Posts Tagged ‘ Health Tips ’

Health And Fitness Tips For Christmas

If you’re worried about over-eating this Christmas, here are some tips to help with the quickest ways to lose weight that’ll help you deal with the impending feasting. The good news that it’s easy to keep an eye for your weight because it’s not the turkey that’s going to make you fat. It’s the stuffing, the trimmings, the gravy, cookies and cake.

Turkey is in fact, a very healthy meat especially if you eat the breast meat. Removing skin makes turkey meat the most fat-free meat you can find. It’s also packed with protein and a good dose of important vitamins and minerals.

According to the US Department Of Agriculture’s research, skinless dark turkey meat has less protein and more fat and calories that skinless breast meat. Still, it’s a pretty good meat choice as it has about the same fat as skinless chicken breast meat and way less fat than ground beef.

If you like skin on your turkey, then the calorie count goes up by 10 percent. For dark meat, the fat amount goes up by nearly 65 percent and more than 300 percent for breast meat.

However, even with skin, breast meat has fewer calories and less fat than dark skin meat without skin. Dark meat with skin has similar fat amount and more a few more calories compared to lean ground beef but it has more protein and less saturated fat.

The vitamins and minerals found in turkey meat include easily absorbed iron, niacin which is useful for increasing good cholesterol levels, selenium which has antioxidant properties, zinc which is good for the immune systems and wound-healing, and vitamin B6 which is important for the immune system.

As can be seen, turkey is a great healthy meat choice.

The reason why turkey meat is so good is because turkeys do a lot of standing and walking. This slow, steady exercise burns fat with the oxygen stored in a red protein that makes up the meat. This red protein is found less in breast meat which is why breast meat is white.

For the small portion of fat found in the thighs and legs of turkey, you can simply pull off the fat that is usually deposited just under the skin. This would not be possible with beef as the fat is often found marbled with the meat.

This is a copyright health and fitness article from HealthTips360.com

How To Look For Manic Depression Symptoms

Sometimes we think that only adults suffer from depression when in fact, children too can fall into depression. These manic depression symptoms are similar to those observed in adults but because children often grumble or moan about going to school, parents are not aware if the child is genuinely stressed or just trying to play truant. Here are some tips for parents to look out for in the behaviour of their children.

Your child cannot seem to get enough sleep, sleep is often disrupted or often has nightmares
Your child sleeps more than the usual hours
There is a noticeable change in your child’s eating habits – he could be eating much more or less than usual
Your child seems to be no longer interested in the hobbies and sports that he previously enjoyed
Your child seems more prone to throwing tempers or seems to cry more frequently

All these changes in behaviour could indicate that a child is suffering from stress and depression as counselors believe that children are unable to fake such behavioural changes. If a child is showing these symptoms of depression, professional counselling will help, but it is more important for parents to recognize that their child needs help and to think about their own behaviour towards the child that could be contributing to the stress and depression.

This is a copyright health and fitness article from HealthTips360.com

How To Sleep Better

Given that we spend up to a third of our lives sleeping, we should ensure that we get a good night’s sleep by keeping good sleep habits. Those who don’t sleep well end up yawning during the day, being unable to concentrate on work or tasks at hand because the mind isn’t alert. More people suffer from insomnia, and other sleep problems than is reported because many are not aware that they are suffering from them. Sleep disorders are under-diagnosed because there is a lack of awareness.

While sleep disorders are caused by occupational hazards such as those who work shifts, sleep apnia and insomnia can affect just about anyone. Common symptoms of sleep apena are snoring and feeling sleepy throughout the day. Here are some tips on :

Keep regular sleep hours by going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday
Exercise regularly
Sleep at a comfortable room temperature
Keep the bedroom quiet when sleeping
Keep the bedroom dark enough to induce sleep
Take a hot shower before bed

What are some things that can prevent you from having a restful night’s sleep? Here are things that you should NOT do:

Exercise just before going to sleep
Stimulate your mind just before bedtime such as playing computer games
Have drinks that contain caffeine in the evening
Take over the counter sleeping pills without a doctors’ prescription
Consciously force yourself to sleep – you’ll only end up being more alert

If you think you have a sleep disorder, consult your doctor who will be able help you. Not taking sleep disorder symptoms seriously can endanger your life as you could end up with heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. Sleep apnia can even cause deaths in severe cases.

Tasty Spices For Better Health

Spices do more than just make your food taste great. Adding various types of spices such as cinnamon has health benefits too. The best part is that these are commonly used dried spices that are readily available in supermarkets.

Researchers have found that common herbs and spices contain high levels of inflammation-inhibiting antioxidant compounds known as polyphenols. Using cinnamon for example, in breakfast oatmeal and herbs and spices instead of salt and pepper for spaghetti could boost health.

It has been found that ground cloves have the highest levels of polyphenols of the 24 varieties of herbs and spices extracts tested. Cinnamon came in second, but this is not the only health benefit of cinnamon. It has long been known to lower blood sugar levels, although specialists are mixed about diabetics taking cinnamon as a supplement.

Other spices tested include oregano, marjoram and sage which have the highest levels of polyphenols followed by thyme, Italian seasoning, tarragon, mint and rosemary. Black pepper had the lowest levels for the herbs tested.

So the next time you want to season your food, try to use spices instead of salt and pepper.

