Health Blog

When you’re on a diet, one of the most difficult things to avoid is . . . well, food! If you are accustomed to having snacks throughout the day, suddenly cutting back to just three skimpy meals a day can be torture. However, you don’t need to cut out all snacks. As long as you aren’t actually starving yourself, you can enjoy a couple of low-cal nibbles throughout the day and it might be just what you need to keep you on the diet wagon.

1. Chocolate covered strawberries. These don’t sound like a diet food, but if you limit yourself to just a tablespoon of chocolate syrup and about 10 strawberries, you can get sweet satisfaction for less than 100 calories! Use dark chocolate to add an antioxidant to your snack.

2. Frozen yogurt. Make your own frozen yogurt by combining 2 parts non-fat, plain yogurt with one part natural fruit juice (orange works well). Mix and pour into popsicle molds. One of these refreshing treats comes in under the 100 calorie marker and tastes wonderful.

3. Popcorn. As long as you don’t smother it in butter, popcorn is an excellent low-fat, low calorie snack. You can eat a bowl of plain popcorn with a little salt. Just can’t survive without butter? Try a teaspoon or two of diet margarine.

4. Fruit smoothie. You can’t go wrong with fresh fruit, but if you just can’t face another plain old banana, try turning it into a smoothie with some ice and a dash of cinnamon or vanilla extract. Using a half cup of skim milk adds calcium without fat.

5. Peanut butter and crackers. This might sound too rich to be true, but keeping your peanut butter down to a tablespoon spread thinly over whole wheat crackers or rye crisps is the ideal way to satisfy those mid-afternoon hunger pangs. Plus, it provides a complete protein!

6. Baked potato wedges. Instead of loading a baked potato with cheese or sour cream and bacon bits, try slicing a regular potato into six or eight wedges. Sprinkle with a little olive oil, a dash of salt and lots of yummy herbs like oregano and thyme. These can be fresh or dried. Bake for 15 minutes or so at 350º or until the wedges are tender. This snack makes you feel full on virtually nothing.

7. Devilled eggs. If you use low-fat mayonnaise or even a dollop of yogurt to mix the yolks, your calorie intake won’t go up too much. Just make sure you stop with one egg!

8. Salad. Many dieters get sick of plain salad, since the majority of dressings are off-limits, but you can still enjoy a good salad. Mix up a tasty dressing with mustard, a bit of low-fat yogurt and a dash of garlic salt. Toss a tablespoon or so of this with your salad for a more feisty snack.

9. Veggies. Carrot sticks, celery sticks and puffy bits of cauliflower are the perfect diet snack and they don’t even require limits! Virtually every diet allows as many vegetables as you want to eat. Try dipping them in the above salad dressing, or you can mix up your own special dip by combining a quarter cup of plain, low-fat yogurt with a dash of garlic salt and some freshly chopped herbs like parsley or cilantro.

10. Applesauce. Unsweetened applesauce can be made at home by simply cooking down peeled and cored apples and then running them through the blender. Add cinnamon for a truly divine snack!

Eating a snack or two while you are on a diet is the ideal way to keep from slipping. Just stay away from high calorie options like potato chips and ice cream, and snacks that encourage you to eat a lot, such as nachos or pretzels. Healthy snacks can actually help you stay on your diet longer and help you get better results.

Tags diet snacks applesauce salad

With the cost of prescription drugs skyrocketing, many people find that affording their medication has become a hardship or even impossible.

Many people have turned to other countries or the Internet for their prescriptions, but there are less drastic measures that can help save money.

First, particularly if you are prescribed a medication to take for only a short period of time, ask your doctor if he or she has any samples available. Representative from pharmaceutical companies often give these to doctors, who are usually happy to pass them along. However, you might have to ask, since doctors are understandably busy during your visit and might not think of it.

If you are taking a particular medication for a longer period of time and have a prescription drug plan, make sure you understand your benefits thoroughly. Your plan may have a list of preferred medications called a formulary. Drugs from this list are generally cheaper than comparable drugs that aren’t on the list. If you find that your prescribed medication isn’t on the formulary, ask your doctor if a drug on the list might be just as effective.

