Category Archives: Health

Health, Nutrition

11 Worst Burgers in America

By David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding

It’s not the cow’s fault.

For a ruminating herbavore, cows sure get blamed for a lot of things. They got blamed for the Great Chicago Fire. They get blamed for contributing to global warming. And now our poor cud-chewing friends are getting blamed for America’s obesity crisis, too.

Okay, it’s not the cows themselves, but their most popular end product—hamburgers—that get fingered as the perp in our ongoing weight struggles. But like I said, it’s not the cow’s fault. See, burgers used to be healthy!

Back before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the average restaurant burger weighed in at about 333 calories. But today’s typical version weighs in at almost twice that—600 calories on average. (Maybe we should have built a wall in Hamburg?)

So don’t blame the cow. Blame the food engineers in chain restaurant kitchens, who are tricking out the simple burger until it has more fleshy extras than Madonna’s stage show. In fact, burgers can be a healthy and satisfying dose of protein, if you know what to look for—and what to avoid.

In our continuing mission to create a more natural and healthier food supply, Eat This, Not That! uncovers America’s 11 most offensive burgers. Beware of them—or it won’t just be the burgers that wind up with oversized buns.

11. Worst Classic Fast-Food Burger

Burger King Whopper with Cheese
760 calories
47 g fat (16 g saturated, 1 g trans)
1,410 mg sodium

With 200 more calories than a McDonald’s Big Mac, the Whopper is the clear loser in the battle of the burger icons. Blame it on the jumbo patty and globs of mayo (160 calories worth to be exact). And get this: If you add medium fries and a medium coke—a likely scenario—you’re looking at a 1,500-calorie meal. The best way to “have it your way” at BK? Order a standard cheeseburger and call it a day, or tryCook This, Not That! Easy 350-Calorie Meals and save calories, time, and cash.

Eat This Instead!
Burger King Cheeseburger
300 calories
14 g fat (6 g saturated, 0 g trans)
710 mg sodium

10. Worst Burger Kids’ Meal

McDonald’s McDouble Mighty Kids Meal with Fat-Free Chocolate Milk Jug
765 calories
30 g fat (9.5 g saturated, 1 g trans)
1,215 mg sodium

I applaud McDonald’s for its recent move to offset fries with fruit in all its kids’ meals, but—apple slices or not—this “mighty” menu option remains the worst children’s choice at the drive-thru. The chain created the Mighty Kids Meal for “in-be-tweens” (kids aged 8 to 12). Problem is, it packs more fat and calories than an adult’s meal should. A standard Happy Meal is plenty of food for your kid—no matter their age—and chicken nuggets trump burgers any day. (Find hundreds of other tips to help your family eat better in Eat This, Not That! For Kids!)

Eat This Instead!
McDonald’s Chicken McNugget Happy Meal with 1% Low-Fat Milk Jug
405 calories
19.5 g fat (4 g saturated)
555 mg sodium

9. Worst Basic Burger

Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger
920 calories
62 g fat (29.5 g saturated)
1,310 mg sodium

This burger bomb landed on the list for one reason: false advertising. At Five Guys, regular burgers are doubles and “Little” burgers are singles. And the burgers aren’t the only serving size rip-off the chain serves up. The “regular” fries have 620 calories—double that of most standard fry orders. The takeaway: Go “Little” or go elsewhere.

Eat This Instead!
Five Guys Little Bacon Burger
560 calories
33 g fat (14.5 g saturated)
640 mg sodium

8. Worst “Healthy” Burger

Ruby Tuesday Avocado Turkey Burger
968 calories
61 g fat
1,601 mg sodium

It’s entirely common for restaurants to top their turkey burgers with so many greasy calories that they completely nullify the small savings you get by choosing turkey over beef. Ruby Tuesday’s Avocado Turkey Burger, for example, has more calories than the chain’s Classic Cheeseburger. The lesson: Turkey doesn’t always mean healthier.

Eat This Instead!
Asiago Peppercorn Sirloin
401 calories
20 g fat
1,023 mg sodium

7. Worst Burger Melt

Red Robin All-American Patty Melt
1,254 calories
94 g fat
1,951 mg sodium

Melts are notoriously high in calories, thanks to copious amounts of butter and cheese, and Red Robin takes the diner classic from poor to preposterous by adding 350 calories of Thousand Island dressing. This “All-American” monstrosity is the highest-calorie burger on the menu, but unfortunately, the others are close behind. In fact, the Keep it Simple Burger is the chain’s only burger that falls below 800 calories, which makes it your only sane option.

Eat This Instead!
Red Robin Keep It Simple Burger
569 calories
24 g fat
991 mg sodium

6. Worst BBQ Burger

Chili’s Shiner Bock BBQ Burger
1,300 calories
74 g fat (24 g saturated)
2,840 mg sodium

An average burger at Chili’s packs 1,400 calories, and the Shiner Bock is among the worst of the lot. The burger’s main calorie culprit: crispy onion strings. Last time I checked, deep-fried onions were a side dish—and a shoddy one at that. This dish also comes standard with 380 calories of fries, so all said, you’re looking at nearly a day’s calories in one sitting. If you want to get your red-meat fix at Chili’s, steak’s the only way to go.

Eat This, Instead!
Chili’s Custom Combinations Classic Sirloin with Sweet Corn on the Cob and Steamed Broccoli
520 calories
21 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,770 mg sodium

5. Worst Sliders

Applebee’s Cheeseburger Sliders with Applewood Smoked Bacon
1,340 calories
87 g fat (75 g saturated, 3 g trans)
2,550 mg sodium

Sliders are particularly sneaky diet traps. First, despite their diminutive stature, they tend to pack as many—if not more—calories as their full-size brethren. Second, they’re often listed as appetizers, which means you risk wolfing down more than a meal’s worth of calories before you even set eyes on your entrée. My advice: Go with a leaner appetizer like the Grilled Chicken Wonton Tacos—the only Applebee’s option under 600 calories—and consider sharing with a friend.

