Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Is It a Food Allergy or Intolerance?

From WebMD:

What Is a Food Allergy?

A food allergy is an immune system response. It occurs when the body mistakes an ingredient in food -- usually a protein -- as harmful and creates a defense system (antibodies) to fight it. Food allergy symptoms develop when the antibodies are battling the "invading" food. The most common food allergies are peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, pecans and almonds), fish, and shellfish, milk, eggs, soy products, and wheat.


What Is Food Intolerance?

Food intolerance is a digestive system response rather than an immune system response. It occurs when something in a food irritates a person's digestive system or when a person is unable to properly digest or breakdown, the food. Intolerance to lactose, which is found in milk and other dairy products, is the most common food intolerance.


What Are the Symptoms of a Food Allergy?

Symptoms of a food allergy can range from mild to severe, and the amount of food necessary to trigger a reaction varies from person to person. Symptoms of a food allergy may include:

  • Rash or hives
  • Nausea
  • Stomach pain
  • Diarrhea
  • Itchy skin
  • Shortness of breath
  • Chest pain
  • Swelling of the airways to the lungs
  • Anaphylaxis
What Are the Symptoms of Food Intolerance?

Symptoms of food intolerance include:
  • Nausea
  • Stomach pain
  • Gas, cramps, or bloating
  • Vomiting
  • Heartburn
  • Diarrhea
  • Headaches
  • Irritability or nervousness

How Common Are Food Allergies and Intolerances?

Food allergies affect about 4% of teens and adults and 5% of children. Food intolerances are much more common. In fact, nearly everyone at one time has had an unpleasant reaction to something they ate. Some people have specific food intolerances. Lactose intolerance, the most common food intolerance, affects about 10% of Americans.

What Causes Food Allergies and Intolerances?

Food allergies arise from sensitivity to chemical compounds (proteins) in food. They develop after you are exposed to a food protein that your body thinks is harmful. The first time you eat the food containing the protein, your immune system responds by creating specific disease-fighting antibodies (called immunoglobulin E or IgE). When you eat the food again, it triggers the release of IgE antibodies and other chemicals, including histamine, in an effort to expel the protein "invader" from your body. Histamine is a powerful chemical that can affect the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, or cardiovascular system.


As a result of this response, food allergy symptoms occur. The allergy symptoms you have depend on where in the body the histamine is released. If it is released in the ears, nose, and throat, you may have an itchy nose and mouth, or trouble breathing or swallowing. If histamine is released in the skin, you may develop hives or a rash. If histamine is released in the gastrointestinal tract, you likely will develop stomach pains, cramps, or diarrhea. Many people experience a combination of symptoms as the food is eaten and digested.
Food allergies often run in families, suggesting that the condition can be inherited.


There are many factors that may contribute to food intolerance. In some cases, as with lactose intolerance, the person lacks the chemicals, called enzymes, necessary to properly digest certain proteins found in food. Also common are intolerances to some chemical ingredients added to food to provide color, enhance taste, and protect against the growth of bacteria. These ingredients include various dyes and monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer.


Substances called sulfites are also a source of intolerance for some people. They may occur naturally, as in red wines or may be added to prevent the growth of mold.


Salicylates are a group of plant chemicals found naturally in many fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, juices, beer, and wine. Aspirin also is a compound of the salicylate family. Foods containing salicylates may trigger allergy symptoms in people who are sensitive to aspirin. Of course, any food consumed in excessive quantities can cause digestive symptoms.


How Can You Tell the Difference Between a Food Allergy and Intolerance?

Food allergies can be triggered by even a small amount of the food and occur every time the food is consumed. People with food allergies are generally advised to avoid the offending foods completely. On the other hand, food intolerances often are dose related.


People with food intolerance may not have symptoms unless they eat a large portion of the food or eat the food frequently. For example, a person with lactose intolerance may be able to drink milk in coffee or a single glass of milk, but becomes sick if he or she drinks several glasses of milk.


Food allergies and intolerances also are different from food poisoning, which generally results from spoiled or tainted food and affects more than one person eating the food. Your health care provider can help determine if you have an food allergy or intolerance, and establish a plan to help control your symptoms.


How Are Food Intolerances Diagnosed?

Most food intolerances are found through trial and error to determine which food or foods cause symptoms. You may be asked to keep a food diary to record what you eat and when you get symptoms, and then look for common factors.
Another way to identify problem foods is to go on an elimination diet. This involves completely eliminating any suspect foods from your diet until you are symptom-free. You then begin to reintroduce the foods, one at a time. This can help you pinpoint which foods cause symptoms. Seek the advice of your health care provider or a registered dietitian before beginning an elimination diet to be sure your diet provides adequate nutrition.


How Are Food Intolerances Treated?


Treatment for a food intolerance is based on avoiding or reducing your intake of problem foods and treating symptoms when they arise.

Can Food Intolerances Be Prevented?

Taking a few simple steps can help you prevent the symptoms associated with food intolerance.


Learn which foods in which amounts cause you to have symptoms and limit your intake to amounts you can handle.

When you dine out, ask your server about how your meal will be prepared. Some meals may contain foods you cannot tolerate and that may not be evident from the description on the menu.

Learn to read food labels and check the ingredients for problem foods. Don't forget to check condiments and seasonings. They may contain MSG or another additive that can lead to symptoms.

Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Reviewed By Laura J. Martin, MD
What Are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

Symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
  • Chronic muscle pain, muscle spasms or tightness, weakness in the limbs, and leg cramp
  • Moderate or severe fatigue and decreased energy
  • Insomnia or waking up feeling just as tired as when you went to sleep
  • Stiffness upon waking or after staying in one position for too long
  • Difficulty remembering, concentrating, and performing simple mental tasks (“fibro fog”)
  • Abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and constipation alternating with diarrhea (irritable bowel syndrome)
  • Tension or migraine headaches
  • Jaw and facial tenderness
  • Sensitivity to one or more of the following: odors, noise, bright lights, medications, certain foods, and cold
  • Feeling anxious or depressed
  • Numbness or tingling in the face, arms, hands, legs, or feet
  • Increase in urinary urgency or frequency (irritable bladder)
  • Reduced tolerance for exercise and muscle pain after exercise
  • A feeling of swelling (without actual swelling) in the hands and feet
  • Painful menstrual periods
  • Dizziness

Fibromyalgia symptoms may intensify depending on the time of day -- morning, late afternoon, and evening tend to be the worst times, while 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tends to be the best time. Symptoms may also get worse with fatigue, tension, inactivity, changes in the weather, cold or drafty conditions, overexertion, hormonal fluctuations (such as just before your period or during menopause), stress, depression, or other emotional factors.


If the condition is not diagnosed and treated early, symptoms can go on indefinitely, or they may disappear for months and then recur.

Who Gets Allergies?

Allergies can develop at any age, possibly even in the womb. They commonly occur in children but may give rise to symptoms for the first time in adulthood. Asthma may persist in adults while nasal allergies tend to decline in old age.


Why, you may ask, are some people "sensitive" to certain allergens while most are not? Why do allergic people produce more IgE than those who are non-allergic? The major distinguishing factor appears to be heredity. For some time, it has been known that allergic conditions tend to cluster in families. Your own risk of developing allergies is related to your parents' allergy history. If neither parent is allergic, the chance that you will have allergies is about 15%. If one parent is allergic, your risk increases to 30% and if both are allergic, your risk is greater than 60%.


Although you may inherit the tendency to develop allergies, you may never actually have allergy symptoms. You also do not necessarily inherit the same allergies or the same diseases as your parents. It is unclear what determines which substances will trigger a reaction in an allergic person. Additionally, which diseases might develop or how severe the symptoms might be is unknown.


Another major piece of the allergy puzzle is the environment. It is clear that you must have a genetic tendency and be exposed to an allergen in order to develop an allergy. Additionally, the more intense and repetitive the exposure to an allergen and the earlier in life it occurs, the more likely it is that an allergy will develop.


There are other important influences that may conspire to cause allergic conditions. Some of these include smoking, pollution, infection, and hormones.

Could Losing Weight Ease Your Arthritis Pain?

By Gina Shaw

For 12 years, Robin Lutchansky spent most of her time in a wheelchair. The pain from her severe osteoarthritis, first diagnosed in her early 30s, made it difficult to walk more than short distances.

Then, a little over three years ago, Lutchansky found her way to a pain management clinic that taught her how to exercise -- first, teaching her how to walk again. Over the next three years, Lutchansky, now 51, gradually lost nearly 100 pounds with calorie reduction and exercise.


“I did it slowly. I started out just lifting 2-pound weights, and I walked in the pool every day,” she says.


Today, Lutchansky is out of the wheelchair and back at work as a public relations representative for a high-tech firm, and says that her daily pain levels have gone from an 8 or a 9 to a 1. “It’s amazing. It’s a new life. I had no idea it was possible.”

What Weight Does to Your Joints

If you are at all overweight, one of the best ways to reduce osteoarthritis pain is by taking off excess pounds. Being overweight increases the load that you put on your joints -- your knees, your hips, your ankle -- with every step you take.


“When we walk, when we go up and down stairs, or get into or out of a chair or car, we can put three to five times our body weight, and sometimes more, on the joints,” says Geoffrey Westrich, attending orthopedic surgeon and Director of Joint Replacement Research at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. “So if you’re 50 pounds overweight, you’re putting around 250 pounds of increased stress across your knees and hips."


Over time, that extra weight makes you much more prone to developing arthritis and can cause arthritis to progress much more rapidly, leading to much more pain once it has developed.


Fortunately, the same principle works in reverse. “For every pound people lose, they lose 3 pounds of stress across their knee and 6 pounds of stress on their hip, on average,” says Westrich.


