MSNBC lists some surprisingly bad locations for your health, and the best places to optimize it:
1. Worst place to keep your toothbrush -- the bathroom sink. There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, and all of those germs are propelled out every time you flush, settling on the floor and the sink. Keep your toothbrush behind closed doors in the medicine cabinet or a nearby cupboard.
2. Worst place to stash sneakers and flip-flops -- the bedroom closet. Shoes track in allergens and contaminants. Leave your shoes by the front door.
3. Worst place to fall asleep -- under piles of blankets. Being overheated can keep you from sleeping. Let your feet stick out from under your blankets.
4. Worst place to cool leftovers -- in the refrigerator. Placing hot leftovers directly in the fridge can cause uneven cooling and possibly food poisoning. Leave food to cool on the counter for up to an hour after cooking, or divide it into smaller containers that can cool faster before refrigerating.
5. Worst place to sit on an airplane -- the rear. The tail of the plane is where you'll get the bumpiest ride. Sit as close to the wing as you can.
6. Worst place to set your handbag -- the kitchen counter. Tests have showed up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms. Put your bag anywhere except where food is prepared or eaten.
7. Worst place to use a public bathroom -- the stall in the middle. The center stall has more bacteria. Pick a stall all the way left or right.
8. Worst place to keep medicine -- the medicine cabinet. The temperature in a bathroom can get well above the recommended storage temperatures for many common drugs. Keep medicine somewhere cool and dry, such as the pantry.
9. Worst place to use headphones -- on an airplane, train, or subway. You're probably turning the volume up too high if you're listening to headphones in a noisy environment. Listen wherever you don't have to blast your music to enjoy it, or consider using noise-canceling headphones.
Sources: MSNBC; June 8, 2010
Contact me if you have any questions or comments.
920-954-1002 or DrDan1221@yahoo.com
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Diet Tricks That Really Work
The tricks that follow are actually not “tricks” at all but rather smart lifestyle strategies that will propel your body toward its ideal weight, naturally:
Avoid corn syrup - Science shows that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is bad news. One study showed that rats who drank HFCS sweetened beverages gained significantly more weight than rats consuming the same amount of calories in sugar.
Keep away from junk food -- it's addictive - Junk food can affect your brain in ways similar to drug abuse.
Structure meal times - Long stretches without food make people crave energy-dense snacks, which can make healthy choices difficult.
Satisfy your body -- especially at breakfast - A protein rich breakfast leaves you less hungry for the rest of the day. Some fat in the meal can help, too.
Favor foods closer to nature - Favoring whole fresh foods over processed ones will naturally optimize the healthiness of your food choices.
Change your environment - Altering your food environment -- whether this means using smaller plates or keeping seconds out of immediate reach -- can help you lose weight.
Enjoy your food - Food that is eaten mindlessly is neglected food. When you pay attention, you are satisfied in a deeper way.
Virtually the only healthy way to lose weight and keep your weight at a healthy level is to eat right and exercise -- not by starving yourself and putting in 3-hour workouts a day for three weeks, but by adhering to healthy lifestyle principles for a lifetime.
More Strategies:
Eat Slowly and Savor Your Food - Chewing your food twice as long as you normally would instantly help you control your portion sizes, which naturally decreases calorie consumption. Another benefit of chewing longer is that your food is digested better. The majority of your digestive enzymes are actually in your mouth, not in your stomach. Therefore, chewing your food longer allows it to be broken down better. You’re also likely to find that you actually enjoy the taste of the food more and feel more satisfied.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism last year found that people given identical servings of ice cream on different occasions released more hunger-regulating hormones when they ate it in 30 minutes instead of five. So although the serving size remained the same, they felt fuller after savoring the ice cream compared to when they wolfed it down.
In another study from 2008, subjects also reported feeling fuller when they ate slowly. Interestingly, they also ended up consuming about 10 percent fewer calories when they ate at a slow pace as opposed to when they were rushing.
A third study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that eating quickly, and eating until feeling full, tripled subjects’ risk of being overweight.
So just by making a conscious effort to slow down when you eat, you may find you need to eat less to feel satisfied. This means you’ll also want to avoid eating on the run, in the car, while standing up or while you’re distracted with another task.
Cook Your Food from Scratch - If your diet consists of fast food, restaurant meals and processed food, it will be difficult to lose weight and also to be healthy. Even though this is frequently the most convenient, least expensive and best tasting option, if you regularly engage in this choice you are simply begging for trouble. - Even the healthiest restaurant meals are typically loaded with calories. According to a registered dietician and representative for the American Dietetic Association, restaurant meals average between 1,000 to 1,500 calories, and because they’re served in gigantic portions, you’re likely to eat more than you would at home. The end result is that eating out often means you’re typically eating low-quality food at a premium price, a lose-lose situation for both your health and your waistline. Many Americans have made eating out a way of life. In 2008, the average U.S. household spent close to HALF of its food budget on meals eaten away from home, according to The Survey of Consumer Expenditures for 2008. If you want to be optimally healthy, you need to put some time into preparing your meals. This way, you can prepare your meals with unprocessed, high-quality food, you control the portion sizes, and you can enjoy your food in an atmosphere that is calming and not rushed.
Eat a Healthy Breakfast - Skipping breakfast can lead to weight gain, plain and simple. On the other hand, studies have shown that eating breakfast can have beneficial effects on:
• Appetite
• Insulin resistance
• Energy metabolism
One study found that obesity and insulin resistance syndrome rates were 35 percent to 50 percent lower among people who ate breakfast every day compared to those who frequently skipped it. This is true of teenagers too, who tend to be about five pounds heavier than their peers if they skip breakfast. So you want to be sure to eat breakfast, but while you’re at it make certain that you’re not simply eating sugary cereal or refined carbs (bagels, pancakes, toast, etc.). Instead, your breakfast should absolutely include a healthy source of protein, such as eggs, to keep you energized throughout your day.