Eat This Instead!
Applebee’s Grilled Chicken Wonton Tacos
590 calories
24 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
2,150 mg sodium  

4. Worst Double Cheeseburger

Denny’s Double Cheeseburger
1,400 calories
87 g fat (41 g saturated, 2 g trans)
2,680 mg sodium

Some things are better in pairs: skis, wings, Super Bowl tickets. But burgers? Not so much. An extra patty adds little flavor and costs you big on the bathroom scale. Take this double whammy from Denny’s: double patties, double cheese, double a day’s saturated fat, and 2 grams of trans fat. What do all these twos add up to? Double chins. The 540-calorie Veggie Burger is the chain’s only safe burger option, but if you’re an unabashed carnivore, you’ll appreciate the Prime Rib Skillet.

Eat This Instead!
Denny’s Prime Rib Skillet
585 calories
38 g fat (12.5 g saturated)
1,460 mg sodium

3. Worst Crazy Burger Creation

Friendly’s Grilled Cheese Burger
1,540 calories
92 g fat (35 g saturated)
2,490 mg sodium

American chains are constantly dreaming up wacky dishes designed to get your novelty neurons firing at the speed of light. Perhaps the single best example of this frankenfood effect: the Grilled Cheese Burger from Friendly’s. It’s a giant burger wedged between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Need I say more? If you’re craving grilled cheese, order grilled cheese.

Eat This, Instead!
Friendly’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich
800 calories
37 g fat (14 g saturated)
1,280 mg sodium

2. Worst Fast-Food Burger

Sonic Ring Leader Loaded Burger Double Patty
1,660 calories
120 g fat (44 g saturated, 4 g trans)
1,450 mg sodium

The recent unveiling of this menacing half-pound burger marks a new low for a chain that already suffers from an iffy reputation. The bacon strips and onion rings will receive much of the criticism, but it’s the less flashy components that hold the hidden danger. In fact, the two slices of cheddar cheese and the double slather of mayo account for a third of the fat. (Then there’s the “bun oil” Sonic squeezes on.) If you need a burger fix, there are less perilous ways to get it.

Eat This Instead!
Jr. Deluxe Burger with Bacon and Green Chilies
425 calories
25 g fat (8 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
705 mg sodium

1. Worst Burger in America

Chili’s Jalapeño Smokehouse Bacon Burger
1,910 calories
126 g fat (43 g saturated)
5,290 mg sodium

This tricked-out number is the worst of the worst of Chili’s’ burger behemoths. It comes saddled with tortilla strips, bacon, cheddar, mayo, and jalapeno-ranch dressing, the combined impact of which is more than 2 days’ worth of saturated fat and as much sodium as you’d find in 6 pounds of McDonald’s French fries.

Eat This, Instead!
Chili’s Margarita Grilled Chicken
550 calories
14 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,870 mg sodium

Original Article: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/11-worst-burgers-america

Health, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Fats You Can——and Should— Eat

What is the upside to eating fat?

Kate Lowenstein

It’s just not fair: Fat got a bad rap decades ago because scientists assumed, based on the misinterpretation of a couple of large studies, that eating foods containing fat would lead directly to obesity and heart disease. Fatty foods were made out to be our sole dietary vice, responsible for raising our cholesterol levels, clogging our arteries, and causing us to get, well, fat.

And that made a kind of intuitive sense — —why wouldn’t the fat you consume wind up as the fat you see on your butt and thighs? But “the low-fat diet backfired,” says Frank Hu, MD, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. “America’s obesity epidemic skyrocketed even while our fat intake went down.” So experts are getting off the “fat is evil” bandwagon these days— — and we should, too.

The upside of eating fat

Like carbohydrates and protein, fat is an essential nutrient. This means that your body requires it for key functions, such as absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. “Fat is also an important energy source and is vital for keeping your skin and hair healthy and smooth,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, author of Read It Before You Eat It.

Even more surprising: Research is revealing that eating the right fats can actually lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, and improve your cholesterol levels. That’s because all fats are not created equal, Dr. Hu points out. It’s not the total amount of fat in your diet that affects how much you weigh or whether you’re at risk for heart disease, according to rigorous studies from the past decade. What matters is the type of fats you choose (and, when it comes to dropping pounds, the total number of calories you eat). Here’s a breakdown.

Good fats

Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs):  Found in plant foods like nuts, avocados, olive oil, and canola oil, and in poultry

MUFAs can actually lower cholesterol levels, and, in doing so, your risk of heart disease. In fact, a Journal of the American Medical Association study showed that replacing a carb-rich diet with one high in monounsaturated fats can do both, and reduce blood pressure, too.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs): Found in fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel, and corn and soybean oils

Like MUFAs, PUFAs have been shown to improve cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease risk. One type is the omega-3 fatty acid, which is plentiful in some kinds of fish— — not to be confused with omega-6 fatty acids, found in meats, corn oil, and soybean oil. Some research finds that Americans eat about 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3; we should be aiming to get closer to four times as much. To do so, Dr. Hu says, sub in fish for meat when you can.

Ok-in-moderation fat

Saturated fat:  Found in meat and dairy products such as cheese, butter, and milk

We’ve been warned for decades to eat less saturated fat — —after all, it raises “bad” (LDL) cholesterol levels, and thus, it was assumed, ups your risk of heart attack and stroke. Lately, though, research has begun to vindicate it. For instance, a 2010 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition review of 21 studies was unable to find a link between saturated fat consumption and heart disease or stroke. Some types have been entirely exonerated: “Stearic acid, found in dark chocolate, is clearly non-harmful,” says David L. Katz, MD, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center. The same may be true of lauric acid, a type of saturated fat abundant in coconut oil, but there’s not enough evidence to say for sure, Dr. Katz says.