Health Effects Of Soya Beans

Soya beans is the only plant food that is considered to be a complete protein as it contains all the essential amino acids and has all three macro-nutrients essential for health: protein, carbohydrate and fat. Soya beans are low in fat, providing a good source of fibre, iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium and B vitamins.

B vitamins play an important role in releasing and metabolizing energy from the food we eat. Zinc and magnesium help with enzymatic reactions in the body. Being low in saturated fat, soya beans is ideal for replacing animal protein from food such as red meat that contains high levels of saturated fat.

Even as the goodness of soya is apparent, certain alarming claims about soya beans producing certain undesirable results. Here, we take a look at concerns that have surfaced.

Increases Risk Of Gout And Kidney Stones
Some studies done on consuming too much soya bean have shown that oxalates in soya that cannot be absorbed by the body, bind with calcium to form kidney stones that can block the urinary system.

Gout is caused by the build-up of uric acid in the blood stream. This occurs when substances called purines found in food such as soya, tofu and meat are broken down by the body.

For these reasons, doctors often recommend that patients with kidney problems consume less products that contain oxalates. However, soya alone does not cause these problems. It is the combination of purines found in protein foods such as meat, seafood and milk.

Increases Risk Of Memory Loss
Although further studies are needed, coagulants such as salts and acids in tofu are thought to contribute to memory loss. Lab studies found that brain-derived neurotrophic factor in male rats causes brain atrophy that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Affects Male Fertility
A recent belief was that soya lowers a man’s sperm count. This has been debunked by dieticians who carried out a study of 100 subjects, where it was found that soya food intake was unrelated to sperm quality and male fertility. Instead, obesity may be a cause for infertility in men with high soya intakes.

Reduces Breast Cancer Risk
Studies carried out by American universities have shown that eating a serving of soya bean curd or drinking a glass of soya bean milk everyday reduces the risk of breast cancer in Chinese women.

Reduces Heart Disease Risk
Soluble fibre in soya bean helps to reduce cholesterol in the blood. Studies have shown that soya protein can lower bad cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Has Post-Menopausal Benefits
Soya bean benefits everyone but is especially beneficial to menopausal women, helping to prevent bone loss. It also helps in lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and breast cancer risks. However it does not improve hot flashes or other menopausal symptoms.

Antioxidant Fruits To Boost Body Immunity System

Fruits give us many health benefits and are always recommended to be a big part of our diet. Different fruits have different types of vitamins and minerals that are essential to provide nutrients for our bodies. Some fruits have received extra attention in this area with experts proclaiming their antioxidant properties as being especially important and beneficial to our overall health and in the protection against deadly diseases such as cancer.

Here are some fruits that are known to have higher antioxidant benefits.

Pomegranate
Quite uncommonly eaten as a fruit but more as a juice, pomegranates contain over 600 white and deep red seeds. Grown in the Mediterranean region, pomegranate juice may contain up to 3 times the amount of antioxidants in green tea and red wine.

Kiwi
These come in many varieties and can be golden or green. Grown in temperate regions with warm summers, Kiwis are rich in vitamin C with a single Kiwi fruit providing more than the normal daily adult requirement.

Mangosteen
A tropical fruit, this sweet and sour purple-brown fruit is grown in hot climate and is common in South-East Asia where they are commonly eaten as a fruit to “cool” the body especially after eating durians – a “heaty” fruit. Its rind contains xanthones that neutralize free radicals.

Goji
Also known as wolfberry, this berry is found in China, Mongolia and the Himalayas in Tibet and is currently enjoying a popularity surge in health food. Goji berries can be eaten in a variety of ways including in juice form but they are commonly used in Chinese herbal broths. Containing carotenoids, these antioxidants protect the retina of the eye.

Cranberry
These tiny berries measuring 6mm–18mm turn deep red when ripe and are grown in the US and Canada as a commercial crop. Cranberries are touted as being good for preventing or treating urinary tract infections.

Avocado
Grown in the Central and South America, avocados contain high levels of healthy monosaturated fat which are linked to a reduced risk in cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Noni
Also known as cheese fruit, this uncommon fruit is native to South-East Asia but is also grown in India and the Pacific Islands. It is a oval-shaped, prickly fruit that is said to help reduce high blood pressure and brings about arthritis pain relief as it contains high levels of antioxidants.

Seabuckthorn
Native to Europe and Asia, seabuckthorn is also known as seaberry that are soft, juicy orange berries about 6mm-9mm in diameter. These are rich in vitamin C and boost the body’s immune system.

Blueberry
These dark blue berries grow natively in Australia, New Zealand and South America that are commonly used in confectionery and desserts. Blueberries are plentiful in antioxidants that improve vision, brain function and help with anti-aging.

Acai
Grown in South American forests, this uncommon dark blue berry is about the size of a grape and is touted to have twice the amount of antioxidants found in blueberries as well as omega fatty acids, protein and fibre.

Although these fruits bring many benefits, they should be consumed in moderation as with everything. Having a variety of foods is important so that our body can benefit from nutrients from a wide source. Also, some of these fruits are not readily available and do not taste good. Commercially available juices made from these fruits may be diluted with water and sugar, making them less effective than we would like. So, there is a risk of consuming an excessive amount of calories from these juices that can result in an accumulation of unwanted fats.