Healthy Eating Habits Tips

    Eating healthy is something that many people find difficult to do over time. People give all kinds of reasons not to manage their bad eating habits and many times the source has something to do with past issues.

    In this current economy, a big reason for unhealthy eating habits may be that one can’t afford to eat healthy. However, the below article will prove that it is possible to eat healthy on a budget. Sticking with the boring recommended food pyramid is not what this is about!

    Although fitness and nutrition are not the same thing they are very related since they deal with the same area, which is health. If you want to improve your overall health level you should consider exercise of course. This will actually help you to stay motivated about your good eating habits as your body will start to crave healthier foods.

    When it comes to nutrition you want to make sure you are constantly keeping an eye on the latest information available to you. With science, it is always about learning new things about what is healthy and unhealthy for you, you want to try your best to always be informed. You never know, something that you think could be helping you today could actually end up harming you in the future, so try your best to stay informed.

    The first step to a more nutritious lifestyle is cutting out all refined flour. Whole wheat has a large amount of benefits including higher fiber, better general nutrition, and less likelihood to develop problems in the future. This includes pastas, breads and even rice. Your taste will quickly change when you start getting used to these types of foods and your eating habits will certainly improve.

    Plan your consumption of fruit. Fruit is quite beneficial in a diet but if you want to control your insulin levels better, only eat it after doing physical exercise to have the best results. It may be fine for some people to eat it for breakfast but if you feel as if you are having trouble with your insulin levels, only consume after physical exertion.

    Do not get yourself on the diet roller-coaster. There are so many different diet plans out there that many people will try for a few weeks and then go back to their unhealthy eating patterns. If you just skip the diet plan and start eating healthy foods, you will have much better success in controlling your weight.

    American eating habits are not the best to model after, and if one were to look at a better diet, look to Chinese eating habits since they incorporate plenty of healthy vegetables, smaller portions plus the frequency of their meals is how we all should think about eating.

    In order to develop healthier eating habits, consider eating a handful of nuts instead of something sweet and fattening. Many nut varieties are available, and they are chock full of substances which produce health benefits. In fact, nuts have been shown to help maintain a healthy heart and may help to reduce bad cholesterol.

    Try helping your overall daily nutrition by stocking up on fresh fruits and vegetables. These are a nutritious alternative to snack foods. With fewer calories, they are more nutritious and help you to achieve a healthy diet. The more you begin to enjoy eating nutritious snacks such as fruits and vegetables, the less you will crave in non-nutritious junk foods.

Hypertension:
    Hypertension is something that everyone should watch out for. Do your best to control the stress level in your life. High stress can lead to several health problems, such as: stroke, hypertension, heart attacks, ulcers, insomnia, depression and muscle aches. Getting the proper amount of sleep will help you avoid some of the added stress in your life and will reduce the risk of becoming overweight. Be very aware that eating disorders can develop if you are the type to take the easier but of course unhealthy route.
    
    Eat smaller, more nutritious meals throughout the day. Eating smaller-portioned meals that are several hours apart five or six times a day not only helps with digestion, but also helps to keep your weight down. Keeping your weight down can prevent diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Eating more frequently also helps you to feel less hungry, making it unlikely that you will binge on unhealthy foods.

    Healthy eating habits start with good nutrition. Staying away from fast foods, fatty or fried foods, and foods high in added sugar can help you to avoid such health issues as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart attack, and stroke. The more people know about how nutrition works, the better their choices can be.

    Calcium is a beneficial mineral that should be a part of a healthy diet. Calcium is involved in teeth and bone structure. It also helps in blood clotting, nerve function, muscle contraction, and blood vessel contraction. Calcium helps prevent many diseases such as osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, colon cancer, high cholesterol, and obesity.

    Therefore, eating healthy and following good eating habits on a budget is certainly possible. In fact, eating healthy can be cheaper than actually going out to eat at fast food restaurants.

3 Easy Tips for Better Health

   When your body is unhealthy, almost every other area of your life is affected. People that are unhealthy typically do not eat the right types of foods, sleep enough, or may have too much stress in their lives. It is NOT necessary to take drastic measures in order to improve your health such as not eating meat or anything extreme. You simply need to think about adding a few simple things into your daily routine that will make you feel bright, alert, energized and motivated. Here are some simple things that will get your body back into a healthy mode again.

