FitSugar

Three Ways to Love Your Liver

FitSugar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:30:00 PDT

The liver is the second largest organ of the body after your skin. Hard at work clearing toxins from your blood, the liver performs over 5,000 functions - that's one busy organ. Unfortunately, one in ten Americans has liver disease and many of those folks are unaware they have a problem. Here are three easy ways to show your liver some love.

One toxin that the liver breaks down is alcohol. Drinking excessively cannot only interfere with the liver's ability to process carbs, fat, and protein, it can scar the organ leading to cirrhosis. Limit your alcohol intake and consume no more than one drink a day, which means one glass of wine, a bottle of beer, or one shot of the hard stuff. Think of your liver as another reason to stop after one drink.

Maintaining a healthy weight is another way to take care of your liver. Obesity can lead to a fatty liver where fatty deposits on the liver cause inflammation and scarring. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is currently the most common liver disease in the US and it is totally preventable.

To see how to protect your liver when you're in the sack,

read more. Hepatitis B and C are both transmitted through sexual contact and both of these diseases attack the liver. This means practice safe sex and consider getting vaccinated for Hep B. There is no vaccine for Hep C. Source

Do You Like Paté?

partysugar — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:45:51 PST

Detoxing: There Really is No Need

FitSugar — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 08:45:00 PDT

There are so many ways to pursue the quest of health and there are many "detox" remedies out there for folks looking for a quick internal cleanse. However, the majority of health experts don't recommend detox cleanses or juice fasts, especially long term ones since fasting for more than 3 days robs the body of vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

Your best bet is to avoid a liquid detox regimen, since they can leave you both hungry (read: irritable) and gassy (read: anti-social). Instead, you should focus on adding fruits, veggies and whole grains to your daily diet since these types of foods all help to keep your system running smoothly. Plus, as I like to say "slow and steady wins the race." By focusing on what you can add to your diet daily, you have a much better chance of fully adopting healthy eating habits so thus avoiding the need to detox.

Limiting alcohol to one serving a day for the ladies, and two servings for the guys, will help keep your liver from having to work overtime. Of course, limiting the amount of acetaminophen you take will help your liver as well. This OTC painkiller used in Tylenol can cause liver damage if taken in excess.

The bottom line: take care of your body and it will take care of you!

Source

Alcohol: Women vs. Men

FitSugar — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:30:00 PDT

We all know that men and women are biologically very different, but do you know if the following statement is true or false? Quiz yourself and see.

Source

Artichokes: Artfully Yours and In Season Now

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:30:00 PDT

I must ask the question - what is not to love about artichokes? They look totally prehistoric. When left alone they bloom into a beautiful pale purple thistle. Their hearts are truly divine. Ahhh....but there are even more reasons to love this veggie and these I will share too.

The timeliest reason is artichoke season is peaking - right NOW!!! Although they are available throughout the year, March though May is when they are at their best. Artichokes are low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals. One globe artichoke provides not only 6.5 grams of fiber (that's 26% of your daily recommended intake - DRI), but it also supplies 61 mcg of folate (about 15% of your DRI). It also contains 4 grams of protein that seems like a lot for a little plant trying to disguise itself as an armadillo. Artichokes also promote liver health, which is important since the liver helps to detoxify your blood supply.

At the grocery store look for ones that are dark green with tight leaves. If you are looking for a recipe with artichokes, Yum posted a tasty pizza with artichoke hearts just the other day. Or you could just boil or steam one and dress it with a little olive and lemon juice. If you have never cooked one before check out Gourmet Sleuth.

Eat up and enjoy.

Stitch In the Side Explained

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:45:00 PST

Do you ever get the annoying and painful stitch in your side when you are running? I do and I really don't like the sensation and went looking for a "cure."

It seems that there was no good explanation for the phenomenon until recently, and before that it was just referred to as exercise related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). How's that for vague? The pain is caused when the ligament that attaches your liver to your diaphragm gets stretched. Most runners tend to exhale every 2 to 4 step and those that exhale with stepping on the right foot tend to be the ones who suffer from the stitch. When the right foot hits the ground it pulls the liver down and the exhale is simultaneously forcing the diaphragm up, so the ligament gets over stretched, and that causes the pain.

To cure the pain, stop running immediately, reach your fingers into the right side of your belly and push your liver up. Breathe in and out evenly as you do this. Hopefully you can return to running with no pain.

Fit's Tip: To avoid getting the stitch in the first place, focus on taking deep breaths while running since short and shallow breaths tend to make the diaphragm spasm.