While some experts, like Dr. Katz, say there’s no downside to cutting out saturated fats, others believe keeping them in the mix helps us avoid getting too many bad-for-you refined carbohydrates instead. Bottom line: You don’t need to ban them. Just make sure most of your fat intake is unsaturated, eat red meat only once or twice a week, and use olive oil instead of butter when possible.

Bad fat

Trans fat:  Found in some fried foods, shortening, and packaged snacks like crackers and desserts

Trans fat gained notoriety several years ago when one state and a handful of cities banned the artificial kind— — found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil— — from restaurants. (Trans fats also occur naturally in small amounts in some foods.) Research has found that artificial trans fats raise LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol—and a high LDL/low HDL combination can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke. Still, partially hydrogenated oil remains a fairly common ingredient in processed foods, in part because adding hydrogen to vegetable oil gives it a longer shelf life.

Experts agree that you should cut out trans fat altogether— — and thankfully, that’s not so hard to do. “Limit your intake of processed foods, commercial snacks, and fast food, and you’ll avoid trans fat,” Dr. Katz says. Don’t assume you’re in the clear if your packaged snack says “0 trans fats” on the label. “Food manufacturers are allowed to put ‘0 trans fats’ in the nutritional information if the item has up to 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving,” says Taub-Dix. “Look at the ingredient list: If you see the word ‘hydrogenated,’ then the food has trans fat and you should skip it.”

Eat fat, lose weight

We know what you’re thinking: How do you control calories if you’re downing chocolate, olive oil, and nuts? After all, fat packs 9 calories per gram, compared to 4 cals per gram of carbs or protein. Well, for one thing, when you eat a food that contains some fat, you’re likely to feel satisfied faster than when eating something fat free. That means you’ll consume less of it and will likely be less tempted to snack later on. Some studies have also indicated that certain fats work to help you stay slim: For instance, Harvard researchers found that people who ate nuts regularly gained less weight over a four-year period than those who didn’t. Plus, foods labeled “reduced fat” or “fat free” can actually contain more calories than their full-fat counterparts, because the fat has been replaced with sugar, starch, and other fillers with little to no nutritional value to add back flavor.

As for dairy, we’ve all heard that drinking milk (and eating yogurt) can boost bone health and even lower blood pressure and promote weight loss. If you’re getting the multiple servings of milk you should each day, consider making some of it low fat to keep saturated fat and calories down. When it comes to cheese, Dr. Hu recommends indulging in the full-fat stuff occasionally; it has more flavor than low-fat cheese, so a little goes a long way.

So how much “good” fat you should get? The American Heart Association recommends that unsaturated fats make up 18 to 28 percent of the calories in our diets, with no more than 7 percent of our daily calories coming from saturated fat. But here’s an easier rule of thumb: “I just make sure that the fats I eat come from healthy food sources— like vegetable oils, fish, legumes, nuts, and other plant-based foods,” says Dr. Hu. “If you do that, then there’s no need to count.”

Original Article: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cholesterol/fats-you-can%e2%80%94and-should%e2%80%94-eat

Health

Sleep tips: 7 steps to better sleep

Better sleep can be yours! Consider sleep tips for the weary.

From MayoClinic.com
 

Feeling crabby lately? Or simply worn out? Perhaps the solution is better sleep.

Think about all the factors that can interfere with a good night’s sleep — from pressure at work and family responsibilities to unexpected challenges, such as layoffs, relationship issues or illnesses. It’s no wonder that quality sleep is sometimes elusive.

Although you might not be able to control all of the factors that interfere with your sleep, you can adopt habits that encourage better sleep. Start with these simple sleep tips.

No. 1: Stick to a sleep schedule

Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, holidays and days off. Being consistent reinforces your body’s sleep-wake cycle and helps promote better sleep at night. There’s a caveat, though. If you don’t fall asleep within about 15 minutes, get up and do something relaxing. Go back to bed when you’re tired. If you agonize over falling asleep, you might find it even tougher to nod off.

No. 2: Pay attention to what you eat and drink

Don’t go to bed either hungry or stuffed. Your discomfort might keep you up. Also limit how much you drink before bed, to prevent disruptive middle-of-the-night trips to the toilet.

Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine — which take hours to wear off — can wreak havoc with quality sleep. And even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy at first, it can disrupt sleep later in the night.

No. 3: Create a bedtime ritual

Do the same things each night to tell your body it’s time to wind down. This might include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, or listening to soothing music — preferably with the lights dimmed. Relaxing activities can promote better sleep by easing the transition between wakefulness and drowsiness.

Be wary of using the TV or other electronic devices as part of your bedtime ritual. Some research suggests that screen time or other media use before bedtime interferes with sleep.

 

No. 4: Get comfortable

Create a room that’s ideal for sleeping. Often, this means cool, dark and quiet. Consider using room-darkening shades, earplugs, a fan or other devices to create an environment that suits your needs.

Your mattress and pillow can contribute to better sleep, too. Since the features of good bedding are subjective, choose what feels most comfortable to you. If you share your bed, make sure there’s enough room for two. If you have children or pets, set limits on how often they sleep with you — or insist on separate sleeping quarters.

No. 5: Limit daytime naps

Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep — especially if you’re struggling with insomnia or poor sleep quality at night. If you choose to nap during the day, limit yourself to about 10 to 30 minutes and make it during the midafternoon.

If you work nights, you’ll need to make an exception to the rules about daytime sleeping. In this case, keep your window coverings closed so that sunlight — which adjusts your internal clock — doesn’t interrupt your daytime sleep.

No. 6: Include physical activity in your daily routine

Regular physical activity can promote better sleep, helping you to fall asleep faster and to enjoy deeper sleep. Timing is important, though. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you might be too energized to fall asleep. If this seems to be an issue for you, exercise earlier in the day.

