General Health

How do you put fat, fiber, and sodium together when it comes to breakfast,lunch, and dinner? These mealtime strategies should help.

Breakfast

Strategy #1–Choose fruit more often. Just a few great choices in the fruit family are: cantaloupe, grapefruit, strawberries, oranges, bananas, pears, and apples.

Strategy #2–Choose whole-grain cereals and products more often. Examples are whole wheat or bran breads, bagels, and cereal.

Strategy #3–Try making pancakes and waffles with whole wheat flour instead of white flour and one whole egg and one egg white rafter than two whole eggs. For a low-fat topping with fiber, try applesauce, apple butter and cinnamon, or fruit and low-fat plain yogurt.

Strategy #4–Fruit juice and skim milk are familiar breakfast drinks. For an extra boost in the morning, why not try a fruit smoothie made from juice, fruit and nonfat plain yogurt blended together. Other nonfat choices are seltzer water, coffee, and tea.

These breakfast choices are sound nutrition choices because they are not only low in fat and cholesterol but also provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Some foods that you should choose less often are sausage, bacon, butter, whole milk and cream (including commercial nondairy creamer). These foods are high in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Lunch

Strategy #1–Try a fiber-rich bean, split pea, vegetable, or minestrone soup. Use commercially canned and frozen soups and cream soups less often–they can be high in sodium and fat. If you make your own soup, use broth or skim milk to keep the fat content low.

Strategy #2–Have a bean salad or mixed greens with plenty of vegetables. For fiber include some vegetables like–carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and kidney or garbanzo beans. For a low-fat dressing, try lemon juice or a reduced-calorie dressing. If you use regular dressing, use only a very small amount.

Strategy #3–Try sandwiches made with water-packed tuna, sliced chicken, turkey, lean meat, or low-fat cheese, and use whole-grain bread or pita bread. To decrease fat, use reduced-calorie mayonnaise, or just a small amount of regular mayonnaise, or use mustard. Mustard contains no fat.

Strategy #4–For dessert, have fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, or a frozen fruit bar.

Strategy #5–Fruit juice and skim milk are good beverage choices. Club soda with a twist of lemon or lime, hot or iced tea with lemon, or coffee without cream are refreshing drinks.

At lunch, try to eat these foods less often: processed luncheon meats, fried meat, chicken, or fish; creamy salads, French fries and chips, richer creamy desserts, high-fat baked goods, and high-fat cheeses such as Swiss, cheddar, American, and Brie.

Dinner

Strategy #1–Eat a variety of vegetables. To increase variety, try some that might be new to you, such as those from the cabbage family (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage), dark-green leafy vegetables (spinach and kale), and yellow-orange vegetables (winter squash and sweet potatoes). For old favorites, like peas and green beans, skip the butter and sprinkle with lemon juice or herbs. Or, how about a baked potato, with the skin, and topped with low-fat yogurt and chives, tomato salsa, or a small amount of low-fat cheese?

Strategy #2–Try whole wheat pasta and casseroles made with brown rice, and other grains. If you are careful with preparation, these dishes can be excellent sources of fiber and low in fat. For example, when milk and eggs are ingredients in a recipe, try using 1 percent or skim milk, reduce the number of egg yolks and replace with egg whites.

Here are some ideas for grain-based dishes: –Whole wheat spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce; –Whole wheat macaroni and chickpea stew in tomato sauce; –Tuna noodle casserole, using water-packed tuna (or rinsed, oil-packed tuna), skim milk, and fresh mushrooms or sliced water chestnuts; –Turkey, broccoli and brown rice casserole using skim milk and egg whites; –Eggplant lasagna, made with broiled eggplant and part-skim mozzarella or ricotta cheese.

Strategy #3–Substitute whole-grain breads and rolls for white bread.