It also pays to use generic drugs if at all possible. If you’re paying out of pocket, the savings can sometimes be significant. Many prescription drug plans also have a lower co-pay if you use a generic drug. Once again, your doctor can tell if you a generic medicine might be just as effective for your condition.

Many prescription drug plans offer a mail-order program. This can be a convenient, cost-effective source for prescriptions. Often a three-month supply is available for approximately the same cost as a one-month supply obtained from a local pharmacy.

If you do choose to get your prescription from a local pharmacy, it may not always pay to use your insurance. If, for example, your insurance charges $15 for any generic drug and the drug normally costs only $10, ask your pharmacist to process the prescription without your insurance.

Another way to save at a pharmacy is to utilize prescription coupons that often appear in grocery store or mass merchandiser ads in the newspaper. Often they will give you a $10 or even $25 gift certificate to their store if you bring your new or transferred prescription to their pharmacy. Transferring a prescription usually only requires a phone call to the new pharmacy in order to give them the pertinent information.

If affording your medication is still a burden, ask your doctor about programs that pharmaceutical companies offer indigent patients. The doctor’s office often has paperwork that can help you apply for this help.

Tags prescription drugs medication pharmaceutical companies cheap prescription drugs

School Violence is a growing trend in America. Parents need to become aware of this problem and how to recognize it in their children.

As sad as it is, school violence is an ever growing trend. One that has parents and kids alike worried about what each new day will bring. Kids of today have a lot more to worry about than the bullies who use to threaten children for their lunch money. As hard as that was to deal with in the past, just imagine how kids today feel. They have to worry about the bully pulling a gun and shooting them or being stabbed to death. What’s even worse is that many times instead of it being the bully; it’s the nice kid who gets along with everyone or the quiet kid who seems to get overlooked by everybody else that’s doing the shooting or stabbing.

It seems like every time you turn on the news you hear about a new incident that has happened. You may know all about the shootings and stabbings because they are so publicized, but did you know that these are not the only school violence taking place. The high schools are full of teenagers that hang together in groups and look for others to taunt and harass. It seems as though their whole reason for getting out of bed in the mornings is to see how miserable they can make someone else feel. It is very hard to understand what drives these children and makes them so hard hearted.

Not Just For High School

Don’t make the mistake of thinking high school is the only place for school violence. It is just as bad in middle schools and there are even problems in elementary schools. Do you have young children? If so, how many times have they come home from school crying because their feelings got hurt? Someone either made fun of their clothes or told them they were ugly. Perhaps the teacher asked them a question that they didn’t understand and the whole class laughed at them and said they were dumb. It does happen, to someone’s child almost every day.

What about middle schools? They may even be a little worse than high schools because this is such a fragile time in a child’s life. This is when they are already going through so many physical changes and trying to figure out their goals in life. Yet this is the time that many young pre-teens are filled with so much anger and hatred for their fellow schoolmates. They spend their nights plotting what they will do to some unsuspecting child the next day. They seem to have no compassion to give at all. It is almost as if their only goal in life is to ruin someone else’s and yes, they too have to worry about being shot or stabbed just like the high school kids.

What makes the violence in middle school even worse is that as a parent, you may never even know what is going on. The kids that are targeted by this violence feel that if they tell anyone, it will just make things even worse. They try to deal with this hurt and anger all alone. They go to school each day with fear of what the new day will bring. Is it any wonder that making good grades is no longer at the top of our children’s list anymore? It has been replaced with survival.

Stress that is allowed to get out of control can induce a debilitating and enduring state of anxiety that destroys your peace of mind and erodes physical health and well-being. It is a well-known fact that stress contributes to several very serious health conditions if it develops unchecked.

How to take the stress out of your day
Letting go of stressful habits and replacing them with de-stressing habits is a positive step towards creating a personal program to reduce your stress levels during the day. It is important, at this stage of your overall stress-management scheme, to make an honest assessment of the habits in your life that are creating rather than reducing your daily stress levels.

