Health A-Z

14 Reasons why You’re Always Tired

always tired

Lack of sleep isn’t the only thing sapping your energy. Little things you do (and don’t do) can exhaust you both mentally and physically, which can make getting through your day a chore. Here, experts reveal common bad habits that can make you feel tired, plus simple lifestyle tweaks that will put the pep back in your step.

You skip exercise when you’re tired
Skipping your workout to save energy actually works against you. In a University of Georgia study, sedentary but otherwise healthy adults who began exercising lightly three days a week for as little as 20 minutes at a time reported feeling less fatigued and more energized after six weeks. Regular exercise boosts strength and endurance, helps make your cardiovascular system run more efficiently, and delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. So next time you’re tempted to crash on the couch, at least go for a brisk walk—you won’t regret it

You don’t drink enough water
Being even slightly dehydrated—as little as 2% of normal fluid loss—takes a toll on energy levels, says Amy Goodson, RD, a dietitian for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume, explains Goodson, which makes the blood thicker. This requires your heart to pump less efficiently, reducing the speed at which oxygen and nutrients reach your muscles and organs. To calculate your normal fluid needs, take your weight in pounds, divide in half and drink that number of ounces of fluid a day, Goodson recommends.

You’re not consuming enough iron
An iron deficiency can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, weak, and unable to focus. “It makes you tired because less oxygen travels to the muscles and cells,” says Goodson. Boost your iron intake to reduce your risk of anemia: load up on lean beef, kidney beans, tofu, eggs (including the yolk), dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, and peanut butter, and pair them with foods high in vitamin C (vitamin C improves iron absorption when eaten together), suggests Goodson. Note: an iron deficiency may be due to an underlying health problem, so if you’re experiencing these symptoms of iron deficiency, you should visit your doc.

You’re a perfectionist
Striving to be perfect—which, let’s face it, is impossible—makes you work much harder and longer than necessary, says Irene S. Levine, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. “You set goals that are so unrealistic that they are difficult or impossible to achieve, and in the end, there is no sense of self-satisfaction.” Levine recommends setting a time limit for yourself on your projects, and taking care to obey it. In time, you’ll realize that the extra time you were taking wasn’t actually improving your work.

You make mountains out of molehills
If you assume that you’re about to get fired when your boss calls you into an unexpected meeting, or you’re too afraid to ride your bike because you worry you’ll get into an accident, then you’re guilty of “catastrophizing,” or expecting that the worst-case scenario will always occur. This anxiety can paralyze you and make you mentally exhausted, says Levine. When you catch yourself having these thoughts, take a deep breath and ask yourself how likely it is that the worst really will happen. Getting outdoors, meditating, exercising, or sharing your concerns with a friend may help you better cope and become more realistic.

You skip breakfast
The food you eat fuels your body, and when you sleep, your body continues using what you consumed at dinner the night before to keep your blood pumping and oxygen flowing. So, when you wake up in the morning, you need to refuel with breakfast. Skip it, and you’ll feel sluggish. “Eating breakfast is like starting a fire in your body by kickstarting your metabolism,” Goodson says. Goodson recommends a breakfast that includes whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fat. Good examples include oatmeal with protein powder and a dab of peanut butter; a smoothie made with fruit, protein powder, low-fat milk, and almond butter; or eggs with two slices of whole-wheat toast and low-fat Greek yogurt.

You live on junk food
Foods loaded with sugar and simple carbs (like the ones you’ll find in a box or at the drive-thru window) rank high on the glycemic index (GI), an indicator of how rapidly carbohydrates increase blood sugar. Constant blood sugar spikes followed by sharp drops cause fatigue over the course of the day, says Goodson. Keep blood sugar steady by having a lean protein along with a whole grain at every meal, says Goodson. Good choices include chicken (baked, not fried) and brown rice, salmon and sweet potato, or salad with chicken and fruit.

You have trouble saying ‘no’
People-pleasing often comes at the expense of your own energy and happiness. To make matters worse, it can make you resentful and angry over time. So whether it’s your kid’s coach asking you to bake cookies for her soccer team or your boss seeing if you can work on a Saturday, you don’t have to say yes. Train yourself to say ‘no’ out loud, suggests Susan Albers, a licensed clinical psychologist with Cleveland Clinic and author of Eat.Q.: Unlock the Weight-Loss Power of Emotional Intelligence. “Try it alone in your car,” she says. “Hearing yourself say the word aloud makes it easier to say it when the next opportunity calls for it.”