Small Steps, Big Changes

You don’t have to lose 100 pounds, like Lutchansky, to see a difference in your pain levels. C. Thomas Vangsness, Jr., MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery and chief of sports medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, says most of his arthritis patients who lose weight notice that their pain is diminishing after losing about 20 pounds.


Jane Angelich, a 58-year-old California businesswoman, has lost 33 pounds on Weight Watchers.

“What a difference!” she says. “It starts when I get out of bed in the morning. No more limping around and groaning for the first few minutes. Instead of finding excuses to sit on my couch instead of walking around, I now walk the equivalent of a 5k without any issues and can even function the next day!”

Losing weight cannot repair the damage that’s already been done to your joints by arthritis, but in addition to decreasing your pain, it can also help to slow down the further progression of the disease. One study found that knee osteoarthritis in obese men would decrease by 21.5% if they lost enough weight to be categorized as merely overweight; for women, arthritis would decrease by 31%.


“The damage is already done, and arthritis is a progressive process,” says Westrich. “But weight loss can be tremendously helpful in alleviating pain, allowing greater function, and prolonging the period of time before someone needs joint replacement surgery.”



And if you haven’t developed arthritis but you’re worried about it, losing excess weight can significantly lower your risk. If you’re significantly overweight, every 11 pounds you lose cuts your risk of developing arthritis by more than 50%.


Making It Happen

The best way to lose weight, any doctor will tell you, is to eat less, eat healthy foods, and exercise more. But while someone with arthritis can start to change their eating habits in pretty much the same way that someone without the disease can, having arthritis makes exercise a little more complicated.
High-impact exercise, like running, jogging, and aerobics, can put too much stress on the joints, so doctors recommend against these activities. “They can hasten the arthritis process and cause injury,” says Westrich.

Instead, Vangsness recommends that his patients pursue one of three types of exercise that are particularly well suited for people with arthritis:
  • Swimming
  • Cycling (especially on a recumbent stationary bike, which is easier on knees and hips than a standard bike)
  • Elliptical trainers
“These all get your heart rate up without putting any stress on the knee,” he says. “The buoyancy of water helps to alleviate pain during water exercise. And working out using a stationary bike or an elliptical trainer can help strengthen key muscles like the quadriceps. If your quadriceps are strong, that can cushion the ‘heel strike’ moment when you step forward while walking, and decrease pain as well.”


He adds that some of his extremely obese patients have gotten their weight loss started through gastric bypass or gastric banding surgery. “They start peeling off the pounds, and this tremendous loss of weight really knocks down their pain,” he says. “It’s like a whole new knee. And after losing that weight, they can exercise where they couldn’t before, strengthen their muscles, and further reduce pain.”

Vitamin D FAQ: Vitamin D Sources, Deficiency and Intake

The Truth About Vitamin D


By Daniel J. DeNoon
The hottest topic in medicine isn't the newest drug or the latest surgical device. It's vitamin D.

What brought the simmering debate to a boil was a 2007 study showing that people taking normal vitamin D supplements were 7% less likely to die than those who didn't take the daily supplements.

A year later, a major study found that when women with low vitamin D levels get breast cancer, they have a much higher chance of dying from their cancer than women with normal vitamin D levels.
That was surprising news. But just as surprising are assertions that many men, women, and children have insufficient blood levels of this important vitamin.

How many? Data suggest many of us don't get the vitamin D we need. For example, one study of childbearing women in the Northern U.S. found insufficient vitamin D levels in 54% of black women and in 42% of white women.

These findings led the American Academy of Pediatrics to double the recommended amount of vitamin D a child should take -- and have led many doctors to advise their adult patients to increase their vitamin D intake.

Not so fast, says an expert panel convened by the prestigious Institute of Medicine. In its long-awaited November 2010 report, the IOM committee expressed dismay at the idea that many people are vitamin D deficient.

"Of great concern recently have been reports of widespread vitamin D deficiency in the North American population," the committee wrote. "The concern is not well founded. In fact, the cut-point values used to define deficiency, or as some have suggested, 'insufficiency,' have not been established systematically using data from studies of good quality."

The IOM committee put its emphasis on what science has proved, not on what studies may suggest. Using this conservative approach, the committee found no proof that vitamin D has health effects beyond building strong bones.

"While the current interest in vitamin D as a nutrient with broad and expanded benefits is understandable, it is not supported by the available evidence," the IOM committee concluded.

  
Why do I need vitamin D?

Your body must have vitamin D to absorb calcium and promote bone growth. Too little vitamin D results in soft bones in children (rickets) and fragile, misshapen bones in adults (osteomalacia). You also need vitamin D for other important body functions.

Vitamin D deficiency has now been linked to breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, depression, weight gain, and other maladies. These studies show that people with higher levels of vitamin D have a lower risk of disease, although they do not definitively prove that lack of vitamin D causes disease -- or that vitamin D supplements would lower risk.
The Vitamin D Council -- a scientist-led group promoting vitamin D deficiency awareness -- suggests vitamin D treatment might be found helpful in treating or preventing autism, autoimmune disease, cancer, chronic pain, depression, diabetes, heart disease, high bloodpressure, flu, neuromuscular diseases, and osteoporosis. However, there have been no definitive clinical trials.

That's why the Institute of Medicine expert committee's November 2010 review found no conclusive evidence that vitamin D, by itself, offers wide-ranging health benefits.

"Despite the many claims of benefit surrounding vitamin D in particular, the evidence did not support a basis for a causal relationship between vitamin D and many of the numerous health outcomes purported to be affected by vitamin D intake," the IOM committee concluded.

The only proven benefit of vitamin D is its role in helping calcium build strong bones. But that's far from the whole story. Vitamin D helps regulate the immune system and the neuromuscular system. Vitamin D also plays major roles in the life cycle of human cells.
Vitamin D is so important that your body makes it by itself -- but only after skin exposure to sufficient sunlight. This is a problem for people in northern climates. In the U.S., only people who live south of a line drawn from Los Angeles to Columbia, S.C., get enough sunlight for vitamin D production throughout the year.

Dark skin absorbs less sunlight, so people with dark skin do not get as much vitamin D from sun exposure as do light-skinned people. This is a particular problem for African-Americans in the northern U.S.


How can I get enough vitamin D?

Thirty minutes of sun exposure to the face, legs, or back -- without sunscreen -- at least twice a week should give you plenty of vitamin D.

But this much direct sun exposure might also expose you to potentially dangerous levels of cancer-causing UV radiation. And unless you live in the South or Southwest, you probably won't get enough sunlight during the winter months for your body to make enough vitamin D. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends against getting vitamin D from unprotected exposure to sunlight.
It's probably a better idea to get vitamin D from foods or from supplements.

Will a vitamin D test tell me if I need more vitamin D?

That depends on whom you ask. As part of your regular blood test, your doctor can order a test for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD).

The problem is not with the test. The problem is how to interpret the results. An expert committee convened by the Institute of Medicine in November 2010 concluded that "the cut-point values used to define deficiency, or as some have suggested, 'insufficiency,' have not been established systematically using data from studies of good quality."

Even so, most experts agree that anyone with a 25-OHD level of less than 15 ng/mL or 37.5 nmol/L (depending on the units reported by a lab) needs more vitamin D. A 2002 study found that 42% of African-American women of childbearing age had vitamin D levels below 15 ng/mL.
The IOM committee says that people are at risk of vitamin D deficiency at 25-OHD levels below 30 nmol/L (12 ng/mL), and that some people -- but not everyone -- may be at risk of vitamin D deficiency at 25-OHD levels from 30 nmol/L up to 50 nmol/L (12-20 ng/mL).
The Vitamin D Council considers the ideal 25-OHD level to be between 40 ng/mL and 70 ng/mL. But the IOM says there is no evidence of increased benefit at levels above 30 ng/mL, and that "there may be reason for concern" at levels above 50 ng/mL.
"There is a critical public health and clinical practice need for consensus cut-points for serum 25-OHD," the IOM committee states

Which foods contain vitamin D?

Surprisingly few foods contain vitamin D -- unless it's added to the food. That's because your body is built to get vitamin D through your skin (from sunlight) rather than through your mouth (by food). But once your body has enough, it doesn't matter whether you got it through your skin or through your stomach.

There are three vitamin D super foods:

  • Salmon (especially wild-caught)
  • Mackerel (especially wild-caught; eat up to 12 ounces a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are low in mercury)
  • Mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light to increase vitamin D

Other food sources of vitamin D include:
  • Cod liver oil (warning: cod liver oil is rich in vitamin A; too much may be bad for you)
  • Tuna canned in water
  • Sardines canned in oil
  • Milk or yogurt -- regardless of whether it's whole, nonfat, or reduced fat -- fortified with vitamin D
  • Beef or calf liver
  • Egg yolks
  • Cheese

Nearly all milk in the U.S. is fortified with vitamin D. So are many brands of orange juice, yogurt, margarine, and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals.


How much vitamin D do I need?

In November 2010, the Institute of Medicine's expert committee set a new "dietary reference intake" for vitamin D.
Assuming that a person gets virtually no vitamin D from sunshine -- and that this person gets adequate amounts of calcium -- the IOM committee recommends getting the following amounts of vitamin D from diet or supplements (Note that the IOM's upper limit is not a recommended intake, but what the IOM considers the highest safe level):
Infants age 0 to 6 months: adequate intake, 400 IU/day; maximum safe upper level of intake, 1,000 IU/day

Infants age 6 to 12 months: adequate intake, 400 IU/day; maximum safe upper level of intake, 1,500 IU/day

Age 1-3 years: adequate intake, 600 IU/day; maximum safe upper level of intake, 2,500 IU/day

Age 4-8 years: adequate intake, 600 IU/day; maximum safe upper level of intake, 3,000 IU/day

Age 9-70: adequate intake, 600 IU/day; maximum safe upper level of intake, 4,000 IU/day

Age 71+ years: adequate intake, 800 IU/day; maximum safe upper level of intake, 4,000 IU/day

That's not enough, says Boston University vitamin D expert Michael Holick, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, physiology, and biophysics, Boston University Medical Center. Holick recommends a dose of 1,000 IU a day of vitamin D for both infants and adults -- unless they're getting plenty of safe sun exposure.
  
