Monday, November 29, 2010

Mom Says Keep Immune Strong

When cold and flu season comes around, many folks run to the medicine cabinet for the latest form of relief. A trip to the kitchen might be a smarter move. Mom knew that.

Experts in nutrition know that nutrition plays an important role in keeping our immune systems healthy. After all the nutrients that help fight disease are found in food. The one's we find in the medicine cabinet are only poor imitations of the real thing. Even a slight deficiency in one nutrient can prevent the entire system from functioning efficiently. Among the nutrients recognized for their many roles in building immunity and immune response are protein, vitamins A, C, and E and zinc. If that sounds familiar it's because these nutrients are considered antioxidants and especially vitamins A and C are found in very large amounts in fruits and vegetables. Protein and zinc are common in meat products so that leaves dairy and carbs and you have a healthy balanced food plan. There are others too, like B6, folate, selenium (another antioxidant), iron, copper, prebiotics and probiotics which may also influence the immune system in a good way!

Inside the body the immune system consists of a finely orchestrated complex collection of tissues and cells that protect your body from allergens, bacteria, viruses and other harmful organisms known as antigens. To work smoothly, these cells depend on keeping your body in top shape.

Fall and winter seasons bring on colds and flu. Good nutrition is essential to a healthy functioning system to fight these invaders. To protect your body eat healthy and enjoy - your food and your health.

Be happy, be healthy
Marcia

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Twinkies - Diet Food?


It was recently reported that a nutrition professor, no less, lost weight on a diet exclusively of twinkies and similar foods. All of which the general public would refer to as junk food!! Is that really possible? ABSOLUTELY!!

Why? Because it is all about the calories. Professor Haub's assertion was that in weight loss it is all about the calories - not the nutrients in the food. And he proved himself right-on. For 8 weeks he ate a Twinkie at each meal supplemented by a "Ho Ho" and "Little Debbie" for variety munching on doritos, oreos and a little sugary cereal from time to time. What was the secret? He kept his calories below 1800. Since that is less calories than his body requires, he lost weight. Check it out yourself... www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
Understand that eathing healthy and losing weight are NOT the same thing. People can eat extremely healthy foods, consistently and never lose a pound - and many people do. Not everyone needs to lose weight but we all should be eating healthy. What's the point? Our bodies run more smoothly when they get the type and amount of foods that contribute to health. This will improve the way we feel, it will most likely improve the way we look and often adds to the length of life by fighting disease.
While many of us were not at all surprised by the weight loss, some of the other markers were confusing even to the professor. Many of those "markers" we measure to determine health like cholesterol and tryglycerides improved. Probably a result of the weight loss itself as obesity alone leads to poor health outcomes. There could also been some protection from the protein shake and vitamin/mineral supplement he added daily. Stay tuned.
Just keep in mind - moderation, portion control, and calories DO count!
Healthy, Happy Eating
Marcia

Monday, November 1, 2010

Obesity Costs

Medical costs of obesity are double what we thought. Since we all pay, more or less, the same amount depending on what type of insurance we have, those costs are shared by those who are overweight as well as those who aren't. It is estimated that it costs about $168 billion each year to treat obesity - about 16.5% of our country's TOTAL medical costs. These numbers were determined after careful study of all aspects of the problem - some areas that were overlooked in previous estimates according to Cornell health economist John Cawley. Included was the chronic under-reporting of accurate weight since most research depends of self reporting of weight. Also taken into consideration were the casual effects of obesity in addition to actual costs. This means that there are costs are incurred for conditions such as back problems, general surgery, and gynocological problems that are made much worse by obesity.

Since nearly 2/3 of Americans are considered obese it stands to reason that the cost is incurred by all of these folks - not the case. It seems that the skyrocketing costs of medical care is driven by a small percentage of highly obese individuals - those referred to as morbidly obese. These are the folks that are more likely to engage in desparate measures such as surgery to decrease stomach capacity (stomach stapling, surgery, balloon insertion etc).

In this climate of health care cost concerns it seems that more conversation needs to be focused on those preventable conditions which are clearly contributing to the cost. We can all do our part in improving our little corner of the world by taking those steps (one at a time) toward health. I challenge you to do what you can do to make needed changes and improve your health.


  • Eat more fruits, vegetables
  • Choose whole grains
  • Limit fat and calories(portions)
  • Move whenever you can
Happy, Healthy Eating,
Marcia