Eat Fruit:
    This is a necessary component to a healthy diet. How many times a week do you actually have fruit? Fruit has natural minerals and supplements that make us much healthier overall. Besides, fruit is also an excellent source of fiber as well as being very low in calories. Fruit makes an excellent snack food throughout any day. Your snack time should migrate from unhealthy food to healthy choices like eating a banana or an apricot. So if you’re watching your figure, and don’t want to add on the extra pounds, eat vitamin rich fruit everyday.

Physical Activity:
    One of the easiest ways to begin improving your health is to try to work in a little extra physical activity into each day. The local fitness center will not be one of your focal points. There are a lot of little techniques that will give you that extra bit of physical exertion, like parking further away from your destination and walking part of the way. These may not feel like they’re having much effect, but when you increase your fitness level even a little, your health will improve. This is because your respiratory system will be stronger and so will your heart muscle. Anytime you can add a little exercise, it will be a plus.

    If you didn’t know, happy people are less likely to get sick than unhappy people and we know this thanks to research. Maybe laughter really is the best medicine. Look at some ways to add some fun to your day to get healthy.

    Here are some suggestions if ideas aren’t jumping into your head. You could watch something silly on T.V or have a joke with your friends. Play with your kids or your spouse and enjoy it. You will raise your endorphin levels by laughing and you will feel good. Seems simple enough but amazingly you can greatly combat depression, anxiety and high blood pressure this way.

    By being in a healthy state and enjoying your life, you are able to have the optimal lifetime experience. Yet if you’re constantly putting your body under pressure with too much weight, unhealthy habits, lack of exercise or too much stress, your health will suffer as a result. Work on simple things you can do to add healthier options and choices into your day and you’ll be rewarded as your health begins to improve.

Heart Palpitations Causes

   

    Sudden racing or pounding of your heart, known as heart palpitations, happen even when we are just walking or sitting and if you notice this happening to you then it could definitely be a big problem that needs to be checked by a medical professional.

    If you are relatively healthy, and you notice a fluttering or racing heartbeat once in a while, then you probably don’t have to worry, but you should still pay attention to it. Heart palpitations represent the physical irregularities in the beating of your heart that feels more like fluttering in your chest usually followed by a racing pounding sensation.

    What could be the primary causes of heart palpitations and are there ways to avoid the symptoms from happening so often? You may have been born with these heart problems and recognizing them early and learning how to deal with them will go a long way to leading a normal lifestyle.

    Fear, stress or anxiety are all things that can lead to heart palpitations and should be avoided at all costs if you are found to have problems with your heart. Many times, panic attacks can lead to symptoms that are very similar to a heart attack, and mistakenly diagnosed as such. Identifying what you are experiencing can be done through analysis of data accumulated by a device known as a cardiobeeper.

    A cardiobeeper is usually used when your palpitations occur infrequently enough to cause some concern. Recording your heart beat for an extended period of time (24-48 hours) will go a long way in helping identify the problem.

    Heart palpitations could also be the result of low levels of oxygen in your blood, either through strenuous exercise, anemia and other possible reasons. The rate of your heart may still be within normal range even with all these external stimulus that can usually cause stress, but be mindful that there are many medications that can contribute to bringing out these symptoms as well.

    Medical conditions like thyroid problems and something known as mitral valve prolapse can cause you to have palpitations as well. Stimulants like caffeine, nicotine, energy drinks and many over the counter medications are big offenders when it comes to causing disruptions in your heart rhythm.

    Don’t forget that emotional factors are heart palpitations causes that makes your heart skip a beat. Palpitations initially are usually not serious, especially if you are of even average health, but it would still depend on whether or not the sensations represent arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm).

    Basically after reading the above, you understand you should limit the intake of your caffeine and limit exercise enough to make your heartbeat manageable and thus preventing any more heart palpitations and other symptoms associated with it. Pursed-Lip breathing, is a form of breathing exercise that helps you reduce your stress and anxiety and also reduce your heart palpitation frequency.

    As a reminder what one might feel when experiencing heart palpitations, there would be discomfort in your chest area, paused heartbeats before proceeding to another and irregularities in your heartbeats. People may experience light headedness or lose consciousness from the causes of heart palpitations and you may identify whether this is a palpitation itself or not.

