Tag: healthy-living

140119 Control your eating by applying Paretos’ law, Hara Hachi Bu and other techniques 2/2

140119 Control your eating by applying Paretos’ law, Hara Hachi Bu and other techniques 2/2

Briefly, Pareto’s law states that eighty percent of the resultant effects come from twenty percent of the involved parts. In the case of food it’s that piece of pie or cake that is calling your name after you’re already full. That’s the twenty percent you don’t really need to eat.

Now that you’ve got a handle on how to control your intake at the big meal let’s take a look at some other ideas to keep your weight at its pre-Thanksgiving meal level.

A half an hour before the meal eat a big apple along with a big glass of water.

Leave the liquid calories alone. This includes pop, sports drinks and alcohol. Try skim milk instead of full or reduced fat milk.

Eat an orange instead of a glass of orange juice.

Increase your water intake. Not to ridiculous levels but at least until your urine is a pale yellow similar in color to lemonade.

Take extra helpings of fruits and vegetables but without the whipped cream and added sugar.

Eat reduced fat light mayonnaise and fat free sour cream.

After all the dishes and food have been put away go for a nice walk. Doing so helps keep your cholesterol and triglycerides at more moderate levels.

Movement is wonderful for your body. Fidgeting is good because it burns calories. Be active and you’ll feel better.

070119 Control your eating by applying Paretos’ law, Hara Hachi Bu and other techniques 1/2

070119 Control your eating by applying Paretos’ law, Hara Hachi Bu and other techniques 1/2

Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist living in the late 1800’s, discovered that eighty percent of the land in Italy was owned by twenty percent of the citizens. Briefly, Pareto’s law states that eighty percent of the resultant effects come from twenty percent of the involved parts. In the case of food it’s that piece of pie or cake that is calling your name after you’re already full. That’s the twenty percent you don’t really need to eat.

This law seemingly applies to many facets of everyday life, including eating. In Okinawa they have adapted a similar concept into their eating habits by leaving twenty percent of the food on their plate. Called Hara Hachi Bu this traditional eating plan places a heavy emphasis on fruits, whole grains, soy foods, fish and vegetables.

The health benefits of not eating twenty percent of the food are decreased heart disease rates along with stroke and diabetes levels that are lower than in the U.S. With obesity epidemic in our culture it stands to reason that by not eating 100% of the food on the plate we would lower these risks.

101218 Obesity 1/2

101218 Obesity 1/2

Obesity, as stated earlier, poses a serious threat to our health and occurs when the overall amount of calories consumed exceeds the calories expended.

Obesity, per the accepted definition, is an excessively high proportion of body fat in relation to lean body mass on an individual. Another common indicator of obesity is a mathematical chart comparison of weight with height. These graphs use a standard of acceptable or desirable weight when compared to the height of the person measured.

The body mass index is one of the most frequently used measures to determine a healthy weight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses a mathematical formula. These calculations divide the person’s weight in pounds by the square of the person’s height in inches. The answer is then multiplied by 703.

There are also formulas that use the metric system.

However, this formula does not take into account the lean muscle mass on the person, so if one is heavily muscled the BMI will inaccurate.

When children are born, they have extra fat. This helps them make an easier transition from the womb into the outside world. As they approach five years of age both body fat and body weight are at the lowest points of their lives.

121118 Carbohydrates, triglyceride levels and the size of your waist

121118 Carbohydrates, triglyceride levels and the size of your waist

The modern American consumes approximately fifty percent of their daily calories from carbohydrate sources. These high carb diets signal the liver to create more of the previously mentioned Triglyceride rich particles. If the diet includes more than sixty to sixty five carbohydrates then this process increases.

Diets that are high in sugar, fructose being the main cause of the problem, raise the triglyceride levels and in turn stimulate production of triglyceride particles that are rich in very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL).

As this substance goes through the bloodstream it loses some of the triglycerides, which eventually ends up as cholesterol loaded with a high concentration of LDL. We know that approximately sixty to eighty percent of the cholesterol coming into the artery wall is from LDL, the rest comes from Chylomicrons and VLDL.

Doctors and research scientists also know that people with high levels of LDL are at an increased risk for a heart attack and that lowering these levels can reduce the same risk. As of now, they do not have the research data to confirm whether lowering the level of triglycerides will do the same thing.

They do know that having both, high levels of LDL and triglycerides, is a heart attack in the making. Women with high triglyceride numbers seem to have a stronger link with heart disease than men do with the same numbers. Why this predictor is not valid for men is unknown at this time.

 

090718 Brain activation results in those addicted to food

090718 Brain activation results in those addicted to food

It comes as no surprise that if you are addicted to something there are going to be changes in brain activity that clearly shows up on brain scans. Nora D. Volkow, M.D. the director of the national Institute on Drug Abuse analyzed dopamine levels in obese adults. The results of these scans advanced the theory of potential addiction to food.

In October of 2011, researchers at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, Oregon updated the original 2001 research. They noticed during MRIs, that regions of the brain directly related to reward and the senses were brighter in obese who anticipated a chocolate milkshake more so than when they were actually drinking the milkshake. This was not the case with the MRIs of those leaner girls participating in the study.