Strategy #4–Choose main dishes that call for fish, chicken, turkey or lean meat. Don’t forget to remove the skin and visible fat from poultry and trim the fat from meat. Some good low-fat choices are: –Red snapper stew; –Flounder or sole florentine (make the cream sauce with skim milk); –Salmon loaf (use skim milk, rolled oats, and egg whites); –Baked white fish with lemon and fennel; –Chicken cacciatore Italian-style (decrease the oil in the recipe); –Chicken curry served over steamed wild rice (choose a recipe that requires little or no fat; “saute” the onions in chicken broth instead of butter); –Light beef stroganoff with well-trimmed beef round steak and buttermilk served over noodles; –Oriental pork made with lean pork loin, green peppers and pineapple chunks served over rice.

Strategy #5–Choose desserts that give you fiber but little fat such as: –Baked apples or bananas, sprinkled with cinnamon; –Fresh fruit cup; –Brown bread or rice pudding made with skim milk; –Oatmeal cookies (made with margarine or vegetable oil; add raisins).

For many, the end of the workday, represents a time to relax, and dinner can be a light meal and an opportunity to decrease fat and cholesterol.

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Eat for life? Eat to improve your chances long and healthy life? Yes, you can.

At a time when we seem to be overwhelmed by conflicting diet and health messages, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have some good news: by making the right food choices, you may reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and cancer.

These diseases take the lives of more Americans than all other illnesses and causes of death combined. Each day, about three out of every four deaths in the United States will occur as a result of cardiovascular disease or heart disease (like heart attacks and strokes) and cancer. This need not be.

Although no diet can ensure you won’t get a heart attack, stroke or cancer, what you eat can affect your health. This has been shown by research of the National Cancer Institute and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (two of this country’s National Institutes of Health), along with the research of other scientists.

How does a person eat for life? It’s easier and more enjoyable than you might think. These seven basic guidelines are: * Eat a variety of foods. * Maintain desirable weight. * Avoid too much fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. * Eat foods with adequate starch and fiber. * Avoid too much sugar. * Avoid too much sodium. * If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

The first two guidelines form the framework of a good diet: eat a variety of foods so that you get enough of the essential nutrients you need, and eat only enough calories to maintain desirable weight. The next five guidelines describe special characteristics of a good diet-getting adequate starch and fiber and avoiding too much fat, sugar, sodium, and alcohol. Although the guidelines are designed for healthy adult Americans, these suggestions are considered especially appropriate for people who may already have some of the risk factors for chronic diseases. These risk factors include a family history of obesity, premature heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or high blood cholesterol levels.

This pamphlet focuses on five guidelines that are particularly related to the prevention of heart disease and/or cancer: eat a variety of foods; maintain desirable weight; avoid too much fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol; eat foods with adequate starch and fiber; and avoid too much sodium.

Keep in mind that staying healthy requires more than just good nutrition. Regular exercise, getting enough rest, learning to cope with stress, and having regular physical checkups are important ways to help ensure good health. Checkups are especially important for early detection of cancer and heart disease. Another important way to reduce your risks of heart disease and cancer is not to smoke or use tobacco in any form.

Controlling high blood pressure (hypertension) can also greatly reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Remember, three of the major risk factors for heart disease are largely under your control. They are smoking, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol.

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There is much still to be learned about the relationship between the foods we eat and our risk of getting cancer and heart disease. The NHLBI and NCI are conducting a great deal of research to find out more about this relationship. There is, however, a lot that we know now.

The relationship of diet to cancer and the relationship of diet to risk factors for heart disease are summarized below:

Obesity

We know that obesity is associated with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Extreme obesity has also been linked to several cancers. This means that if you are obese, losing weight may reduce your chances of developing these serious diseases or conditions. If you already suffer from hypertension and are overweight, weight loss alone can often lower your blood pressure to normal levels. Because fat (both saturated and unsaturated fat) provides more than twice the number of calories provided by equal weights of carbohydrate or protein, decreasing the fat in your diet may help you lose weight as well as help reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease. Today, most Americans get about 37 percent of their daily calories from fat. Many experts suggest that fat should be reduced to 30 percent or less of calories.