    Although being generally acclaimed as good for the heart, significant side effects of wine could result in cardiac irregularities or cardiac arrhythmias so it would be advisable to be honest when the doctor is assessing you.

    Employ the proper means in coping with stress and anxiety and applying sufficient time for exercise to prevent heart palpitations. If you have any other conditions that requires treatment, ask your health professional for the medications contraindications to manage the possible side effects, and employ the above mentioned techniques to reduce your stress.

The Dangers Of "Smoking" Alcohol

It seems that people are always trying to find new and innovative ways to get drunk. However, a re-emerging trend, referred to as “smoking” alcohol, which seems to have recently become popular not only among teens and college students, has health care providers quite concerned.

While many people may take regular shots of alcohol, or even do so- called “eyeball shots” or use “alcohol enemas”, a number of drinkers are now “smoking” alcohol. The consequences of “smoking” or vaporizing alcohol can be quite dangerous.

One method described on multiple internet sites is to pour the alcohol over dry ice in a thermos-type bottle, and inhale it directly using a straw or pipe. Another option is to make a vaporizing kit using a bike pump. In this method, the alcohol is poured into a bottle, then corked, while the needle from the bicycle pump is poked through the top of the cork. Following this, air is pumped into the bottle in order to vaporize the alcohol, with the user then inhaling. Another method is to free-base the alcohol over a flame which ultimately produces vapors for inhalation.

In 2004, a machine called the AWOL (Alcohol without Liquid) became popular as a way to vaporize alcohol. However, the product was rapidly banned in the US and people lost interest in the fad.

Ten years later, we are now seeing a re-emergence of this dangerous trend. The concerning issue is that it is gaining popularity among people who don’t want the added calories that come from consuming alcohol, and see this trend as a way to lose weight. Coined “drunkorexia’” some teens may be particularly vulnerable, and may see this as a way to limit their calories, while still enjoy the effects of alcohol.

One of the myths of vaporizing alcohol is that there are no calories associated with this method. In truth, there are still calories involved when you vaporize alcohol. If you are feeling the effects of the alcohol, it means that you are absorbing the calories associated with ethanol, the active component in alcohol. Although you may not absorb the added calories of the sweetners or mixers if you vaporize pure spirits, there are still calories absorbed.

In fact a man in North Texas, Broderic Allen, says he started smoking alcohol to lose weight, and reportedly lost nearly 80 pounds in the process. A recent video of him smoking alcohol has parents and healthcare providers extremely worried.

As one inhales alcohol vapor, it bypasses the stomach and liver going from the lungs directly to the brain and then into the bloodstream, leading to rapid alcohol intoxication. Since the alcohol is not metabolized by the liver, it has a higher strength and more potent effect as it enters the bloodstream going directly to the brain.

People have described that they experience the effects of the alcohol vapors almost immediately. However, the danger and risks are much more significant. Individuals who smoke alcohol are at a much higher risk of an alcohol overdose, referred to as “alcohol poisoning”. In the normal course of drinking, as people become more intoxicated, they generally vomit. Vomiting is the actually your body’s way of preventing an overdose. However, when alcohol bypasses the stomach and liver– as in “smoking” alcohol– there is no effective way to get rid of it. Once your brain has absorbed the ethanol, there is no way to expel it from your system.

More concerning with this method is that there is no effective way to measure how much alcohol you are consuming. As an example, if a single cup of alcohol is poured into a container and then vaporized, the drinker can’t discern if they are inhaling the entire cup or a few sips, as residual alcohol remains in the bottle, often obscured by lingering vapors.

An additional risk centers around the addictive potential of vaporizing alcohol. The rapid and intense effect of vaporizing alcohol–similar to the “quick hit” of cocaine, cigarettes, and methamphetamine—has tremendous potential to reinforce the addictive effects, leading to greater abuse potential. This is markedly different than drinking alcohol whereby effects can be slowed by a meal, as well as drinking in a slower fashion. As alcohol is absorbed through the stomach, its metabolism or breakdown by the liver helps to regulate the intoxicating effect of ethanol, the active ingredient in alcohol.