First look at the obvious ones. Do you over-commit, stretching yourself too thinly? Do you drink too much tea, coffee or alcohol, or smoke excessively? Do you bolt un-nutritious fast junk foods in between appointments, not leaving yourself enough time to digest your food? If you can answer “yes” to more than one of the above, you have some real work (or play, depending on how you look at it) to do. De-stressing your day won’t be so easy until you amend or moderate your dangerous habits.

You can stop drinking 6 cups of tea plus 5 cups of coffee a day. Cut down to, say, 2 cups of teat and 1 cup of coffee, and replace the rest with calming herb teas, water and natural fruit juice. You can make the choice to be more disciplined concerning your negative stress-producing habits. Do you really need all that extra salt and sugar with your food for instance? Where your stress is concerned a little moderation goes a long way.

Think about your daily routine and compile a list of any stress-inducing habits or activities. Compile a second list outlining how you can start to change those habits or limit your involvement in those stressful activities – be realistic and patient and, above all, try not to create even more stress by setting targets that are unrealistic and hard to achieve. Don’t expect overnight results, because it takes time to undo the habits of a lifetime. Take things one step at a time, replacing one bad habit with a good one, then moving on to the next when you feel happy with your progress. Try to have fun giving up unhealthy routines for healthy ones. After all, you’ll feel better for making the change.

Tags stress stress management anxiety peace of mind stressful tea alcohol coffee sugar salt unhealthy foods

Exercise and a sensible diet are important in healthy weight management, however water may play a bigger role than we previously thought. We seem to expect weight loss to be complicated, costly, and difficult but perhaps one of the most effective weight loss wonders is simple, free, and right under our nose.

Data, analyzed from 240 overweight women, aged 25 to 50, on a low-carb diet, revealed that those who drank water rather than sugary drinks lost more weight than those who kept their regular drinking habits. In other studies, subjects lost fat deposits when they drank more water and gained fat deposits when they consumed less water.

Some speculate that this occurs because water fills the stomach and helps to suppress the appetite, while providing no calories. This may be one way that water aids in weight loss, however, in another study conducted at Berlin’s Franz-Volhard Clinical Research Center, seven men and seven women actually raised their metabolism rate by 30% just minutes after consuming 17 ounces of water.

It’s not entirely clear how this works but one thing we do know is that the human body is made up of 70% water and this precious liquid is essential for every function of the body. Both the liver and the kidneys filter bodily fluids by sifting out toxins. In dehydration, kidney function is impaired as the body assumes that water is in short supply and begins to stock up.

We sometimes see this as edema, since water is stored, not only inside cells, but outside them as well. With kidney function suppressed, the liver becomes a crutch, in turn compromising its ability to regulate blood chemistries and metabolize stored fats for digestion and absorption.

All this indicates that water is pretty important in the process of fat loss but how much water do we need? It seems that overweight people need more water than thin people, with the general guideline being about 8 to 10 cups a day, and more in the summer. Alcoholic beverages, caffeinated beverages, and sugared drinks actually contribute to dehydration and should be replaced with plain old water. As toxins are more effectively filtered from the body, water drinkers will feel better, too.

Americans are obsessed with weight loss. Dieters pump iron, pop pills, pour energy drinks, and pay doctors for surgery, but this magical liquid requires no extra finances, no special equipment, no muscle burning maneuvers, and no doctor appointments. Go have yourself a big glass of cool H2O right now!

Tags water weight loss diet low carb diet appetite calories fat loss overweight fat loss dieters nutrition

by Susan M. Keenan

About eight years ago, a veterinarian told me that my dog needed an eight thousand dollar operation or he would die within months. At the time, I did not have that much money or even half that amount. It pretty much looked like the doggie was going to meet his maker.

Well, it only looked that way for a short bit because I got my dander up and refused to let it happen. I looked for information about his diagnosis and I used what little brains I had. Finally, I came upon a plan and went to work incorporating it into our lives.

The poor thing had a combination of spondylosis and a swollen vertebrae disc in the neck area. I knew my dog well enough to know that he had more pain after running rampant up and down the steps several times throughout the day, climbing on the furniture that was a bit too tall for his short little legs, and overeating because everyone seems to think, “throw the poor doggie a bone” along with everything else they can lay their hands on.

