FitSugar

5 Risks Associated with Fad Dieting

FitSugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:30:00 -0700

I know in a time crunch, fad diets can seem like an easy way to drop a few extra pounds. The thing is, fad diets are not always safe, so here are five risks associated with fad dieting:

Nutritional deficiencies caused by a lack of a balanced diet.
Lack of physical activity from emphasis on diet only can increase the risk of heart disease.
Lack of variety in foods can cause boredom and frustration, and make it difficult to maintain the diet for more than a brief period.
Severe restrictions on the foods you can eat may make it difficult to establish and maintain a healthy diet in the future.
Many quick weight-loss diets are based on unfounded claims that may do more harm than good.

Source

Are You Putting Yourself at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes?

FitSugar — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:30:00 -0700

When it comes to type 2 diabetes a lot of us take the it won't happen to me thought process but you may be putting yourself more at risk than you think.

Fitness Magazine has come up with a useful list of the top 9 risk factors for type 2 diabetes; some may shock you:

Watching two hours or more of TV daily. Raises your risk: 14 percent.
The fix: Limit TV time to 10 hours a week, and exercise. In the same Harvard study, this reduced diabetes risk by 43 percent.
Drinking one soda a day. Raises your risk: 83 percent.
The fix: Switch to water, diet soda or, even better, unsweetened tea, which research shows may actually protect against the disease.

There are seven more so read more

Skipping breakfast. Raises your risk: 30 to 50 percent.
The fix: Have high-fiber cereal with low-fat milk and one-half cup of fruit in the morning, recommends Karen A. Chalmers, MS, RD, an advanced-practice diabetes specialist at the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University. One study of people with prediabetes found that eating high-fiber cereals made their cells respond better to insulin. Consuming dairy products may also cut the risk for insulin resistance by 72 percent.
A bout of major depression. Raises your risk: 23 percent.
The fix: Take a walk: Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise three times a week improved symptoms of depression and increased the percentage of those who fully recovered, according to research from Duke University.
A large waist -- even if you're at a normal weight. Raises your risk: 330 percent.
The fix: Do 30 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three to five times a week. "This can melt belly fat better than dieting," says Jill Kanaley, PhD, an exercise physiologist at Syracuse University.
Waking up in the middle of the night. Raises your risk: 98 percent.
The fix: Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon and evening, and TV and alcohol right before bed. (Caffeine and TV stimulate your nervous system, making it harder to fall asleep, and alcohol can make it harder to stay asleep.)
Eating fast food more than twice a week. Raises your risk: 100 percent.
The fix: Satisfy your craving for fast food with smaller portions: Try a small burger with no cheese, small fries, and a diet soda, says Chalmers. Even better, go for a grilled chicken sandwich with just a dab of honey-mustard sauce.
High stress. Raises your risk: 184 percent.
The fix: Take 10 to 15 minutes daily to relax; get a massage, practice some yoga poses, or close your eyes and do some slow, deep breathing. In one Duke University study of 108 Type 2 diabetics, progressive muscle relaxation and calm breathing lowered blood-sugar levels.
Consuming lots of processed meat (like hot dogs and bacon). Raises your risk: 43 percent
The fix: Cut back: a Harvard study found that women who had these meats less often than once a week had the lowest risk. Eating preservative-free varieties may help too. Brands we've found include Maverick Ranch and Applegate Farms.

To read the full article, including why these 9 things put you at risk, visit FitnessMagazine.com.

5 Things to Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:45:00 -0700

Let's face it. There is no surefire way to prevent breast cancer. There are, however, ways you can reduce your risk. There are five things that are in your control to make this reduction in risk.

Exercise: Committing to an exercise plan as simple as walking briskly four hours a week can significantly reduce your chance of developing breast cancer. It is believed that exercise can reduce a woman's exposure to ovarian hormones that cause breast cancer. Exercise works to reduce risk even if the avid walker does not lose weight.
Maintain normal weight: Obesity is a factor in many types of cancer, including breast cancer. Studies suggest that post-menopausal women who lose 20 pounds decrease their risk as well. Even if you are "normal weight," exercising regularly (see #1) will reduce your risk even more by exercising regularly.
Limit alcohol intake: Recent studies indicate that alcohol consumption, including the much touted "healthy" red wine, increases a woman's risk of developing the disease. Women who drink one to two servings of alcohol a day increase their risk by 10 percent and women who drink three servings increase their risk by 30 percent.
Eat fiber: Eating 30 grams of fiber a day can reduce risk of pre-menopausal woman for developing the disease. Go whole grains!
Red meat: Consuming 1.5 servings of red meat daily can significantly increase a woman's risk for breast cancer. Moderation with red meat, just as with alcohol, is key.

Source

Marathon Dangers

FitSugar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0800

The New York City Marathon is over now, but many people are still in training for future races such as the Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon (Nov. 16), the Philadelphia Marathon, (Nov. 23), and the Atlanta Marathon (Nov. 27). There's just something about conquering the distance of 26.2 miles that inspires so many people. Training for a marathon is a healthy aspiration, but if running this distance is on your to-do list, you should know there are some risks involved.

Running extreme distances is not exactly good for your health. As you run, you experience changes in your immune system and kidney function. The consistent stress signals your body to go into emergency-repair response mode. Your adrenal glands and brain produce the stress hormones cortisol and vasopressin. Also, your damaged muscles churn out proteins called cytokines, which trigger the liver to start producing C-reactive protein. The result is inflammation, and all your muscles feel the brunt, including your heart. In extreme cases, death by cardiac arrest has been associated with running this historic distance.