 

No. 7: Manage stress

When you have too much to do — and too much to think about — your sleep is likely to suffer. To help restore peace to your life, consider healthy ways to manage stress. Start with the basics, such as getting organized, setting priorities and delegating tasks. Give yourself permission to take a break when you need one. Share a good laugh with an old friend. Before bed, jot down what’s on your mind and then set it aside for tomorrow.

Know when to contact your doctor

Nearly everyone has an occasional sleepless night — but if you often have trouble sleeping, contact your doctor. Identifying and treating any underlying causes can help you get the better sleep you deserve.

 

Original Article: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/sleep-disorders/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100096430

Health

Surprising Causes of Back Pain

By Nicole DeCoursy

If you’ve ever had a bout of back pain, you’re not alone: According to the National Institutes of Health, 8 out of 10 people will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Most of the time, back pain is set off by something totally minor, says Venu Akuthota, MD, director of the Spine Center at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colorado.

Besides obvious causes (constantly lugging a too-heavy purse, for instance), experts say that everyday habits like hunching over your smartphone can strain your spine and the surrounding muscles over time, causing pain and making you more vulnerable to serious injury. To stop back pain now—and avoid future agony—try targeting these unexpected culprits.

Culprit No. 1: Your fancy office chair
Even an expensive, ergonomic chair can be bad for your back if you sit in it all day without a break. Sitting not only lessens blood flow to the discs that cushion your spine (wearing them out and stressing your back), but it puts 30% more pressure on the spine than standing or walking, says New York City chiropractor Todd Sinett, author of The Truth About Back Pain.

Be sure to stretch at your desk and get up every hour to walk around. Don’t assume that built-in lumbar support makes your chair back-friendly—in fact, for many people, lumbar supports don’t make a bit of difference, especially if they aren’t positioned properly (at the base of your spine), says Heidi Prather, a physical-medicine and rehabilitation specialist and associate professor of orthopedic surgery and neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

No matter what type of chair you sit in, make sure your head is straight (not tilted down) when you’re typing or reading. Avoid slouching and adjust your seat so it tilts back slightly to help alleviate some of the load on your back, Sinett says. And keep your feet planted firmly on the floor.

Culprit No. 2: The wrong shoes
When you strut in stilettos, your foot strikes the ground in a toe-forward motion rather than the normal heel-toe gait, stressing your knees, hips, and back, Sinett explains. “Wearing heels also alters the angle of your body so your weight isn’t evenly distributed over the spine,” he says. This instability can set you up for pain and injury radiating from your knees all the way to your back.

Another shoe no-no: the backless kind (even flats and flip-flops), which allow your heel to slide around. Again, the lack of stability distributes your body weight unevenly, putting more pressure on your spine. Your shoe should firmly hold your foot in place to keep you stable and protect your back, says Sinett, who also advises sticking to heels that are less than three inches high.

Culprit No. 3: Your beloved smartphone or tablet
Mobile technology has not been kind to our backs and necks, Prather says. “We’re hovering over laptops, iPads, and smartphones all the time,” she notes. “This head-down position strains the muscles in the neck, and the pain can extend all the way down your spine to your lower back.” Take frequent breaks, and try to look straight ahead—rather than down—while using a laptop, tablet, or phone. You can buy a stand to help hold your laptop or tablet at a more back-friendly height and angle.

Culprit No. 4: Extra pounds
Carrying even just a few extra inches around your midsection—whether it’s due to belly fat or pregnancy—makes your pelvis tilt forward and out of alignment, as your body works to keep itself balanced. This can cause excessive strain on your lower back, Dr. Akuthota says. He recommends doing this easy stretch several times daily: Tighten your abs (like you’re bracing for a punch in the stomach) to activate core muscles and take a load off the lumbar discs; hold 10 seconds, then release. (Pregnant? Check with your doctor before doing any exercise.)

And if weight gain is your problem, consider making whole grains an essential part of your slim-down plan: A new study from Tufts University found that those who ate three or more servings of whole grains a day had 10% less abdominal fat compared with those who ate essentially no whole grains.

Culprit No. 5: The wrong bra
Large-breasted women obviously carry significantly more weight in front than those who have smaller breasts. This can lead to hunching and sore neck and back muscles, Sinett says. A bra that offers proper support can actually minimize that forward hunch and relieve pain, while one that doesn’t may exacerbate the problem, as you hunch or strain even more to compensate for uncomfortable straps or a riding-up band.

Research shows that many women wear the wrong size bra, but the right fit can mean the difference between sagging and supported; get fitted by a bra professional. Prather says you may want to try a T-back (a.k.a. racer-back) style. “It gives the body a cue to pull the shoulders back,” she says.

Culprit No. 6: Your crazy schedule
Just like the rest of you, your back muscles can tense up when you’re frazzled. Muscles are designed to contract and relax, Sinett explains, but when you’re stressed, they may contract so much that they can eventually start to spasm. Stress also boosts production of the hormone cortisol, which increases inflammation and can lead to achiness, he says.

On top of that, “Chronic stress can affect the way a person perceives pain,” says Alan Hilibrand, MD, spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and professor of orthopaedic and neurological surgery at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. “So those who are stressed will often have a harder time managing back pain than those who aren’t.” Lower-impact aerobic exercise (think walking or working out on an elliptical trainer) may help relieve back pain and ease stress—so you can beat the pain for good.

Original Article: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/surprising-causes-of-back-pain

Health

6 Tips for Exercising Though Allergy Season

By Hollis Templeton and Alyssa Wells

Don’t let watery eyes and a runny nose keep you from a spring workout. Avoid the pitfalls of allergy season with these expert tips

Suffering from sniffles?

Call it the curse of spring: The very second you’re ready to start exercising outside, nature explodes and pollen punches you in the face. You’re not alone—nearly 40 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies. Though springtime sniffles may seem unavoidable, don’t invest in the economy pack of Kleenex just yet. In addition to controlling your symptoms with meds and shots, here are six ways you can strike back.

