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Archive for December, 2009
Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
HealthNews Dozen: 12 Ways to Incorporate a Workout Into Your Work Day
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009By: Jennifer Newell
Published: Monday, 7 September 2009
Most people acknowledge the importance of exercise, but many who have rigid schedules, tough work hours, and family obligations find it difficult to fit workouts into their routines. Some don’t have a gym nearby or cannot afford a membership, and others just find that it takes a backseat to other life responsibilities. But for those who work in an office environment, daily exercise is easier to accomplish that one may think.
Exercise can fit into any daily routine. Though it may seem that one extra flight of stairs or a few arm exercises or some extra steps around the office would not make a difference, it truly all adds up to burning calories and keeping the body’s metabolism working properly. Every movement out of the ordinary is positive, and weeks of incorporating small workouts into a daily regimen will add up to a higher energy level, a bit of weight loss, and muscle building. Each effort counts towards a healthier you. (more…)
Study Finds Average American Spends 56 Hours a Week Sitting
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
You may want to stand up for this.
A study finds that on average, Americans spend 56 hours per week sitting, Women’s Health Magazine reported.
According to the magazine, the “sitting disease is literally killing us.”
“Our bodies have evolved over millions of years to do one thing: move,” said Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic. “As human beings, we evolved to stand upright. For thousands of generations, our enviornment demanded nearly constant physical activity.” (more…)
Lifting Weights Burns Fat
Monday, December 28th, 2009Friday, December 11, 2009
By Ian Lee
www.askmen.com
In general, people will practice cardiovascular activities and forget about weight bearing exercises when it comes to burning fat. And there are still many trainers who will say that aerobic exercises burn off fat and weightlifting is only used to build muscle bulk.
This statement is not entirely correct because the more muscle mass one acquires through weight-bearing exercises, the more he will burn fat calories — even at rest.
Popular Weight Training
We see a growing trend from cardiovascular training toward weight and strength training. According to a study by the Fitness Products Council and Sporting Goods Manufacturers, the number of people lifting free weights has increased 76% in the past decade. Right now, weight lifting is among the most popular sports in North America. (more…)
Top 7 Ways Beat Holiday Bloat
Sunday, December 27th, 2009By Dr. Maoshing Ni – Posted on Mon, Nov 24, 2008, 3:56 pm PST
Dr. Mao’s Secrets of Longevity
Healthy Digestion for a Long Life
“Oh, I ate too much!” Most of us have uttered these regretful words after one of our many holiday meals. The subsequent result is indigestion, which typically feels like a burning pain in the abdomen and is usually accompanied by bloating, gurgling, belching, and gas.
Indigestion is caused and made worse by overeating, especially rich, fatty, spicy foods, alcohol, coffee, and acidic foods. Eating on the run, when you’re under stress, or late at night also causes indigestion. Heartburn can accompany indigestion, as the excessive food and liquid in the stomach churns up stomach acid, which spills up into the esophagus and irritates its lining.
Consider this: of the ten top-selling drugs in the United States, three are specifically for indigestion and heartburn. That’s because we live in a culture marked by poor diet and digestion. Chinese medicine views proper digestion as the most essential component in living a long and healthy life.
Without healthy digestion, malnutrition may occur and toxins can build up in your body, causing rapid aging and degenerative diseases. This holiday season, put healthy habits in place to get your digestion on the right track.
1. Spice up your digestion
Balance out a festive meal by featuring fennel as a side ingredient. A common remedy to digestive distress in China is fennel, a crisp licorice-flavored bulb. Fennel helps digestion by stimulating the production of gastric juices and also soothing the nervous system, which regulates the action of the muscles that line the intestine.
Add raw fennel to salads, or use fennel seed as a spice in recipes with meat, beans, or legumes. The fronds attached to the bulb can be boiled to make an excellent tea. Other common cooking herbs and spices that support your digestive health include dill, oregano, basil, coriander, rosemary, bay, ginger, anise, and cardamom. Use them in your cooking or steep them as tea to drink after meals.
2. Ease your emotions
Chinese medicine recognizes that an emotional element can come into play because the liver is highly sensitive to mood and feelings, and a weak flow of liver energy may manifest as bloating or flatulence.
Between the traveling and spending time with family, the holidays can especially be a time when emotions and stress ride high. Dandelion has been shown to aid digestion by supporting the liver; drink dandelion tea to ease your emotions and digestion.
3. Don’t overdo
When you are eating your holiday meal, don’t get carried away by the conversations around you. Savor every bite and do not eat while stressed, angry, or preoccupied by distractions; all of these take the energy away from the digestive system and makes its job that much harder.