Heart Disease

We know that blood cholesterol levels are greatly influenced by the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol found in many of the foods we eat. These raise blood cholesterol levels (Of the two, saturated fat seems to be the major dietary factor which affects blood cholesterol). To reduce your blood cholesterol level, it is important to eat less saturated fat and cholesterol. Saturated fat and cholesterol are often found together in foods. Saturated fat in the U.S. diet is provided primarily by animal products such as the fat in meat, butter, whole milk, cream, cheese, and ice cream. There are a few vegetable fats–coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm kernel and palm oils which are also high in saturated fat. Cholesterol is found only in animal products eggs, meat, poultry, fish and dairy products. Plant foods such as vegetables, grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds do not contain cholesterol. A few foods are high in cholesterol but relatively low in fat–for example, egg yolks and liver.

Cancer

The National Cancer Institute estimates that about 80 percent of all cancers may be related to smoking, diet, and the environment. They also estimate that about one-third of all cancer deaths may be related to the foods we eat. Diets high in fats of all kinds have been linked to certain cancers, particularly those of the breast, colon, lining of the uterus, and prostate gland. Some studies have suggested that fat may act as a cancer promoter (an agent that speeds up the development of cancer).

There is some evidence that diets rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, and beta-carotene (the plant form of vitamin A) may help reduce the risk of certain cancers. The evidence we have about vitamins A and C comes from studies of these vitamins as they are found in foods. That is why NCI recommends that you eat a variety of foods rich in vitamins rather than relying on vitamin supplements. Good sources of vitamin A include yellow-orange vegetables such as carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes and pumpkin; and yellow-orange fruits such as peaches, cantaloupes and mangoes. Sources of vitamin C include dark-green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, and watercress; broccoli and asparagus; and tomatoes. Some fruit sources of vitamin C are oranges, lemons, grapefruit, peaches, berries, and cantaloupe.

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Strategy #1–Try a raw vegetable platter made with a variety of vegetables. Include some good fiber choices: carrots, snow peas, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans.

Strategy #2–Make sauces and dips with nonfat plain yogurt as the base.

Strategy #3–Eat more fruit. Oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, apples, pears, bananas, strawberries and cantaloupe are all good fiber sources. Make a big fruit salad and keep it on hand for snacks.

Strategy #4–Plain, air-popped popcorn is a great low-fat snack with fiber. Watch out! Some prepackaged microwave popcorn has fat added. Remember to go easy on the salt or use other seasonings.

Strategy #5–Instead of chips, try one of these low-fat alternatives that provide fiber: toasted shredded wheat Squares sprinkled with a small amount of grated Parmesan cheese, whole-grain English muffins, or toasted plain corn tortillas.

Strategy #6–When you are thirsty, try water, skim milk, juice, or club soda with a twist of lime or lemon.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute are committed to promoting good health and reducing the loss of life from heart disease and cancer. You can help. By using the ideas in this booklet, trying recipes that have been modified to decrease fat and sodium and increase fiber, and planning menus that are high in fiber and low in fat, especially saturated fat, you may reduce the risk of these diseases for yourself and for those you love :)

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What makes dieting people become fatter?

Many doctors said that a balance in a diet is a must. Balance in considering what foods to eat, the nutrition we should take, what foods to avoid, of course with optimized exercises.

But many people in diet goes fatter, what’s wrong with them? This is a risk of unbalanced diet. In fact, when we cut down our caloric intake (or increase our energy output) below the amount of energy the body uses, our weight will fall.

Lack of self-discipline and control playing a big role in this case, i guess. Dieting failure is supposed to reflect failure of adherence, which we’ve assumed to be the result of moral failure. Over the last 25 years, the obesity rate in the United States has jumped from 15 percent to about a third of the population, with another third deemed simply overweight. Insurers have come to understand that patients with untreated obesity develop more expensive medical problems in the future. Now they’ll pay for dieting as a treatment—and we are forced to confront the question of what that’s likely to accomplish.

So, wanna keep in shape and healthy by diet? Keep the balance :-D

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For the very first time i drank this tea, well, the taste is not suit my tongue very well. In Bahasa, I said, “Uh, nggak enak! Pahit!”

