Best And Worst Pre-Run Food

I have heard from many people, that they have had stomach issues while running or just after working out.... I didn't have a clue, until after I read this article from About.com.....

"If you have had issues with gastrointestinal distress during or after your runs, the foods you're eating in the 24 hours before your runs may be the culprit. Here's a guide to what you should and shouldn't eat before your runs.
FOODS TO AVOID
Try limiting or eliminating some of these foods before running to see if it makes a difference:

High-fiber foods: Whole-grain foods, vegetables, legumes, and fruits that are high in fiber can cause gastrointestinal distress or diarrhea.

High-fat foods: Foods with a lot of fat -- such as fried foods, cheese, hamburgers, or bacon -- digest slowly and will feel like they're sitting in your stomach.

Caffeine: Coffee or other caffeinated beverages can cause stomach issues or diarrhea.

SAFE FOODS
These are the best types of pre-run foods to help avoid gastrointestinal distress during or after running:

Low-Fiber Fruits and Veggies: If you really want to eat fruits or vegetables before runs, zucchini, tomatoes, olives, grapes, and grapefruit are all low in fiber.

Safe Dairy: Some people have issues when they consume dairy products before runs. Soy, rice, and almond milks generally don't contain the sugar lactose, which can be tough to digest. You can also try acidophilus milk and yogurts with live cultures, which contain bacteria that help with digestion.

Refined Carbs: Processed white foods, like regular pasta, white rice, and plain bagels are good choices. Although they're not as nutritious as whole grain and unprocessed foods, they're easier on your stomach because the whole grain is already broken down" (About.com)

Children of Older Fathers May Have Subtle Neurocognitive Impairments

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Until now We were knewthat advanced age of the mother is linked to Down syndrome but now there are research to prove that even father’s advance age might also cause reduced intelligence and other neurodevelopmental disorder.
This is something which we can avoid.

Medscape News reports,
"The offspring of older fathers show subtle impairments on tests of neurocognitive ability during infancy and childhood, according to the results of a study reported in the March 10 issue of PLoS Medicine.

"Advanced paternal age (APA) is associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, as well as with dyslexia and reduced intelligence," write Sukanta Saha, from Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, The Park Centre for Mental Health, in Richlands, Australia, and colleagues. "The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between paternal age and performance on neurocognitive measures during infancy and childhood."

Limitations of this study include nonrandom sample attrition and missing data that could affect the generalizability of the results"

Read full article here

Can I shrink my stomach without being hungry?

Some people have bigger stomach than others. They end up eating more calories than others before satiety center in brain stop them to munch more.......

How about if you feel full after eating some salad and a bread. Loosing weight is directly correlated to eating less calories. But again how to kill my voracious appetite....

Here are some ways to trick our stomach.

1. Shrink the stomach: The stretch receptors in the stomach can be “reset” over time to be accustomed to less food. Start by eating five or six mini-meals every three hours instead of three meals a day.

2. Eat protein: protein reduces hunger for reasons that are not well understood.

3. Eat low calorie, high fiber foods, like vegetables, fruits and whole grains, because they stay in the stomach longer to keep you satisfied. Vegetables and Fruits a lot of water and fiber, which can quickly fill you up.

4. Learn portion control:

5. Eat slowly: newer research published in Nature showed that changes in the human brain begin 10 minutes after eating and peak for about 2 minutes. The changes correspond directly to increases in blood sugar and insulin levels. By eating more slowly, you can give yourself time to feel your fullness signals. You can take a 2-minute break midway through your meal if you'd like or you can simply eat more slowly. To slow down naturally, choose foods that require work, such as shelled nuts, soybeans in the pod, lobster and mussels in the shell, fresh artichokes, and oranges in the peel.

6. Limit fatty foods, can the soda

7. Snack "smart" A little snacking may not only keep your hunger in-check between meals, but may also leave you less tempted to overeat at dinner.

8. Sibutramine (Meridia), a prescription drug also makes you feel full quickly, but it is reserved for people who are quite overweight.

Referance:

Mary Hartley, RD Calorie Count.

Eric Sabo, Cool Nurse.com.

Drink Water Before Breakfast to Lose Weight

Image by Cesar R. via Flickr

"Study shows water accelerates the metabolism and encourages weight loss Losing a few pounds or simply keeping in shape is often not only a question of strict dieting and working out as often as we can find the time for it. A healthy attitude towards food, moderation and a few easy tricks that all of us can do also come extremely in handy in our never-ending struggle against the extra pounds. Drinking a glass of water before breakfast is one of those tricks, experts tell us.

