Monday 24 February 2014

healthy life

rule of three plate

Define Your Plate

Use a rule of three to build a healthy, satisfying meal. This rule can help you lose weight and manage your diabetes by increasing your intake of non-starchy foods. Divide your plate in half. Fill one half with non-starchy vegetables like spinach or broccoli. Next, divide the empty side into two halves. Use one for starchy foods like bread or pasta. In the last section, add meat or another protein. You can also add an 8-ounce glass of low-fat milk and a ½ cup of fruit.
chicken and vegetables on plate

Researchers analyzed data collected from nearly 100,000 U.S. nurses over eight years and found that those who lifted weights, did press-ups or similar resistance workouts were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, BBC News reported.

Compared with inactive women, those who did at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity and at least an hour of muscle-strengthening exercises a week were a third less likely to develop diabetes, said the study in the journal PLoS Medicine.

It was already known that regular aerobic workouts can help prevent type 2 diabetes. And previous studies have shown that muscle-building exercises protect men against diabetes, BBC News reported.

Saturday 15 February 2014

Mealworms: The Next High-Protein Food Source?

While beetle larvae may not seem appetizing, study finds they’re more environmentally friendly than livestock


They’ll never replace the traditional Christmas ham, but mealworms (beetle larvae) may someday offer an environmentally friendly alternative to meat, a new study suggests.

Researchers in the Netherlands used three factors — land usage, energy needs and greenhouse gas emissions — to compare the environmental impact of mealworm farms to chicken, pork, beef or milk farms.

Compared to the other types of farming, mealworm farming produced more edible protein using the same amount of land and less energy, according to the study in the journal PLoS One.

The same team of researchers previously found that mealworms produce less greenhouse gases than other meat-producing animals.

“Since the population of our planet keeps growing, and the amount of land on this earth is limited, a more efficient, and more sustainable system of food production is needed,” study author Dennis Oonincx, of the University of Wageningen, said in a journal news release.

“Now, for the first time it has been shown that mealworms, and possibly other edible insects, can aid in achieving such a system,” he added.

Health Tip: A Dirty Sponge Spreads Germs

If it smells, throw it awayYou use your sponge to clean your kitchen, but do you clean your sponge? Without careful cleaning, a sponge can soak up bacteria and spread it around.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers these suggestions:Don’t reuse a sponge that has an odor, as it probably harbors bacteria.Never reuse a worn sponge.Clean a dirty sponge by running it through the hot cycle of your washing machine or soaking it with water and microwaving it at a high temperature for about two minutes. Never microwave a dry sponge, which could start a fire.If your sponge was used to clean up after raw meat, throw it out or clean it in a diluted bleach solution (1 tablespoon of bleach added to 1 gallon of water).Dish towels can harbor bacteria too. Frequently wash them in the hot cycle of your washing machine.