To find out if it's possible to avoid these risks, read more.

How you train plays a huge role in how your body will react on race day. Averaging at least 45 miles a week while training will significantly lower your risk of heart injury. Even though your body suffers damage on your training runs, it also repairs itself and becomes stronger. So on race day, your body is better equipped to handle the struggle. What's also good to know is that for most runners, if they do end up suffering some heart damage, it isn't permanent. Within a month, the heart is functioning normally again.

With all this in mind, some health officials suggest doing all the training for the marathon, but skipping out on the actual race. The thing is, though, most people train for the sole purpose to be able to cross the finish line. It's an amazing sense of accomplishment, and the difficulty of the race and the risks involved add to its appeal. If it wasn't so hard, no one would want to do it.

Fit's Tip: If running a marathon is on your mind, first have your heart checked by a doctor to make sure you're not at risk for heart problems. Then be sure to train long and well (at least four months in advance). Rack up miles and miles so that come race day, your body will be ready.

Source

Drink Tea to Lower Skin Cancer Risk

FitSugar — Mon, 07 May 2007 08:45:00 -0700

New research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology has found that tea drinkers have a lower risk of developing squamous cell or basal cell carcinoma, the two most common forms of skin cancer.

This does not mean that you can go to the pool, order a tea and skip the sunscreen since no evidence was found that tea drinking lowered skin cancer risk in people who'd accumulated painful sunburns in the past. Also, the study did not look at the relationship between tea drinking and malignant melanoma, the least common but most deadly form of skin cancer. So continue to have your daily cup of tea, but wear sunscreen and protective clothing to be well on your way to lowering your risk of skin cancer.

Taking Risks Can Be Healthy

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:30:00 -0800

I am all for taking risks - safe risks - of course. They help us grow emotionally and intellectually. When you break out of your comfort zone and work your edge, it builds self-confidence which helps us become happier, well-adjusted, flexible people. I truly believe this no matter how corny it sounds.

Some people choose to try new things like ice climbing or white-water rafting. Some people get up and sing at "open mic nite." Some people would rather try out a Naked Yoga class or learn to surf.

All that said, this risk might be a little over the top for me (this is one brave girl). But it might be just the thing to knock you right out of your comfort zone...

Fit's Tips: If you're interested in something like this, check out this ride.

Cut Your Risk of Heart Attack With 5 Things

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:30:00 -0700

During the month of October we put an extra emphasis on Breast Cancer Awareness, which means it's easy to forget about spreading awareness about other killers among women, such as heart disease.

In the spirit of covering all grounds to keep us ladies healthy, try to adopt these five simple factors to significantly reduce your own risk of heart attack:

Maintain a healthy diet with lots of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish and legumes
Drink less than a quarter ounce of alcohol daily
Don't smoke
Avoid weight gain
Be physically active

Interestingly enough, these sound quite similar to the five things you can do to reduce your risk of breast cancer.

Source

Get Educated and Reduce Your Risk of Stroke

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 10:05:00 -0800

Reuters is reporting that a recent Swedish study has found that the risk of stroke among women increases the less educated you are. The reason is not simply that education magically improves your health, but that by being educated, you make healthier decisions based on learned knowledge. This can mostly be attributed to the significant differences in health behaviors in well educated versus non-educated women such as smoking and alcohol consumption.

The risk of stroke was significantly related to years of education completed and the hazard ratio was 2-times higher for the least educated compared to the most educated women.

So maybe it's time to sign up for that 2nd (or 3rd) language class that you have always wanted to try.

Fiber Reduces Risk of Breast Cancer

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:30:00 -0800

A new UK study shows that women who eat a diet high in fiber significantly reduce their risk for breast cancer by up to 50%. WOW.

According to the study, pre-menopausal women need to eat 30 grams of fiber daily to reap the benefits. One serving of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats contains 4 grams of fiber. So eating oatmeal is not enough, but it's always a great way to start off your fiber day.

Sadly, the average American only eats about 15 grams of fiber daily. Switching to whole wheat bread and eating 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day should do the trick. Beans and legumes are another great way to add fiber to your diet. Or you can always supplement with high fiber products like Metamucil.

The researchers feel their study "further highlights the importance of eating a healthy diet for reducing the risk of cancer."

I eat some whole wheat toast to that.

Another Plastic Health Risk - Erectile Dysfunction

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:13:34 -0800

While there have been previous studies, linking bisphenol A (BPA), found in hard plastics, to health problems, including precancerous tumors, prostate cancer, and brain damage, a new study, conducted in China, substantiates its claims with results in humans. In one of the first studies of its kind to be conducted on humans, researchers are finding that much of what they've previously seen in animal studies holds true - men exposed to significant amounts of BPA are at greater risk of sexual health problems.

The study compared the levels of sexual dysfunction in two groups of male factory workers - one group, which was exposed to high levels of BPA, while the other was not. The overall findings of the research reveal that when BPA enters the body, it may mimic estrogen, and block male sex hormones from functioning. In the males who were exposed to high levels of BPA, researchers observed that the risk of erectile dysfunction was four times that of a man not exposed to the chemicals.

According Dr. Rebecca Sokol, the director of the andrology program at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, and specialist in the effects of toxins on the reproductive system, these are some "compelling results." She notes that, "It's not cause and effect, but when you have the kind of ambient air quality assessment that they made, it comes pretty close to cause and effect."

To learn more about the study keep reading