I went out and purchased my dog a harness to replace his collar. You guessed it. He hadn’t been properly trained and so he strained at the leash. Next, I hid the dog treats and forbade everyone around from feeding him anything at all. The best way to monitor a dog’s diet is to be in control of it yourself.

Next, I limited his use to the steps and stairs by closing doors and forbidding the family from allowing him to climb. Then, I blocked off the furniture that was high enough to strain his back.

Guess what, eight years later and the little pooch is still around at the ripe old age, in human years, of twelve or maybe thirteen. I don’t really know how old he is, because I got him from the pound. Lucky for him and me too!

Tags dogs dog harness spondylosis swollen vertebrae dog diet

by Elizabeth Walling

Many women suffer the monthly symptoms of PMS, which can include irritability, bloating, and breast tenderness. Numerous studies are showing the relation between nutritional intake and PMS, and especially the affect that essential fatty acids can have on the hormone imbalances which can cause PMS.

Gamma-linolenic acid, or GLA, is an essential fatty acid that can specifically affect the balance of hormones. A deficiency of GLA can cause hormone imbalances, which can in turn cause more drastic PMS symptoms.

Evening primrose oil is one of the best natural sources of GLA. It has been shown that women who regularly take evening primrose oil can have less noticeable PMS symptoms. Symptoms like mood swings, excess water retention, and extreme food cravings are lessened with daily doses of evening primrose oil.

Evening primrose oil has also been shown to ease heavy bleeding, which can shorten the duration of a woman’s menstrual cycle in addition to lightening the bleeding during the period itself.

Evening primrose oil is fairly inexpensive, and can be bought in capsules that are usually 500 mg in size. Recommended dosages range from taking one to six capsules per day. Since it can directly affect hormone levels, it is important to gauge your individual body’s reaction to evening primrose oil and adjust your dosage accordingly.

Some women may need a lower dosage than others. Always discuss it with your doctor before you add a new supplement to your diet.

Tags pms primrose oil evening primrose oil pms symptoms relieve pms symptoms

by Susan M. Keenan

Man’s best friend, the dog, is now credited with the amazing ability to help his master or mistress to lose weight. In fact, an actual diet is named “The Dog Diet” and it is based upon the premise that owning and caring for a dog will help you to lose weight.

If you ask me, this diet is more about common sense than anything else. Sure, you can lose weight if you own a dog and take care of your dog properly. You can also lose weight if you don’t own a dog, but simply take care of yourself properly.

Should it really take more than common sense to lose weight? Whether it should or not, it does. It takes will power and determination. Sometimes, it takes an inordinate amount of will power. It all depends on your personal situation though.

For some of us, our daily routine keeps us away from food and so, it is simply and positively easy to maintain an even weight or even to lose weight. I once had a job, not too long ago, in which I had a 15 minute break on some days and it was all I could do to run to the ladies room, put away a few things, and prepare for the next half of my day.

On those glorious days when I actually got a break that allowed me to do more than run to the ladies room, I had about 30 minutes for lunch. On those days, I often drove home, all of two minutes and let my dog out for a quick potty break before running back. So, as you can see I didn’t have time to eat so I didn’t have the means to gain weight.

Hey, wait a minute- did I say that I took the time to let my dog outside for his potty break? I guess maybe I was on the doggie diet and didn’t even realize it!

Tags diet dog diet lose weight running

by Lori L. Bell

What are the symptoms of bladder cancer?
The most common symptoms of bladder cancer include: blood in the urine (which initially may or may not be detectable to the human eye), painful urination, frequent urination, feeling the need to urinate without producing any significant amount of urine, and abdominal pain. These common symptoms of bladder cancer are also common symptoms of many other urinary illnesses. These symptoms can easily be mistaken for urinary tract infections, cystitis, kidney stones, and prostate disease- all of which mask bladder cancer thus making it a silent killer.

