Encouraging Health

Women, where do you get your caclium?

Tablets, chews, fortified juices, dairy products — where should you get your calcium?

One recent study suggests dairy is best, with a calcium supplement thrown in for good measure. In the study, women who got at least 70 percent of their calcium from dairy — and the rest from supplements — had better bone mineral density than the supplement-only group.

Healthy Sources Abound
It’s not clear why calcium from dairy beat the supplemental stuff in a study. It may be that dairy favorably affects estrogen balance, making for stronger bones. But more research is needed to confirm the study results.

Calcium Do’s and Don’ts
Calcium Do’s and Don’ts And the study findings don’t mean you should ditch your calcium chews. Just don’t forget to seek out calcium from foods, too, especially because a lot of food sources provide other good-for-the-body nutrients, like vitamin D and protein. Consider low-fat yogurt (415 mg calcium per cup), Parmesan cheese (390 mg per ounce), low-fat milk (290 mg per cup), and — if you’re not into dairy — soymilk (300 mg per cup), canned pink salmon (215 mg per half cup), and cooked spinach (180 mg per cup). A balanced, nutritious diet can make a serious dent in your calcium needs.

women, calcium

women, calcium

Teens and Stress:

Stressed out by your high-pressured job? Don’t assume your kid is any less stressed out by school. Especially if she’s a she.

Young people experience stress at a high rate, and females more than males, an extensive Associated Press/MTV survey shows. A similar divide exists in terms of fears and safety: Girls and young women are less likely to feel safe in their neighborhoods, in schools, or from terror attacks.

The source of stress changes as we get older, the survey shows. Among 13-17 year olds, school is by far the most commonly mentioned source. Among 18-24 year olds, it’s jobs and financial matters. In all, fully 85 percent of young people said they felt stress at least sometimes.

“I’m a pretty high-stressed person,� says Katie Duda, 21, who’s finishing up a degree in culinary arts and awaiting the birth of her first child in a few weeks. “But if I’m not stressed out, I’m bored.� Right now, it’s the responsibility of parenthood that is stressful to Duda, who lives in Bakersfield, Calif.

“It’s the unknown of it all,� she says. “Not the birth itself, but the next 18 years.�

Read more by clicking above.

Teens, stress, high blood pressure

Teens, stress, high blood pressure

Stomach Stapling Saves Lives:

The first long-term studies of stomach stapling and other radical obesity treatments show that they not only lead to lasting weight loss but also dramatically improve survival. The results are expected to lead to more such operations, possibly for less severely obese people, too.

Researchers in Sweden and the United States separately found that obese people who underwent drastic surgery had a 30 percent to 40 percent lower risk of dying seven to 10 years later compared with those who did not have such operations.

The research, published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, should put to rest uncertainties about the benefits and risks of weight-loss surgery and may cause governments and insurers to rethink who should qualify for the procedure, some doctors said.

“It’s going to dispel the notion that bariatric surgery is cosmetic surgery and support the notion that it saves lives,� said Dr. Philip Schauer, director of bariatric surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, who had no role in the research.

Read the rest by clicking above.

stomach stapling, bariatric surgery, longer life

stomach stapling, bariatric surgery, longer life

From www.msnbc.com health

Want to do your body a world of good? It’s as easy as expanding your grocery list
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Guava
• Swiss chard
• Cinnamon
• Purslane
• Pomegranate juice
• Goji berries
• Dried plums
• Pumpkin seeds

Men’s Health
Although some people aren’t opposed to smoking some weed, most wouldn’t think of eating one. It’s a shame, really, since a succulent weed named purslane is not only delicious but also among the world’s healthiest foods.
Of course, there are many superfoods that never see the inside of a shopping cart. Some you’ve never heard of, and others you’ve simply forgotten about. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best of the bunch. Make a place for them on your table and you’ll instantly upgrade your health–without a prescription.

vegetables, healthy body

vegetables, healthy body

Working out Correctly, by Jay Blahnik, from www.msnbc.com’s health section.

Going to the gym is one of the best ways to stay in shape. You can take an exercise class, use the cardio equipment, lift weights, swim, even shoot some hoops! But it is also easy to waste time, and if you are not careful, you can even hurt yourself.

By avoiding the three most common gym mistakes, you can drastically improve your results and make your workouts more enjoyable.

Mistake #1: No warm-up or cool-down

Jumping into your workout routine without a proper warm-up or finishing without a proper cool-down is a surefire way to set yourself up for acute injuries during the workout or chronic injuries over time.

Mistake #2: Poor technique

Doing an exercise too quickly or executing a move with sloppy form can increase your risk of injury. And an injury can interrupt your workout program, and make it difficult to be consistent and get results.

Remember to do your exercises slowly and with good form. If you are not sure how to do an exercise, ask a trainer or follow the instructions that are usually located directly on the machine. If you are new to an exercise class, show up early and ask the instructor to show you the tougher moves before class starts so you know how to do them properly.