You have a messy office
A cluttered desk mentally exhausts you by restricting your ability to focus and limits your brain’s ability to process information, according to a Princeton University study. “At the end of each day, make sure your work and personal items are organized and put away,” suggests Lombardo. “It will help you have a positive start to your day the next morning.” If your office needs major reorganizing, avoid becoming totally overwhelmed by taking it one step at a time: start by tidying what you can see, then move through your desk and cabinets drawer by drawer.

You work through vacation
Checking your email when you should be relaxing by the pool puts you at risk of burnout, says Lombardo. Unplugging and allowing yourself to truly unwind allows your mind and body to rejuvenate and return to the office stronger. “When you truly take breaks, you will be more creative, productive, and effective when you return,” says Lombardo.

You have a glass of wine (or two) before bed
A nightcap sounds like a good way to unwind before falling asleep, but it can easily backfire. Alcohol initially depresses the central nervous system, producing a sedative effect, says Allen Towfigh, MD, medical director of New York Neurology & Sleep Medicine, P.C., in New York City. “But it ultimately sabotages sleep maintenance.” Alcohol creates a rebound effect as it’s metabolized, which creates an abrupt surge in the adrenaline system, he says. This is why you’re more likely to wake up in the middle of the night after you’ve been drinking. Dr. Towfigh recommends stopping all alcohol three to four hours before bedtime.

You check e-mails at bedtime
The glaring light of a tablet, smartphone, or your computer’s backlit screen can throw off your body’s natural circadian rhythm by suppressing melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep and wake cycles, says Dr. Towfigh. Sensitivity to the digital glow of tech toys can vary from person to person, but in general it’s a good idea to avoid all technology for one to two hours before bedtime, he says. Can’t avoid checking your device before your head hits the pillow? Then hold it at least 14 inches away from your face to reduce the risk of sleep interference.

You rely on caffeine to get through the day
Starting your morning with a java jolt is no big deal—in fact, studies show that up to three daily cups of coffee is good for you—but using caffeine improperly can seriously disrupt your sleep-wake cycle, says Dr. Towfigh. Caffeine blocks adenosine, the byproduct of active cells that drives you to sleep as it accumulates, he explains. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine revealed that consuming caffeine even six hours prior to bedtime affects sleep, so cut yourself off by mid-afternoon

You stay up late on weekends
Burning the midnight oil on Saturday night and then sleeping in Sunday morning leads to difficulty falling asleep Sunday night—and a sleep-deprived Monday morning, says Dr. Towfigh. Since staying in can cramp your social life, try to wake up close to your normal time the following morning, and then take a power nap in the afternoon. “Napping for 20 minutes or so allows the body to recharge without entering the deeper stages of sleep, which can cause you to wake up more tired,” he says.

Source: health

 

 

Truth about high sodium intake and health

salt

Sodium has gotten a great deal of bad press over the past few decades. There is, of course, good reason for the warnings that are frequently posted by health experts, both online and in numerous medical journals, that are designed to make people think twice before using their salt shaker liberally. After all, the American Heart Association (AHA) cautions that excessive sodium intake can cause the following health risks:

  • enlarged heart muscle
  • strokes
  • headaches
  • high blood pressure
  • stomach cancer
  • kidney stones
  • heart disease
  • kidney disease

Culprits of too much sodium in the diet

The majority of the sodium in the average diet — about 65% — comes from foods that are obtained from convenience stores or supermarkets. This comes in the form of processed foods, since manufacturers often use added sodium in order to help preserve their food for a longer shelf life. The remaining 35% of the sodium comes from restaurants and other sources — 25% and 10% respectively. It can be assumed that the other sources include the sodium that people add to their foods when they cook at home.

Sodium has other hazards too

In addition to the health risks that are posed by eating a diet that is high in sodium, health experts caution that excess sodium can take a toll on the way a person looks. Too much sodium can lead to bloating, puffiness and weight gain. Health organizations have different amounts of sodium that they deem safe, with most, such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Diabetic Association (ADA) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), putting the highest safe amount at 2,300 mg. An interesting note is that the optimal level of sodium that the AHA deems is safe is 1,500 mg. This is the same amount the other agencies place on the lower level of being acceptable.

Sodium has surprises for people

There is a growing body of evidence that points to the fact that a salt-restricted diet might not be the best for long-term health. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently noted a correlation between a low-sodium diet and a higher mortality rate from cardiovascular causes. This data pointed to an increase in hospitalization for cardiovascular issues for those people who had low salt intake compared to those who had a moderate amount of salt in their diets.

