Tips to Avoid Weight Gain During the Holidays

1. FILL UP ON MORE SENSIBLE FOODS
Foods that are high in fiber or water fill you up quickly and help keep you from overindulging on the "bad" stuff. Take an extra scoop of vegetables and fruit when filling your plate, and by the time you finish, you won't have room for the other foods which are higher in calories and more likely to cause you to gain weight.


2. EAT SMALLER PORTIONS
No doubt, everything at the table looks good, and it's all you can do to keep from filling your plate 2-3 times so that you can sample everything. An easy way to combat this urge is to simply take a smaller portion than you normally would of those dishes you're most interested in, especially belt-bursting desserts. Split a piece of pie or cake with your spouse, child, or another family member who may be watching his or her waistline.

3. DRINK AROUND, DURING, AND BETWEEN MEALS
Drink a fair amount of water or other unsweetened beverage before each meal, as well as during and between them. The liquid in your stomach will help trick your mind into not feeling as hungry, which reduces the tendency to gorge yourself on potentially fattening foods.

4. POSITION YOURSELF AWAY FROM THE SNACKS
If you take a seat within an arm's reach of the snack table, you're going to have a tough time keeping yourself from unconsciously grabbing handfuls of party mix, candies, and the like and picking at them all day. By sitting on the other side of the room, getting to the snacks involves a conscious effort into getting up and walking over to get at the snacks.

5. TAKE AN EXERCISE BREAK
If the weather permits it, go out and take a quick walk around the house or block. If your celebration is taking place in a colder climate, you'll be more inspired to quicken your pace and burn a few extra calories in the process. If the weather is bad, do 10-20 squats, stretches, or other brief exercise each time you go to the restroom. You only want to do just enough to elevate your heart rate, but not break out into a sweat. Chances are, no one will know what you're doing, and you won't have to feel self-conscious about trying to maintain your figure.

Finally, if you still manage to put on a few extra pounds, don't stress over it. If you've been following a sensible diet and exercise plan, the chances are good that any weight you do gain is going to come off shortly after the holidays are over.

Health tips for Rainy days

1. Stay active indoors
Take advantage of the less than ideal monsoon weather and tackle a spring cleaning project. Soon your sweat glands will be working overtime and detoxing seems an easy task.

2. Get creative with your exercise routine
During a TV commercial break, exploit the couch and perform bench dips and a set of lunges. Begin with 10 of each and increase it by two more at the next commercial break.

3. Bake for health sake
Grab hold of healthy recipes from the internet, cookbooks or newspaper and start baking. Or simply experiment with substituting regular flour with whole wheat variety for favourite breads and muffins recipes.

Source http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/health/health-tips-for-rainy-days-1.5820

Health tips start with flu shots

Washing hands, covering coughs, and getting flu shots are among the preventive measures that the town Health Department is advising this fall. “Frequent hand-washing with soap and warm water is perhaps the simplest and most effective way to help you and your family stay healthy this winter,” said Dr. Alan Balsam, the department’s director. Educational packets are available at schools, libraries, and town buildings, and information is posted online at www.mass.gov/handwashing. The Health Department is also holding three more flu vaccination clinics, starting with one from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Baker School, 205 Beverly Road. Subsequent clinics will be held 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Devotion School, 345 Harvard St.; and 4 to 6 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Health Department, 11 Pierce St. For more information, call 617-730-2336. - Andreae Downs

Source http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/west/2011/11/05/health-tips-start-with-flu-shots/9wcDCesoyN70ZmKEOOwfSO/story.html

Health is the thing???

Health is the thing. And no matter how many ways you can measure and quantify symptoms and disease, the only way to be healthy is to add to your health.


So what adds health into your life? I have boiled it down to 7 simple things.

