Health Center Programs: February 2012

Morbid Obesity and the Hard Truth About Losing Weight - It Isn't Actually Easy

Most of the time you see these great articles about how simple losing weight is; less calories in and more calories out, there is your bottom line. Many authors of fitness columns, books or blogs will strive to find that ONE key element you have been missing all this time that will make all the difference in the world. Like everyone else, I would always read the article and remark to myself what a great idea they brought up; how this little trick can make really make it all come together for me, THIS time.

The truth is - losing weight is very, very hard.

I am usually the loudest cheerleader, the one to always find a silver lining. I believe that we can all do anything we want...it is part of my personality. Truthfully, the difficulty of losing weight often collided like a Boeing 747 into my optimism for crushing defeats, and sometimes treacherous depressions. After all, we can do ANYTHING...why can't I just control my eating!!!

Especially when you have some "success" losing weight too (that is losing over 100 pounds and keeping it off for over 2 years)...you feel that you should "get" it by now. Reading a recent Half their size magazine at the store helped me to realize that most of us ALWAYS have to work to "get it"; over and over and over again.

Losing weight really isn't about learning to control our eating - it is about learning to manage our feelings and not use food to do it. In much the same way as an addict must confront feelings - and learn to cope with them appropriately, obese men and women need to learn that there really isn't any such thing as a comfort food. Food is energy - and the specific make-up of the calories can make us physically feel different; just like different drugs can stimulate or sedate us - but NONE of that takes the place of feeling.

Scientists and researchers are starting to learn the essentials of how food can trigger the same reward systems as cocaine and heroin. Anyone who has ever binged more than a few times could have told you the same thing...it makes us FEEL different. Frequently euphoric, then numb...the high gets shorter and shorter for the amount of physical discomfort you have to endure...after all, our stomach can only take in so much food, and our liver can only break down so much sugar.

No matter where the science is - I know that I have to pay attention to my actions around food. I suspect it will always be that way. The good news is I don't have to be 300 pounds and miserable at the same time. If being attentive to what I eat and WHY I am eating is what I must do, then like a person with heart disease who has to take a pill every day, that is what must be done. Part of the battle won is in eliminating the extra weight and feeling better about myself on a daily basis - because I CHANGED - not because food changed. It will always be there.

Healthy Living - 6 Tips To Help You Live Long And Strong And Be The Best You Can Be

So, you want to live a healthy lifestyle but need advice on how to achieve that? Well you've come to the right place. There are many factors involved in living a long healthy life. Here are a few a great healthy choices to help you achieve your goal.

1. First things first, try to get a full nights sleep. Getting enough sleep is very important. Make sure that you get at least 8-9 hours of sleep each night. There are a lot of benefits to getting a full nights rest. They include; less stress and stronger immune system. Stress can cause a lot of problems with your health, such as, high blood pressure, anxiety, and weak immune system. Suitable rest is essential for living a long healthy life.

2. Another great way to achieve your goal is by eating healthy foods. Eating healthy is very important. When you eat healthy your body gets nutrients and those nutrients nourish your body. Eating foods like whole grains, leafy green vegetables, and fruits and vegetables are essential for keeping yourself fit and healthy. Foods like that are great because they prevent a lot of health problems such as, migraines, strokes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and can even prevent some forms of cancer.

3. Take a daily multi-vitamin. Taking a daily vitamin can help you make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need to live a long and healthy lifestyle. Make sure you buy high quality vitamins, to take full advantage of them.

4. Make sure that you get enough water. Drinking enough water is also essential when you're trying to achieve the goal of living a long healthy life. Water works wonders for your kidneys,and all your organs for that matter, and it also helps you from becoming dehydrated. Staying hydrated can prevent dried skin, headaches, and it can also prevent urinary tract infections, too.

5. Exercise is another great way to help you live a long and healthy life. When you exercise every day for at least 30 minuets, it can help you maintain a good balanced weight, and it is also a great way to release endorphin's which helps with anxiety and stress. Even if it's just a light walk, or a run in place, you want to make sure you're staying active. When you release endorphin's you'll feel better afterwards. Also, doing some light exercises before going to bed can also help you sleep better at night.