Hair Loss in WomenHair loss is a clinical problem that’s increasingly observed these days in women. When the cause is high androgen level, it’s called female androgenetic alopecia. When it occurs with normal androgen level, it’s called female pattern hair loss There can be numerous causes of hair loss in women, and a dermatologist is the best specialist to identify the cause and treat it. Hair loss also occurs in children, wherein it’s more frequent in girls, and is seen in girls at an earlier age compared to boys. Menopausal women don’t necessarily have hair loss, but when it occurs suddenly, it needs to be investigated. High hormone level during pregnancy protects from hair loss, but following delivery, almost all women experience hair loss as estrogen hormone levels decrease. Blood loss during delivery could trigger further hair loss from iron deficiency . Even in women with heavy periods, and who don’t eat red meats or have vegetarian diets, iron deficiency related hair loss can occur. This happens because iron from hair follicles is diverted to support the function of other important organs.
Worry and depression can also cause hair loss. Deficiency in Vitamin B12 can indirectly cause hair loss by causing depression. Excessive dieting in women can also cause hair loss as proteins and lipids are required for healthy hair. This is apparent in the clinical case of anorexia nervosa. Seasonal hair loss in women is seen in autumn.
Non-hormonal loss of hair in women can occur with nutritional deficiencies of aging. It has been observed in women ages 60 and older, and has some genetic predisposition, though not always.
Topical Minoxidil is a commonly used pharmacological therapy for hair loss. It has several side effects, such as facial hypertrichosis, irritation dermatitis, contact exzema, pleuritis, scaling, dryness, and headaches. It’s not recommended during pregnancy or lactation.
While there are several pharmacological treatments for hair loss, there are other ways in which hair loss in women can be dealt with. For example, weight loss has been found to improve hair loss in women with high androgen levels; even a weight loss as low as 2% to 7% has helped regain lost hair.Supplemental Vitamin B12 and Biotin will be required in vitamin deficient women and those at risk of such deficency from being treated with pharmacological hormone therapy (i.e.cyproterone acetate and ethinyl estradiol). Iron therapy will be required in those with low iron. Botanic products like Saw Palmetto has shown increased hair growth in 60% of men with moderate hormonal hair loss. This product inhibits conversion of testosterone to 5alpha-DHT (a testosterone byproduct responsible for hair loss) in hair follicles. Other botanical compounds like phytoestrogens which is similar to the hormone estrogen also helps in preventing hair loss. The primary food sources for phytoestrogens are soy, soy products, cereals, flaxseeds, and berries.

Monday 10 February 2014

Based on an 8-hour feeding period followed by a 16-hour fast
18:6 diet (a.k.a LeanGains) - Women's Health & Fitness
















What it is
Fasting used to be forced upon us, usually during winter or a famine, keeping our weight in check before the next kill or bumper crop. These days, food has us surrounded and we’ve had to invent dietsto do the fasting for us.
Various fasting diets have been around since the 1970s to detox the body, manage weight, or both. In recent years, intermittent fasting has gained new traction with the development of the 18:6, 20:4 and, most popularly, 5:2 diet.
“The 16:8 protocol is a brand of fasting also known as LeanGains, as espoused by Martin Berkhan,” says Brian St. Pierre, nutrition educator at Precision Nutrition. “It’s based on an eight-hour feeding period followed by a 16-hour fast. The 20:4 protocol, also known as the Warrior Diet, has you fasting for 20 hours each day, working out during your fasted state.”
The 5:2 is a little easier, which explains its popularity. It involves eating normally for five days followed by two days ‘fasting’, where you consume significantly less calories.
The Claim
The claims are many: that you’ll burn fat, increase metabolic rate, control blood sugar levels and appetite and detox your entire body.
“One of the amazing proven side effects of fasting is that it’s anti-ageing at a cellular level, which is the only place that really counts,” says Amanda Hamilton, nutritionist and author of Eat, Fast, Slim. “This inside-out approach really can help to create a glowing beauty from within.
“I’d go as far to say that I see fasting as the future of weight loss.”
For 
“Research on rodents has found fasting to be helpful for weight loss, glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, inflammation, blood lipids and even life expectancy,” says St. Pierre.
Aside from studies on obese mice, limited research has also shown reduced blood pressure, increased fat burning and increased fatty acid oxidation later in the fast,  and increased metabolic rate due to the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine (again, later in the fasting period).
“It is not entirely clear if this is a result of the fasting itself or simply the weight loss achieved from the fasting,” says St. Pierre. “But we do see occasional fasting as a great way to practise managing hunger.”
Against
“I think the results you see are caused by the calorie deficit not by the fasting itself,” says Kate Gudorf, from the Dietitians Association of Australia. “And in the case of the 5:2 diet, you’re eating 500 calories a day for a woman and 600 for a man. That’s well below what we would recommend.
“Studies have shown that weight loss as a result of fasting is just as good as regular portion control and healthy eating.”
In some cases, people may even put on weight.
“People think of it as a licence to eat freely for five days a week as long as they have the two days of fasting,” says Gudorf. “If you’re eating sensibly and healthily for five days you will see weight loss, but a lot of people aren’t doing that.
“Disappointingly, fasting also seems to be more effective for those who need it the least,” says St Pierre.