In addition, a recent study cited in the American Journal of Hypertension found that diets low in salt resulted in higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the plasma. The researchers concluded that these higher levels of hormones and lipids in the blood negate the effects of the slightly lower blood pressure seen in patients who restrict their salt intake greatly.

As with many health recommendations, it is perhaps best to exercise moderation when it comes to the amount of salt in the diet.

Source; Natural news

Parents: a good sleep routine can keep the whole family healthy

a good sleep

A new study conducted at the University of Illinois says that children who are raised by families that prioritize shut-eye are less likely to be obese.

The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, examined the sleep routines of 337 US preschool children and their families, taking into account socioeconomic characteristics and observing the influence of TV time and meal routines.

Researchers considered four routines protective against childhood obesity including limited TV time, not having a bedroom TV, quality family meal time and adequate sleep.

Yet sleep was the only factor that made a difference in the results.

Children who slept 10 hours per day or more were less likely to suffer obesity than those who did not, regardless of the other protective routines.

Given the importance of sleep, the most likely factor in a child’s risk for obesity was the parental sleep routine.

In a chain reaction, parents who slept inadequately had children who did the same and were therefore more likely to be overweight.

“Parents should make being well rested a family value and a priority,” said Barbara H. Fiese, director of the U of I’s Family Resiliency Center and Pampered Chef Endowed Chair. “We viewed how long parents slept and how long children slept as part of a household routine and found that they really did go together.”

Sufficient sleep has long been linked to healthy weight management and children are hardly new study subjects.

A recent study by the University College London found that 16-month-old toddlers who slept less than 10 hours per day increased their calorie consumption by 10 percent over those who slept 13 hours per day.

A 2009 study by the European Centre of Taste Science in Dijon in central France found participants were likely to consume up to 22 percent more calories than normal after a bad night’s sleep.

Source; yahoo news

World Healthiest Food-Spinach

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Everything you wanted to know about Spinach.

You could say Popeye did the most to promote spinach, not the scientists or food industry. Just if Popeye’s spinach was fresh, and not canned, the message would be more accurate.

Phytonutrients for optimal health.

Scientists have discovered 15 different flavonic compounds in spinach which are potent antioxidants. Lots of them are useful for cancer prevention. Various studies have shown that these compounds inhibit the growth of malignant cells of the stomach, skin and breast.

Spinach is important for a healthy prostate.

Carotenoid pigment which is found in spinach successfuly fights against prostate cancer, in two ways. One carotenoid form under the name neoxanthin on one side affects the prostate cancer cells in a way that stimulates their self-destruction.

And the other hand, neoxanthin with metabolic processes in the intestine is further converted into neo chromes, which inhibits the growth of cancer cells in the prostate.

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Spinach is important for healthy and strong bones.

In one cup of spinach there are nearly two times more vitamin C than the recommended daily dose of that vitamin. If spinach is cooked, one cup of spinach contains 6 times larger amounts of vitamin K daily than recommended dose of this vitamin.

Vitamin K is important for the activation of a particular protein in bone, which “catches” calcium and thus incorporates it into the bone structure.

Besides vitamin C, other elements that are important for bone health and are in spinach is calcium and magnesium.

Important for a healthy cardiovascular system.

Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A (as beta-carotene), and a good source of vitamin C. These two vitamins are most “deserving” for the healing properties of spinach, and especially important for the health of the cardiovascular system. Vitamins A and C primarily act as antioxidants, meaning they neutralize the degradation processes that occur under the action of free radicals.Spinach3

With the same mechanism, they prevent the oxidation of cholesterol, which in that form has the ability to accumulate on the wall of blood vessels, causing atherosclerosis, then high blood pressure. This increases the risk of myocardial infarction.

The following useful ingredient of spinach is folic acid. It helps in the conversion of potentially dangerous chemical called homocysteine ??in other joints. Increased levels of homocysteine ??in the blood is associated with increased possibility of occurrence of myocardial infarction.

In one cup of spinach is about 40% of daily needs for magnesium. It is a mineral that helps for lowering blood pressure. So spinach also helps in the prevention of diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

Protects the digestive tract.

Vitamins A and C, and folic acid, found in spinach have strong antioxidactive effects, also prevents mutation of cells in the intestines. It has been proven that people who consume these vitamins in sufficient quantities have significantly lower risk of developing bowel cancer.

Anti-inflammatory substances.

Allergic reactions are more common occurrence these days. Besides classical allergies, there are many autoimmune diseases that also include the mechanism of allergic reaction.
Asthma and rheumatoid arthritis are just some of them. Spinach ingredients that help to soothe the inflammation are beta carotene and vitamin C.spinach4

Impeccable eyesight.