The importance and many benefits water has on our body can truly never be stressed enough. Hydration is key both in terms of our health and the appearance of our skin, so we should all start drinking more water throughout the day. Yet it can also help us lose weight, a new study comes to show, by accelerating the metabolism and helping our body “wash” the fat away more easily.

The study included premenopausal overweight women who started drinking water before breakfast in increasing quantities. The more water they drank, the more their weight loss efforts were sustained, results have shown. The conclusion can only be one: a glass of water (approximately eight ounces) in the morning before breakfast, coffee or tea is just what the doctor recommends for excellent health and a slim figure.

“After sleeping for seven to eight hours your body needs water as well as food – being slightly dehydrated can actually slow down your metabolism. Before downing your latte, green tea, or juice, have a glass of water because […] well-hydrated cells not only work better, but they help you flush out fat.” FitSugar also recommends, based on the findings of the latest study.

Nevertheless, if losing weight is not on our radar right now, water also has countless other benefits. For starters, it keeps the skin on the face well hydrated, thus protecting it from the winter cold and the harsh spring winds. Since the skin is made of 70% water, beauticians recommend about 8 glasses a day for a glowing, healthy and irresistible countenance, the kind no cream – no matter how expensive – can get." (Softpedia News)

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

Parents always told me that sex is an evil, It will come in the way of your success, will waste your time, blah...blah...blah.......But they were partially true.

WebMD reports, "The health benefits of sex extend well beyond the bedroom. Turns out sex is good for you in ways you may never have imagined."

"When you're in the mood, it's a sure bet that the last thing on your mind is boosting your immune system or maintaining a healthy weight.
Yet good sex offers those health benefits and more.That's a surprise to many people, says Joy Davidson, PhD, a New York psychologist and sex therapist. "Of course, sex is everywhere in the media," she says. "But the idea that we are vital, sexual creatures is still looked at in some cases with disgust or in other cases a bit of embarrassment. So to really take a look at how our sexuality adds to our life and enhances our life and our health, both physical and psychological, is eye-opening for many people."Sex does a body good in a number of ways, according to Davidson and other experts. The benefits aren't just anecdotal or hearsay -- each of these 10 health benefits of sex is backed by scientific scrutiny.Among the benefits of healthy loving in a relationship:

1. Relieves Stress:A big health benefit of sex is lower blood pressure and overall stress reduction, according to researchers from Scotland.

2. Boosts Immunity: Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA, which can protect you from getting colds and other infections.

3. Burn calories: 5-6 calories per minute. (can alone burn 1 pound fat in a month)

4. Improves Cardiovascular Health: And the heart health benefits of sex don't end there. The researchers also found that having sex twice or more a week reduced the risk of fatal heart attack by half for the men, compared with those who had sex less than once a month.

5. Boosts Self-Esteem: Boosting self-esteem was one of 237 reasons people have sex, collected by University of Texas researchers and published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

6. Improves Intimacy: Having sex and orgasms increases levels of the hormone oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, which helps us bond and build trust

7. Reduces Pain: As the hormone oxytocin surges, endorphins increase, and pain declines. So if your headache, arthritis pain, or PMS symptoms seem to improve after sex, you can thank those higher oxytocin levels.

8. Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk: Frequent ejaculations, especially in 20-something men, may reduce the risk of prostate cancer later in life, Australian researchers reported in the British Journal of Urology International.

9. Strengthens Pelvic Floor Muscles: For women, doing a few pelvic floor muscle exercises known as Kegels during sex offers a couple of benefits. You will enjoy more pleasure, and you'll also strengthen the area and help to minimize the risk of incontinence later in life. To do a basic Kegel exercise, tighten the muscles of your pelvic floor, as if you're trying to stop the flow of urine. Count to three, then release.

10. Helps You Sleep Better: The oxytocin released during orgasm also promotes sleep, according to research. "(WebMD)weight and blood pressure. Something to think about, especially if you've been wondering why your guy can be active one minute and snoring the next."(WebMD)

Being fat is as bad as smoking

BBC Repots "Being overweight or seriously underweight as a teenager curbs life expectancy as much as smoking 10 cigarettes a day, a study suggests."

"Swedish researchers followed 46,000 men from the age of 18 for 38 years. Being obese or smoking more than 10 a day doubled the premature death risk, the British Medical Journal reported.