The Truth About Liver Disease

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 08:30:00 PST

I didn't know this but many victims of liver disease are not alcoholics. Even people who are casual drinkers could risk damaging their liver. And people who never drink alcohol could still have serious liver problems.

There are actually more than 100 liver diseases. The American Liver Association says that drinking alcohol can affect your liver, but it's not the only thing.

Other causes include viruses, hereditary defects, and reactions to drugs and chemicals. Scientists are still investigating the causes for the most serious liver diseases.

Most doctors will agree that 1 drink a day, or less, is a good amount for a woman. For men, it's 2 drinks or less a day. Of course 1 drink doesn't mean 1 humongous glass - a standard drink is one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5-ounce shot of liquor. Each of these drinks contain about 1/2 an ounce of alcohol.

Obviously you'll be better off steering clear of alcoholic beverages entirely. But moderation definitely comes into play here - just keep your liver's health in mind. And if you know you have liver problems in your family, you may want to think twice about finishing off that bottle of wine.

Love Your Liver

FitSugar — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 10:45:00 PST

There must be 50 ways to love your liver, but to truly love something you have to know what it is all about. Right?

Well, what impresses me most about the liver is not that it is the largest internal organ of the body, but that it performs over 5,000 functions. A small list includes balancing your cholesterol, storing vitamins, activating hormones, and metabolizing fat into glucose to give your body energy. It also acts as a filter to remove toxins (harmful substances) and waste products from the blood. Check this out - a healthy liver filters blood at a rate of about 1.5 quarts per minute. That's 540 gallons of blood a day and more than 13 million gallons over a lifetime! Wow.

The liver continues to function even with considerable damage, but that doesn't mean it is doing all of its jobs well. Signs of poor function include: tiredness, dark circles under the eyes, poor digestion and dull skin.

If your holiday season started out with a partying bang and lots of alcohol and fatty foods, you might want to do something nice for your largest organ. Want to know what foods help your liver out, then

Bitter food like broccoli, dandelion greens, cabbage and brussels sprouts have a cleansing effect on the liver.
In multiple studies, artichokes have been proven to promote liver health.
The spices turmeric, cinnamon and licorice are beneficial to the liver.

Of course it helps to avoid: saturated fats, refined sugar and alcohol (limit yourself to two drinks a day). Drinking plenty of water is always a good idea.

Why Does Coffee Make You Have to "Go"?

FitSugar — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:49:32 PST

Sipping on a hot cup of coffee in the morning is one of my simple pleasures. Not only does it offer some "me time," but I love the rich flavor, and the fact that it gives me an extra pep in my step. Millions of people drink coffee for the exact same reasons, but what they may not know is that drinking joe helps relieve muscle pain as well as improves memory and that it may help prevent skin cancer while also decreasing the risk of liver cancer.

These are all great reasons to enjoy a daily cup of java, but many people also love coffee because it makes them "go," and by that I mean more than an energy rush. Keep reading to see why a java jolt helps the final stages of the digestion process.

Meet the Mind Behind the Going-Viral "Fotoshop" Video

Annie Tomlin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:27:30 PST

At first glance, the above video seems like any other beauty commercial: beautiful women, a flashy soundtrack, and promises of perfection. Keep watching, though, and you'll find that the key "product" is Fotoshop by Adobé. Filmmaker Jesse Rosten created the faux commercial as commentary on the prevalence of Photoshop, and we're betting his video will reach a million views by the week's end. We caught up with him to find out why he created the spot, what he hopes people will take away from it, and whether he's a Photoshop user himself.

BellaSugar: The idea for Fotoshop came to you while watching an infomercial with before-and-after pictures that looked identical, just Photoshopped. What moved you from watching the commercial to do a project about the subject?
Jesse Rosten: I suppose I just like to make things. They say when you have a song stuck in your head the remedy is to listen to the actual song. It's like that with me and ideas. If I get an idea that I'm passionate about, I tend to obsess over them. The only cure is to go produce the idea. The beauty of modern filmmaking tools and internet distribution is that one doesn't need permission anymore to go make something. This required a lot of work, but was relatively inexpensive to put together. Plus, it was a lot of fun!

BS: I have to confess - I actually expected you to be a woman when I saw the video, but I'm glad to see a man tackle the issue. Why do you think men should care if women have their wrinkles airbrushed away?
JR: I thought it would be funny to have a men's version of the product, putting one's head on a herculean body, etc. But I opted to keep it simple and focused on women since they suffer the most with societal expectations of beauty. This is a complex issue and I don't pretend to have the answer, but as the incidents of eating disorders and anorexia among American women continue to rise, I think it's important to keep the discussion alive.

Read the full Q&A.