“The results we’ve noticed are that intermittent fasting seems to work best in people who are already fairly lean – 15 per cent body fat for men and 22 per cent body fat for women – especially lean young men,” he says. “It seems to be less effective for women.”

How to Make Your Own Honey-Wheat Bread



Last January, inspired by a Greatist team member who decided to avoid all processed food, I vowed to only eat bread made in my own kitchen. Considering that I consume toast at least twice a day, my bread habit was getting kind of expensive. Plus, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the additives and unpronounceable ingredients in most packaged bread (ever wonder why it can sit on the shelf for weeks without going stale?).
Although it’s been on our list of Healthy Foods to Make and Never Buy Again for over a year, many people believe that baking bread is a tricky, experts-only kind of operation. Far from it! It’s possible to make tasty, super-easy bread with just a few common pantry ingredients. Read on for the simplest, easiest honey-wheat bread recipe ever, plus instructions on how to turn a bowl of flour into a loaf of wholesome yumminess.
P.S. I didn’t end up lasting the whole year without eating pre-packaged bread. But I’m ready to try again in 2014!
Feeling inspired? Learn how to make homemade pumpkin puree and yogurtfrom scratch, too! 
RECIPE: DIY BREAD
 What You’ll Need:
1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (bread flour is ideal, but all-purpose works just fine)
1 cup white flour (bread or all-purpose)
1 cup warm (but not hot) water (100 degrees)
1 packet of yeast (yeast almost always comes in 2-tablespoon pouches)
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon + 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
Pinch salt
Yield: 1 medium-sized loaf
(Scroll down for detailed instructions)
What to Do:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2.  
  3. Gently stir the yeast and water together in a small bowl until the yeast dissolves. (The water should be cloudy and light brown with some small bubbles on the surface.) Set aside.
  4.  
  5. Mix the brown sugar, honey, oil, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
  6.  
  7. Add both flours to the mixing bowl (which already contains the sugar, honey, oil, and salt). Pour the yeast-water mixture on top and stir everything together. If the mixture is too difficult to mix with a spoon, it’s fine to use clean hands.
  8.  
  9. Cover the bowl with a clean dishtowel. Let it rest for about two hours, or until it’s doubled in size, in a warm spot (a sunny patch on the counter, inside the microwave next to a bowl of hot water, or near a heat vent are all good places).
  10.  
  11. Punch down the dough (literally punch into the bowl with your fist) and knead it (folding, pressing, and turning the dough) for three to five minutes. If it’s sticky, rub some flour on your hands and sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Don’t skip kneading — it’s essential in strengthening the gluten, which makes the dough rise and helps provide a fluffy texture. To test if you’re done kneading, gently press into the dough with two fingers. If the indentations stay after you remove your fingers, it’s ready to go. If they fill back in, keep kneading and repeat the test until the indentations remain.
  12.  
  13. Shape the dough into a loaf. You can either roll it, fold it, or just kind of smoosh it (technical term) into a rectangular shape. Place the loaf in an ungreased loaf pan or on a baking sheet.
  14.  
  15. Let the dough rest for one hour, covered with a clean dishtowel, in a warm spot (any of the warm spots described in step #5 will work).
  16.  
  17. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, until the top is golden brown and emits a loud, hollow-sounding noise when you flick it gently with a finger.
  18.  
  19. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. 
  20.  
  21. Homemade bread doesn’t stay fresh as long as store-bought baked goods. To keep it from drying out, avoid slicing the bread until you’re ready to eat it. Store it at room temperature in a paper bag or just “naked” on a plate — covering fresh bread with plastic can trap moisture, which makes the crust soft and encourages mold growth.