In 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that breastfed infants receive 400 IU of vitamin D every day until they are weaned. This doubled the AAP's previous recommendation.
The AAP also recommends 400 IU/day of vitamin D for children and teens who drink less than a quart of vitamin D-fortified milk per day.
The Vitamin D Council recommends that healthy adults take 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily -- more if they get little or no sun exposure.
There's evidence that people with a lot of body fat need more vitamin D than lean people.

But it's clear that the IOM's conservative recommendations will stir debate in the scientific and medical communities. Here's a rule of thumb: If you're considering taking more vitamin D than the IOM committee recommends, first check with your doctor or pediatrician.

Can I get too much vitamin D?

Too much of any good thing is a bad thing. Too much vitamin D can cause an abnormally high blood calcium level, which could result in nausea, constipation, confusion, abnormal heart rhythm, and even kidney stones

It's nearly impossible to get too much vitamin D from sunlight or from foods (unless you take way too much cod liver oil). Nearly all vitamin D overdoses come from supplements.
The Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board's old 1997 recommendations suggested that 2,000 IU per day of vitamin D is safe for adults and that 1,000 IU per day is safe for infants up to 12 months of age. Many observers expected a drastic increase in the IOM's 2010 update.

That didn't exactly happen. The IOM committee did increase its "upper level intake" -- that is, the boundary at which it feared vitamin D would become unsafe. That dose is 4,000 IU/day for adults, 3,000 IU/day for kids ages 4-8, 2,500 IU/day for kids ages 1-3, 1,500 IU/day for infants ages 6-12 months, and 1,000 IU/day for infants ages 0-6 months.
But some recent studies suggest that healthy adults can tolerate more than 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day. John Jacob Cannell, MD, executive director of The Vitamin D Council, notes that the skin makes 10,000 IU of vitamin D after 30 minutes of full-body sun exposure. He suggests that 10,000 IU of vitamin D is not toxic.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 25-OHD levels that are consistently over 200 ng/mL are "potentially toxic."
The IOM committee found no conclusive evidence that increased vitamin D levels confer increased health benefits, "challenging the concept that 'more is better.'"

What kind of vitamin D is best?

The recommended form of vitamin D is vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol. This is the natural form of vitamin D that your body makes from sunlight. Supplements are made from the fat of lambs' wool.

However, a clinical study reported in 2008 suggested that vitamin D2 works as well as vitamin D3.

Many supplements contain vitamin D as vitamin D2 or calciferol. It's derived from irradiated fungus. Because this is not the form of vitamin D naturally made by your body, WebMD nutritionist Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, recommends using the D3 form for those taking vitamin D supplements.
Because of its potency, different forms of vitamin D are used in prescription medications. If you have a prescription for one of these medications, do not switch to another form of vitamin D without checking with your doctor.
Does vitamin D interact with other medications?

Yes. Steroid medications such as prednisone can interfere with vitamin D metabolism. If you take steroid drugs regularly, discuss vitamin D with your doctor.

The weight loss drug orlistat -- brand names include Xenical and Alli -- may cut absorption of vitamin D. So does the cholesterol-lowering drug cholestyramine (sold as Questran, LoCholest, and Prevalite). People taking these drugs should discuss vitamin intake with their doctors.

The seizure drugs Phenobarbital and Dilantin (phenytoin), affect vitamin D metabolism and affect calcium absorption. So do anti-tuberculosis drugs.

On the other hand, cholesterol-lowering statin drugs and thiazide diuretics increase vitamin D levels.







Tuesday, October 4, 2011

10 Health Problems Related To Stress that You Can Fix

By R. Morgan Griffin


Need another thing to get stressed out about? Your stress itself could be making you sick.

"Stress doesn't only make us feel awful emotionally," says Jay Winner MD, author of Take the Stress Out of Your Life and director of the Stress Management Program for Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, Calif. "It can also exacerbate just about any health condition you can think of."

Studies have found many health problems related to stress. Stress seems to worsen or increase the risk of conditions like obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, depression, gastrointestinal problems, and asthma.

Before you get too stressed out about being stressed out, there is some good news. Following some simple stress relief tips could both lower your stress and lower your health risks.


10 Health Problems Related to Stress

What are some of the most significant health problems related to stress? Here's a sampling.


1.Heart disease. Researchers have long suspected that the stressed-out, type A personality has a higher risk of high blood pressure and heart problems. We don't know why, exactly. Stress might have a direct effect on the heart and blood vessels. It's also possible that stress is related to other problems -- an increased likelihood of smoking or obesity -- that indirectly increase the heart risks.

Doctors do know that sudden emotional stress can be a trigger for serious cardiac problems, including heart attacks. People who have chronic heart problems need to avoid acute stress as much as they can.

2.Asthma. Many studies have shown that stress can worsen asthma. Some evidence suggests that a parent's chronic stress might even increase the risk of developing asthma in their children. One study looked at how parental stress affected the asthma rates of young children who were also exposed to air pollution or whose mothers smoked during pregnancy. The kids with stressed out parents had a substantially higher risk of developing asthma.

3.Obesity. Excess fat in the belly seems to pose greater health risks than fat on the legs or hips -- and unfortunately, that's just where people with high stress seem to store it. "Stress causes higher levels of the hormone cortisol," says Winner, "and that seems to increase the amount of fat that's deposited in the abdomen."

4.Diabetes. Stress can worsen diabetes in two ways. First, it increases the likelihood of bad behaviors, such as unhealthy eating and excessive drinking. Second, stress seems to raise the glucose levels of people with type 2 diabetes directly.

5.Headaches. Stress is considered one of the most common triggers for headaches -- not just tension headaches, but migraines as well.

6.Depression and anxiety. It's probably no surprise that chronic stress is connected with higher rates of depression and anxiety. One survey of recent studies found that people who had stress related to their jobs -- like demanding work with few rewards -- had an 80% higher risk of developing depression within a few years than people with lower stress.

7.Gastrointestinal problems. Here's one thing that stress doesn't do -- it doesn't cause ulcers. However, it can make them worse. Stress is also a common factor in many other GI conditions, such as chronic heartburn (GERD) and IBS, Winner says.

8.Alzheimer's disease. One animal study found that stress might worsen Alzheimer's disease, causing its brain lesions to form more quickly. Some researchers speculate that reducing stress has the potential to slow down the progression of the disease.

9.Accelerated aging. There's actually evidence that stress can affect how you age. One study compared the DNA of mothers who were under high stress -- they were caring for a chronically ill child -- with women who were not. Researchers found that a particular region of the chromosomes showed the effects of accelerated aging. Stress seemed to accelerate aging about 9 to 17 additional years.

10.Premature death. A study looked at the health effects of stress by studying elderly caregivers looking after their spouses -- people who are naturally under a great deal of stress. It found that caregivers had a 63% higher rate of death than people their age who were not caregivers.


Still, you might be wondering why. Why would stress make us sick? Why would an emotional feeling wreck havoc on our bodies?

Stress isn't only a feeling. "Stress isn't just in your head," Winner says. It's a built-in physiologic response to a threat. When you're stressed, your body responds. Your blood vessels constrict. Your blood pressure and pulse rise. You breathe faster. Your bloodstream is flooded with hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.

"When you're chronically stressed, those physiologic changes, over time, can lead to health problems," Winner tells WebMD

Stress Management Works


While the number of health problems related to stress might be alarming, don't despair. Studies suggest that stress management techniques will not only make you feel better, but they might have concrete health benefits.

For instance, one study of heart attack survivors found that taking a stress management class slashed their risks of a second cardiac event by 74%. There's even some evidence that stress management will improve immunity.

Still, many of us remain skeptical about stress management. After all, our lives are just plain stressful. We have busy jobs, families to raise, tight finances, and no time to spare. Stress management might seem like a nice idea, but completely impossible.

It's true that you might not be able to remove all the stressful things from your life. But you can change how you respond to them, Winner says. That's what stress management is all about. Learning some basic stress relief techniques isn't hard either.

4 Ways to Fight Back Against Stress -- and Improve Your Health

The next time you feel stressed, here are four stress relief tips you can try.

1.Breathe deeply. Just a few minutes of deep breathing can calm you and tame the physiologic stress response, Winner says. While building in a specific time to relax each day is a good idea, one advantage to deep breathing for stress relief is that you can do it anywhere -- at your desk or in your (parked) car, for instance.

Winner recommends that as you breathe out, you relax a specific muscle group. Start with the muscles in your jaw. On the next breath out, relax your shoulders. Move through the different areas of your body until you're feeling calm.

2.Focus on the moment. When you're stressed, you're probably living in the future or the past. You're worried about what to do next or regretful about something you've already done. To get some stress relief, instead try focusing on what you're doing right now.

"You can calm yourself by bringing yourself back to the present moment," says Winner. "If you're walking, feel the sensation of your legs moving. If you're eating, focus on the taste and the sensation of the food."

3.Reframe the situation. So you're already running late and then find yourself stuck in terrible traffic. Getting worked up is a natural reaction, but it won't help you at all.

Rather than swearing and pounding the steering wheel, get a different perspective. Look at that time as an opportunity -- a few minutes to yourself where you don't have any other obligations.

4.Keep your problems in perspective. It might seem Pollyannaish, but the next time you're feeling stressed out, think about the things for which you're grateful.