1. Listening to your inner knowing - that gut feeling, instinctual response type knowing everyone has - listen to it
2. Rest - and not just sleeping, actually resting, which can be sleep.
3. Breathing Fresh Air - breathe in fresh air deep and fully every day
4. Food and Water - everyone is different, make sure whatever you choose to eat or drink is fresh and pure. No one diet is right for every one.
5. Sunlight - get healthy amounts of it
6. Activity - both physical and mental activity. The best form of activity is the one you will actually do. And it doesn't have to be the same thing every day.
7. Consciousness - being conscious or aware as you are doing all of the above and living your life

Tips for low cholesterol cooking

A diet makeover is an effective way to cut down bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein). By avoiding certain foods high in trans and saturated fats, you can lower your cholesterol level drastically.

But, the secret to a balanced heart-friendly diet doesn't here. Lowering bad cholesterol must start from your very kitchen with the help of healthy cooking methods. By practicing easy-to-follow cooking tips, you can deal with high cholesterol woes while making sure that all essential nutrients remain intact. Here are 8 important tips for low cholesterol cooking...

Employ low-fat cooking methods: Try low-fat cooking methods like broiling, grilling, stir-fry, braising and steaming. These methods are much better than batter coating and deep frying as they help retain all the essential nutrients and flavours of the ingredients. Fried foods, on the other hand, should be strictly avoided because most of them contain high levels of saturated and trans-fats. Moreover, when oil is heated to very high temperatures, a toxic compound called acrylamide is formed which is a neurotoxin and carcinogen. Hence, to maintain heart health and lower bad cholesterol, use these health cooking methods.

Use lean cuts of meat: Another healthy cooking method is using more of lean cuts of meat and poultry as they are lower in fats. Lean cuts of pork include loin chops and tenderloin while that of beef includes chuck, sirloin and round. Also, while cooking chicken meat, use boneless breast pieces or trim the excess fat with the help of kitchen scissors.

Remove visible meat fats before cooking: While cooking meat and poultry, trim all visible fats from the pieces. This includes oils, butter and fats on the meat. The skin also harbours a lot of fat and calories and hence, it is advisable to always remove it. You may leave the skin on while cooking but remove it prior to eating.

Use pure vegetable oils instead of fats: Use more of olive oil, sunflower oil and canola oil for cooking instead of opting for lard or butter. These cooking oils are a very good source of unsaturated fatty acids required for maintaining a healthy heart. While olive oil is a good source of mono-unsaturates, pure vegetable oils like sunflower oil are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Avoid fatty favouring additives: For a low cholesterol diet, try more of organic spices like basil, cilantro and oregano rather than fatty additives for flavouring. Instead of leaning more towards sour cream and butter to liven your dish, you can reach for these spices to remain healthy and fat-free.

Cook meat dishes in advance: While cooking stews, soups and boiled meat, try and cook a day in advance and then keep it inside the refrigerator. This is because as the dish chills, the fat present in it hardens at the top. This can be removed easily and the remaining low-fat dish can be used.

Remove or drain fat after cooking: Another cooking recommendation that will help lower the cholesterol content is by draining the fat after cooking. Once the meat or poultry pieces are cooked properly, you can remove the excess oil in the pan and then rinse the pieces in hot water. Following this, you can remove the water from the cooked meat with the help of a paper towel.

Eat foods with high fibre content: For cooking low-cholesterol foods, opt for ingredients that have high fibre levels. Fibre foods can be categorized under two distinct sectors - soluble and insoluble fibre foods. Insoluble fibre foods include green leafy vegetables, nuts and grains while soluble fibres are found in bananas and oatmeal.

Source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/Tips-for-low-cholesterol-cooking/articleshow/10216409.cms

Top Five Healthy Habits

Being healthy is not something that can be achieved overnight. You really have to dedicated yourself into doing it. There is not really any magical formula or crazy technique for this. Any books, diets, or special techniques out there that work are all really doing one thing: causing you to develop a habit of doing healthy actions.
They offer encouraging words, and prove to you results...and really, they re more or less motivating you to become healthier. Why do those, pay money, when you can simply develop your own good habits? So I ve done some research and found out some of the habits of healthy people. Here are the ones I feel are Top 5 habits of healthy people.