Being overweight, seriously underweight or smoking 10 or less raised it by 30% - and interestingly the fat non-smoker ran the same risk as the fat smoker.

Those who were underweight - with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 18.5 - had no increased risk of dying early, regardless of whether they smoked or not.

But the team from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that those who were seriously underweight - with a BMI of 17 or less - ran the same risk as those who were overweight.

Read full article

Fewer Calories = Low weight regardless of proportion of carb. Protein, fat

Heartwire (WebMD) posts,

"People lose weight if they eat fewer calories, regardless of where those calories come from [1]. That's the upshot of a two-year study by Dr Frank Sacks (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA) and colleagues, published in the February 26, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine."

"Research has looked at whether carbohydrate is more satiating than fat, or whether protein is more satiating than carbohydrates, or whether overeating fat puts more fat in the belly than overeating carbohydrates, etc," Sacks explained. "So what's concerned colleagues of mine on the nutrition guideline panels in the past is the possibility that if we say that a 40% fat diet is okay, that maybe that would lead to weight gain. But where this study is going to be helpful is in saying 40% fat, 20% fat, it doesn't matter. If people can maintain a calorie deficit no matter what type of diet they were on, they're going to lose weight."

"Diet Details

The diets tested in the study included the same types of foods, but in different proportions, and were tailored to patients such that overall calorie consumption was reduced by approximately 750 calories per day, with each diet including a different macronutrient composition:

• High-fat, average protein: 40% fat, 15% protein, 45% carbohydrate.
• High-fat, high-protein: 40% fat, 25% protein, 35% carbohydrate.
• Low-fat, average protein: 20% fat, 15% protein, 65% carbohydrate.
• Low-fat, high-protein: 20% fat, 25% protein, 55% carbohydrate.

Participants were advised to exercise for at least 90 minutes per week, at a moderate level, and were offered counseling sessions every eight weeks, with group sessions held weekly or biweekly over the course of the study.

In all, 80% of subjects completed the trial, and 14% to 15% of subjects managed to lose at least 10% of their initial body weight. Subjects randomized to different groups reported similar degrees of satisfaction, hunger, and satiety. All the diets reduced risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease at six months and two-year follow-up. At the two-year mark, the low-fat diets and the highest carbohydrate diet fared better than the high-fat diets and low-carb diet in terms of reducing LDL cholesterol. By contrast, the lowest carbohydrate diet improved HDL-cholesterol levels more than the highest carbohydrate diet. All of the diets produced slight improvements in blood pressure and decreased the number of patients with metabolic syndrome. All, with the exception of the highest carbohydrate diet, decreased fasting serum insulin levels."

Read the full article

Study: Proximity to fast-food restaurants linked to stroke risk

You wont believe this, "Living close to a fast food restaurant can increase your chances of stroke." Don't get panicky of course, if you are not eating fast food you are not risk. think again.... when you will pass by the restaurant, wont you grab a snack.. yes you might...(CNN) reports -- "A person's risk of stroke is associated with the number of fast-food restaurants near their residence, according to a study presented Thursday at a stroke conference in San Diego, California.

Fast-food restaurants may be associated with stroke risk, a new study says. Some say there's not enough evidence.

Researchers led by Dr. Lewis B. Morgenstern at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor counted 1,247 strokes caused by blood clots in 64 census tracts in Nueces County, Texas, which includes Corpus Christi, from January 2000 through June 2003.

They also mapped the county's 262 fast-food restaurants and then adjusted for socioeconomic status and demographics and found a statistically significant association.

"The association suggested that the risk of stroke in a neighborhood increased by 1 percent for every fast-food restaurant," the authors wrote in a poster presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference.

Residents of neighborhoods in the 75th percentile of fast-food restaurants had a 6 percent increased risk of stroke compared with residents of the 25th percentile of such eateries, according to the study, which was paid for by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke."

Read full article here

Boost your memory by reducing calories in your diet

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Boost your memory by reducing calories in your diet
Posted by JS PS on Sunday, February 22, 2009 Under: Healthy Lifestyle
I have been suggesting for ages that if nothing kills one, then eating might kill him one day. What not you can get by eating more. you know very well about all diseases, excessive eating might lead to. "CNN reports
"Having a senior moment? A new study suggests that cutting calories may help.
Cutting down on calories could help women retain their memory, according to a study conducted in Germany.