New products to vaporize the alcohol, such as the “Vaportini” have emerged on the scene in the past 5 years. The product, created in 2009, is sold legally in the US. The manufacturer explains that the Vaportini involves “no calories, no carbs, no impurities and the effects of consuming alcohol are immediately felt, making it easier to responsibly imbibe.”

An additional concern is that the process of inhaling the vaporized liquid into the lungs could potentially be quite irritating, leading to bronchospasm, as well as a drying effect of the alcohol to the respiratory tract passages and nasal lining. This drying effect of the alcohol could predispose individuals to a higher risk of lung infections such as pneumonia, or pneumonitis- an inflammatory condition in the lung.

If you can imagine just pouring a bottle of alcohol into your lungs and the effects it may have, some may then think twice about this dangerous practice. Inhaling dry ice (with the alcohol) which is difficult to humidify inside the lung tissue, could potentially lead to a “burn” of the lining of the lung. Overall, this practice could be even riskier for those who smoke, or have asthma or COPD.

Although there have been no formal published scientific studies describing the negative effects of “smoking” alcohol, the potential for harm, based on the mechanism, is concerning.

I urge parents to have a discussion with their children and teens regarding the significant dangers associated with this activity.

Good Eating and Sleep Habits Help Kids Succeed in School

Adults often hear what they should be doing to improve their health. But many of these known wellness behaviors are important for kids, too

Health habits, such as eating and sleep patterns, are linked to academic success, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Your brain can't work if you're not consuming enough calories, and in general that's not a problem," explained Krista Casazza, Phd , R.D., assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences. "But when kids go to school without eating breakfast, their cognitive function can be affected."

Casazza suggests kids start the day with fruits, proteins and whole grains. Avoid sugary cereals because they cause a sugar high, then a crash."A balanced breakfast will fuel the body for a long period and help sustain their attention level through lunch, when they need to eat well again," Casazza said. "This will hold them until dinner, and they won't snack ravenously after school."If the kids do need to eat something prior to dinner, consider these options: • Offer healthy choices like yogurt, fruits and veggies. • If they want "kid stuff," baked chips can be an option, in moderation. • Drink water. Soda lacks nutritional value.Once homework and dinner are done, sleep needs to be the priority.

"Children need a good night's sleep for their overall school performance," said Kristin Avis, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine."Lack of sleep can lead to problems with attention and memory in the classroom, affect impulse control and mood regulation lead to anxiety and even depression," Avis said.Avis said kids ages 6-12 should get nine hours sleep nightly as should adolescents ages 13-18 -- but typically they average little more than seven hours per night.

"Often parents think one night of sleep loss won't matter, but that's all it takes to affect them the next day," Avis explained. "If they are chronically deprived, it can snowball and make matters worse."Catching up on lost sleep on the weekend can make matters worse.
"If kids sleep in Saturday, they have a hard time going to bed Saturday night; so they sleep in Sunday and have a hard time going to bed Sunday night," Avis said. "Monday morning they are tired, and it's hard to wake up for school. They struggle to get back on a good sleep schedule."

Avis recommends a consistent bedtime seven days a week."It keeps their clock set so they can go to bed at a certain time, sleep well through night and wake up well rested the next morning," Avis said

Air Pollution Responsible for More Than 2 Million Deaths Worldwide Each Year, Experts Estimate

More than two million deaths occur worldwide each year as a direct result of human-caused outdoor air pollution, a new study has found.

In addition, while it has been suggested that a changing climate can exacerbate the effects of air pollution and increase death rates, the study shows that this has a minimal effect and only accounts for a small proportion of current deaths related to air pollution.

The study, which has been published today, 12 July, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, estimates that around 470,000 people die each year because of human-caused increases in ozone.

It also estimates that around 2.1 million deaths are caused each year by human-caused increases in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) ? tiny particles suspended in the air that can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing cancer and other respiratory disease.

Co-author of the study, Jason West, from the University of North Carolina, said: "Our estimates make outdoor air pollution among the most important environmental risk factors for health. Many of these deaths are estimated to occur in East Asia and South Asia, where population is high and air pollution is severe."

According to the study, the number of these deaths that can be attributed to changes in the climate since the industrial era is, however, relatively small. It estimates that a changing climate results in 1500 deaths due to ozone and 2200 deaths related to PM2.5 each year.

