, and winery chef Linda Burns, demonstrated how to make the winery’s eggplant parmesan. Pam Powell showcased her Tutti Frutti Baked Beans, made with blackberry wine. Both Powell and Burns won blue ribbons at Acres of Land’s contest. Also, Carol Kineslki demonstrated how to make her Hungarian Christmas stollen, a special type of fruit-filled cake. She, too, is a Madison County fair blue ribbon winner.

This was the sixth annual cooking school.

“It started as a fun little thing and I think it’s grown into our most popular event ever,” said Mary McCurdy, president of the Madison County Extension Homemakers.

“The purpose of the event is to have fun, but it’s also to make people aware that cooking can be fun,” said Gina Noe, Madison County Extension agent for the University of Kentucky Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. “It (cooking at home) is healthier than eating out and this class gives people tips on how to make cooking easier and the products it takes to make cooking easier.”

The event was conducted at the Madison County Extension office.

Emily Burton may be reached at eburton@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.

Source  http://richmondregister.com/localnews/x154642525/Homemakers-offer-cooking-health-tips

On Veganism, Love, and Forgiveness

Once upon a time in the summer of 2008, I interned at an animal sanctuary in upstate New York. It was by far one of the best experiences of my life, and certainly also one of the most transformative ones, but it was not without its growing pains. While living in the intern house for nearly four moths, a feeling grew within me that many people who dedicate them to animal issues are often in need of much healing, self-acceptance, and forgiveness. So many of the interns were on medication for emotional health or had serious self-esteem issues (including myself). It was a dramatic summer of people not only struggling against and with one another, but also with themselves. One intern left early due to the hard emotional and physical labor of caring for the animals, while others got in terrible feuds with their distant partners, or even fell into self-hatred and bewilderment.

I began to see some truth in animal studies literature that many people in western, industrial societies turn to animal others as emotional cruxes in a fragmented, disenchanted society. However, rather than thinking that animal others simply stood as surrogate humans, it seemed that perhaps there is something about animal others that gives us something more-than-human. It seems that we turn our attention to animal others when we cannot accept ourselves or other humans, or it is they (fellow humans) whom we feel have not accepted us. It’s no coincidence that animal therapy can be so powerful in prisons, with children, and in nursing homes.  Animal others give us something few humans can give, even ourselves.
Read more »