6. Get out and get some sunshine. Getting some sun can make you feel better, so go outside and sit in the sunshine for at least 30 minuets a day. However, you don't want to get too much sun, because, being out in the sun too much can cause skin cancer. Sunshine also gives you vitamin D. Vitamin D helps maintain normal blood levels of minerals that help form and maintain strong bones. So, it's very important to make sure you're getting enough sun so you don't contribute to a Vitamin D deficiency.

These simple tips can improve your quality of life, and health more than you might think. Give them a try. You'll feel better, and you could well live a very long and healthy life.

How Healthy Is a Juice Diet?

In a world where people are always trying out the newest diet craze or the newest fitness routine, I wondered if the juicing trend was all that it was cracked up to be. Are there real health benefits? Do you lose weight? Can you hurt your body doing it? All of these questions are things that I hoped to find out, and who knows, I might even try juicing myself. The following article looks at the benefits of juicing. If you decide to join the juice craze then you need to consult your medical professional and talk to them about your health and your goals. Also, make sure that you have medical insurance just in case you need it along your journey.

The juice craze has been gaining popularity ever since the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead premiered. In this film, Joe travels the United States in an effort to see how Americans eat and how it affects his healthy. While traveling he committed to juicing for 60 days. By the end of his journey he not only lost weight but had dramatically improved his health, brain functionality, and even energy levels. Now if you are like me, 60 days sounds like a really long time. Most programs now vary between 3-10 days. If you decide to go further than that it is imperative that you consult your physician. So even though this documentary shows great success, are you still skeptical? There are many more benefits that you can achieve from juicing.

One of the major benefits of juicing is to introduce your body to fruits and vegetables. Most people today are not eating the amount of servings that the USDA actually recommends. As a culture we plan our meal around the meat and past instead of adding those things to vegetables.

Also by juicing you are allowing all of the nutrients in the fruits and vegetables to immediately enter you blood stream since they are in the form of a liquid and do not have to go through the slow digestive process.

Speaking of your digestive process, yours is probably operating at a much slower rate than it should. Dairy and meat can actually clog it up and make it hard for your body to cleanse itself and absorb any other nutrients. By juicing for a few days you allow your body to push these toxins through your body and prepare it for all of the nutrients that you will bring it.

Now the benefit that everyone wonders about, yes there are people who report actual weight loss. Some people claim to lose a pound a day. You will be losing fat weight and water weight mostly. Not everyone operates the same way so above trying to lose weight you should look at this cleanse as a way to improve your health and if you lose weight then that is an excellent added bonus.

Like we said earlier, before you start you should consult your physician and make sure that you have medical insurance just in case. Also it is important to prepare your body a few days in advance so that you do not feel the withdrawal from food as bad. Happy Juicing!

Hangover Remedies and Quick Fixes

Hangover Remedies

People who enjoy drinking parties always have one problem to deal with - a hangover the next morning. The hangover is an inevitable consequence of heavy drinking. People often wake up with a pounding head, dryness in the mouth, nausea and fatigue after a heavy night's drinking. These symptoms would be more intense if one drinks on an empty stomach, has sleep deprivation, does more activity while drinking, is already dehydrated before drinking or has poor general health.

What causes a hangover?

When people drink, the alcohol contained in the drink enters the blood stream and influences the brain to suppress the synthesis of vasopressin which is an anti-diuretic hormone. This makes drinkers urinate more frequently while drinking which gives rise to dehydration. Usually, about four times the volume of drinks consumed is expelled from the body while drinking, leaving the body in a dehydrated state all night long. That is why people wake up with extreme dryness in the mouth the next morning.

The body tries to extract as much water as possible from the different organs, especially the brain, literally shrinking it in size. This makes the brain pull on the membranes which connect it to the skull, resulting in a throbbing headache. Frequent urination also expels potassium and other salts that are needed for muscle and nerve functions, resulting in nausea and fatigue. Different types of alcohol can also produce different kinds of hangovers.

Hangover Remedies

1. Drinking more alcohol can delay the onset of hangover. However, this is only a temporary fix as the body will eventually have to deal with the effects sooner or later. This remedy will only postpone the arrival of the hangover.

2. Black coffee can help deal with the pounding headache that are a major part of hangovers. The high amount of caffeine, which is a stimulant, can alleviate the headache for the time being. But once the effect of the coffee wears off, the symptoms might return. Moreover, like alcohol, coffee is also a diuretic which can further dehydrate the person, making the hangover even more severe.