Climate change affects air quality in many ways, possibly leading to local increases or decreases in air pollution. For instance, temperature and humidity can change the reaction rates which determine the formation or lifetime of a pollutant, and rainfall can determine the time that pollutants can accumulate.Higher temperatures can also increase the emissions of organic compounds from trees, which can then react in the atmosphere to form ozone and particulate matter.

"Very few studies have attempted to estimate the effects of past climate change on air quality and health. We found that the effects of past climate change are likely to be a very small component of the overall effect of air pollution," continued West.

In their study, the researchers used an ensemble of climate models to simulate the concentrations of ozone and PM2.5 in the years 2000 and 1850. A total of 14 models simulated levels of ozone and six models simulated levels of PM2.5.

Previous epidemiological studies were then used to assess how the specific concentrations of air pollution from the climate models related to current global mortality rates.The researchers' results were comparable to previous studies that have analysed air pollution and mortality; however, there was some variation depending on which climate model was used.

"We have also found that there is significant uncertainty based on the spread among different atmospheric models. This would caution against using a single model in the future, as some studies have done," continued West.

Jharkhand: The Fire In The Earth's Belly

 

     The haunting inscription that marks the gates of hell in Dante's Inferno could well be true for Jharkhand. For, the underground fires that have been raging in the coalfields of this state over several years are now beginning to engulf its thickly inhabited areas as well.

An underground mine fire that has been raging for nearly six months now poses a threat to railway tracks after it led to the closure of the Ranchi-Patna National Highway last year.

The mine fire spotted at four to five places near the Kalyani project of Central Coalfield Limited at Bermo in Bokaro district has posed a threat to both the Bermo-Chandrapura-Dhanbad highway and the Gomoh-Barkakana railway route. The railway track is around 40 feet away from the fire and the highway is around 10 feet away. The fire is spread out in a two-kilometre area.

Earlier, the National Highway-33, which connects Ranchi and Patna via Hazaribagh and Koderma, was closed August 7, 2009 because of the underground mine fire that touched the road.

Meanwhile, another underground mine fire now poses a threat to railway tracks at Bansjora, a railway halt in Dhanbad district. It falls between Dhanbad and Katras railway route used daily by the Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains.

The fire broke out at quarry No. 15 of Godhra coal mine in 2008 and spread fast almost two kilometers from the Godhra railway station near Dhanbad town forcing 400 families to be evacuated from near the open-cast mine belonging to Bharat Coking Coal Limited.

Residents said they saw flames as high as 15 feet, forcing them to flee onto the highway where traffic had to be stalled for nearly an hour.

Panic gripped Sudamdih new mines area under eastern Jharia on December 28, 2007 when large cracks developed on the road and buildings spread over an area of nearly half km due to the land subsidence. While major cracks developed in almost all the rooms of Birsa Memorial High School, minor cracks were seen on walls of many houses of mini slum area situated by the side.

According to eyewitness, the residents of the locality heard some gurgling sound from beneath the earth at around 9.30 in the morning and cracks started developing on the surface. Fearing major land subsidence, residents came out of their houses and started running helter-skelter.

In October 2007, the area had experienced gas leakage from beneath the earth after which the coal organisation management dug many holes to control the underground fire by stowing water mixed with sand through the holes. It is all due to underground mine fire which is now slowly engulfing the area.

Such is the intensity of the fires that even a mid-summer sun pales in the smoky haze that they generate. After dusk, the flames take on morbid hues. "Jharia resembles a cremation ground at night". 

Few years ago the town's temple snapped into two. The next moment, flames leapt out from underneath spewing noxious gases. The people of Jharia then realised that the underground fire had finally reached their doorstep.

Some 150,000 miners, truck drivers, loaders and other workers brave this hazard to eke out a living. The fires have consumed about 42 million tonnes of India's best coking coal.

There appears to be no permanent solution in sight. The only opinion seems to be cut out trenches to disconnect fire seams which have been identified. But this would require a huge investment. But the extent to which has flared up in Jharia makes dousing it an uphill task-particularly when all the prevailing conditions further fan the fire.

The only solution which is now seen is the shifting of the town. This means that the relocation would affect the nearly 3 lakh population of Jharia, approximately 1 lakh houses and other buildings and a prospering economy.