I have been suggesting for ages that if nothing kills one, then eating might kill him one day. What not you can get by eating more. you know very well about all diseases, excessive eating might lead to. "CNN reports
"Having a senior moment? A new study suggests that cutting calories may help.
Cutting down on calories could help women retain their memory, according to a study conducted in Germany.
Older adults who cut down on the amount of calories they consume get a two-for-one special: weight loss and better memory.

Healthy women ranging in age from 50 to 80 who reduced their calorie intake by 30 percent for three months not only lost weight, but their scores on verbal memory tests also shot up by 20 percent, according to a study conducted by Dr. Agnes Floel and her colleagues from the University of Munster in Germany, who published the results in the January issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The results seem pretty dramatic," said Mark P. Mattson, a senior investigator at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in Bethesda, Maryland.

"Even though the number of subjects in the study was not really high, they had really high, statistically significant improvements in their performance on the memory test," added Mattson, who studies caloric restriction and the brain in his role as chief of the Cellular and Molecular Neurosciences Section at the NIA's Laboratory of Neurosciences. He was not involved in Floel's investigation."

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How To Be Healthy

I found these useful tips on how to be healthy on wikihow and they are really very true.....
1. Counting calories is annoying, so instead of doing that, just eat the portion size and when ordering a large portion of something, save the rest of it for another meal. The food will not disappear!

2. Some foods, like celery and gum, help you burn calories by chewing.

3. Snacking on vegetables fills you up quicker than snacking on sugar substance and tastes better, too.

4. Too much sugar is the devil. Too much soda is the devil. Avoid the Devil by drinking water and staying away from sweets. Those are bad for you.

5. Eat fruits when craving something sweet. The thought of fresh fruit may not sound as satisfying before you bite into it but it actually is more satisfying than junk food. And then your mind craves the real foods again not the junk.

6. Jog up and down stairs in your house if there is no park close to where you live.
Make an attempt to walk to work or school if it is not too far away. You can do this everyday or just twice a week.

7. Pack your lunch instead of buying one out(Save money as well as Health).

8. Never skip a meal. It can really mess with your metabolism. It will also cause you to overeat later on in the day and that makes you fat.

9. Drink lots of water to help keep you hydrated.

10. Make sure you are getting enough sleep as little as it seems 7 and a half hours of sleep is just right.

11. Try to have a good serving of each food group a day.

12. Eat yogurts as they contain many wonderful healthy beneficial bacteria that strengthens the ammune system. Make sure it is the kind with the fruit in the bottom or plain yogurt.

13. Become more aware of what you eat. Try to eat sugars 20 minutes before proteins and heavy starches like potatoes, breads and pastas. Otherwise it takes the sugars too long to digest and they ferment in the stomach and can cause bloating and fatigue."

Read whole article

An hour's Calorie Burn in just 20 minutes.sd

As always curious about how to get more done in less time. I found out this wonderful article in Yahoo health.....

Pulse Training


In just 20 mins you can burn calories of 1 hrs workout time.


you must be thinking this is some kind of gimmick.

Nope this is not..Fortunately this is true....

"Pick any cardio you like (running, swimming, the elliptical trainer). Warm up for 2 minutes at a moderate pace, then sprint for 30 seconds at the highest intensity you can muster. Slow down and do 90 seconds at a catch-your-breath recovery pace. Repeat eight times. You'll torch more calories in less time, while you burn fat faster. Follow this cardio session with a few of the following fast firmers for a total-body workout in less than 30 minutes".(Yahoo Health)


Tighten your tummy: 10 to 12 crunches on a stability ball.


Firm up legs: Stand on left foot, hands on hips, and bring right knee to hip level in front. Then bend left knee and hop to right, landing on right foot. Do 10 reps


Boost your bottom: Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands on waist. Shift weight to left foot and lift heel of right foot so you're resting on toes. Bend left knee and sink hips back, keeping weight off right foot (toes stay on ground). Rise up. Do 12 reps on left leg, then switch legs and repeat.

Bare amazing arms: Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand with feet hip-width apart. Raise arms, palms down, out and slightly forward to shoulder height. Slowly lower them behind you so weights almost touch. Do 12 reps.

 Slim all over: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Keeping legs as straight as possible, bend forward and walk hands out until they're under shoulders. Do two push-ups, then walk hands back and stand. Repeat twice, doing four push-ups, then six.

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