"We get stressed when we focus so much on a specific problem that we lose perspective," says Winner. "You need to remind yourself of the basic ways in which you're lucky -- that you have family and friends, that you can see, that you can walk." It can be a surprisingly effective method for stress relief.

While these stress management techniques can help in the moment, you can also make a few larger changes to your way of life. Regular exercise is key to long-term stress management, says Winner. People who exercise tend to have better moods and more energy than people who don't. What's more, regular exercise will independently lower your risks for many health problems.

Learning some relaxation techniques, meditation, or yoga will help with stress management, too. Getting good at any of these approaches will take a little time and practice, but the payoff -- for your short-term mood and long-term health -- could be substantial.

5 Super Nutrients for Growing Kids

Want your kids to grow up strong and healthy? These 5 super-nutrients will give them a great head start.

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD

Nutrition isn't kids' stuff. Good nutrition can help your kids fend off common illnesses and develop strong, healthy bodies. Include foods with these key nutrients every day so your children learn to enjoy the taste of eating right. And don't forget to help them exercise and get a good night's rest.

Calcium

Calcium is the super nutrient that helps make strong bones and teeth. It's most important during the growing years when bones are building. The best sources of calcium come from the cow.
1. Start your child's day with a bowl of cold or hot whole-grain cereal topped with skim or low-fat milk and sliced fresh fruit.

2. Serve low-fat yogurt, smoothies, or cheese after school and between meals for a nourishing snack.

3. Calcium-fortified juices and cereals are fine alternatives to help meet your child's daily requirement.

Snack idea. Boost your kids' calcium intake by blending low-fat chocolate milk, a banana, and ice into a delicious smoothie for a quick meal, dessert, or snack.


Fiber

Kids need fiber, too. Grandma called it roughage and everyone, kids included, needs plenty of it each day. Get your kids used to the delicious taste of fibrous foods.

1. A bowl full of high-fiber cereal is a great start to meeting your child's daily needs. Read food labels to find whole-grain cereals that provide 3 or more grams of fiber per serving. Usually, the more sugar in a cereal, the less fiber. Add sweetness to cereal with fresh, canned (unsweetened), or frozen fruit.

2. Have cut-up whole fruits and veggies on hand to help your child meet the recommended five-plus daily servings of fiber. Keep fruit juice to a minimum. Whole fruits and vegetables contain much more fiber and less sugar than most juices.

3. Beans are fun to eat and loaded with fiber and protein. Drain and rinse canned beans that you can toss into soups, stews, salads, scrambled eggs and omelets, and salsas.

Snack idea.
Spread crunchy peanut butter onto celery sticks and top with raisins for a kid-favorite "ants on a log" snack.

Protein

Every cell in the body is made of protein, which makes this major nutrient essential for healthy growth and development. Protein is in animal products, such as dairy, eggs, seafood, and meats. In somewhat lesser amounts, it is also in beans, nuts, vegetables, and grains. Boost your kids' nutrition with these protein-rich food ideas.
1. Even finicky kids love eggs. French toast, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and omelets are kid-pleasing dishes that contain plenty of protein, iron, and other important nutrients.

2. Branch out from fish sticks and try salmon dishes that kids will enjoy. Top salmon or other fish fillets with salsa or teriyaki sauce to give your child lean protein along with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

3. Add nuts to cereals, yogurts, or vegetables for added protein, fiber, and healthy fats.

Snack idea.
Trail mix is a great portable snack that is also easy to prepare. Throw together a mix of dried fruits such as raisins, bananas, apples, or dried cranberries, nuts (soy nuts or peanuts), and high-fiber cereal.


Antioxidant Super-Foods


Antioxidants help defend the body against harmful substances that can damage the body's cells. Power up your child's diet with foods rich in antioxidants, such as almonds, berries, citrus, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, and bell peppers.
1. Bring orange wedges or 100% citrus juice, fruit, and nut granola bars to the next sports practice for a refreshing and energizing treat.

2. Pack school lunches with baby carrots, grape tomatoes, and red bell pepper slices for a fiber- and antioxidant-rich lunch or snack.

3. Add plenty of antioxidant-rich tomatoes or tomato sauce to pizza, spaghetti, meatloaf, soups, and stews.

Snack idea.
Parfaits are beautiful to look at and fun to eat. Make one by layering low-fat yogurt, fresh or frozen blueberries, and toasted almonds into a tall glass.

Iron


Children's diets are often lacking in iron, an essential mineral that carries oxygen in the blood and helps keep kids energized. Boost the iron in your kids' diet with lean meats, eggs, fish, dark leafy greens, beans, dried fruits, and iron-fortified grains.
1. Pair eggs at breakfast with oranges or orange juice to boost the absorption of iron.

2. Serve spinach salads at mealtime, topped with strawberries, dried cranberries, and/or slivered almonds and light raspberry vinaigrette. This is a salad kids will devour.

3. When kids refuse a meal, offer iron-fortified cereal topped with low-fat milk or yogurt and fruit as a suitable meal substitute.

Snack idea.
Wrap an iron-fortified whole-wheat tortilla with sliced turkey, low-fat string cheese, and dried cranberries for a healthy snack.

Can Your Diet Help Relieve Rhematoid Arthritis?

If you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, you may have heard that a specific diet or certain foods can ease your pain, stiffness, and fatigue. Someday, food may be the medicine of choice for those with arthritis and related inflammatory diseases. For now, though, here's information that may help you separate the facts from the myths about diet and rheumatoid arthritis.

Can the Arthritis Diet Help my Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Eating certain foods or avoiding certain foods may help your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. However, according to the Arthritis Foundation, there is no specific "arthritis diet." On the other hand, if you find certain foods worsen your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and others help your symptoms to improve, it makes sense to make some adjustments in your diet.

A recent study showed that 30% to 40% of people with rheumatoid arthritis may benefit from excluding "suspect" foods that are identified with an elimination diet. An elimination diet guides you in removing suspected "trigger" foods from your daily diet. Then, after a period of time, you slowly add the suspect foods back into your diet and watch for increased pain and stiffness. For some people, eliminating those foods that seem to trigger pain and stiffness may help decrease rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.


Can Some Fats Increase Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Yes. Studies show that saturated fats may increase inflammation in the body. Foods high in saturated fats, such as animal products like bacon, steak, butter, and cream, may increase inflammatory chemicals in the body called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are chemicals that cause inflammation, pain, swelling, and joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition, some findings confirm that meat contains high amounts of arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is a fatty acid that's converted to inflammatory prostaglandins in the body. Some people with rheumatoid arthritis find that a vegetarian diet helps relieve symptoms of pain and stiffness. Other people with rheumatoid arthritis, however, get no benefit from eating a diet that eliminates meat.


Is Omega-6 Fatty Acid Linked to Inflammation With Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Omega-6 fatty acids are in vegetable oils that contain linoleic acid. This group of vegetable oils includes corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, wheat germ oil, and sesame oil. Studies show that a typical western diet has more omega-6 fatty acids compared to omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acid is a polyunsaturated fat found in cold-water fish.

Consuming excessive amounts of omega-6 fatty acids may promote illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. It may also promote inflammatory and/or autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. Ingesting fewer omega-6 fatty acids and more omega-3 fatty acids, on the other hand, may suppress inflammation and decrease the risk of illness.

Many studies show that lowering the ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids contained in the diet can reduce the risk of illness.

How Can Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Omega-3 fatty acids, the polyunsaturated fats found in cold-water fish, nuts, and other foods, may have an anti-inflammatory effect in the body. The marine omega-3 fatty acids contain EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). These are substances that may decrease inflammation. Some studies show a positive anti-inflammatory effect of omega-3 fatty acids with rheumatoid arthritis. The same is true for heart disease. This is important because people with rheumatoid arthritis also have a higher risk of heart disease.

Human studies with marine omega-3 fatty acids show a direct relationship between increased DHA consumption and diminished C-reactive protein levels. That means reduced inflammation.


Which Foods Have Omega-3 Fatty Acids That Might Help Rheumatoid Arthritis?

For omega-3 fatty acids, select cold-water fish such as salmon, tuna, and trout. Some plant foods are also sources of omega-3 fatty acids. They include walnuts, tofu, and soybean products, flaxseed and flaxseed oil, and canola oil.

Can Fish Oil Supplements Help Rheumatoid Arthritis?

According to the American College of Rheumatology, some patients with rheumatoid arthritis report an improvement in pain and joint tenderness when taking marine omega-3 fatty acid supplements. You may not notice any benefit at first from taking a fish oil supplement. It may take weeks or even months to see a decrease in symptoms. But studies do show that some people who have a high intake of omega-3 fatty acids benefit from decreased symptoms and less use of anti-inflammatory drugs.
The American College of Rheumatology reminds consumers that fish oil supplements may have high levels of vitamin A or mercury.

Can a Mediterranean-Type Diet Help Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Many studies suggest that a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and vitamin C may be linked to a lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis. In fact, we know that rheumatoid arthritis is less severe in some Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Italy. In those countries, the main diet consists of large amounts of fruits, vegetables, olive oil, and fatty fish high in omega-3s. The Mediterranean-type diet may even protect against severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.
Fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes are high in phytonutrients. These are chemicals in plants that have disease-fighting properties and immune-boosting antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and the carotenoids. A plant-based diet is also high in bioflavonoids. These are plant compounds that reportedly have anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor activities.

Nutrition researchers who test the antioxidant activity of foods believe that certain foods may reduce the risk of some degenerative diseases associated with aging. These diseases include arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. More recent findings show that the higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids with the Mediterranean diet may be linked to the improvement in rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.

