You Did Not Know: 2012

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Dieting Mistakes You Are Making Part 2

You exercise too much:

Yes, you read that right. Exercise is important, but Villacorta maintains that being too focused on it can backfire.

"People think that if they exercise they will magically lose weight, and then they get frustrated," he cautions.

In fact, about 80% of dieting time and energy should be focused on nutrition and 20% on exercise, he says. "If I have a client who’s exercising six times a week, sometimes I’ll cut that in half and have them spend the extra hours shopping and planning meals."

You always choose the salad:

Contrary to popular belief, heading for the salad bar may not be your best option.

Salads may not contain enough carbohydrates to help control hunger hormones, according to Villacorta. He suggests a healthy soup and sandwich instead, or tossing a serving of brown rice, lentils, or garbanzo beans into your greens. And beware of high-calorie salad bar additions like blue cheese and candied walnuts.

Add enough of those and "you may as well just have a burger," he says.

You’re a high-calorie health nut:

Just because a food is healthy doesn’t mean you can eat a mountain of it.

Switching from white bread to whole wheat bread, eating nuts instead of chips, using olive oil instead of butter —these are all healthy changes. But they aren’t low-calorie substitutions, so portion control is still key.

Source: health.yahoo.net

Dieting Mistakes You Are Making Part 1

Eating less, but not losing:

Trying to slim down and feeling frustrated?

If you’re giving it your all but the number on the scale still isn’t budging, you may be sabotaging yourself in spite of your best intentions.

Here are a dozen dieting don'ts to help save your weight-loss efforts.

You eat fake foods:

We admit that prepackaged weight-loss products like shakes and bars are convenient, but they may not be helping you to lose weight in the long run.

"You never feel satisfied after you eat something like that, because it’s just a bunch of processed stuff," says Manuel Villacorta, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

There are lots of healthier, more filling options with the same or fewer calories, like a cheese stick or a serving of plain nonfat Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries.

You burn the midnight oil:

Sure, you need to log time at the gym, but to lose weight, you also need to log time in your bed.

Skimping on sleep, especially sleeping less than five or six hours a night, can slow your metabolism and cause hormonal changes that hurt your weight-loss efforts.

Being tired may also make you eat more. One recent study found that people who are sleep-deprived consume a whopping 500 extra calories a day.

Source: health.yahoo.net

Monday, April 23, 2012

Hidden Dangers of Gum Disease | Stroke & Heart Attack

Stroke & Heart Attack:

Dental plaque (bacteria that live on the tooth and between the gum and the tooth) may arise from poor dental habits. If you're susceptible that plaque (which is in infection), part of fighting off an infection is an inflammatory response.

People with gum disease (inflammation of the gums, or gingivitis) are more prone to have strokes and heart attacks, Jeffcoat says. There's emerging evidence that a lot of inflammation in the vessels to the brain can make you more prone to a stroke and a lot of inflammation in the vessels to the heart can make you more prone to a heart attack.

Source: health.yahoo.net

Friday, April 20, 2012

The Worst Habits for Your Heart: Ignoring Snoring

Frequent loud snoring can trumpet obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a dangerous disorder that magnifies heart attack and stroke risk, if untreated. OSA (bouts of interrupted breathing during sleep) frequently goes undiagnosed because people don’t recognize the symptoms, which include waking at night for no apparent reason and unexplained daytime drowsiness.

If you fit this profile, ask your doctor to order a sleep study. Because OSA, which affects 18 million Americans, is most common in people who are heavy, treatment typically involves weight loss and in some cases, continuously positive airway pressure (CPAP), a device that blows moist, heated air in your nose and mouth as you sleep.

Source: health.yahoo.net

Here Are Some Useful Forum Sites | You Did Not Know

The Worst Habits for Your Heart: Having a Negative Attitude | You Did Not Know

While stress and depression have long been linked to higher heart disease risk, a new Harvard review of more than 200 earlier studies, published this month in Psychological Bulletin, highlights the benefits of turning that frown upside-down: An optimistic outlook may cut heart disease and stroke danger by 50 percent.

And while you may think that happy people are just healthier, the researchers found that the association between an upbeat attitude and reduced cardiovascular risk held true even when they took the person’s age, weight, smoking status, and other risk factors into account.

Research also shows that laughter literally does the heart good, by expanding the linings of blood vessels and boosting blood flow. A fun way to add more joy to your life—and defuse stress--is laughter yoga, an exercise program that combines self-triggered mirth with deep yogic breathing to draw oxygen deeper into the body.

