Finally! Good News About Fats

GREAT FAT NEWS: Eating more fat-not less-helps you keep weight off, according to new research. Dieters followed either a moderate-fat plan (35 percent of calories from fat) or a lower fat one (20 percent of calories from fat). Only the moderate-fat dieters kept that weight off. The low-fat dieters regained much of the weight by the study’s end.

Sure, low-fat diets will help you lose, but broiling and steaming gets boring, so dieters may return to their old eating habits, and weight rebounds. Food with fats seems to better satisfy hunger.

Eat healthy fat. Our dieters ate mostly monounsaturated fats, the heart-healthy kind found in nuts, avocados and olive oil. Limit saturated fat (think steak) and have hardly any of the artery-harming trans fats found in processed foods. Trans fat, also known as hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats, is a staple in many fast food menus. Trans fat is very harmful to the arteries and are found to be involved with heart disease and cancer. Studies have already proven that an increase of only 2 percent trans fat in a person elevates the risk of heart disease by 36 percent.

Keep portion trim. For instance a handful of nuts is a great snack, a bowlfull is not.

Instead of raw veggies … try cooking them in 1 T canola oil.

Instead of toast with low-calorie jelly … try toast with 2 tsp peanut butter.

Instead of reduced-fat dressing … try 1 T olive oil with vinegar.

Instead of fat-free croutons … try 4 balck olives.

Lack of sleep raises common cold risk

Good morning everyone, Not only to children that I can say that should have a good sleep. Even to adults should be enough. They say that lack of sleep raises a common cold risk. Out body got weak to it even if we are not aware of it. Some says that it’s fine even if they are lack of it as long as they eat the right food. That may be right in some ways, but it is important that we sleep at least 8 hours a day.

People who get less than seven hours of sleep at night have a three times higher risk of catching a cold than people who sleep eight hours or more, according to a study released Monday.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania studied 153 people by documenting their sleep habits for two weeks and then administered nasal drops that contained the cold-causing rhinovirus.

"Participants were interviewed daily over a two-week period, reporting how many hours they slept per night, what percentage of their time in bed was spent asleep (sleep efficiency) and whether they felt rested," said the study.

"The less an individual slept, the more likely he or she was to develop a cold," said the findings published in the Archives of Internal Medicine's January 12 issue.

People who reported poorer quality of sleep had an increased likelihood of catching a cold, it said. "Lower sleep efficiency was also associated with developing a cold -- participants who spent less than 92 percent of their time in bed asleep were five and a half times more likely to become ill than those whose efficiency was 98 percent or more. Feeling rested was not associated with colds."

The subjects were all in good health and their average age was 37.

A possible explanation for the link between sleep and cold susceptibility was "that sleep disturbance influences the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, histamines and other symptom mediators that are released in response to infection," the study authors wrote.

Previous research has linked sleep deprivation to reduced immune function, but there has been limited evidence that lack of sleep increased the risk of catching the common cold. - Agence France

The study was led by Carnegie Mellon University's Sheldon Cohen between 2000 and 2

Choosing the joy of wellness (4 of 4)

PAINT YOUR PLATE

“There is no good or bad food; there are only good and bad diets. Sisig, is it good or bad? Lechon and chips, are they bad? No, these are food and they contain nutrients. (But) if you are eating it morning, noon, and night, then it’s a bad diet. That’s what is wrong,” said Sager.

She continued: “There’s a basic principle in good nutrition: moderation, variety, and balance are the keys. Sa wellness, walang bawal na pagkain. A person can eat anything, but not everything.”

Sager explains that moderation is about portion control, which means providing enough but not too much of each type of food. She advises not to stop yourself from eating because “the more you deprived yourself, the more you crave for it.”

For variety, eat a wide selection of food every day. “Paint your plate. More colors in your plate, the better. Deep-colored foods such as vegetables and fruits are rich in anti-oxidants and other minerals,” shared Sager.

To have a balance diet, provide food types in proportion to each other. A plate should contain 50% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 25% fruits and vegetables. Have more water, less sugar, salt, and fat.

Maintaining good well-being is not an easy task. It starts with being aware that something needs to be changed, that something is wrong with your body. Being conscious is just a small step to wellness, but it’s definitely a start nonetheless. – Ma. Glaiza Lee

Choosing the joy of wellness (3 of 4)

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

One of the indicators of healthy physical body is the body mass index (BMI), which is the ratio of weight to the height. Although BMI doesn’t measure the body fat, it is useful in estimating the ideal body weight based on the height of the person.