What Vitamins and Minerals Are Important for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Folic acid, or folate, is a B vitamin found in food. It can also be obtained by supplementation. It is important to you if you take methotrexate, a commonly prescribed medication for rheumatoid arthritis. Your body uses folic acid to manufacture red blood cells. Supplementing with folic acid may allow people with rheumatoid arthritis to avoid some side effects of methotrexate.
Selenium helps to fight free radicals that cause damage to healthy tissue. Some studies indicate that people with rheumatoid arthritis have reduced selenium levels in their blood. These findings are preliminary and no recommendations have been made for selenium supplementation. One 3.5-ounce serving of tuna gives you a full day's requirement of selenium.
Supplementing your diet with bone-boosting calcium and vitamin D is important, especially if you take corticosteroids (like prednisone) that can cause bone loss. The risk of bone loss is higher in people with rheumatoid arthritis. So check with your doctor to see how much calcium and vitamin D you need to get daily through foods, supplements, and sunlight.

What About Alcohol and Rheumatoid Arthritis?

A study published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases concluded that drinking alcohol may be linked to a significantly reduced chance of getting rheumatoid arthritis. While the researchers did not know how alcohol protects against rheumatoid arthritis, they believed the data should encourage further study on how arthritis may be prevented through diet and lifestyle measures. Talk to your doctor about drinking alcohol if you take any rheumatoid arthritis medication. Avoid alcohol if you take methotrexate because liver damage could be a serious side effect.

Can Weight Loss Help my Rheumatoid Pain and Stiffness?

Yes. Studies show that dropping extra pounds is important for your joints and overall health. Excess pounds put extra strain on knees, hips, and other weight-bearing joints, not to mention your heart. Being overweight or obese actually worsens the joints -- making them stiffer and more painful -- and can exacerbate rheumatoid arthritis flares.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

3 Questions About Fragrance Allergies

An interview with expert Clifford W. Bassett, MD, on fragrance allergies.


By Charlene Laino

If you find yourself developing a killer headache when riding an elevator with someone who was a bit generous dabbing on the perfume, you have company. More than 2 million Americans have fragrance allergies or sensitivities -- and the number is on the rise.

Although that person's perfume may have been all too obvious a culprit, there are many hidden sources of fragrances, says Clifford W. Bassett, MD, medical director of Allergy & Asthma Care of New York. Bassett helped WebMD sniff out the truth about fragrance allergies.

What are some of the most common sources of fragrance allergies?

Skin care products, colognes, perfumes, moisturizers, soaps, deodorants, aftershave – all kinds of products that smell nice but contain chemicals that our immune system may not like very much.
What are the most hidden sources of fragrance allergies?

Low-allergy or hypoallergenic products may contain fragrances that aren't obvious because of a less aromatic smell. Fragrance-free products may have a "masking" fragrance added to cover up the smell of the chemicals.

Also, many magazine ad inserts for perfumes and skin care products are laden with fragrance. People may actually have difficulty reading the publication as a result of the scent.

In some cases, the reaction to various products can be aggravated by exposure to the sun. This is known as a photosensitivity.

What are the symptoms of fragrance allergies?

Most commonly, the skin is affected. There may be rash or redness, itchiness or even blistering of the face and skin as a result of daily or one-time usage of a product.

Fragrance allergies can also affect the eyes, causing extreme redness, irritation, tearing and burning, and some swelling of the eyelids. Sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, headache, even breathing difficulties can also be triggered by a strong odor.

13 Ways to Fight Sugar Cravings

Sweet tooth raging out of control? Here's how to tame those sugar cravings.


By Wendy C. Fries

Does that morning Danish leave you craving another treat two hours later? Do you grab a candy bar to cope with your afternoon slump -- and then reach for a cola to get out of your post-slump slump?
If you’ve found that munching sugary snacks just makes you crave more sugary snacks, you’re not alone. Eating lots of simple carbohydrates -- without the backup of proteins or fats -- can quickly satisfy hunger and give your body a short-term energy boost, but they almost as quickly leave you famished again and craving more.

How can you stop sugar cravings once and for all? Here's expert advice.


Why Do We Crave Sugar?

There are many reasons why we go for sweet things.
That appetite may be hardwired. "Sweet is the first taste humans prefer from birth," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a dietitian and American Dietetic Association (ADA) spokeswoman. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of the feel-good brain chemical serotonin. Sugar is a carbohydrate, but carbohydrates come in other forms, too, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
The taste of sugar also releases endorphins that calm and relax us, and offer a natural "high," says Susan Moores, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant in St. Paul, Minn.
Sweets just taste good, too. And that preference gets reinforced by rewarding ourselves with sweet treats, which can make you crave it even more. With all that going for it, why wouldn’t we crave sugar?


The problem comes not when we indulge in a sweet treat now and then, but when we over-consume, something that’s easy to do when sugar is added to many processed foods, including breads, yogurt, juices, and sauces. And Americans do overconsume, averaging about 22 teaspoons of added sugars per day, according to the American Heart Association, which recommends limiting added sugars to about 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 for men.

How to Stop Sugar Cravings: 8 Tips to Use Right Now

If you're craving sugar, here are some ways to tame those cravings.
Give in a little. Eat a bit of what you’re craving, maybe a small cookie or a fun-size candy bar, suggests Kerry Neville, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and ADA spokeswoman. Enjoying a little of what you love can help you steer clear of feeling denied. Try to stick to a 150-calorie threshold, Neville says.

Combine foods. If the idea of stopping at a cookie or a baby candy bar seems impossible, you can still fill yourself up and satisfy a sugar craving, too. "I like combining the craving food with a healthful one," Neville says. "I love chocolate, for example, so sometimes I’ll dip a banana in chocolate sauce and that gives me what I’m craving, or I mix some almonds with chocolate chips." As a beneficial bonus, you'll satisfy a craving and get healthy nutrients from those good-for-you foods.

Go cold turkey. Cutting out all simple sugars works for some people, although "the initial 48 to 72 hours are tough," Gerbstadt says. Some people find that going cold turkey helps their cravings diminish after a few days; others find they may still crave sugar but over time are able to train their taste buds to be satisfied with less.

Grab some gum. If you want to avoid giving in to a sugar craving completely, try chewing a stick of gum, says nutrition advisor Dave Grotto, RD, LDN. "Research has shown that chewing gum can reduce food cravings," Grotto says.

Reach for fruit. Keep fruit handy for when sugar cravings hit. You'll get fiber and nutrients along with some sweetness. And stock up on foods like nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, says certified addiction specialist Judy Chambers, LCSW, CAS. "Have them handy so you reach for them instead of reaching for the old [sugary] something."

Get up and go. When a sugar craving hits, walk away. "Take a walk around the block or [do] something to change the scenery," to take your mind off the food you’re craving, Neville suggests.

Choose quality over quantity. "If you need a sugar splurge, pick a wonderful, decadent sugary food," Moores says. But keep it small. For example, choose a perfect dark chocolate truffle instead of a king-sized candy bar, then "savor every bite -- slowly," Moores says. Grotto agrees. "Don’t swear off favorites -- you’ll only come back for greater portions. Learn to incorporate small amounts in the diet but concentrate on filling your stomach with less sugary and [healthier] options."

Eat regularly. Waiting too long between meals may set you up to choose sugary, fatty foods that cut your hunger, Moores says. Instead, eating every three to five hours can help keep blood sugar stable and help you "avoid irrational eating behavior," Grotto says. Your best bets? "Choose protein, fiber-rich foods like whole grains and produce," Moores says.

But won't eating more often mean overeating? Not if you follow Neville's advice to break up your meals. For instance, have part of your breakfast -- a slice of toast with peanut butter, perhaps -- and save some yogurt for a mid-morning snack. "Break up lunch the same way to help avoid a mid-afternoon slump," Neville says.

How to Stop Sugar Cravings: 5 Tips for the Long Term


One of the best ways to manage sugar cravings is to stop them before they start. To help you do that:
Skip artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners may sound like a great idea, but "they don’t lessen cravings for sugar and haven’t demonstrated a positive effect on our obesity epidemic," says Grotto, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life.

Reward yourself for successfully managing sugar cravings. Your reward could be large or small. Remember why you’re working on it and then reward yourself for each successful step.

Slow down. For one week, focus on your sugar cravings and think about what you’re eating, suggests Chambers. Diet mayhem often results from lack of planning. So slow down, plan, "and eat what you intend to eat, instead of eating when you’re desperate," Chambers says.

Get support. Many people turn to sweet foods when they're stressed, depressed, or angry. But food doesn't solve emotional issues. Consider whether emotions are involved in your sugar cravings and whether you need help to find other solutions to those emotional problems.

Mix it up. You may need more than one strategy to thwart sugar cravings. One week you may find success with one tactic, and another week calls for an alternative approach. What’s important is to “have a ‘bag of tricks’ to try,” Gerbstadt tells WebMD. To tame sugar cravings, you really need to "figure out what works for you," Neville says.

Lastly, go easy on yourself. It may take time to get a handle on your sugar cravings. "It’s difficult to shift any system -- whether it’s the world economy or your eating," Chambers says.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

6 Best Foods You're Not Eating

From watermelon to red cabbage, find out why these foods should be part of a healthy diet.

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD

Some foods are so healthy they star on every nutrition expert’s super food list. But often missing on those lists are some nutritional gems or underrated foods that don’t get the attention they deserve.


Sorting out the best foods to eat is not always easy because the choices can be daunting. Adding to the confusion are overrated foods like salads that are perceived to be good for you but can be health horrors.


Here are six foods not typically thought of as nutritional powerhouses that can definitely upgrade your diet. Getting to know them -- and understanding more about the nutritional goodness of foods in general -- will help you to make more informed choices that can impact your health, weight, and wallet.


Criteria for the Best Foods

In order to make our best list, foods had to be whole foods that are familiar, widely available, affordable, nutrient-rich -- and most importantly, taste great. After all, what good is a super food if it isn’t a culinary delight?