3. Eating fried or fatty foods before drinking can reduce the effects of a hangover considerably. These foods stick to the stomach lining and slow down the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. It also gives the body more time to process the byproducts that result from heavy drinking.

4. The Mediterranean folk tactic of taking a spoonful of olive oil before drinking is based on the same principle. The oil sticking to the stomach lining would slow down alcohol absorption and reduce hangover symptoms.

5. One of the latest remedies to hangover is Pep 2, a chewable tablet. Just taking two tablets half an hour before and two tablet after drinking helps prevent hangover.

Healthy Hair Begins With a Healthy Diet

We are the food we eat. This saying holds a lot of truth, and it definitely applies to our hair. The diet you're on has lots to do with just how healthy your hair is. Your hair is steadily growing, and the nutrients you take in determine the quality, quantity, and speed of that growth.

Experts say, the most vital element is adequate nutrition. Crash diets - extremely low calorie or carbohydrate intake - have been associated with flat, dry, brittle, or thinning hair. What's more, these diets aren't truly healthy since they take out essential nutrients the body needs or have you drastically scale back on them. What makes you think the same diets will be great for your hair?

As mentioned, there are specific foods that really help in promoting healthy hair. You'll discover foods that are rich in just one essential nutrient, and some that have several vital nutrients. Some foods can either impede hair loss or stop it, help hair to re-grow, speed up hair growth, or give hair luster.

A healthy diet that comprises of all essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients is what's required in order to keep both hair and body in good condition. But did you know that there are a few nutrients that are particularly crucial for the health of your hair? Incorporating larger amounts can help you achieve truly shiny hair.

These nutrients are often readily available as dietary supplements. But numerous studies found that any given vitamin is better absorbed by the body if it is derived from food, not as a supplement. Besides this, many essential compounds are found in foods that are loaded with nutrients. You cannot find these in health supplements.

Vitamin A can help boost the body's production of sebum (hair oil). This is what gives hair its natural luster, and helps to protect it. B vitamins, particularly B12, helps in promoting the growth of healthy hair, and even skin tissue cells. Vitamin C also is important in helping the body create sebum. Iron helps hair grow more quickly, and certain food sources can be hard for your body to absorb. If your hair is getting thinner or you're balding prematurely, you're probably not getting enough zinc in your diet. A high zinc diet may promote fast growth, and fuller hair. If your hair is dry and brittle, you could be deficient in biotin. For a healthy scalp, you will need omega-3 fatty acids. For quick and strong hair growth, protein is an extremely important nutrient. And finally, complex carbohydrates are vital, since they help your body in thoroughly absorbing the protein.

Chard and broccoli are loaded with iron and vitamins A and C. Like rice? Switch to brown rice. It's full of complex sugars and B vitamins. Kidney beans are an excellent protein source. They are also great if you're lacking in iron, zinc, or biotin. For readily assimilated iron, eat more spinach and raisins. Superb protein sources include eggs, dairy products, nuts, and soy. For omega-3 fatty acids, salmon and flax seed are full of them.

Although many foods have low to moderate levels of vital nutrients, the foods cited have especially high levels. If you would like your hair to be healthy and beautiful, make sure you make these nutrient-rich foods a regular part of your healthy, balanced diet.

Five Questions To Ask Before Losing Weight

1. Have You Come Up With A Plan?

You know yourself better than anyone. Consider if you are an extrovert or introvert. Are you energised by being with others, or do you need time alone to recharge? Finding a weight loss or exercise that suits your personality and temperament makes you infinitely more likely to stick with it. To introverts, things like walking and running can hold great appeal: it's time out from the demands of others. It provides you with time to reflect, mull things over and decide courses of action. An extrovert is more likely to enjoy team sports, dance classes, boot camps. Consider also if you are a leader or follower: a leader finds it harder to be told what to do and how to do it and may enjoy self direction or the nature of one-on-one programmes where you work with one other. Others succeed with someone else giving them guidance and instruction and feel encouraged by the stories of their peers. One non-negotiable: you must consider becoming and staying active as absolutely imperative to maintaining your new lifestyle, so pick something you can build on and stick with.

2. Have You Set A Realistic Goal?

It's easy to pick a size or number we'd like to be, but whether that is a good goal is up for some debate. Common wisdom is to aim for an initial 10% reduction in weight. This has proven health benefits, and it is a good jumping off point for further goals. My own goal was to achieve a number I would feel happy weighing myself at the Doctor's office at, but I started with the round numbers: every drop to a new number ending in 0 was cause to celebrate!