1. Eat Breakfast Everyday

Eating breakfast is healthy because they tend to take in more nutrients: vitamins, minerals, less fat, less cholesterol. In fact, having breakfast helps hold of hunger pangs till lunch, and you re less prone to buy high calorie foods from the local vending machine. Studies have shown kids who eat breakfast perform better. There s even research that shows breakfast eaters have a lower rate of diabetes, less chance to become obese, when compared to those who do not eat breakfast.

If one of your excuses to not eat breakfast is time, then maybe adjusting it to fit your schedule would be better. For example, some people may wake up not feeling hungry, and would prefer to be able to sleep in; they can bring their breakfast with them when going to work, and eat it while reading their morning emails.

2. Fish and Omega 3

The AHA recommends at least two servings of fish each week. Fish are known to be high in omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 is known to be very healthy for the heart, and there s even evidence that it can soothe an overactive immune system; there seems to be a link between more omega 3 in your diet, and lower symptoms of allergies, asthma, eczema, and other autoimmune disorders.

3. Sleep

Most people actually don t get enough sleep; something like two thirds of adults suffer from sleep problems, and many don t get enough hours of sleep to stay awake/alert. Getting enough sleep is extremely vital for your emotional and physical well being. People who don t get enough sleep are more likely to develop psychiatric problems. Lack of sleep also negatively affect memory, learning, and logical reasoning.

4. Great Friends and Family

Your friends can save your life. How? Four things: They can provide information on any of your symptoms, which can prompt you to see a doctor, they offer emotional support when ever you need it, they can help provide physical support for you when you need to visit doctors...and of course, they help offer a sense of belonging.

5. Exercise!

Do I really need to outline the benefits of exercising? We ve all heard it: the myriads of health benefits, the reduction in various diseases (obesity, diabetes, etc), increased general well being, both mentally and physically. This one is a no brainer really. Exercise is key in losing weight, and it s also key in reducing heart disease. The only problem is it requires commitment.

Some tips to beat the heat wave

"Cool it!"

That's the advice going out Wednesday night from the Broome County Health Department, especially to the elderly, and parents of infants and toddlers.

That's because they're the ones most likely to suffer from a heat-related illness over the next few days.

The guys rebuilding Johnson Avenue on Binghamton's West Side are on a tight schedule.

No waiting for cooler weather.

But they're not taking chances in this heat.

They are taking this advice from Dr. Chris Ryan, Medical Director of the Broome County Health Department.

"You should drink lots of water." advises Dr. Ryan.

Sports drinks are o.k. too, as long as they don't have too much sugar or caffeine.

What else?

"Try to spend time in cool, air conditioned environments." said Dr. Ryan

Not an option for the construction crew.

But it's exactly what the Loyal D. Greenmun Senior Center is offering, weekdays 10 to 4.

"Even several hours each day spent in a cool, air conditioned environment is a good idea, is protective." said Dr. Ryan

For the duration of the heat wave, the center's welcoming even non members.

"You don't have to be a member to come in and sit. And it's nice and cool in here so I'd advise it, if somebody wanted to get out of the heat to come in. " said Mitz White

And, you don't have to just sit.

"We have crafts here. We have pool downstairs. We have 4 pool tables. We have shuffleboard here. We have the Wii game, we can get things going here, activities for people." said White

Of course this is the activity most people think of when the temperature hovers around 90.

A way better option than huddling inside around a fan.

"If it's less than 95 and you feel better with a fan blowing, that's great but don't count on that to be protective against heat-related illness." tells Dr. Ryan

When the fan stopped making a difference at the Lindsley's home, Mom, Dad, and 19 month-old Mason headed for the nearest public pool.

"Yes, yes, it's too hot at home. The fans aren't even working. No air conditioning, so we came here." said Ashley Lindsley

And with no letup for a few days, they'll probably be back.

Source  http://www.wicz.com/news2005/viewarticle.asp?a=19398