Mistake #3: Skipping muscles or movements

Most of us tend to work muscle groups that are problem areas or important to us. For example, many women place an extra focus on their legs, buns and thighs, and many men place more focus on their chest and arms. And everyone wants flat, tight abs!

It is OK to place an emphasis on the muscle groups that are extra important to you, but it is critical to provide your body with a balanced workout to avoid short- and long-term injuries.

Read the full article by clicking above.

exercise, proper technique

exercise, proper technique

Pre-Alzheimer’s Link?

Women destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia may start losing weight at least a decade before being diagnosed with such a condition, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Women who developed dementia began losing weight between 11 and 20 years before their diagnosis, and the weight loss accelerated in the decade before diagnosis, researchers led by Dr. David Knopman of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota found.

These women, at the time of their eventual diagnosis, weighed 12 pounds (5.4 kg) less on average than those who did not develop Alzheimer’s or another dementia, they reported.

Knopman’s team examined medical records, including detailed weight information, for 219 women who eventually were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia.

They tracked the same number of women who did not develop any form of dementia. They were of similar age and lived in the same place, Rochester.

Read the rest of this startling study by clicking above.

Alzheimers, weight loss, women

Alzheimers, weight loss, women

Use a tape measure for health!

A quick check around the waist with a tape measure may be a better way of telling if you are at risk of heart disease than stepping on a scale, researchers said Monday.

Even if people are not overweight, those with larger waistlines are more likely to show the early signs of heart disease than those with smaller waists, the team at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas reported.

“Inches are as important as pounds,” Dr. James de Lemos, a cardiologist who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

Writing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the researchers said they have started a long-term study of 2,744 people with a median age of 45.

They used magnetic resonance imaging and electron beam computed tomography scans to look for early signs of clogged arteries and found a direct relationship between waist size and early indications of heart disease, regardless of the patients’ overall weight.

Read more by clicking above.

tape measure, heart health, healthy body

tape measure, heart health, healthy body

from www.realage.com:

Here’s the deal, dieters. You’ll make great strides in your effort to lose weight if you get a little extra of this past your lips: water.

Upping your daily water intake by 33 ounces — that’s about 4 additional cups — could help you melt an additional 2.5 pounds over the course of a yearlong diet. Here’s the simple science behind the claim.

Water, Water Everywhere
When researchers evaluated the water-drinking habits of overweight women who were following various popular diets (from Ornish to Atkins), water intake helped tip the scales in the right direction. The women who either upped their water intake or replaced sweet drinks with water lost about an extra 2.5 pounds. But it had to be water: Switching to or adding diet drinks didn’t have the same effect.

Why Water’s Great
So how does H2O give dieters an edge? It may be that drinking water helps reduce calorie intake — you’re full of water, so you eat less! It could also be that the agua alters your metabolism in some helpful way. Just keep in mind that drinking water, by itself, doesn’t melt pounds. The women who benefited from the extra H2O were already on reduced-calorie eating plans.

Personally, I drink 90 oz of water a day, then I allow myself to drink 30 oz of whatever else I want, usually 12 oz coffee, 12 oz tea and 12-20 oz fruit juice and/or soda.

water, weight loss

water, weight loss

RealAge.com has this tip to help us enjoy our Olive Oil better.

No doubt about it. Olive oil is one of the healthiest fats around.

But you’ll kill the health benefits if you overheat it. It can become rancid and generate toxic chemicals. One solution: Instead of heating the oil in the pan, just spritz some on your veggies, meats, or taters before cooking them.

Tastes Bad, Too
It’s fairly easy to overheat both olive oil and cold-pressed canola oil, because they have relatively low smoking points (the point at which they begin to burn). You’ll know if you’ve overheated the oil, because it leads to that burned, charcoal flavor. Yuck.

Different Temps, Different Tastes
Semirefined sesame oil, peanut oil, grape-seed oil, and virgin olive oil may be your best choices for cooking, because they contain mainly unsaturated fat and have relatively high smoking points; all of the oils can be heated in excess of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Extra-virgin olive oil starts to burn at about 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Unrefined canola and sunflower oils are even more delicate, burning at about 225 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once an oil has been overheated, you end up canceling out the major benefits. But treat the oils right and they’ll treat your body right, too.

Olive Oil, heating instructions

Olive Oil, heating instructions

Sleep your heart problems away, according to www.realage.com:

Still feeling tired when you wake up in the morning? And craving naps during the day?

If you’re sleeping long enough, your sleep quality may be the problem. And that’s bad news, because studies show that disrupted sleep can raise the risk of clots — those dangerous blobs of congealed blood that have a knack for blocking blood flow to major organs.

Clot Connection
Just how might poor sleep raise the risk of harmful blood clots? Researchers still need to pinpoint the exact cause, but studies suggest that surges in nervous-system activity — found in patients with sleep apnea, which causes disrupted sleep — may provoke excessive clotting. And that could set the stage for a heart attack, stroke, or other dangerous condition. Already had a heart attack?

Take Back the Night
A daytime doze may protect your heart. Sleeping better might help it, too.

heart problems, sleep

heart problems, sleep