Who gets bladder cancer?
Typically when one hears of someone having bladder cancer the thought of elderly white male comes to mind. In fact, men are 3 to 4 times more likely to be diagnosed with bladder cancer than women. Typically, when a woman presents with the symptoms of blood in the urine, painful urination, increased frequency of urination, or feeling the need to void without success to her OB/GYN, it will be assumed that she has a urinary tract infection and she will be treated with a course of antibiotics. Because bladder cancer is seen as an old white man’s disease, the detection and treatment in women lags far behind. Typically when a woman is finally appropriately diagnosed with the disease it is in the later stages of cancer. This may be a contributing factor as to why the mortality rate for bladder cancer is significantly higher in women than men.

Risk Factors:
People in industrialized countries (in particular, white men) are far more likely to be diagnosed with bladder cancer than those in other underdeveloped countries. Exposure to carcinogens in the workplace may be a leading cause of this type of cancer. Certain occupations such as those dealing with radiation, or dyes and chemicals in the work place may be a contributing factor in this disease. Chemical additives to food and water, as well as a diet high in saturated fats may be yet another leading cause. Smoking cigarettes and exposure to second hand smoke is thought to be a leading culprit of this type of cancer as well. Finally, some of the drugs used to treat other types of cancer can ultimately lead to the development of cancer in the bladder.

What should be done if you suspect cancer?
Anyone with the above symptoms should see their family doctor or urologist immediately. These symptoms will most likely be passed off as a urinary tract infection and antibiotics will be prescribed. If the symptoms persist, press for further testing or a second opinion. Blood in the urine can have many different causes. Ask for laboratory tests to be done. A Urinalysis should be performed to detect blood that can only be viewed by a microscope. A Cytology exam of the urine should be conducted to detect cancer cells being flushed from the bladder during the process of elimination. A simple urine culture should be done to rule out a urinary tract infection. Various imaging tests including a CT scan, MRI scan, and ultrasound may also be performed. Finally, if bladder cancer is suspected a cystoscopy and biopsy should be performed to detect abnormalities, and to determine the stage that the cancer is in so that appropriate treatment measures can be made.

The possibility of bladder cancer should not be casually tossed aside if a patient is presenting with the symptoms mentioned above. Testing for bladder cancer is costly but in the long run it will save lives. Early detection will also save much of the money that is spent on radiation, chemotherapy, and the medical care of a dying individual in the untreatable stages of cancer.

Article written by Lori L. Bell in memory of her father

Tags cancer bladder cancer symptoms of bladder cancer

A recent report by Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School reports that those with a low salt diet have a lower risk of a range of cardiovascular disease. After all, salt is used in so many applications with regards to food preservation and preparation. If salt is indeed harmful to the heart that I believe that people should indeed cut down on salt.

However, people can only do so much. Salt is considered to be an essential nutrient that is inherent in both humans and animal’s taste. Salt is also used to preserve food if it’s transferred from place to another. One thing that is certain is that salt can never be completely eliminated from food preparation for the simple fact that it enhances the taste of food. Of course, it’s only logical to take good care of our bodies; however, the results in the report are not that compelling.

The report has stated that the research included testing of several individuals who were already with borderline blood pressure. Had people acquired lesser blood pressure, it could be attributed to a number of reasons. Although, they may probably have been subjected to the same diet, most probably the participants may not have the same metabolism. Likewise, they may have different tastes in food, and may not have had the same intake. Lastly, there is no mention of how many people per trial were conducted. There is a mention that only 25% had lower risk of heart failure due to the research.

The result is rather vague as well. If the basis of this is merely blood pressure, then perhaps further tests should be conducted. After all, heart defects can actually result from both low blood pressure and high blood pressure.

I also believe that 25% is such a low number, that I believe that the low salt diet has much of an effect on individuals. By lowering the salt in food, perhaps the participants merely lost interest in food so instead they lost weight by force. The food may have had a bland taste because of the absence of salt, or if good recipes were used in the case study, they may have simply not matched with subjects’ taste. Either way, the subjects may not have had the same food intake so the results are not very conclusive.