The body mass index is computed by the person’s body weight in kilogram divided by the square of his height in meter. It usually diagnoses weight problem.

For example, a 5’2 person weighs 106 lbs. To get the height in meters, multiply 5.2 (height in feet) by 12 and multiply again by 0.0254. (Answer: 1.58 meters) For the weight, divide 106 lbs by 2.2 to get the weight in meter (Answer: 48.18 kgs). Then, divide 48.18 by the square of 1.58 (which is 2.4964). His BMI is 19.2997. Ideal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, which means if your BMI falls within that bracket, your weight is normal.

Another measuring instrument that is widely used is the waist to hip ratio (WHR), the ratio of the circumference of the waist (usually located right above the hip bone) and hip (the widest part). It shows what body type you have: are you a pear-shaped or an apple-shaped?

For the waist circumference, the target measurement is 31 inches for women and 35 inches for men.An indicator of health risks, WHR is computed by dividing the waist circumference by the hip circumference. For example, the waist measures 26 inches, while the hip is 34. If you divide 26 by 34, the answer will be 0.7647. Ideal WHR is less than 1 for men and less than 0.85 for women.

Physical activity such a walking and running can do a lot, but it should hand in hand with good nutrition. – Ma. Glaiza Lee

Choosing the joy of wellness (2 of 4)

DIETS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND HEALTH

Health organizations and private wellness companies are advocating healthy lifestyle in relation to the prevailing global health trends – the graying population and the rising global healthcare cost.

“Look at the baby boomers, those who are born from 1946 to 1964. If you’ll compute, some of these baby boomers are already retired, with money and time to spent but are health poor. This is primarily the reason for the proliferation of the health supplements,” said Cora Sager, Nestle corporate wellness head.

She continued: “There’s also the rising healthcare cost. It is the number one problem in US. Diabetes, for instance, has gone so high that is already affecting the healthcare cost of the government. This is one of the reasons why WHO came up with the Global Strategy on Diets, Physical Activity, and Health which is amended in 2004, which we, at Nestle, follow.”

As an advocate of healthy lifestyle, Nestle recently launched “I Choose Wellness,” a long-term campaign to promote nutrition, health, and wellness. The campaign will support health trends, discuss key wellness concepts, and implement regular activities for its loyal consumers.

“Our campaign aims to increase awareness and encourage people to start taking small steps consciously to improve their wellness with nutrition and fitness practices. We also launched the wellness passports to help individual define their wellness goals, track their accomplishments, and give them rewards for the progress made,” said Sager.

Being healthy and achieving total wellness means changing the lifestyle that we are so used to. Lifestyle is greatly influenced by the food that a person eats and the physical activities he is doing. It doesn’t start today, last week, or last month, but during early childhood.

Sager warns that fats that a person gained during the childhood period would be carried out during her adulthood. She believes that being healthy (which means good nutrition and regular physical activities) starts during childhood years. She doesn’t advice reducing the food intake for children, but rather increasing the physical activities of the children. – Ma. Glaiza Lee

Choosing the joy of wellness (1 of 4)

Good morning friends. Being fit is feeling good. It is being able to run without getting cramps in your side, and being able to carry things without getting aches in your arms. Being fit is looking good. Your body is not too skinny, but not with many extra fatty layers either. You have a warm, healthy glow and sparkle in your eyes. So by choosing your joy of wellness made you always in tip-top shape.

Health, wellness, and well-being are such complex ideas that various societal proponents have different definitions of the terms. But the most accepted is the World Health Organization rationale which states that health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Based on the book Fundamentals of Nursing, written by Barbara Kozier, Glenora Erb, et.al, to optimize health and wellness, people must deal with the physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, occupational, and environmental. components.

Environmental, occupational, and social aspects indicate one’s ability to improve the standard living of the community through various healthy actions, and achieve balance between professional and personal lives as well as the capability to interact with others.

As the term implies, spiritual proponent is about finding the value and meaning of life, including ability to abide by a person’s morals, values, and ethics. If a person can manage stress efficiently and express his emotions properly, then he may be fulfilling the emotional facet of his wellness.

With intellectual element, a person should be able to learn, comprehend, and utilize information effectively for his development. Physical wellness, on the other hand, refers to healthy body which is an outcome of regular exercise, balance diet and nutrition, and proper rest.

Achieving health and remaining healthy should be an active pursuit, especially nowadays when there is an alarming health trend where seven out of 10 leading causes of mortality in the country are lifestyle-related illnesses such as heart and vascular diseases, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary ailments and its allied conditions, diabetes mellitus, and kidney disorders. - Ma. Glaiza Lee