3. Is Your Support Network Running?

Whether you are a busy parent, a student or an executive: we all have many demands on our time and places we need to be. Some weeks come along and slam you sideways. This is where you need someone in your corner to pick up the slack and enable you to focus on your own goals - a neighbour or grandparent to do the school run so you can squeeze in a workout, a spouse who will make school lunches and get the kids dressed so that early morning run can get crossed off the list, a colleague who will agree to walk with you in your lunch break. You can do it on your own, but it is a lot easier if you don't have to do it on your own all the time!

4. Are You Accountable?

It could be to a personal trainer or coach, it could be to a Nurse in your Doctor's office, it could be to a friend or family member, it could be to the members of an online forum, but we all need someone to tell how we're going. Knowing that you have to tell someone makes it easier to close the refrigerator door at 9pm. They don't need to know specifics if you don't want them to...a percentage, or even just an acknowledgement of a loss or gain is all it takes. It is a great opportunity to inspire others.

5. Are You Prepared For Setbacks?

No one plan is foolproof, there will be times when it all goes wrong. You didn't get to the supermarket, you were up all night with a sick toddler, a friend got a promotion and opened a bottle of champagne. All you can do is count it in and move on. You don't have to be perfect all the time to be successful, you just have to be prepared to accept bad days (or weeks!) and keep on trying.

In the end, it is cultivating a spirit of self belief that will be crucial in order for you to achieve your weight loss goals, and a willingness to keep on trying. Find something that suits you and your lifestyle: I'm sure I'd like stand up paddle boarding, but living far from the ocean and fitting it in with the demands of a young family means workout DVD's I can do while the baby sleeps is more realistic. Be honest about what you want to achieve, and what you can achieve. Enlist the support of someone who will cheer you on and provide you with encouragement. Be ready to take each day as it comes and embrace the concept of making the best of it. Acknowledge no one else can do this for you: it is up to you.

My TEDx Talk, "The American Diet: a Historical Perspective"

On October 21st, I spoke at the Harvard Food Law Society's TEDx conference, Forum on Food Policy. The conference kicked off with three talks on nutrition, by Drs. Walter Willett, David Ludwig and myself. My talk is only 17 minutes long as per TED format, but it's packed with research on both quantitative and qualitative changes in the US diet over the last two centuries. It contains surprises for almost anyone, and I can guarantee you've never learned this much about the history of the US diet in 17 minutes. The talk was titled "The American Diet: a Historical Perspective"; you can access it by following that link.

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Please diagnose me

A medically proven antioxidant which fights against cancer

An Interview with Dr. C. Vicky Beer, Paleo-friendly MD

As I was preparing my recent article on the Paleo diet (1), I interviewed a local Paleo-friendly MD named C. Vicky Beer. I was only able to include a snippet of the interview in the article, but I thought WHS readers would be interested to read the rest of the interview with Dr. Beer:

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Alternate Media follows our lead

Now that millions have seen the true colors of the Komen Foundation Following its withdrawal of funding from Planned Parenthood I'm posting a selection of our articles on "PINK" from over the years.

After 20+ years of PINK there is no cure. And there is little aimed at prevention and different screening and treatment options that may be better than what if offered and supported by Komen.

I applied one year for a grant to do education and was denied. I take it that my focus to help women learn about options was not on the agenda for Brinker.

This also says too that the Pink Lid campaign from General Mills ignored a request for a grant from the 501c3 non profit that sponsors this blog.

I started educating in earnest against the lineal mind set of breast cancer care and lack of sure in the early 90s.

The fact that Komen backed mammography screening was advised against in the early 70s by an expert in radiation effects is also quite unknown. It was opposed because it was expected to increase the risk of breast cancer, which it has done.

Now with the outrage and backpedaling from Komen on awards to Planned Parenthood, mostly effecting poor women, Alternet has picked up on some of what we have been saying for decades.

Donations to our 501c3 are welcome.

Please use the PayPal link in the right column to support us.

Women

There are quite a few more that listed here which you can locate with our search function.

Natural Health News: NEARLY $$$1 BILLION FOR WHAT?

Jan 21, 2007

General Mills won't support Creating Health Institute's Women's Health programs (especially those we provide to people with limited income) through the pink lids program. Komen never responds when we submit a proposal.