This is an import point considering different individuals have different tastes, so for the research to hold any value the subjects had to be served with the same food. However, even with the same food, different people have different tastes. As such, the amount of food will not be the same. If people are forced to eat the same amount of food without preference, then their metabolism is also affected by their mood.

If people are unhappy with the food they eat, there is also a chance that their vitality will drop. Such an effect is not desirable at all, so it does not serve the interests of the research. Moreover, with such a small percentage of response, there may have been other reasons why the participants are, as believed, less likely to have heart illnesses as a result of the experiments.

Tags salt blood pressure nutrients

A recent study by a team of international experts warns of high blood pressure in as much as 1 in 4 adults. I, for one, am a working professional and I have gone through countless encounters with stress. During the times when I feel stressful, I really do feel less efficient. Tasks that are quite small and very easy to finish seem to take too much of my time, and it seems that the effort is hardly worth it.

The article states that people suffering from stress should definitely change their lifestyle. The cause of stress is probably one’s own failure to address so many concerns. Be it at work, at home, or simply being alone, stress can strike any time if there are issues which are left unsettled. In effect, everything else becomes compromised. If there are problems at home, these are not only likely to affect things at home, but also the way people behave in their work environment.

Stress can make people less efficient because they tend to worry about things which are out of place, thus they can’t concentrate on the things they should be focusing on. Also, as the articles states, too much worry is not good for the health. When people worry too much, they tend to panic. Panicking can cause a person’s heart rate to go up, which can very well lead to heart failure. Heart failure can strike anyone at anytime. A lot of people have died from going through a single stroke. If they are able to get through it, other times parts of their body become paralyzed.

I believe the article shares what the working men and women go through every day. This is most common among young professionals, who are only starting to learn the ways of the world and how the corporate world works. Because of this, people tend to make mistakes. Although, it’s only natural, mistakes can lead to frustration. Intense frustration eventually leads to stress. As the article mentions, a change of lifestyle is important to eliminate the health risks involved with stress. This statement sounds so simple and common, and yet people find it hard to handle stress.

Also, there is no general rule as to how to do it for the simple reason that what causes stress is different with each individual. One thing is certain though. The biggest source of stress is frustration. Now frustration is much easier to define. To ensure that frustration occurs less for you, it’s important to not forget what your goals are. The reason for this is that though you may possibly fail once, twice, or even more, you should see where you’re going so you can fail a sense of accomplishment even though it’s gradual. By doing this, you change your own view of past mistakes as simple stepping stones to success. With a positive attitude, stress is most likely to strike people, and I have experienced it first hand. After all, it’s useless feeling sorry for yourself because doing nothing will change nothing. This applies not only to stress management but to a lot of other things. If there’s something bothering you, then you should do something about it to set things right.

Tags stress work lifestyle stressful anxiety burden hassle

Freezing is a form of preservation that does not allow for chemical processing of your food. This method is one of the most popular preservation methods in homes today. There are some simple ways to ensure that your foods stay safely frozen until you are ready to use them.

Set your freezer to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. While this sounds a bit extreme, it will allow your freezer to compensate faster when the door has been opened, or when new items have been introduced.

Try not to add too many new items to your freezer all at once. The relative heat given off by non-frozen packages can cause the freezer’s interior temperature to rise to unhealthy levels. Keep in mind that the ride home from the grocery store can begin to thaw the outside surfaces of packaged items, making them more difficult for your freezer to cool. Using a cooler bag or small cooler can help maintain the temperature of frozen foods during transportation from the grocery to your freezer.

Keep your freezer full. This will help to maintain the temperature at all times. Don’t overfill it, however. Overfilling can block the flow of air from the compressor, allowing items that are buried to potentially trap heat from new items or the door being opened. This can lead to foods partially thawing and refreezing, making it easier for spoilage to occur.

Not only will these simple measures help maintain the quality of your frozen food, it will help to conserve energy and possibly even lower your home energy use.