Every Indonesian people may be agree with me. A little bitter in taste, even more bitter in some kind of tea.

But you know, tea has been widely known for its miracles and its health benefits. In Asian culture, tea played a significant role for centuries as a staple beverage, a curative and a symbol of status. It is not surprising its discovery is ascribed to religious or royal origins.

Green tea is the least processed and thus provides the most antioxidant polyphenols, notably a catechin called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is believed to be responsible for most of the health benefits linked to green tea. It has about a third the caffeine content, by liquid volume, of coffee.

Because of its healthy contents, green tea is believed in the prevention and treatment of cancer, treating multiple sclerosis, and increasing fat antioxidants.

For years, antioxidants known as the chemicals substances that can prevent the damage of molecules that is intimately linked to the process of oxidation. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells.

Antioxidants act as “free radical scavengers” and hence prevent and repair damage done by these free radicals. So, the more tea you drink, the more antioxidants produced in your body! :-D

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Getting a second opinion is standard medical practice these days. There are millions of surgical procedures performed in the United States every year and the majority of these operations are necessary for the health and well being of the patient.

Many people are now seeking second opinions, especially when it comes to elective surgery procedures. Based on all of the surgeries performed, one can conclude that overall we have a good system.

A second medical opinion can save you time and money, and it is possible that the condition in question can be treated by means other than surgery. Your doctor’s approach to treating your condition is influenced by his training, experience, and exposure to new techniques. Getting a second opinion is standard medical practice, and you will find that most physicians welcome second and even third opinions.

If you decide to get a second medical opinion on a surgical procedure, you may wish to ask your doctor to refer a colleague or specialist. If you’d rather seek out another doctor yourself, you can take the matter up with your local medical society or area medical school.

When you go to a second doctor, tell him or her the name of the recommended surgical procedure and do over the various tests you have already had. This can save you the unnecessary expense of running duplicate medical tests. If the second doctor agrees that the surgery is necessary, he or she will usually send you back to the first doctor.

If you make the decision to have the recommended surgery, there are a number of questions you may like to have answered such as from what medical school did the surgeon graduate, and in what specialty did the surgeon complete an accredited residency program. You might also want to inquire as to how many operations like yours the particular surgeon has performed and how many of those patients have required additional surgery.

A good indicator of a surgeon’s competence is certification by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The letters F.A.C.S. (Fellow of the American College of Surgeons) after the surgeon’s name is another sign of a surgeon’s qualifications.

Once you are comfortable with your choice of a surgeon, find out what your options are. Ask about possible risks, complications and side effects, and the length of the recovery period. Talk to others who have had the same procedure. Also, don’t forget to check with your insurance company to learn if the surgical procedure is covered under your policy, and if so, whether it is covered as in-patient or out-patient surgery. Remember, you deserve to be informed of all your health care options, especially when it involves a surgical procedure.

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Don’t you think that it is about time you quit smoking? Or have you already quit several times? If you are about to quit, do you know what to do to fight off that urge to smoke another cigarette?

You know, if you smoke:

1. You will be twelve times more likely to die from lung cancer.
2. You will be ten times more likely to die from some form of lung disease.
3. You will be ten times more likely to die from cancer of the larynx.
4. You will be six times more likely to die of heart disease.
5. You will be twice as likely to die of a stroke.

Now let’s just think for one short moment: wouldn’t it be very important for you to increase your chances of living from two to twelve times longer, gain many extra years of happy, healthy existence, and save thousands of dollars in increased medical costs? Another overlooked benefit is the amount of money saved by not buying cigarettes in the first place.

If you smoke one pack of cigarettes a day at $2.00 per pack, you spend $730 per year. If your habit has continued for a period of 20 years you will have spent an incredible $14,600! If you smoke two packs for that same period of time, you will spend $29,200!

It is only a matter of seconds after that first puff that nicotine starts to have an effect on your central nervous system, and the rest of your body. Certain areas of the brain, when stimulated by nicotine, help you think more clearly. Other areas of the brain lie in a pleasure center which when stimulated, can make you feel more relaxed and less anxious.

