Category: Wellness (Page 7 of 116)

Your Heart Can Benefit From Dark Chocolate

August 21, 2012 / Staff

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More good news for chocolate lovers.

Healthy antioxidants and weight loss perks aren’t the only benefits of dark chocolate.

A recent study has found that the flavanols in dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure.

There are multiple lines of inquiry into flavanols in chocolate. For instance, we’ve told you about preliminary research that has found the compounds in cocoa can inhibit the activity of a digestive enzyme and block the breakdown of fat.
The new review on blood pressure included 20 studies varying in length from two to 18 weeks. Volunteers in the studies consumed dark chocolate or cocoa powder each day ranging from 3 to 100 grams (a regular-size 1.5-ounce Hershey bar is about 43 grams). And the results? Overall, there were small reductions in blood pressure, averaging 2-3 mm Hg. (Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury.)

As always the key is moderation.

Overindulgence in sweets is not the answer.

Limited portions of dark chocolate (1 ounce daily), does the trick.

Quality Control, Research, Wellness

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Yo-yo Diets Haven’t Screwed Up Your Metabolism

August 21, 2012 / Staff

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Don’t dispair if you are one of millions of dieters who have achieved weight loss success only to gain it all back, then repeat the cycle over and over again year after year.

Yo-yo dieting, as it is called, has been blamed for ruining metabolism and making it impossible for some to achieve real and permanent weight loss, however, a new study finds that this old wisdom may not be true.

The key to success is to keep a food journal and aim for healthy eating and exercise habits.

Weigh yourself weekly and don’t skip meals.

Being accountable to friends, family, doctor or trainers help.

Keeping a food and exercise journal keeps you accountable if only to yourself.

At the end of the study, which lasted a full year, researchers found something that they weren’t expecting: The yo-yo dieters fared just as well as the non-yo-yo dieters. There was no significant difference seen in the effect of diet or exercise, body fat percentage or lean muscle mass gained or lost.
“I was very surprised. People who have a history of weight cycling by definition have problems with lifestyle change for weight loss because they gain the weight back again,” McTiernan says. “I was surprised to find that, while many of them weighed more than the non-cyclers, they did just as well at losing weight with our lifestyle-change weight program as did women who did not have a weight cycling history.”

Nutrition, Research, Wellness

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5 Great Health Apps To Get Now!

August 17, 2012 / Staff

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Getting and staying fit has never be this easy.

Phone apps make it possible to get fitness and nutrition information on demand wherever you are to maximize your wellness goals.

Check out this article for the hottest health apps now.

For the individual consumer, it also means being able to keep yourself accountable for your own lifestyle choices, by using apps that can motivate and remind you to eat right, exercise, schedule doctor’s appointments and even get enough sleep. Following are our picks for the best apps for staying healthy.

Nutrition, Wellness

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Flawed Study Says Eggs Are As Dangerous To Your Health As Cigarettes

August 16, 2012 / Staff

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In a recent study of 1,231 men and women, researches have found that egg yolks contribute to plaque build up in the arteries which is similar to affects of smoking.

Amoung the 20% of participants who ate the most eggs, the carotid plaque build-up was about two-thirds that of the study’s heaviest smokers. The researchers concluded that the plaque increase from eating eggs “follows a similar pattern to that of cigarette smoking.”
Arterial accumulation of plaque is a key risk factor for heart attack and stroke. As plaque builds up, it thickens artery walls and narrows the space through which blood can flow, forcing the heart to pump harder. If plaques become unstable, they can break off and form clots, which can halt blood flow to either the brain or the heart, causing stroke or heart attack.
The authors argue that their findings should quell doubts over the link between high dietary cholesterol and heart disease. “The prevailing tendency to ignore dietary cholesterol as a risk factor for coronary heart disease requires reassessment, including the consumption of cholesterol from eggs,” the authors wrote.
The government’s dietary guidelines recommend that adults consume no more than 300 mg of cholesterol a day. One whole egg contains about 180 mg of cholesterol, nearly two-thirds of your daily recommended ma.

However, health experts have found the study to be seriously flawed.

Dr. Steven Nissen, who chairs the department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation pointed out some of the problems with the study:

There were no controls in the study and it is noted that causation and association are not the same thing.

The study was also not adjusted for the existing dietary habits of the participants.

Doctors, Nutrition, Quality Control, Wellness

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Diabetes Risk Needs To Be Taken Seriously

August 15, 2012 / Staff

There are many who are at risk for diabetes who simply ignore the fact or don’t believe the threat of illness.

In fact, 79 million Americans may be prediabetic and don’t even know it.

Poor lifestyle choices, being overweight and lack of exercise are the contributing factors to a disease with overwhelming and life threatening implications.

If your doctor has diagnosed you as pre-diabetic it means that everything you are doing is leading you to develop this dangerous condition.

Work with your physician to make the necessary changes toward your best health.

Doctors, Nutrition, Research, Wellness

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