Tags food frozen foods freezer fahrenheit grocery frozen food foods

Do you enjoy foods that put off less than pleasant odors during preparation? There are easy ways to keep your house from being over run by these scents. Many of them do not include harsh chemicals or masking sprays, keeping your air less polluted inside the home,

When cooking cabbage, broccoli or fish, put a small bowl of white vinegar on the counter beside the stove. It will help to absorb the odors before they can permeate your home.

If you have troubles removing the oils from fish, garlic or onions from your hands, rub your skin with a slice of lemon before you wash. The citric acid in the lemon helps to break down the oils and allow your skin to release them faster.

When handling fish you often wipe your hands, most likely on a kitchen towel. This may also be true for your cabinet or cutting board. When you launder the towel, put a quarter cup of white vinegar in the wash load. The vinegar helps deodorize without harsh chemicals in your laundry.

For storing your food in the fridge, leave four ounces of baking soda in an open container in the fridge. This absorbs odors from all your foods. Keeping odors under control helps to preserve the flavors of your foods by not allowing them to mingle or permeate containers.

If you store leftovers in plastic containers, the plastic will often retain the smells even after a couple of washings. Rather than throw the container out, use white vinegar in the dishwater, or add it to the soap in your dishwasher. It helps to remove odors here, as well.

Keeping white vinegar, lemon and baking soda handy can help eliminate the need for harsher and less healthy chemicals in your home.

Tags food smelly food stop smelly food cabbage broccoli fish

by Rachel Newcombe

When it comes to dieting, are food companies doing enough to help us choose healthier foods and cut down on salt, sugar and fat consumption? A new report says they’re not.

Researchers from The City University in London, UK, looked into the 25 biggest food companies in the world and reached the conclusion that many still don’t seem to have the health of consumers in their top priorities. Back in 2004, the World Health Assembly (the governing body of the World Health Organisation (WHO) brought out recommendations for companies as to how they could deal with the ‘diet crisis’ that was affecting many parts of the Western world.

Since then, some food manufacturers have slowly begun improving the labeling on products, cutting down on salt content and reducing sugar, plus others are getting involved in physical activity initiatives. But the researchers still feel that not enough is being done to help and some of the key players still seem content on making money, rather than improving health.

Many diet foods, for example, seem like a good deal and a better option than full-fat options. But even though they may have fewer calories, the health difference is sometimes small and they don’t necessarily have reduced amounts of sugar or salt. Additionally, some manufacturers ironically make up for the reduction in fat by adding more sugar! This makes it even more important to keep carefully reading nutrition labels when you shop.

Interestingly, the publication of the report has added to the debate about exactly who should have the most responsibility. Does it come down to individual choice and whether we can choose appropriate foods to eat, or should food manufacturers be playing a bigger role in creating healthier food to start with….what do you think?

Tags food dieting food companies fat consumption salt foods sugar diet foods calories

Want to look younger? Stay out of the sun this summer! Sun damage is the #1 cause of wrinkles. Want to prevent the sun from damaging your skin? Try these tips:

1 Always apply sunscreen before heading outdoors. – even on cloudy days. Use at least a SPF 30 sun block for the best protection, and reapply often. Most brands are only active for about an hour.

2 Avoid exposure during peak hours. Stay indoors when the sun is strongest — between 10 am and 4 pm. If you must be outside during these peak hours, take precautions. Seek shade, wear a hat, and sunglasses.

3 Know how your medications are affected by the sun. Some antibiotics and allergy medicines can make you more sensitive to sun exposure.

Being careful to avoid prolonged outings in the sun will help limit the damage to your skin, but also knowing how to use sunscreen the right way can also help. First, remember, that sunscreen is used to actually absorb the sun’s rays before they can damage your skin, but they are foolproof, so don’t rely on sunscreen alone to protect your skin.

Here are some additional tips when using sunscreen:
4 Pick a higher SPF number. A 30 will protect you against 96% of the sun’s harmful rays.

5 Put in on at least 30 minutes before heading outdoors, and use plenty. Most people only use a fraction of the recommended dosage. Read and follow labels carefully.

6 Remember, waterproof sunscreens don’t last all day. Reapply after 90 minutes.

Tags sun care sun damage skin care sun block sun damaged skin