Reschedule Your Workout

Exercising in the AM makes you more likely to stick with your workout routine, according to various studies. But the prime time for fitness is also the worst time for your outdoor allergies. Generally, pollen counts peak in the morning between 6 AM and 10 AM, says Frederick M. Schaffer, MD, chief medical officer of United Allergy Services. Unless you can get yourself in the habit of rising with the sun, consider moving your run to lunchtime or immediately after work. “Trees don’t like to pollinate when it’s very warm out,” says Paul Ehrlich, MD, a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. “During the day pollen is less of a problem—but in the mornings and evenings when it’s cool and there’s a breeze, the pollen just goes crazy.”

In addition to avoiding peak times, regularly check your local weather forecast for days when the pollen count will be particularly high—and have a backup plan ready. Consider heading to the gym or hitting the pool when the pollen count reaches more than 900 grains per cubic meter (high)—and definitely stick with indoor workouts when the count hits 1,500 grains per cubic meter (very high).

Stay Indoors When You Need to De-Stress

As if you need one more thing to worry about—your immune system may react more severely to allergens when you’re feeling frazzled, according to researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center. After skin prick tests, study subjects with a history of seasonal allergies developed raised, itchy patches on their skin that were more red and twice as big when they were stressed compared to when they were feeling calmer.

Avoid Allergy-Aggravating Foods

Eating fruits and veggies is never a bad idea, but during allergy season, it’s important to pick the right ones. Many seasonal allergy sufferers are also affected by oral allergy syndrome, a reaction that occurs when pollen crosses paths with proteins from certain fruits and vegetables in the body, causing your lips to tingle and swell and your mouth to itch. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, those allergic to birch or alder trees may also react to celery, carrots, parsley, fennel, coriander, cherries, peaches, pears, kiwi, plums, and apples (cooked or canned varieties may produce less of a reaction). Grass allergy sufferers should steer clear of tomatoes, celery, peaches, melons, and oranges. Those with reactions to ragweed should pass on bananas, cucumbers, melon, and zucchini.

… And Stock Up On Superfoods

A diet rich in vitamins and minerals helps keep your body in peak condition, but several small studies suggest that adding certain food compounds or supplements may give you an allergy-busting boost. Probiotic yogurt may prevent your body from overreacting to outdoor allergens, according to a study published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy. Allergy sufferers who consumed a daily dose of yogurt containing the good bacteria Lactobacillus casei had lower levels of an antibody that triggers the release of histamine, the key player in runny noses, watery eyes, and nonstop sneezing.

A spirulina supplement, which is rich in plant-based protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C, may un-stuff your nose while enhancing your exercise performance. Allergy sufferers who took 2,000 mg of the blue-green algae daily experienced improvements in nasal allergy symptoms, according to a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food. What’s more, men who took spirulina supplements for four weeks tired less rapidly during two-hour treadmill runs, compared to men who took a placebo, according to a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. The men who took spirulina also burned 11% more fat than those who took a placebo.

Strip Down Before You Step Inside

You’d take off muddy shoes and clothes before heading inside your house, and you need to treat pollen the same way. “What’s the first thing you do after you get home? Flop down on your couch or your bed,” says Ehrlich. “We track pollen into our homes and spread it out everywhere.” Before you leave for a workout, place a clean set of clothing in your entryway or garage so you can change as soon as you’re back. It’s also helpful to have a plastic bag handy so you can contain your affected clothing until laundry day. And remember to hit the showers before bedtime. If the pollen that’s settled in your hair gets on your pillowcase, you’ll breathe it in all night.

Ditch Glasses for Dailies

Even after shedding your workout clothes and hitting the shower, your eyes are still red, itchy, and watery. What gives? If you’ve been wearing the same contact lenses for weeks, they could be the culprit.

But don’t dig out your spectacles just yet. Contact lenses create a helpful barrier between the eyes and airborne allergens, suggests a report published in Contact Lens & Anterior Eye. Thing is, your eyes pollen filters need to be changed often. In other words, pick lenses that you can toss in the trash each day. When British researchers exposed grass allergy suffers to bursts of pollen, they experienced fewer overall allergy symptoms when wearing daily disposable contact lenses than when they ditched their contacts altogether.

Original Article: http://fitbie.msn.com/get-fit/tips/6-tips-exercising-though-allergy-season/tip/0