Source: health.yahoo.net

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Smash Your Stress: How you cope Down a dessert | You Did Not Know

There's a reason you equate sugar with serenity. When you consume the sweet stuff, your prefrontal cortex, a part of your brain that helps control emotions, is activated, says Herman. The danger of a sugar binge: Men with higher anxiety are also more likely to have elevated glucose levels, according to scientists in Japan. In fact, the American Diabetes Association warns that long-term stress may push your blood-sugar levels into the diabetic range if they're already higher than normal.

Do this instead: Savor a small portion of ice cream

The stress-busting benefits of dessert are due more to the flavor than the fat and calories, says Herman. "High-calorie foods often taste better, but calories aren't necessary for food's effects on stress." Buy a single-serve treat and take half an hour to eat it; savoring the flavor can extend the calming effect.

Source: health.yahoo.net

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Food allergy Symptoms | You Did Not Know

Symptoms usually begin immediately, within 2 hours after eating. Rarely, the symptoms may begin hours after eating the offending food.

If you develop symptoms shortly after eating a specific food, you may have a food allergy. Key symptoms include hives, hoarse voice, and wheezing.

Other symptoms that may occur include:

Abdominal pain
Diarrhea
Difficulty swallowing
Itching of the mouth, throat, eyes, skin, or any area
Light-headedness or fainting
Nasal congestion
Nausea
Runny nose
Swelling (angioedema), especially of the eyelids, face, lips, and tongue
Shortness of breath
Stomach cramps
Vomiting

Symptoms of oral allergy syndrome:

Itchy lips, tongue, and throat
Swollen lips (sometimes)

Source: health.yahoo.net

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Some Important EDU Wiki Topic: You Did Not Know

How to Become a Foster Parent : You Did Not Know

After we were married in Hawaii, one of my closest friends asked me the dreaded question about having children. I couldn’t seem to catch a break, for the last 25 years of my life people were asking me about marriage and now the question about having children.

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, my husband and I looked into adoption, but most adoption agencies will not allow adoption for anyone over the age of 50. And unfortunately, my husband, who is well-preserved, is over 50.

We both seriously discussed becoming foster parents. Our intent is to provide a temporary, healthy, happy home for a child in need.

We don’t care about their size or color. We just want the child to feel safe and special.

With this in mind, we looked into the process of becoming foster parents. Each state has its own foster care program and its own process.

Most states offer an open house for potential foster care parents. This might be a great opportunity to see if you can handle the responsibilities of being a foster parent.

For the faint of heart, foster parenting may not be for you because the one thing you must keep in mind is the goal of the foster care program is to always return the child to parent(s).

According to the State of Delaware’s Department Services for Children Youth and their Family (DSCYF) website, "The goal for most foster children is to return to their parent(s) when the circumstances that led to the foster placement have been resolved."

The approval process is extensive but for those who want to parent and temporarily help a child or children, it is a great opportunity. The foster parent application-to-approval process takes three to six months.

Here are some of the standard steps you will have to take before you can become a foster parent:

Fill out an application (references, income, etc.)
Background check
Medical form
Parenting training session
Home assessment (safety, space availability, etc.)
Fingerprinting submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Depending on the state you live in, you can be a single foster parent, but you have to be over 21 and under 65. Also, you may receive a small stipend for the child which is to pay for their food, clothing, etc.

In Illinois, you receive a medical card to pay for their health care needs. When possible, foster care likes to keep siblings together.

Being a foster parent can benefit you as well as the child or children. You are providing a temporary safe haven for the child and at the same time providing a loving environment for which the child will forever be appreciative.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Do We Need More Sleep As We Get Older?

I can remember as a child, peeking in on my Grandmother who was visiting us. It was late afternoon and we were reminded to keep quiet because, “Grandma was taking a nap.”

My young mind couldn’t believe that any adult would actually waste time during the day by sleeping. So into the room I peeked.

Sure enough, there she was, lying on the bed, covered with a light blanket, and not pretending but actually sleeping. Snoring even.

It was so strange. So confusing. So babies took naps and so did old people? I quietly shut the door and ran off to play.

Now as I get older, I am realizing that my body’s sleep requirements have changed. In high school, I could pull all-night study sessions and still be productive for the next day’s test.