One of carotenoids, lutein, is a protective chemical that “cares” about the health of the eyes. Particularly successful in the fight against cataract and macular degeneration caused by aging.

Iron – trademark.

Although spinach is not the richest food for iron, yet it contains iron in significant amounts. Spinach as ingridient is significantly better source of iron than others, because it doesn’t contains saturated fat, cholesterol, and is low on calorie.
One cup of cooked spinach provides about 30% of the daily recommended amount of iron.

But also bear in mind that:

  • – Spinach, like almost all foods, is a potential allergen.
  • – Spinach is one of the vegetables with the highest amounts of pesticides backlog. Therefore, when you buy spinach, ask about its origins.
  • – Spinach contains significant amounts of oxalates, so it is not recommended for people with severe damages on kidney and gallbladder.
  • – Spinach also contains a certain amount of substances that can affect the secretion of thyroid hormone. Therefore, it is not recommended for people with diseases of the thyroid gland.
  • – Purines, which is found in spinach, may lead to excessive accumulation of uric acid. People who suffer from gout or kidney disease should avoid excessive consumption of spinach.

Source: secretly healthy

5 healthy snacks for the office

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Eating unhealthy food even if it is for your snack time can lead to a lot of excess calories. It is better to munch on healthy snacks even if you are at work. There are various easy-to-carry-and-store options available these days. Here are a few of them:

Dry fruits: These are an excellent source of various nutrients at once and can be eaten any time of the day. Buy a packet of mixed nuts and eat a handful a day to keep your hunger pangs at bay.

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Sprouts: Not only do they keep you full, they have protein, vitamins, antioxidants and amino acids. Make mixed sprouts of Bengal gram, chana, etc. If making them is too much of a hassle, you can buy them at various supermarkets these days. Just squeeze some lemon juice and add a dash of chaat masala and your healthy snack is ready

Home-made popcorn: Yes, popcorn too is a healthy snack. Make it at home without adding butter or oil and enjoy it in the evening. Since it is made from wholegrain, it packs in fibre and keeps one full for a longer period of time

Bhel: Yes, bhel is definitely healthy. Puffed rice, mixed with various veggies such as onion, tomato, green chillies, coriander, etc and topped with green chutney and peanuts.

Fruit salad: Don’t ignore the power of this age-old dish. It packs in a punch of nutrition. Opt for seasonal mix of fruits to make it more healthy and don’t really add much of dressing. A bit of chaat masala is fine but stay away from cream, etc

Walnuts. A portion of about 14 walnut halves (1 oz) is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Top your oatmeal with a quarter cup of chopped walnuts, a tablespoon of honey, and a shake of cinnamon

Brazil nuts. They’re a great dietary source of selenium, a mineral that’s essential for reproductive and thyroid health. Swap pine nuts and basil for Brazil nuts and spinach to give your pesto a nutritional turbo-boost.

Cashews. Thanks to high levels of magnesium, these sweet, creamy nuts can help keep your blood sugar steady and your blood pressure low. Sprinkle chopped, salted cashews over hot roasted broccoli; their sweet flavor pairs perfectly with the veggie.

Source: yahoo news

Critics Say Uganda’s New HIV Law a Giant Step Backward

uganda

A Ugandan bill criminalizing the “willful” transmission of HIV and mandating HIV tests for certain groups is awaiting the president’s signature to become law. Such a law could be a setback in the country’s fight against AIDS.

The bill President Yoweri Museveni will be asked to sign hands out lengthy jail terms for those convicted of intentionally spreading HIV, or attempting to spread it. It also mandates testing for pregnant women and victims of sexual assault, among others.

Ugandan MP Chris Baryomunsi told local journalists he supports the bill because it punishes people who threaten the community.

“The law is not unfairly targeting anybody, but rather it is addressing somebody who has tested for HIV and knows his or her status and, out of malice, intentionally wants to infect others,” said Baryomunsi.

But many experts say the bill is a giant step backward in the fight against Uganda’s HIV epidemic. Civil society and HIV activists have rallied against it. Even the government-run Uganda AIDS Commission refuses to support the bill.

But Dorah Musinguzi, of the Ugandan Network on Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS, says their efforts so far have been futile.

“The Uganda AIDS Commission came out, and the Ministry of Health in some ways. But this has not been bought. A wise nation at this particular moment would have seen what the technical people are advising,” said Musinguzi.

One concern, Musinguzi says, is the effect the law would have on people’s decision to get tested. You can only be prosecuted under the law if you know your HIV status, she points out.

