A study just released from the journal Stroke reported that men with high body mass index (BMI) and high systolic blood pressure are at an increased risk of dying from a stroke. It seems like weekly, we continue to get reports from clinically-controlled trials which support the increasing body of evidence that maintaining a healthy BMI and blood pressure levels equates to a healthier and even longer life.
Start to get in the habit of being able to rattle off your health numbers- like your BMI, blood pressure and triglycerides just as quickly as you can cite your shoe size. Maintaining ongoing checks and balances on your health will motivate you to stay on track with your health goals and it will alert you to a red flag when those numbers creep up to unhealthier levels.
The raw food diet approach has gained some popularity in recent years. But some of that may be pure curiosity rather than a commitment to the purported health benefits. A raw diet is an organic and vegetarian approach to eating that is supposed to detoxify your body and help you shed pounds. The theory is that when foods are cooked, they lose some of their vital nutrients. The folks who produced the documentary Raw For 30 Days set out on an experiment. Given the massive obesity epidemic that the U.S. is facing, they came up with the idea of taking six diabetics and putting them on the raw diet for 30 days to see how it would positively affect them. Think of it as the anti-Supersize Me (by Morgan Spurlock).
The documentary sets out to prove that a raw diet had nearly immediate health benefits, as evidenced by the participants’ quick sugar level drops. There are surely many reasons for this. The skeptic in me says that the reason their health made a quick turnaround was simply that they gave up junk and processed foods. If you eat all natural foods, it will be a positive thing. Is it because it wasn’t cooked? I have my doubts, but as I’ve said before, while it’s a very extreme way of eating, it’s not extreme in an unhealthy way.The general moral of the story is that healthy natural foods are your best medicine. Decide for yourself, and learn more about the documentary Raw For 30 Days.
It’s no new news that as a nation, our waistlines are growing. Researchers have been scratching their heads for years now, trying to find out why. New research on caffeine and diabetes may be a clue into the obesity epidemic. Turns out that caffeine raises glucose levels in diabetics; furthermore, insulin resistance and moderating blood glucose levels are becoming two of the major indicators for weight loss success. Could it be that your daily latte is the culprit in an expanding waistline? Read for yourself here.
When I was a weight loss counselor with Jenny Craig, I would sometimes have a client who would seem to be doing everything right, but still not losing weight. Sometimes, as a last ditch effort, I would have them switch from coffee to tea, and voila! Weight loss would resume. Was the difference the caffeine consumption? Tea tends to be made “by the cup” while coffee is made, and consumed, by the pot. It’s an interesting hypothesis. Time for a cup of tea!
For Catholics, today is the first day of Lent 2008. As if giving things up for your diet in-progress wasn’t hard enough, now you’re making the decision to leave something else behind for the next 40 days. Without question, you’ll be dismissing meat from your diet for each of the next seven Fridays. Many of my Catholic friends often make an easy out of fast-food fried fish sandwiches, but I have something that’s not only so much healthier, but also quite delicious.
Check out these more than 40 wonderful Weight Watchers recipes featuring fish and seafood that will give your family an entirely new reason to say “TGIF!”
Here are my seven top picks- one for each Friday of Lent. They each have less than 5 Weight Watchers points, and immeasurable flavor.
Baked Stuffed Shrimp
Buffalo Style Catfish Strips
Crab Cakes
Crab Quiche
Crispy Parmesan Orange Roughy
Grilled Red Snapper with Herb Pesto
Glorified Salmon
Hoodia still seems to be the latest “it girl” in the world of diet supplements. From what I have been able to determine through hours of research is the following:
1. Make sure that the manufacturer of the Hoodia product reveals all ingredients. There is some speculation that Hoodia is most effective when taken on its own, so it is important to know what you are taking. Especially if the product is combined with a thermogenic product like green tea.
2. Look for a producer that specifies Hoodia sourced from the stem, and not the root, which is a cheap and ineffective filler for unscrupulous Hoodia makers.
3. If buying online, look for a stamp, or a seal, that shows the Hoodia has been “certified authentic”. One of the main certifiers goes by the acronym C.I.T.I.E.S., and seems to have the most respect of supplement reviewers at this time.
4. Beware of online “free trial” offers that lock you into an auto-ship program. Some of these have been reported as very difficult to get out of, with the shipper continually re-billing and re-shipping, even though you have asked them to stop.
5. Look for a minimum strength level of 750 mg. As long as the Hoodia meets criteria #1, you should see immediate results with this product in appetite suppression and mood enhancement.
If you are looking for an all-natural way to combat cravings and late-night snacking, Hoodia may be just the thing. Is it working for you? Let us know!
I’m an adventurous eater. That is, I love experiencing foods from other cultures. It’s one of the things I miss about the Washington DC area. Strip malls aren’t just for Applebee’s. You have the choice of Indian, Afghani, Greek, Japanese… you name it. Then downtown you can go to an Ethiopian restaurant or Chinatown. But, I’m not adventurous in the Fear Factor sorta way. And I’m certainly not the type of person who thought that what the world needed was a cheeseburger in a can.
If this interesting new treat isn’t within your diet- give this low-carb Southwestern Hamburger a try.
We often look for better living through chemistry. There are plenty of instances when we need to medicate ourselves to remedy health issues. But, we often overlook the fact that food is a pretty darn good medicine in and of itself. The obvious remedies are of course preventing heart disease, diabetes, and any other number of obesity-related ailments. But now researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine are finding that eating an Atkins-like diet can help people with epilepsy control their seizures. It’s still a mystery as to why it works.
It’s hard to believe that Ash Wednesday is just a mere few days away. (Wasn’t Christmas just last week?) This obviously makes the day before Ash Wednesday no other than Fat Tuesday when these traditionally Polish fried balls of flour, sugar and an assortment of fillings are eaten by the dozen. Certain cities across the U.S. like Chicago, Detroit, Hamtramck, Milwaukee and South Bend, devour these carb-laden delicacies on the Tuesday before Lent- but did you know that paczkis are supposed to be consumed on Fat Thursday, which is the last Thursday before Lent?
Rather than listing the calorie, carb and fat content of one of these speciality doughnut-like treats, if you live in a part of the country where the lines outside your local Polish bakery are a mile-long before 4 a.m., have fun if you decide to indulge. Eating indulgently is a balancing act so if you’re feeling a bit guilty about your paczki weakness, nix dessert after dinner or forgo the 3 p.m. sugar fix. Enjoy and happy eating!
Seinfeld was a TV sensation in the ’90s and will run in syndication for eternity. Its impact on pop culture is pervasive. But, would anybody ever think it would impact a dietary study? The famous “double dipping” episode has inspired a study on the practice of dipping your chips twice, and it came to the conclusion that people like George Costanza transferred about 10,000 bacteria to the dip bowl.
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