My ability to function on minimal sleep only grew stronger as I started college. Now I could manage both my school work and keep an active social life. I could literally stay up all night perfecting a paper, turn it into class the next day, sleep an hour or two between classes, then go to work before proceeding on to a house party.

Many nights I could buzz around with my partying friends until the early hours of the morning, fit in just a few hours of beauty sleep, and my young skin looked bright and rested, even when it wasn’t.

My life was school, work and being with friends. I didn’t need to sleep. I was young and energetic. I could easily survive on three to five hours of sleep on a regular basis.

I look back on that time now and realize how crazy I was.

Even in my early twenties, I was career-focused and continued to have a good time socially. Some nights I stayed late at work and got up bright and early to get a head start on the busy day ahead of me.

And as long as it didn’t interfere with my work, I had no problem dining, drinking and having fun until the wee hours of the morning. Those nights were less frequent than my college days but I still enjoyed going out.

Somewhere between get older and having a family, I started to get really tired. The best amount of sleep for my body is eight hours a night.

Do I get it? Not usually.

But do I try my hardest to get close? Absolutely. Every night. I need to.

Without enough sleep, physically, I suffer. I wake up with tired eyes and heavy dark bags under them.

I can no longer look like a fresh-faced girl ready to start her day. I look tired. No one wants to look tired.

If I don’t get enough sleep, I do not have the energy that I need to keep up with my boys or to have patience.

I have a big job everyday. I need to be at my best. My best is rested.

I don’t get afternoon naps but I would certainly love to have them now and then. I no longer think Grandma was crazy. I think she was onto something.

Source: health.yahoo.net

Alison Sweeney?s 8 Top Exercise Secrets

Team up with a tough trainer

"Stop being so dramatic! Give me a break! Leave the soap opera acting on the stage!"

This is how Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper speaks to her when she takes one of his spinning classes. "Sometimes he doesn't think I'm putting enough resistance on the bike," she admits. "And I want to kill him for yelling at me. But he likes making me mad, because he knows I'm really competitive, and that if he calls me out, he'll get my best effort. He always thinks that I can give him more."

Avoid workout ruts

“I recommend that people try new stuff or take new classes all the time. It’s important to mix up your routine, not only for your body, but also for your mental state,” says Sweeney, whose workout mix runs the gamut from running, yoga, and hiking with her kids to weight lifting and spinning at New York City’s SoulCycle and LA’s Made in LA Fitness. “It’s good to challenge yourself. I like to mix it up.”

Kick it up with cardio

“I do a lot of cardio,” admits Sweeney. “I think it’s super important, especially for women. I don’t have a tremendous amount of time to work out, so I find myself cramming in a cardio because that’s all I can fit in. I think that if you don’t have a lot of time, that it’s the cleanest way to burn a few calories.”

Make your workout time count

“I’m addicted to a really tough workout,” says Sweeney. “I like to be drenched in sweat when I’m done because I feel accomplished.” This is why Sweeney loves spinning. “It’s 45 minutes, and I know I worked as hard as I possibly could in those 45 minutes—and I have the wet shirt to prove it. “

Ditch the idea that your gym needs to be glamorous

You don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to get a good sweat. “I’m a more private, quiet, hole-in-the-wall type,” says Sweeney. “I also work out with DVDs at my house and in my backyard.”

Stay balanced with yoga

“Yoga is my luxury workout,” says Sweeney. “If I’m on vacation or I have a day off, I love a 90-minute class. It’s a really strong workout, but it takes a little bit longer.” The stretching, paired with the calming stillness, keeps her coming back. “There’s something really Zen about it that I like.”

Take active vacations

“My dad is a pretty athletic guy, so when we were kids all of our family vacations revolved around sports of some kind—waterskiing, snow skiing,” says Sweeney. Her six-year-old son, Ben, is already snowboarding. “When I was on the mountain with Ben I sent my dad a picture of us because I wanted him to know that I’m totally paying it forward—I wanted him to know what an impression he made on my whole life and that he taught me to appreciate being physical and to enjoy it.”

Set a good example for your kids

“We’re a really active family, and that’s one of things that my husband and I focus on,” she says. “We like to set a really good [example] for our kids, how important it is [to be active] and how much fun it is.” As for what this family of four does to stay off the couch? Just about anything and everything. “We have literally been in the pool every single day all summer long for hours,” says Sweeney. “We go hiking. We go for walks with our dogs. We go on little weekend adventures together as a family all the time.”

Source: health.yahoo.net