This would indicate that people who find food to be exciting are more likely to eat more, which results in weight gain. Going back to the original research findings in October 2011, the results of the MRIs clearly show that the more you eat high-fat and high sugar foods the less your brain responds to these foods. The outcome of such a situation is a greater internal demand for these types of foods, which ultimately results in eating more to achieve the same feeling of pleasure.

At this point is important to note that not all members of the American Psychiatric Association subscribe to the food addiction theory and it has not been formally recognized as such by this association. The objective evidence that food addiction exists is presently lacking, which leads us down the road to a question of whether not the possibility of food addiction contributes greatly to the epidemic of obesity in our nation or not.

260318 Lower your blood pressure

260318 Lower your blood pressure

High blood pressure is often referred to as the silent killer because its effects are rarely felt until the disease has progressed to a dangerous level.

Here is a list of four things that you can do to potentially lower your blood pressure.

If you weigh too much, lose weight.

Look at yourself in the mirror. Can you see the fat hanging off your stomach and sides? Can you pinch more of an inch on your sides? If so, you need to lose weight. Can you see your toes? If not, you need to lose weight. Is your body mass index in the obese range? If so, lose weight.

With a 10% reduction in your weight, you will notice reductions in your blood pressure numbers.

Start becoming more physically active.

If your prime source of entertainment is watching TV, working on the computer, or socializing at the local tavern then it is time to get off your butt and get moving. Being physically active goes hand-in-hand with losing weight and they each complement one another.

Reduce eating foods that are high in salt and sodium.

Began with an inventory of the foods in your house. Look at the labels. Are they high in sodium? Do you have stacks of potato chips in the cupboards? Is there bacon and sausage in your refrigerator?

You can reduce the salt you eat by cooking your own food and not adding salt when you eat at the table. Canned vegetables, according to their labels, contain an overly high amount of sodium. You can eliminate much of this by rinsing the vegetables before you cook them. This removes much of the salty juices that contribute to the high salt content of the food.

Cut back on the alcohol you drink.

Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and generally, when you are drinking, you are with friends socializing and eating crap food. More than likely the food you eat during these times contains a lot of fat and salt.

If you already have high blood pressure and are taking medications, do not stop these medications until you talk with your doctor.

190318 Low salt diets-good or bad for your health?

190318 Low salt diets-good or bad for your health?

Contrary to recent news articles suggesting that the low-salt diets are not helpful studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that one high salt meal of 1500 mg of sodium (this is at the upper end of the recommendations suggested by the US dietary guidelines for a full-day), reduces the ability of the blood vessels to dilate. Even though blood pressure is not affected, this reduction in dilation ability in healthy people was noted within thirty minutes of the meal.

High sodium loads in the body of people with impaired heart functioning can start a heart failure incident, which may lead to death. Not only is excessive salt hard on your blood vessels, it also affects your bones, kidneys, and your stomach.

The system within your body that regulates blood pressure and fluid balance is also involved in bone health. It appears as though a high sodium intake increases the elimination of calcium through the urine. This in turn causes calcium to be leached from the bone with the attending bone loss and increased risk bone fractures. It’s well known that reducing the salt intake has a positive effect on the bodies calcium balance. For this reason, a low-sodium diet may help slow the progression of age-related bone loss. Not only is the skeletal system adversely affected by high sodium, so are your kidneys.

In many people, additional salt contributes to hypertension which is a major cause of kidney dysfunction and even failure. Evidence collected from the studies of animals and humans lead directly to the contention that salt may, in some people, directly impair kidney function. Another side effect of increased calcium in the urine, see the previous paragraph, and high sodium intake is a potentially higher risk of kidney stones. The story doesn’t end there. Some studies have linked higher salt to cancers and ulcers of the stomach.

The stomach isn’t the only soft tissue organ that may be adversely affected by a high sodium diet, others are the colon and the rectum. According to the research, the evidence is not extremely clear but it is thought that the salty foods adversely affect the stomach lining and make it more likely that bacterium H.pylori can affect the tissues of lining. This bacterium is when the major cause of ulcers and stomach cancer something that most of us may want to avoid. Other findings theorize that the salty stomach environment could be altering the structure of the H.pylori and increases its ability to continue to live and do more damage to the stomach.

260218 Keeping the weight off by eating more

260218 Keeping the weight off by eating more

Well here we are, nearly at the end of March, still struggling to keep up with our New Year’s resolution to lose weight. If it is not going too well, perhaps you need to change your plan of attack. Most adults know food volume plays a critical part in controlling hunger pangs. This is because the stretch receptors in the stomach largely control the feelings of satiety.

Therefore if you eat large amounts of healthy foods that are also low calorie in the stomach receptors are going to turn off the hunger sensations. This is something that is not going to happen when you are eating snacks, high fat or fried food. Unless of course you are really eating a bunch of this unhealthy stuff.

Thus, the answer to the question of filling your stomach begins with not filling it with calories.

For example, take two identical twins, each of them has the exact same stomach but with different contents. Twin number one has 400 calories of a great tasting candy bar. Twin number two has 400 calories of a salad on board.