Nicotine also affects the hormones produced by the body which creates a chemical dependency to nicotine and the accompanying craving. Heavy smokers have become dependent on heightened levels of hormones, stimulated by nicotine, which can have an addictive quality. They need a cigarette at certain intervals of time. After the stimulation of the hormones starts to fall, they need another cigarette to bring them back into the comfort zone. If they do not get that cigarette, the craving begins.

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The garbage situation has become a big concern in cities all around the country and not only is this a political issue, but it is also a problem that has caught the attention of the general population. In Indonesia, millions of households are producing billions of pounds of solid waste. Products used every day in our homes leach hazardous chemicals after entering landfills.

Many municipalities have already started a recycling program to deal with the growing mountains of paper, plastic, glass, etc. Although it takes a bit of effort on the part of the public to sort and separate their garbage, people are now beginning to realize that the future of our environment is at stake.

When a battery in one of the products we use fails, we simply run out and buy a replacement. The dead battery ends up in the garbage and no one thinks about where it goes and what happens to it after the garbage is picked up.

Sealed inside these alkaline cells are harmful materials which are not encountered by consumers during normal use. However, when the batteries enter a landfill, the casings can be crushed, or can easily degrade, which causes mercury and other toxins to leach into the environment.

The problem of batteries in landfills is one of the easiest to solve. Using rechargeable power can significantly reduce the number of batteries which end up in landfills. Rechargeable batteries can be used again and again, up to 1,000 times. One rechargeable cell can replace up to 300 throwaway batteries, keeping the landfill free not only from the batteries themselves, but also from the paper and plastic materials that are used to package them.

There are a number of manufacturers in the country today who deal in rechargeable products and some of them have a number of programs already in place to ensure that rechargeable batteries never enter a landfill at all. For example, one of the largest manufacturers of rechargeable products is now offering a lifetime replacement guarantee on all round cells. If the product ever fails to accept or hold a charge, the company will promptly replace it and recycle the used cell.

If you have an environmental agency in your area, you might like to work on this issue with them, or perhaps they already have a program set up to dispose of used batteries. As a concerned citizen, your suggestions and input will be invaluable to them as they attempt to come up with some solutions.

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Radon is a cancer-causing, radioactive gas. When we breathe air containing the gas, we can get lung cancer. In fact, we can’t see radon. We can’t smell or taste it, but it may very well be a problem in our home. It is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year.

In the United States today, radon has now been declared the second leading cause of lung cancer. If we smoke and our home has high radon levels, our risk of lung cancer is especially high.

Radon can be found all over the United States. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets in to the air we breathe. Radon can get into any type of building, homes, offices, and schools and build up to high levels. But we and our family are most likely to get our greatest exposure in our home because that is where we spend most of our time.

Testing is the only way to know if we and our family are at risk form radon. The Environmental Protection Agency along with the Surgeon General recommends testing all homes below the third floor for radon. It is inexpensive and easy to do the testing and it only takes a few minutes of our time. Millions of Americans have already had their homes tested. Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon problems although it can also enter the home through well water. And in a small number of homes, certain kinds of building materials may give off the gas, too. However, the building materials rarely cause the problem by themselves.

While radon in water is not a problem in homes served by most public water supplies, it has been found in some well water. If we’ve tested the air in our home and found a radon problem, and our water comes from a well, contact a lab certified to measure radiation in water to have our water tested. If we’re on a public water supply and are concerned that radon may be entering our home through the water, call our public water works.

Since there is no known safe level of radon, there can always be some risk. A variety of methods may be used to reduce radon in one’s home. In some cases, sealing cracks in floors and walls may help to reduce radon. In other cases, simple systems using pipes and fans may be used to reduce the gas. Because major renovations can change the level of radon in any home, always test again after we have any work done. There are reliable test kits available through the mail, in hardware stores and certain other retail outlets.

Like other environmental pollutants, there is some uncertainty about the magnitude of radon health risks. However, more is known about the risks of radon than from most other cancer-causing substances. This is because estimates of radon risks are based on studies of cancer in humans such as underground miners.

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