Also, chew each bite thoroughly — your stomach doesn’t have teeth! Be mindful of your eyes being bigger than your stomach. Your best bet is to leave the table only three-quarters full. That will leave you content and energized, perfect for conversing with your loved ones.
It is also an effective rule in maintaining a healthy weight. If weight management is equally your goal this holiday season, try B-Slim, a nutrient-rich dietary supplement designed to be part of a sensible overall weight management program. (more…)
Holiday nutrition
Friday, December 25th, 2009by Dusty Feldman, BS, CPT · December 10, 2009
For most, holiday season means family get-togethers, parties with friends and co-workers, long travels and endless food and shopping, leading to less than perfect food choices and time away from our normal exercise routines. The holiday season is yet another reason to make bad food choices, like most of us need one.
The typical American puts on one pound during the holiday season. The average weight gain during adulthood is about one to two pounds a year, which means much of midlife weight gain can be explained by holiday eating. The big problem is not the one pound put on during the holiday season, it is the fact that most do not get rid of the holiday pounds we put on. Over the years, that holiday weight can add up. We will take a look at strategies to ward off these unwanted pounds.
Take a look around the nutrition world. Confused? No need to be. Below are not the newest techniques from the latest cutting edge plan. Rather, they are simple, time-tested, no-nonsense habits that you need to get into when designing a good eating program:
Eat every 2-3 hours. We should eat 5-8 meals per day.
Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids), lean protein with each meal.
Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.
Ensure that the bulk of our carbohydrate intake comes from fruits and vegetables.
Ensure that 25-35 percent of our energy intake comes from fat.
Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best choices being water and green tea. (more…)
Top 5 Healthy Holiday Foods
Thursday, December 24th, 2009Written by Gloria Tsang, RD
Published in Nov 2005; Updated in Nov 2006
(HealthCastle.com) On average, a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner can contain more than 2,000 calories. We often put our focus on what not to eat, but there are still many nutritional goodies in our traditional dinner that we should not overlook.
5 Healthy Holiday Foods
Pumpkin – Pumpkin is rich in Vitamin A and also provides fiber. Pumpkin seeds are high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (the good fats). Pumpkin itself is quite low in calories and is a healthy holiday food. Pumpkin pie, however, becomes a high-calorie food because it’s made with eggs, sugar, evaporated milk and baked in a high-fat pie crust. To make a lower-fat pumpkin pie, you may consider using an egg substitute, light cream or low-fat evaporated milk in your recipe. Go for a pie crust with the lowest amount of trans fat possible. Better yet, try a home-made pie crust recipe that is not made with shortening. (more…)
Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009Merry Christmas from The Staff at The Center for Advanced Medicine!
We hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday season!
Scientists: Dark Chocolate Could Help With Stress
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009Friday, November 13, 2009
www.health.com
A small bar of dark chocolate a day can keep stress hormones at bay, according to a small study by international researchers.
German and Swiss researchers have found that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduced the levels of stress hormones in highly stressed people.
Dark chocolate, which is rich in a variety of bioactive compounds, also partially corrected other imbalances in the body related to stress.
“The study provides strong evidence that a daily consumption of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) during a period of two weeks is sufficient to modify the metabolism of healthy human volunteers,” wrote the researchers led by Sunil Kochhar, from the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. (more…)
Simplify the Season with Some Organizing Tips
Monday, December 21st, 2009Katia Hetter
Already stressing about all the holiday tasks ahead? Where did you store that wrapping paper and holiday cards you bought at last year’s after-Christmas sales? Where is the tree stand? Did anyone finally throw away the broken twinkle lights? Will the dog destroy any ornaments he can reach this year (again)?
Relax. If you take a little time to plan right now, you can make this holiday season more enjoyable for you and your family! Here are some easy tips that will make December merry.
Tips to Reduce Your Holiday Stress
Search for Rudolph now! When her menorah went missing last year, Brooklyn organizer Amanda Wiss (urbanclarity.net) learned a lesson about missing gear: Whatever holidays you celebrate, start looking NOW for that unused stack of greeting cards, the blinking Rudolph centerpiece that makes your kids laugh, unlit menorah candles, the present you bought for your mother in April. It’s key to find or replace whatever’s essential before you truly need those things. If they’re scattered about your home, buy a plastic bin or two or three to store holiday-themed items when you unearth them this year. (That’s where you’ll put them when the holidays are over.) (more…)