Beyond the obvious ‘health halo’ super foods like blueberries, nuts, and salmon, WebMD asked nutrition experts for their opinion of the best underrated foods that belong on your menus. Here are their top six picks:


1. Beans and Lentils

Make no beans about it, beans and lentils are among the most overlooked items in the grocery store. Beans really are nutrition superstars rich in protein, fiber, complex carbs, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

New York-based nutrition consultant and author of Read It Before You Eat It, Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD says healthy foods like beans and lentils defy the recommendation to only shop the perimeter of the grocery store. “There are hundreds of essential foods like beans and lentils lining the shelves in the center aisles that should not be overlooked.”
Versatile and easy on your wallet, Taub-Dix suggests lowering the sodium in canned beans by approximately 40% by thoroughly rinsing the beans in water.

Elisa Zied, MS, RD, author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, says we don’t come close to eating the three cups a week recommended by the U.S. government's 2005 Dietary Guidelines. “Eating a diet rich in legumes can help promote weight loss and has been shown to lower LDL [low-density "bad" cholesterol] and raise HDL [high-density "good" cholesterol],” she says.
Toss these nuggets into soups, stews, salads, grain medleys, or greens or create a veggie dip by pureeing beans and adding your favorite seasoning, like hummus made from chickpeas.

2. Watermelon


Watermelon is everyone’s favorite summertime fruit. But because it is so naturally sweet, some people avoid it because they think it is high in sugar.


Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD and author of Expect the Best, says watermelon should be a staple in everyone’s diet. “It is fun to eat, sweet, juicy, low in calories, and chock full of vitamins C, A, potassium, and lycopene. Because it is so high in water, it helps meet fluid needs.”
A bonus is that the thick peel keeps pesticides far from the flesh, earning it a spot on the Environmental Working Groups ‘clean 15’ produce with least pesticide residue.

3. Sweet Potatoes


Sweet potatoes are often thought of as high in calories and carbs because they are so naturally sweet. But don’t let that fool you.


American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Heather Mangieri, MS, RD says “sweet potatoes are nutritional all-stars and one of the best vegetables you can eat. Not only are they a great source of beta carotene, vitamin C, fiber, and potassium, but this highly underrated vegetable is so versatile it can be enjoyed with very few extra calories or embellishment.”


She suggests topping a slow-baked sweet potato with a sprinkle of cinnamon, applesauce, and crushed pineapple -- or black beans and salsa. Other options: Mash it or slice into fries and oven bake until golden brown.


4. Red Cabbage

Sarasota, Fla., physician and registered dietitian Christine Gerbstadt MD, RD, votes for the cruciferous vegetable, red cabbage.
“A great source of fiber, vitamins A, D, and K; folate; and lots of trace minerals with only 22 calories in one cup chopped," Gerbstadt says. " Rich in antioxidants, this veggie can boost cancer-fighting enzymes. You can eat it raw, cooked, sweet, savory, stand-alone in a dish like coleslaw, or add it to almost anything from soups, salads, casseroles, sandwiches, burgers, and more.”


She suggests keeping a head of red cabbage in your crisper to inspire creative ways to add more color and nutrition to your meals.


5. Canned Tomatoes

Fire-roasted petite diced tomatoes are a staple in the pantry of Georgia State University professor emeritus Chris Rosenbloom, PhD, RD. “Everyone thinks fresh is best but cooking tomatoes helps release some of the disease-fighting lycopene so it is better absorbed," Rosenbloom says.
A study in the 2009 Journal of Clinical Oncology shows that a diet rich in tomatoes may help prevent prostate cancer and that lycopene, a strong antioxidant, may also help prevent other types of cancer. Of course, many other lifestyle and genetic factors also affect cancer risk.


Stock your pantry with canned tomatoes for pizza, spaghetti sauce, and home-made salsa or toss a can into soups, stews, casseroles, greens, or pasta dishes. And if your power goes out, "canned foods are a lifesaver," Rosenbloom says.
If canned tomatoes are not your favorite, how about low-sodium vegetable juice? Miami registered dietitian Sheah Rarback, MS, RD, nominates the vegetable juice that has been around for a long time with only 140 mg sodium and an excellent source of vitamin C and potassium.


6. Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt

There are many yogurts on the market, and plain, nonfat Greek yogurt is a standout.
All yogurts are excellent sources of calcium, potassium, protein, zinc, and vitamins B6 and B12. What distinguishes Greek yogurt is its thicker, creamier texture because the liquid whey is strained out. Also, it contains probiotic cultures and is lower in lactose and has twice the protein content of regular yogurts.


“Skip the extra sugar calories found in most yogurts and pump up the protein by choosing Greek yogurt that contains twice as much protein, which is great for weight control because it keeps you feeling full longer,” says Judith Rodriguez, PhD, RD, president of the American Dietetic Association and nutrition professor at University of North Florida.
Rodriguez suggests pairing the tart yogurt with the natural sweetness of fresh fruit or your favorite whole grain cereal



Monday, July 25, 2011

10 Everyday Super Foods

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD

These easy-to-eat foods are packed with multiple nutrients to help you stay healthy.


If only there were some kind of potion or pill that had everything you needed for weight loss and good health. Unfortunately, no such pill exists, but there is a solution -- something that not only promotes wellness and weight control but tastes good, too. These multitasking "super foods" provide multiple disease-fighting nutrients, fill you up so you can enjoy plenty of food without excess calories, and are easy to include in everyday meals. After all, what good is a super food that is hard to find, difficult to prepare, and the kids won't eat?


Eaten regularly, these foods will help you satisfy the recommendations of the U.S. government's 2005 Dietary Guideline, giving you nutrients that are typically missing from American diets. According to the Guidelines, Americans need to eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.


Of course, experts are quick to point out, this list of top 10 super foods by no means includes all the nutritious foods that should be part of a healthy diet.


"What is ultimately the most important to good health is a dietary pattern that includes all these foods, along with a wide variety of other nutritious foods and regular physical activity," says Tufts University researcher Alice Lichtenstein, DSc.


And don't forget that portion size matters, even when it comes to healthy foods. You can take more liberties when eating simply prepared vegetables, but you should take care to eat other super foods in sensible portions.


"Foods like nuts are nutrient rich, but if you overeat them you can pack on the pounds, and that defeats the purpose," says Elisa Zied, MS, RD, author of Feed Your Family Right!


Top 10 Multitasking Super Foods

1.Low fat or fat-free plain yogurt is higher in calcium than some other dairy products and contains a great package of other nutrients, including protein and potassium. It can also be enhanced with other good-for-you substances. "Yogurt is a vehicle food that can be enriched with probiotics for a healthy balance of bacteria in your gut, and beneficial, heart-healthy plant stanols," says Zied. "And lactose sensitive people may tolerate yogurt better than milk." Look for plain yogurt fortified with vitamin D, and add your own fruit to control sweetness and calories. Versatile yogurt can also be used in entree and bakery recipes, in dips for veggies, etc. Don't like yogurt? Skim milk is another super dairy food that has only 83 calories per cup and is easy to slip into coffee to help you get one of the recommended three servings of dairy each day. "Dairy foods contain practically every nutrient you need for total nutrition -- and in just the right balance," says bone health expert, Robert Heaney, MD. "No other food group in the diet is as complete or as economical."

2.Eggs make the list because they are nutritious, versatile, economical, and a great way to fill up on quality protein. "Studies show if you eat eggs at breakfast, you may eat fewer calories during the day and lose weight without significantly affecting cholesterol levels," says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, author of The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids. Eggs also contain 12 vitamins and minerals, including choline, which is good for brain development and memory. Enjoy them at any meal or hard-cooked as a portable snack.

3.Nuts have gotten a bad rap because of their high fat content. But their protein, heart-healthy fats, high fiber, and antioxidant content earn them a place on the top 10 list. The key to enjoying nuts, experts say, is portion control. "All nuts are healthful in small doses, and studies show they can help lower cholesterol levels and promote weight loss," says Today Show nutritionist Joy Bauer, MS, RD. "I like pistachio nuts because they also contain plant sterols and it takes longer to crack the shell and eat them, making it easier to control the portion. Whether you prefer pistachios, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, or pecans, an ounce a day of nuts help fill you up. Nuts add texture and flavor to salads, side dishes, baked goods, cereals, and entrees. They taste great alone, too. Zied recommends putting together your own "100-calorie packs" of nuts for easy and portable snacks.

4.Kiwis are among the most nutritionally dense fruits, full of antioxidants, says Ward. "One large kiwi supplies your daily requirement for vitamin C," says Ward. "It is also a good source of potassium, fiber, and a decent source of vitamin A and vitamin E, which is one of the missing nutrients, and kiwi is one of the only fruits that provides it." The sweet taste and colorful appearance of kiwis makes it easy to slice in half, scoop out with a spoon and enjoy alone, or slice it into desserts, salads, or side dishes. Kiwifruit can also have a mild laxative effect due to their high fiber content.

5.Quinoa is now readily available in many supermarkets and is one of the best whole grains you can eat, according to Zied. "It is an ancient grain, easy to make, interesting, high in protein (8 grams in 1 cup cooked), fiber (5 grams per cup) and a naturally good source of iron," she says. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) also has plenty of zinc, vitamin E, and selenium to help control your weight and lower your risk for heart disease and diabetes, she says. Quinoa is as easy to prepare as rice and can be eaten alone or mixed with vegetables, nuts, or lean protein for a whole-grain medley. Try to make at least half your daily grain servings whole grains. In addition to quinoa, try barley, oats, buckwheat, whole wheat, wild rice, and millet.

6.Beans, beans, good for your heart -- really! Beans are loaded with insoluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol, as well as soluble fiber, which fills you up and helps rid your body of waste. They're also a good, low-fat source of protein, carbohydrates, magnesium, and potassium. Bauer favors edamame (whole soybeans) because they also contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Beans can easily substitute for meat or poultry as the centerpiece of a meal, says Bauer, but they also work as a side dish, or tossed into soups, stews, or egg dishes. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend 3 cups weekly.