More Metabolism-Boosting Weight Loss Essentials - Listen to your hunger, and eat a healthy meal or snack when hunger calls. Implement a well-rounded exercise regimen that includes strength training to build muscle (for every pound of muscle that you gain, your body burns 50-70 calories more per day), as well as interval training, which has been demonstrated to significantly increase fat loss
Remember, the idea is not to deprive your body or starve yourself into a size 2. The goal is to establish a healthy relationship with food, one that will keep you satisfied, nourished and slim, all at the same time.
Sources: Live Science, mercola.com; June 10, 2010
Please contact me if you have any comments or questions at 920-954-1002 or DrDan1221@yahoo.com.
Avoid corn syrup - Science shows that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is bad news. One study showed that rats who drank HFCS sweetened beverages gained significantly more weight than rats consuming the same amount of calories in sugar.
Keep away from junk food -- it's addictive - Junk food can affect your brain in ways similar to drug abuse.
Structure meal times - Long stretches without food make people crave energy-dense snacks, which can make healthy choices difficult.
Satisfy your body -- especially at breakfast - A protein rich breakfast leaves you less hungry for the rest of the day. Some fat in the meal can help, too.
Favor foods closer to nature - Favoring whole fresh foods over processed ones will naturally optimize the healthiness of your food choices.
Change your environment - Altering your food environment -- whether this means using smaller plates or keeping seconds out of immediate reach -- can help you lose weight.
Enjoy your food - Food that is eaten mindlessly is neglected food. When you pay attention, you are satisfied in a deeper way.
Virtually the only healthy way to lose weight and keep your weight at a healthy level is to eat right and exercise -- not by starving yourself and putting in 3-hour workouts a day for three weeks, but by adhering to healthy lifestyle principles for a lifetime.
More Strategies:
Eat Slowly and Savor Your Food - Chewing your food twice as long as you normally would instantly help you control your portion sizes, which naturally decreases calorie consumption. Another benefit of chewing longer is that your food is digested better. The majority of your digestive enzymes are actually in your mouth, not in your stomach. Therefore, chewing your food longer allows it to be broken down better. You’re also likely to find that you actually enjoy the taste of the food more and feel more satisfied.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism last year found that people given identical servings of ice cream on different occasions released more hunger-regulating hormones when they ate it in 30 minutes instead of five. So although the serving size remained the same, they felt fuller after savoring the ice cream compared to when they wolfed it down.
In another study from 2008, subjects also reported feeling fuller when they ate slowly. Interestingly, they also ended up consuming about 10 percent fewer calories when they ate at a slow pace as opposed to when they were rushing.
A third study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that eating quickly, and eating until feeling full, tripled subjects’ risk of being overweight.
So just by making a conscious effort to slow down when you eat, you may find you need to eat less to feel satisfied. This means you’ll also want to avoid eating on the run, in the car, while standing up or while you’re distracted with another task.
Cook Your Food from Scratch - If your diet consists of fast food, restaurant meals and processed food, it will be difficult to lose weight and also to be healthy. Even though this is frequently the most convenient, least expensive and best tasting option, if you regularly engage in this choice you are simply begging for trouble. - Even the healthiest restaurant meals are typically loaded with calories. According to a registered dietician and representative for the American Dietetic Association, restaurant meals average between 1,000 to 1,500 calories, and because they’re served in gigantic portions, you’re likely to eat more than you would at home. The end result is that eating out often means you’re typically eating low-quality food at a premium price, a lose-lose situation for both your health and your waistline. Many Americans have made eating out a way of life. In 2008, the average U.S. household spent close to HALF of its food budget on meals eaten away from home, according to The Survey of Consumer Expenditures for 2008. If you want to be optimally healthy, you need to put some time into preparing your meals. This way, you can prepare your meals with unprocessed, high-quality food, you control the portion sizes, and you can enjoy your food in an atmosphere that is calming and not rushed.
Eat a Healthy Breakfast - Skipping breakfast can lead to weight gain, plain and simple. On the other hand, studies have shown that eating breakfast can have beneficial effects on:
• Appetite
• Insulin resistance
• Energy metabolism
One study found that obesity and insulin resistance syndrome rates were 35 percent to 50 percent lower among people who ate breakfast every day compared to those who frequently skipped it. This is true of teenagers too, who tend to be about five pounds heavier than their peers if they skip breakfast. So you want to be sure to eat breakfast, but while you’re at it make certain that you’re not simply eating sugary cereal or refined carbs (bagels, pancakes, toast, etc.). Instead, your breakfast should absolutely include a healthy source of protein, such as eggs, to keep you energized throughout your day.
More Metabolism-Boosting Weight Loss Essentials - Listen to your hunger, and eat a healthy meal or snack when hunger calls. Implement a well-rounded exercise regimen that includes strength training to build muscle (for every pound of muscle that you gain, your body burns 50-70 calories more per day), as well as interval training, which has been demonstrated to significantly increase fat loss
Remember, the idea is not to deprive your body or starve yourself into a size 2. The goal is to establish a healthy relationship with food, one that will keep you satisfied, nourished and slim, all at the same time.
Sources: Live Science, mercola.com; June 10, 2010
Please contact me if you have any comments or questions at 920-954-1002 or DrDan1221@yahoo.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)