Health

7 Pains You Shouldn’t Ignore

Usually a headache is just a headache, and heartburn is nothing more than a sign that you rang the Taco Bell once too often. Except when they’re not.
Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something isn’t quite right. More often than not, you have some idea of what’s behind it. But when it comes on suddenly, lingers longer than usual, or just seems different, it calls for medical attention–and the sooner, the better. According to our experts, all of the following pain conditions should be considered red flags.
Chest pain
“If patients were to become well versed in what I think of as the subtle language of the heart, many could avoid needless worry and expense,” notes Arthur Agatston, MD, a preventive cardiologist. “Studies have found that women experience a wider range of heart attack symptoms than men do.” In Agatston’s experience, there are three good indicators that something isn’t right, and they can occur in either gender. They are chest pain that doesn’t go away, varied shortness of breath, and any upper body pain that hasn’t occurred before. If you experience any of these symptoms, he says, you should call your doctor or 911 immediately.
Severe head pain
Chances are, it’s a migraine. But if it isn’t accompanied by other migraine symptoms (such as a visual aura), sudden, severe head pain can signal a brain aneurysm. “A burst aneurysm can cause brain damage within minutes, so you need to call 911 immediately,” advises Elsa-Grace Giardina, MD, a cardiologist and director of the Center for Women’s Health at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
A throbbing tooth
It’s likely that the tooth’s nerve has become damaged, probably because the surrounding pearly white enamel is cracked or rotting away. Unless you get it patched up quickly, bacteria in your mouth can invade the nerve. And you definitely don’t want that breeding colony to spread throughout your body, says Kimberly Harms, DDS, a dentist outside St. Paul, Minnesota. If your tooth is already infected, you’ll require a root canal, in which the tooth’s bacteria-laden pulp is removed and replaced with plastic caulking material.
Sharp pain in your side
You may just need some Beano. But if you feel as if you’re being skewered in your right side, and you’re also nauseated and running a fever, you could have appendicitis. For women, another possibility is an ovarian cyst. Typically these fluid-filled sacs are harmless and disappear on their own. But if one twists or ruptures, it can cause terrible pain.
In both cases, you’re looking at emergency surgery. “If you don’t remove an inflamed appendix, it can burst,” says Lin Chang, MD, a gastroenterologist and co-director of the Center for Neurovisceral Sciences and Women’s Health at UCLA. A twisted cyst also needs to be removed right away, as it can block blood flow to the ovary within hours.
Abdominal discomfort with gas or bloating
For the past month, you’ve felt gassy and bloated more days than not, and it takes fewer slices of pizza to fill you up than it once did. If the symptoms are new, the worst-case scenario is ovarian cancer. In 2007, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation released the first national consensus on early symptoms of this form of cancer: bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, and difficulty eating. If you start experiencing them almost daily for more than two or three weeks, consider it a red flag. Schedule an appointment with your ob-gyn to discuss your symptoms.
Back pain with tingling toes
If you’ve just helped your cousin move into her new fourth-floor apartment, anti-inflammatories should banish the pain. But if they don’t work, hobble to an orthopedist. “One of your discs (the spongy rings that cushion the bones in your spine) could be pressing on the spinal nerve,” says Letha Griffin, MD, an orthopedist and sports medicine specialist in Atlanta. Without proper attention, you risk permanent nerve damage.
Leg pain with swelling
Your calf is extremely tender in one location, noticeably swollen, and red or warm to the touch. You might have deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), commonly known as a blood clot. Resist the urge to massage the area or to try walking off the pain. If the clot breaks free, it can travel through your veins up to your lungs and cut off your oxygen supply. Instead, see your doctor right away. He or she will do a CT scan or ultrasound to check for a DVT. If that’s what you have, you’ll need to take blood thinners–sometimes for up to a year–to dissolve it, says Suzanne Steinbaum, MD, director of women and heart disease for the Heart and Vascular Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
More: Know the symptoms of a stroke
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious disability, according to the American Heart Association. If you or someone close to you is experiencing any of these symptoms, immediately call 9-1-1.
•Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
•Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
•Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
•Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
•Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Original Article: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/pain-management/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100270003&imageindex=1

Health

Your Complete Guide to a Healthy Back

Back issues are easier to resolve than you may think

Hallie Levine Sklar

The back is literally your body’s support system, made up of more than 30 bones and hundreds of nerves, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. But all those moving parts mean it’s vulnerable to problems, too.

“Women are particularly susceptible to pain because they lug around extra weight every day, from purses and grocery bags to a kid on their hip,” says Heidi Prather, D.O., chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Plus, many of us have gained weight and lost the time to exercise over the years, weakening our back muscles. Is it any wonder that almost five million women each year see doctors due to low back pain?

Luckily, back issues are easier to resolve than you may think. Use this guide to pinpoint what’s causing yours, so you get the right treatment, fast—and prevent future flare-ups.

Culprit #1:  Muscle strains

The lowdown.  Muscle strains are actually small tears in, or the stretching out of, muscle fibers. They’re also the top reason for back pain.

What it feels like.  A stiffness or soreness that worsens with activity (including small movements, like bending over to pick something up).

The cause.  Any repetitive or jolting movement — —or even just sitting. “Women who sit at work hunched over for hours put stress on their backs,” says Jeffrey Goldstein, M.D., director of the spine service at the New York University Langone Medical Center. “If they also don’t exercise regularly, they lose strength in their back and their core—the muscles which help support their spine. So when they do ramp up their activity, they may pull one or several back muscles.”

Another surprising trigger: “Tight hamstrings can exacerbate a strain by putting stress on the low back,” explains Renée Garrison, a physical therapist at the Medical University of South Carolina.

The Rx.  Every waking hour for the first 24 hours, then every few hours for the next 24: Ice the strain for 15 minutes to reduce swelling. (Heat will only increase inflammation.)

Every two hours (at least): “Stretch and move gently,” says Jennifer Solomon, M.D., a physiatrist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. “Lying down may cause the muscles to tighten up even more,” i.e., go into a spasm.

Every four to six hours: Try an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen—take according to package directions.

After 48 hours: If pain doesn’t improve, call your primary care physician to rule out a more serious condition.

Culprit #2:  Bulging or herniated disks

The lowdown.  When the disks in your spine start to degenerate over time, as they are wont to do, they can bulge out or herniate (meaning they’re ruptured), sometimes compressing the nerves around them.

What it feels like.  You may not feel them at all. “Not all herniated disks cause symptoms,” explains Prather. But if part of the disk protrudes out into the spinal canal, near or touching a nerve, that can bring on back pain that may also radiate down your leg.

The cause.  Your body’s normal wear and tear. “Women may report mild back pain in their 20s and 30s, but as they get older and the disks dry out and degenerate further, they can experience more persistent discomfort,” says Jessica Shellock, M.D., an orthopedic spine surgeon at the Texas Back Institute.

The Rx.  In most cases, pain resolves after 8 to 12 weeks following treatment with OTC or prescription anti-inflammatories and physical therapy. If pain is severe, a cortisone injection, which reduces swelling around the nerve, may help.