7.Salmon is a super food because of its omega-3 fatty acid content. Studies show that omega-3 fatty acids help protect heart health. That's why the American Heart Association recommends eating fatty fish like salmon twice weekly. Salmon is low in calories (200 for 3 ounces) has lots of protein, is a good source of iron, and is very low in saturated fat. You can simply grill or bake it, top it with salsas or other low-fat sauces, or serve it on top of salad greens. If you don't like salmon, Lichtenstein recommends eating other kinds of fish, like canned tuna. And what about the mercury content? (Mercury is known to accumulate in fish.) "The benefits of eating salmon or other fatty fish twice weekly far outweigh any risks, but if you are concerned, check with your doctor," says Zied.

8.Broccoli is one of America's favorite vegetables because it tastes good and is available all year long. It's a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and bone-building vitamin K, and has plenty of fiber to fill you up and help control your weight. "Some people think beta-carotene (vitamin A) is only found in orange and yellow vegetables, but broccoli is an excellent source," says Ward. You can eat broccoli raw, lightly steamed, stir-fried, roasted, or grilled. Eat it as a side dish, or toss into grains, egg dishes, soups, and salads.

9.Sweet potatoes are a delicious member of the dark orange vegetable family, which lead the pack in vitamin A content. Substitute a baked sweet potato (also loaded with vitamin C, calcium, and potassium) for a baked white potato. And before you add butter or sugar, taste the sweetness that develops when a sweet potato is cooked -- and think of all the calories you can save over that loaded baked potato. "If we eat more foods like sweet potatoes that are rich sources of potassium, and fewer high-sodium foods, we can blunt the effect of sodium on blood pressure and reduce bone loss," says Zied. Other dark orange vegetable standouts include pumpkin, carrots, butternut squash, and orange bell peppers.

10.Berries pack an incredible amount of nutritional goodness into a small package. They're loaded with antioxidants, phytonutrients, low in calories, and high in water and fiber to help control blood sugar and keep you full longer. And their flavors satisfy sweets cravings for a fraction of the calories in baked goods. Blueberries lead the pack because they are among the best source of antioxidants and are widely available. Cranberries are also widely available fresh, frozen, or dried. All can add flavor and nutrition to numerous dishes, from salads and cereals to baked goods and yogurt.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Top 10 Scariest Food Additives

By David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding

There was a time when "fruit flavored" and "cheese flavored" meant "made with real fruit" and "made with real cheese." Today? It's artificial everything. Most of the food at your local supermarket is no more authentic than Snooki's tan. Our fruit comes packaged in Loops, our cheese delivered via Whiz. Sure, it's edible, but there's no way your great grandparents would recognize this junk as food.

The problem with additives runs deep. The FDA currently maintains a list of ingredients called Everything Added to Food in the United States (EAFUS), which features more than 3,000 items and counting. Thankfully, most EAFUS ingredients are benign, but a few of them do have potentially harmful effects. Why they're legal is a mystery to us. Some of them might be backed by powerful lobby groups, while others probably survive simply because some guy at the FDA has too much paperwork on his desk and hasn't made time to adequately review the data.

Below are 10 of the most dubious ingredients hiding in your food, compliments of Eat This, Not That! 2011. Even if you're not convinced of their danger, you have to admit this: The more filler ingredients you cut from your diet, the more space you have for wholesome, nutritious foods.

Scary Ingredient #1: Olestra

A fat substitute synthesized by Procter & Gamble. Because human digestive enzymes can't break down the big molecules, Olestra contributes 0 calories to your diet.

Why it’s scary: In the late ’90s, Frito-Lay released Olestra-enhanced WOW chips and Procter & Gamble introduced Fat Free Pringles. Both products were required to carry warning labels to notify customers about the risk of "loose stools." Within 4 years, some 15,000 people had dialed in to a hotline set up specifically to handle adverse-reaction complaints. Apparently the complaints didn't move the FDA, because in 2003, the administration revoked the warning-label mandate. If you want to take your chances with diarrhea, go ahead, but first consider this: Olestra also appears to interfere with the body's ability to absorb some crucial nutrients like beta-carotene and lycopene. To counteract the effect, processers add some nutrients back, but it's unlikely that all the blocked nutrients are adequetly replaced.

Furthermore, just last week I tweeted that an animal study at Purdue University found that fake fats like Olestra may cause more weight gain than real fat.

Where you’ll find it: Lay’s Light chips, Pringles Light chips

Scary Ingredient #2: Caramel Coloring

An artificial pigment created by heating sugars. Frequently, this process includes ammonia.

Why it’s scary: Caramel coloring shows up in everything from soft drinks and sauces to breads and pastries. When made from straight sugar, it's relatively benign. But when produced with ammonia it puts off 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, chemicals that have been linked to cancer in mice. The risk is strong enough that the California government, a bellwether for better food regulation, categorized 4-methylimidazole as “known to cause cancer” earlier this year. Unfortunately, companies aren't required to disclose whether their coloring is made with ammonia, so you'd be wise to avoid it as much as you can.

Where you'll find it: Colas and other soft drinks, La Choy soy sauce, Stove Top stuffing mix

Scary Ingredient #3: Saccharin


An artificial sweetener discovered by accident in the 1870s.


Why it’s scary: Studies have linked saccharin to bladder tumors in rats, and in 1977, the FDA required warning labels on all saccharin-containing foods. In 2000, the agency changed its stance and allowed saccharin to be sold without warning labels. But that doesn't make it entirely safe. A 2008 Purdue study found that replacing sugar with saccharin in rats’ diets made them gain more weight, proving once again that you should be aware of these faux fat foes.

Where you'll find it: Sweet ‘N Low, TaB cola

Scary Ingredient #4: Potassium Bromate

A compound that conditions flour and helps bread puff up during baking.

Why it’s scary: Potassium bromate causes thyroid and kidney tumors in rats, and it's banned from food use in many countries. In California, products containing potassium bromate are required to carry a cancer warning. Fortunately, negative publicity has made the additive relatively rare, but until the FDA banishes it, you should remain on the lookout.

Where you'll find it: Johnny Rockets Hoagie Roll

Scary Ingredient #5: Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)

Petroleum-derived antioxidants and preservatives.

Why they're scary: The Department of Health and Human Services says BHA is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen," yet the FDA allows it to be used anyway. BHT is considered less dangerous, but in animal research, it too has resulted in cancer. Oddly, the chemicals aren’t even always necessary; in most cases they can be replaced with vitamin E.

Where you'll find it: Goya lard, Golden Grahams, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Orbit gum

Scary Ingredient #6: Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

A semi-solid fat created when food processors force hydrogen into unsaturated fatty acids.

Why it's scary: Partially hydrogenated fats are the principle sources of trans fat in the American diet, and a Harvard study estimated that trans fat causes 70,000 heart attacks every year. The good news: Partially hydrogenated oils are beginning to slowly retreat from our food. Progressive jurisdictions like New York City are starting to restrict the allowable amounts in restaurants, and many chains are switching to healthier frying oil. Still, the battle isn’t over. At Long John Silver’s, for example, there are still 17 menu items with more than 2 grams of the stuff. According to the American Heart Association, that's about the maximum you should consume in a single day.

Where you'll find it: McDonald’s McChicken, Long John Silver’s Broccoli Cheese Soup

Scary Ingredient #7: Sulfites

Preservatives that maintain the color of food, and by releasing sulfur dioxide, prevent bacterial growth.

Why it's scary: Humans have used sulfites to keep food fresh for thousands of years, but some people—especially asthma sufferers—experience breathing difficulties when exposed. In the 1980s, unregulated use resulted in at least a dozen deaths, prompting the FDA to slap warning labels on wine bottles and develop new guidelines for proper use. Now restaurants can no longer soak fresh ingredients in sulfites. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, there have been no known deaths since the new legislation took hold. The bottom line: If you're among the majority of people not sensitive to sulfites, consumption won’t hurt you. If you're not sure, ask your doctor for a test.

Where you'll find it: Wine, Sun-Maid Mixed Fruit, Jolly Ranchers, Fig Newtons

Scary Ingredient #8: Azodicarbonamide

A synthetic yellow-orange dough conditioner

Why it's scary: This chemical is used most frequently in the production of industrial foam plastic, and although the FDA has approved its use for food in the States, the United Kingdom has labeled it a potential cause of asthma. In a review of 47 studies on azodicarbonamide, the World Health Organization concluded that it probably does trigger asthmatic symptoms. The WHO concluded, “exposure levels should be reduced as much as possible.” I’ll put it more concisely: Avoid it.

Where you'll find it: Dunkin’ Donuts bagels, McDonald’s burger buns

Scary Ingredient #9: Carrageenan

A thickener and emulsifier extracted from seaweed.

Why it's scary: Seaweed is actually good for you, but carrageenan is a mere seaweed byproduct. Through animal studies, it has been linked to cancer, colon trouble, and ulcers. It isn’t certain that carrageenan harms humans, but avoiding it is clearly the safer option. Most studies examined degraded forms of the additive, and research from the University of Iowa found that carrageenan could be degraded through the normal digestive process.

Where you'll find it: Weight Watchers Giant Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Bars, Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches, Creamsicles

Scary Ingredient #10: Ammonium Sulfate

An inorganic salt that occurs naturally near active volcanoes and is used commercially to nourish yeast and help bread rise.

Why it's scary: This nitrogen-rich compound is most often used as fertilizer, and also appears commonly in flame retardants. Thankfully, the ingredient only sounds scary—a 2006 Japanese rat study found the additive to be non-carcinogenic. Both the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the FDA deem it safe.