Now we all know, having eaten candy bars, that one candy bar is not going to fill our stomach up. Even though our stomach is not full, we still have eaten 400 calories, which means there is an awful lot of spare space down there waiting to get filled up. Twin number two, the good twin, has a stomach full of salad and the stretch receptors are saying “I am full”.

At this point, which twin would you rather be?

Which one is going to reduce their weight and move forward with their New Year’s resolution of losing useless fat?

The moral to this story is to eat 2 to 3 servings of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and other healthy bulky foods at every meal, preferably before the main course shows up on the table.

120218 Blood pressure statistics and exercise suggestions for your information

120218 Blood pressure statistics and exercise suggestions for your information

By Danny M. O’Dell, M.A. CSCS

High blood pressure is the direct cause of thousands of needless deaths a year. Here are just a few of the facts about hypertension.

  • 878,421 people died if cardiovascular disease and stroke in 2000. Or one in CVD for every 313 Americans who died.
  • 90% of 55 year olds will develop hypertension in their lifetime.
  • 50 million Americans have Hypertension, one out or every five of us!
  • The higher the blood pressure the higher the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke and kidney disease.
  • In adults over 50 systolic numbers over 140 is an important number to stay below.

Systolic/Diastolic

  • Optimal: under 120 under 80

See a doctor for any of the following:

  • Pre-hypertensive: 120/39-80-89
  • 140-159 or 90-99
  • 160-179 or 100-109
  • 180-209 or 110-119
  • 210 or more 120 or more

Signs of hypertension:

  • Fatigue
  • Confusion
  • Nausea or upset stomach
  • Vision changes or problems
  • Excessive sweating
  • Paleness or redness of the skin
  • Nosebleeds
  • Anxiety or nervousness
  • Palpitations
  • Ringing or buzzing in the ears
  • Impotence
  • Headaches

Stressors

  • Lack of Exercise
  • Smoking

Weight control

  • Diet
  • Alcohol
  • Loud, consistent noises

High blood pressure causes:

  • Death from stroke
  • Coronary events
  • Heart failure

Mitigating measures:

  • Reduce sodium intake
  • Maintain adequate intake of potassium
  • Follow the DASH diet
  • Maintain adequate intake of calcium and magnesium
  • Reduce dietary intake of saturated fats and cholesterol
  • Smoking-cut back or stop
  • Weight control-get within normal range
  • Diet-follow doctors advise
  • Stressors-eliminate or mitigate
  • Alcohol-cut back
  • Loud, consistent noises-protect yourself

DO NOT STOP TAKING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATION UNLESS AND UNTIL YOU CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR

Regular exercise:

  • Slows progression of renal failure
  • Prevents progression to more severe hypertension
  • Reduces all-cause mortality

Exercise methods used to control or reduce high blood pressure:

  • Resistance training
  • Muscular endurance
  • Circuits
  • 100’s
  • Rapid quick sessions
  • W:R of 1:1

Cardio training

  • 5-7 times per week
  • 20-40 minutes per session
  • 40%-70% @ maximum heart rate
  • 5-7 times per week
  • 10 minute bursts
  • Total time-30-45 minutes
  • 40%-70% @ maximum heart rate

“Losing 10 pounds will help remarkably” “If you don’t have time for physical activity, you will find time for illness.” Dr. Edward J. Roccella, coordinator of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program.

050218 Blood Pressure Basics The effects of exercise on blood pressure

050218 Blood Pressure Basics The effects of exercise on blood pressure

By Danny M. O’Dell, M.A. CSCS

High blood pressure is the direct cause of thousands of needless deaths a year. Here are just a few of the facts about hypertension.

Dr. Laura Svetkey, director of the Duke Hypertension Center at Duke University states. “Americans can keep blood pressure low if they: keep trim, exercise, cut back on saturated fats, limit alcohol and sodium, increase dietary potassium and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables”. http://www.bupa.co.uk/

There are positive, and negative, effects on our blood pressure when we exercise or exert ourselves physically and/or mentally.

Blood pressure is the measure of the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. One in FIVE Americans has Hypertension. Many do not even know they have it, thus the term “the silent killer” It is not uncommon for young people to have hypertension.

Blood pressure is measured by stopping the blood flow for a few seconds and then beginning again. The amount of pressure the monitor detects accurately reflects the resistance your heart is pushing against each time it beats. The monitor works in the following fashion:

The arm cuff is placed on the upper arm or forearm. The brachial artery is then pinched off to stop the flow of blood. The circulation is briefly cut off, and then the air is let out of the cuff. The first heartbeat heard is the Systolic and the last one heard is the Diastolic.

Systolic pressure is the upper number in the formula

  • When the heart contracts to pump out the blood. Pressure is highest during this phase of the process

Diastolic pressure is the lower number.

  • The heart relaxes after pumping. Pressure drops to its lowest point just before a new beat.

Pre-hypertensive

Previously pressure readings below 130/85 were considered normal.

Previously readings above 130-139 over 85-89 were considered to be in the high normal range.