Beware a doctor who tells you the first and only solution is to go under the knife: “Less than 10 percent of my patients require surgery,” says Raj Rao, M.D., vice chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Culprit #3:  Normal aging

The lowdown.  You already know that your disks may dry out and you’re more vulnerable to muscle strains as you age. In addition, Rao says, over time you may begin to notice early signs of spinal osteoarthritis. That’s when the protective cartilage and joints in your spinal column start to wear down with age, causing bone to grind against bone. (Often affected are the facet joints— those hook-shaped structures that run up and down the back of the spine.) This may lead to the bone bulging out and putting pressure on surrounding nerves.

What it feels like.  Spinal osteoarthritis causes serious stiffness accompanied by pain in your lower back that may go down into your butt and upper thighs, as well as up into your shoulders and neck, especially in the early morning after waking up, or when you’re bending backwards.

The Rx. It’s absolutely crucial to do exercises that will strengthen your back muscles and core now, and to stay active and flexible overall, to give your spine as much support as possible.

If you’ve got even 10 pounds to lose, try to take it off now: “Any extra weight will just put additional strain on worn-out disks and joints,” says Shellock.

You may also require physical therapy, medications, and, in very rare cases, surgery to address problematic disks. If you have pain related to osteoarthritis, injections of both anesthetics and a steroid anti-inflammatory right into the joint can help ease it.

Original Article: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/pain-management/back-pain/your-complete-guide-to-a-healthy-back

Dr. Oz, Health, Nutrition

5 Foods to Prevent Your Arteries from Clogging

You can add years to your life by keeping your heart healthy. Caring for your ticker can be as easy as knowing what to eat! Discover 5 powerful foods that serve as weapons to fight clogged arteries.

Like any plumbing system, your arteries can get clogged up. When you have high blood pressure, inflammation causes cholesterol to stick to the walls of your blood vessels, forming a plaque. The following foods are powerful enough to prevent this dangerous clogging.

Kiwi and Cantaloupe

These antioxidant-rich foods work by reducing toxic LDL cholesterol, which is formed by a rusting process in your arteries. They can help stop the “rust” in its tracks and even prevent it from spreading. Eat 1 cup of cantaloupe or 1 kiwi a day to unclog your arteries.

Shrimp

Despite being a source of cholesterol, shrimp can be helpful for your heart. They contain taurine, an amino acid, which acts like plastic wrap so fats can’t cross the intestinal wall and get into your arteries. Try having 5 medium-sized steamed or grilled shrimp twice a week. Be sure to avoid the cocktail sauces.

Red-Skinned Grapes and Cranberry Juice

These foods strain the fat out your arteries. Instead of having fat build up in your blood vessels, these foods improve your cells’ ability to absorb the fat and use it for energy production. Drink a glass of cranberry juice three times a week or eat 1 cup of grapes per day to unclog your arteries.

Original Article: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/5-foods-prevent-your-arteries-clogging

Health, Nutrition

The 9 Nastiest Things in Your Supermarket

Think pink slime is gross? Wait ’til you see what other unappetizing secrets lurk within your grocery store.

By Leah Zerbe & Emily Main

“Pink Slime”

The Gross Factor: The meat industry likes to call it “lean finely textured beef,” but after ABC News ran a story on it, the public just called it what it looks like—pink slime, a mixture of waste meat and fatty parts from higher-quality cuts of beef that have had the fat mechanically removed. Afterwards, it’s treated with ammonia gas to kill Salmonella and E. coli bacteria. Then it gets added to ground beef as a filler. Food microbiologists and meat producers insist that it’s safe, but given the public’s reaction to the ABC News report, there’s an “ick” factor we just can’t overcome. The primary producer of pink slime just announced that it’s closing three of the plants where pink slime is produced, and Kroger, Safeway, Food Lion, McDonald’s and the National School Lunch Program (among others) have all pulled it from their product offerings.
Eat This Instead: Organic ground beef is prohibited from containing pink slime, per National Organic Program standards, so it’s your safest bet. If you can’t find organic, ask the butcher at your grocery store whether their products contain the gunk.

Vet Meds in Beef

The Gross Factor: Hankering for a burger? Besides a hefty dose of protein, a 2010 report from the United States Department of Agriculture found your beef could also harbor veterinary drugs like antibiotics, Ivermectin, an animal wormer linked to neurological damage in humans, and Flunixin, an anti-inflammatory that can cause kidney damage, stomach and colon ulcers, and blood in the stool of humans. Still hungry? We didn’t think so.
Eat This Instead: Look for beef from a local grass-fed beef operation that rotates the animals on fresh grass paddocks regularly, and inquire about medicine use. Typically, cows raised this way are much healthier and require fewer drugs. The meat is also more nutritious, too. If you’re in the supermarket, opt for organic meats to avoid veterinary drugs in meat.

Heavy Metal Oatmeal

The Gross Factor: Sugary and calorie-laden, those convenient instant-oatmeal packets all have one thing in common. They’re sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which, according to tests from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, may be contaminated with mercury. The group tested 55 samples of HFCS and found mercury in a third of them at levels three times higher than what the average woman should consume in a day.
Eat This Instead: Buy yourself some instant oats, which cook in less time than it takes to microwave a packet of the sugary stuff, and add your own flavorings, like fresh fruit or maple syrup. And buy HFCS-free versions of other foods, as well. The artificial sweetener lurks in seemingly all processed foods.

Filthy Shrimp

The Gross Factor: Food safety experts refer to imported shrimp as the dirtiest of the Seafood’s Dirty Dozen list, and it’s not hard to see why when you consider the common contaminants: Antibiotics, cleaning chemicals used in farmed shrimp pens, residues of toxic pesticides banned in the U.S., and pieces of insects. Less than 2 percent of all imported seafood is inspected—clearly, that’s a problem.
Eat This Instead: Look for domestic shrimp. Unfortunately, 70 percent of domestic shrimp comes from the Gulf of Mexico, and the recent oil spill may have long-term impacts on its shrimp stocks. But shrimp can be purchased from Texas, the East Coast, Maine, and the Carolinas, so you still have options.