Where you'll find it: Nature’s Own bread, Subway rolls

Thursday, June 9, 2011

USDA Ditches Food Pyramid for a Healthy Plate

Fruits and Veggies Make Up Half of Plate, With Side of Dairy
By Daniel J. DeNoon

A colorful four-part plate, with a side dish of dairy, has replaced the 19-year-old food pyramid as the icon of the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

The new icon, called "My Plate," is split into four sections -- red for fruits, green for vegetables, orange for grains, and purple for protein -- with a separate blue section for dairy on the side.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the icon at a news conference today. He said the food pyramid was "simply too complex to serve as a quick and easy guide for American families."

At the news conference, first lady Michelle Obama praised My Plate as "a wonderful, kid-friendly tool" that's practical for busy families.
"What's more simple than a plate?" she asked. "I'm confident that families will find this useful. They can start using this today."
The Obamas are already doing so. "Trust me: We are implementing this in our household," Obama said.
The icon represents more than the currently recommended diet. It's part of a drastic change. The old plan was to provide information. The new plan is to actively change American eating behavior, using all the tools of modern persuasion.
"The centerpiece of the program is this next-generation food icon," Robert C. Post, PhD, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) center for nutrition policy and promotion, tells WebMD. "The icon is the visual cue to get to online resources, to online media, and to unified nutrition messages from public- and private-sector efforts."

Expect a barrage of messages and reminders from the food industry, nutrition gurus, chefs, schools, nonprofit agencies, and every government agency with anything at all to say about nutrition or health. Twitter feeds, Facebook pages, and blogs will trumpet the healthy diet program.
Eating is only half the picture. Michelle Obama's Let's Move program will take the lead in motivating Americans to get more exercise.
"We now have an easy-to-understand layout of what constitutes a healthy meal," Zelman says. "Whether you are grocery shopping, packing lunches, or assembling a meal on a plate, the new food plate icon will serve as a constant reminder of the essential ingredients for a nutritious meal -- five easy pieces."

The icon makes it clear that fruits and veggies should make up half of your meal, while protein is the smallest part of the plate. The grain portion is a bit larger and still offers the advice to "make half your grains whole," which some nutritionists say leaves too much room for less healthy refined grains such as white rice and white bread.

Other top-line advice accompanying the icon is less controversial:
  • Balance calories by enjoying food but eating less, and by avoiding oversize portions.
  • Eat more good stuff: Make half the plate fruit and vegetables, switch to nonfat or low-fat milk.
  • Eat less bad stuff: Look for lower-sodium soups, breads, and frozen meals; drink water instead of sugary drinks.
Food Pyramid History

The 2010-2011 dietary guidelines are neither the first nor the last Americans will see. Federal law requires the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services to update the guidelines every five years.
 
But even before this mandate, the USDA has been issuing dietary advice. The first set of guidelines came in 1894, when Wilbur Olin Atwater, PhD, wrote a USDA Farmers' Bulletin suggesting that Americans should eat fewer fats and sugars, exercise more, and watch their calories.

Various USDA food guides through the 1950s stressed important foods that should serve as the foundation of a healthy diet. These guides took various approaches to make sure Americans ate enough of different kinds of foods to avoid malnutrition. By the 1970s, however, too little food was no longer a problem: Too much food was.

In 1977, a U.S. Senate committee published Dietary Goals for the United States. This revolutionary document stressed eating fewer of the foods linked to chronic diseases -- particularly fatty meats, cholesterol, fatty acids, sugars, and salt.

The USDA says it did not adopt these goals because they "were so different from usual food patterns." Others have blamed influence from the beef and dairy industries for delaying USDA action until 1979, when a watered-down version of the advice, the "Hassle-Free Guide to a Better Diet," advised more moderate intake of fats, sweets, and alcohol.

In 1980, the USDA put out its first official Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These guidelines continued to stress the foods that should form the foundation of a healthy diet. But in the early 1980s, the USDA began thinking more about the total diet, rather than nutrition basics.

By 1990, the guidelines began to promote eating patterns based on moderation and variety instead of on dietary restriction. In 1992, based on an icon already in use in Sweden, the USDA came out with its first Food Pyramid.
 
The base of the pyramid, suggesting the foods one should eat the most, was "bread, cereal, rice, and pasta." This changed with the 2005 "MyPyramid," which did away with the building-block approach but which many found far too busy and cluttered to be a useful tool.

MyPyramid is not actually dead. The USDA intends to keep it, and the many online tools that come with it, live for those who find it useful.




 




Monday, May 23, 2011

Protecting Yourself From Medical Costs and Disability

Improve Your Odds for a Long and Healthy Life

By Joanne Barker

You know the story: Somebody's 99-year-old aunt never exercised, smoked her whole life, and lived on a diet of red meat and ice cream. So why bother with healthy living, right?

"For every one person who lives a long life of unhealthy choices, there are countless others who die prematurely because of them," says Robert Schreiber, MD, physician-in-chief at Hebrew SeniorLife, an elder health care provider and affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Betting that you will be one of these people is playing a game of Russian roulette, Schreiber says.

The seeds for illness in many of Schreiber's patients in their 70s and 80s were sown in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, he says. "Probably 50% of cases of the most serious conditions -- heart disease, diabetes, stroke, many forms of cancer -- are related directly to lifestyle and behavior," Schreiber tells WebMD.

No one is guaranteed a life free of disease or injury. As we age, many of us will face at least one of these common health problems. But certain lifestyle steps can help forestall illness and sometimes prevent it altogether. They can also improve your quality of life and recovery if disease or injury does strike. Read on to learn what you can do to improve your odds.


Better Health through Diet

"Food provides essential vitamins and minerals that play a number of different and overlapping roles," says Jen Sacheck, PhD, an assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. Some vitamins support metabolism, some boost immunity, some are good for bones, some help synthesize protein -- and many do several of these things and more. "The key is: You have to have all of them for optimal health," Sacheck says.

Besides providing nutrients and fuel, food plays a decisive role in your weight. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk for many cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis, to name a few. For people who are overweight, even a small amount of weight loss reduces the risk of many associated diseases.

If you do develop a medical condition, a nutritious diet is an important component of managing many diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

Healthy Diet Basics

A healthy diet gives you enough fuel to get through the day without loading you up with excess calories. Start with foods from plants. The USDA's 2010 guidelines encourage Americans to eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains, as well as more seafood and fat-free and low-fat dairy products.

In addition to focusing on beneficial foods, limit foods that may increase risk of health problems, like sweets. "Chocolate has some nutritional value, but is also high in sugar and fat," Sacheck tells WebMD. If you really love chocolate, enjoy it in small amounts, keeping the calories in mind.

Watch out for empty calories. For example, soft drinks have no nutritional value and are loaded with empty calories. You can find red flags for calorie emptiness in the list of ingredients on the label. If you see added sugar, saturated or trans fats, or refined grains, proceed with caution.

Getting Started: 4 First Steps to a Healthy Diet

Begin with these strategies to eat less and healthier:

1.Plan meals ahead of time to ward off unhealthy temptations.

2.Replace unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones. For example, an omelet made with egg whites and vegetables is healthier than one heaped with cheese and sausage.

3.Serve yourself smaller portions.

4.Slow down when you eat.

Healthy Living Through Exercise

"There is a huge amount of evidence that exercise helps lower the risk for serious diseases," Sacheck says. Exercise lowers the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many cancers, weight gain, depression, and cognitive decline. Some benefits – such as increased muscle strength and improved depression or blood pressure – may start earlier. Others -- such as reducing the risk for some cancers, heart disease, and diabetes -- build with years of sustained exercise.

Exercise can also promote weight loss, as long as you don't use it to justify eating more food. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you use. But don't let the numbers on the scale make or break your exercise goals. Being overweight and active is much healthier than being overweight and inactive.

Exercise Basics

Exercise works best when it becomes part of your life. Ideally, by exercising regularly, you will feel as if something is missing in your day when you take time off.

How much people should exercise varies, but a good goal is 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate exercise each week. Any physical activity that raises your heart rate or makes you sweat counts. This includes brisk walking, recreational sports, and heavy housework or yard work.

Getting Started: 4 First Steps to Regular Exercise

Try these steps to make exercise part of your daily life:

1.Some activity is better than none. When you have a choice between walking or driving, choose walking.

2.Find activities that you like and keep you coming back.

3.Start slowly. Overly ambitious plans tend to end in burnout.

4.Increase workout length or intensity in increments when you feel ready.

Quit Smoking for Better Health

Smokers, here's some good news: No matter how old you are when you quit, you improve your chances for a healthy life almost immediately.

A smoker's heart rate drops within 20 minutes after the last cigarette.

Carbon monoxide levels in the blood drop to normal 12 hours after quitting.

Within two weeks to three months after quitting, a smoker's heart attack risk begins to drop and lung function begins to improve.

One year of not smoking cuts the risk of coronary heart disease in half.

If you are a smoker who has developed a health problem, giving it up can still make a difference. If you face surgery, chemotherapy, or other treatments, quitting smoking helps improve your body's ability to respond to therapy and heal. It may also lower the risk of a cancer returning or a second cancer developing.

Getting Started: 5 Tips to Quit Smoking

To help you quit and prepare for quitting, try these strategies:
Make a list of reasons you want to quit.

Set a quit date.

Prepare yourself for challenges by mapping out ways you will cope.

Let friends and family know about your plans to quit.

Clear your surroundings of cigarettes and anything that makes you want to smoke.

Healthy Living: The Big Picture

Working toward a healthier life is not always easy, and some days may be harder than others. If you have trouble staying on track, Schrieber suggests this: "Ask yourself what kind of legacy you want to leave behind," he says. "Your purpose in life is up to you. When you have one, healthy choices make more sense."