MRSA in the Meat Aisle

The Gross Factor: Hard-to-treat, antibiotic-resistant infections are no joke. Superbug strains like MRSA are on the rise, infecting 185,000 people -and killing 17,000-people annually in the U.S. Thought to proliferate on factory farms where antibiotics are overused to boost animal growth, a Jan. 2012 study from Iowa State University found that the dangerous organisms wind up in supermarket meat, too. The dangerous MRSA strain lingered in 7 percent of supermarket pork samples tested. The bacteria die during proper cooking, but improper handling could leave you infected. The spike in superbug infections is largely blamed on antibiotic abuse in factory farms that supply most supermarkets.
Eat This Instead: The Iowa state researchers found MRSA in conventional meat and store-bought “antibiotic-free” meat likely contaminated at the processing plant. Search LocalHarvest.org to source meat from small-scale producers who don’t use antibiotics or huge processing plants.

Pregnancy Hormones in a Can

The Gross Factor: Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that acts like the hormone estrogen in your body, is used to create the epoxy linings of canned food. What food processors don’t tell you is that the chemical was created over 70 years ago as a drug that was intended to promote healthy pregnancies. Though it was never used as a drug, the food industry saw no problem adding this pregnancy drug to a wide range of products, including canned food linings and plastic food containers. “Low levels of BPA exposure has been linked to a wide range of adverse health effects, including abnormal development of reproductive organs, behavior problems in children, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic changes that result in altered insulin levels, which leads to diabetes,” says Sarah Janssen, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. And its use in canned food is the number one reason why 90 percent of Americans have it in their bodies.
Eat This Instead: Look for products in glass bottles or aseptic cartons. Canned food manufacturers are in the process of switching over to BPA-free cans, but because those cans are produced in facilities that also produce BPA-based can linings, there’s no way to keep BPA-free cans from becoming contaminated.

Bacteria-Infused Turkey

The Gross Factor: Turkey marinated in MRSA? It’s true. A 2011 study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found that half of the U.S. supermarket meat sampled contain staph bacteria, including potentially lethal MRSA. Turkey was the worst offender: Nearly 80 percent of turkey products samples contain staph bacteria. Pork (42 percent) was next in line in terms of bacterial contamination, followed by chicken (41 percent), and beef (37 percent). Researchers ID the overuse of antibiotics as the culprit.
Eat This Instead: If you serve meat for Thanksgiving, invest in an organic, pastured turkey, such as one from Ayrshire Farm in Maryland.

Moldy Berries

The Gross Factor: If pregnancy hormones in your canned fruit isn’t enough to make you turn to fresh, consider this: The FDA legally allows up to 60 percent of canned or frozen blackberries and raspberries to contain mold. Canned fruit and vegetable juices are allowed to contain up to 15 percent mold.
Eat This Instead: Go for fresh! When berries are in season, stock up and freeze them yourself to eat throughout the winter. To freeze them, just spread fruits out on a cookie sheet, set the sheet in your freezer for a few hours, then transfer the berries to a glass jar or other airtight, freezer-safe container.

Rocket Fuel in Lettuce

The Gross Factor: Lettuce is a great source of antioxidants, and thanks to the great state of California, we can now eat it all year long. However, much of the lettuce grown in California is irrigated with water from the Colorado River. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Colorado River water is contaminated with low levels of perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel known to harm thyroid function, and that perchlorate can be taken up inside lettuce plants. A separate study from the Environmental Working Group found perchlorate in 50 percent of store-bought winter lettuce samples.
Eat This Instead: Perchlorate is hard to avoid, but some of the highest levels in the country have been found in California’s agricultural regions. If you eat locally and in season, you can ask your local farmers whether it’s a problem in their irrigation water supply.

Original Article: http://www.rodale.com/pink-slime?page=0

Health

Young Americans Need to Cut Calorie Intake: Study

TUESDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) — American youngsters have a long way to go to reach new goals for a lower childhood obesity rate, a new study shows.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a goal of reducing the childhood obesity rate to 14.6 percent by 2020, and to do so children aged 2 to 19 would need to eliminate an average of 64 calories a day.

Without this reduction in calorie intake, the average child or teen would be nearly 4 pounds heavier in 2020 than a child of the same age in 2007. In addition, more than 20 percent of youth would be obese, up from 16.9 percent currently.

The last time the childhood obesity rate in the United States was 14.6 percent was in 2002.

“Sixty-four calories may not sound like much individually, but it’s quite a consequential number at the population level, and children at greatest risk for obesity face an even larger barrier,” study author Dr. Y. Claire Wang, an assistant professor of health policy and management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, said in a university news release.

“Closing this gap between how many calories young people are consuming and how many they are expending will take substantial, comprehensive efforts,” Wang added.

The new goal could be achieved by reducing calorie intake, increasing physical activity or both. But, although 64 calories is the overall average reduction required to meet the 2020 goal, certain groups of young people may need higher or lower calorie reductions.

White youngsters would need an average reduction of 46 calories, compared with 91 calories for Mexican-Americans and 138 calories for black children, who have higher rates of obesity. Children and teens in low-income communities also have higher rates of obesity and would require greater calorie reductions than those in higher-income areas.

The researchers suggested many policy strategies that could help American youngsters reduce calories:

  • Replacing all sugar-sweetened beverages in school with water and preventing children from drinking additional sugary beverages outside of school could eliminate an average of 12 calories per day.
  • Having children aged 9 to 11 take part in a comprehensive physical-education program could eliminate an average of 19 calories per day.
  • After-school activity programs for children in kindergarten to fifth grade could eliminate an average of 25 calories per day.

The study was published this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines how parents can help their children maintain a healthy weight.

SOURCE: Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, news release, April 10, 2012