“According to statistics, Ugandans who have tested are 33 percent. Those who have not yet tested are 67 percent,” she said. “If they have not tested when there was no law that threatens them as potential criminals, are they going to test now that there is a law?”

Uganda is not the first to pass laws criminalizing HIV. Paula Donovan, of the New York-based advocacy group AIDS-Free World, says this is becoming a trend in Africa.

“Since about the turn of the century, when there were no HIV-specific laws at all, it appears that there are about 25 countries in Africa that have attempted in one way or another to criminalize specific aspects of HIV. That’s about half the countries in Africa, and it’s expected that other countries will follow,” said Donovan.

Nor is Africa alone. Prosecutions for intentional transmission of HIV are actually more common in the West, says Donovan, although not always under HIV-specific laws.

Despite the growing prevalence of such laws, there is no evidence that they are even necessary, she adds.

“There’s absolutely no evidence that in any country, in any situation, that criminalizing transmission lowers the incidence of HIV. I don’t think there’s any evidence that there is a great incidence of people who are HIV positive who are going around trying to spread the infection to others,” she said.

Civil society activists say they will try to make their case to President Museveni in person before he decides whether or not to sign the bill into law.

Source: voa news

Cameroon steps up war on malaria amid worsening floods

Cameroon steps up war on malaria amid worsening floods

Cameroon is seeking ways to mobilise its citizens to support a government-led campaign against soaring malaria deaths, as worsening floods aggravate health risks.

Government officials in the central-west African country say regular flooding due to erratic rains is partly responsible for the recent spike in deaths from vector-borne diseases, because standing water encourages malaria-carrying mosquitoes to breed.

“The increase in the death rate from malaria in Cameroon is disturbing indeed, especially at a time when efforts to combat the disease in African were yielding positive results. The Cameroon government, however, is sparing no efforts to reverse the trend,” Alim Hayatou, secretary of state in charge of epidemics and pandemics, told the launch of a nationwide campaign against vector-borne diseases in March.

Hayatou said the 2014 campaign aims to step up official efforts to reduce the death rate from malaria by at least 75 percent before 2018, and to alleviate its heavy social and economic burden on the population.

The annual death toll from malaria in Cameroon jumped from less than 2,000 in 2011 and 2012 to over 3,200 in 2013, according to statistics from Malaria No More, an international NGO fighting the disease in Africa.

Government officials, health experts and environmentalists are unanimous on the need for a joint push to keep malaria at bay.

Against this backdrop, the government – alongside partners including UNICEF, Plan Cameroon and Malaria No More – announced a boost to the anti-malaria campaign K.O. PALU (Kick Out Malaria) with a door-to-door distribution of treated mosquito nets to families, especially with pregnant women and children, accompanied by environmental education.

PLASTIC BAG BAN

According to Cameroon’s minister of public health, André Mama Fouda, Cameroon saw the distribution of free treated mosquito nets rise from 33 percent of the population in 2011 to 66 percent in 2013. But the death rate has paradoxically increased, indicating the need to accompany net handouts with messages about the environment and good hygiene practices.

“Exerting unprecedented control over the unfriendly behaviour of people towards the environment is key to succeeding in the fight against malaria and other vector-borne diseases,” the minister said.

In 2013, the government banned the production, sale and use of non-biodegradable plastic bags – which health and environment experts say have clogged up drains and gutters, contributing to floods.

“The reckless littering of…plastics on streets and waterways are some of the barriers to efforts to fight floods, because they block drainage facilities,” Tansi Laban of the ministry of environment and nature protection told Thomson Reuters Foundation in Yaounde.

“Worse still, many households and companies dispose of plastic bags by burning them, which emits toxic gases that harm the atmosphere and increase the level of dioxins and carbon dioxide in the air, resulting in ozone layer depletion. This leads to global warming and climate change,” the official added.

The government delegate to Douala City Council, Fritz Ntone Ntone, said at the malaria campaign launch that the council had completed a drainage project to channel run-off water during heavy rains into the River Wouri, in response to persistent flooding and pollution of some areas. The project, which began in January 2013 and ended this March, cost the council some 785 million FCFA ($1.57 million).

The cities of Douala in the Littoral Region and Mokolo in the Far North Region, which suffered heavy floods in 2012 and 2013, accounted for over 40 percent of malaria deaths last year, pointing to the negative effects of weather extremes for public health, experts say.

The problems of regular flooding and poor drainage need to be addressed to prevent mosquitoes breeding, said Olivia Ngou, Cameroon country director of Malaria No More.

Environmentalists have blamed Douala’s tendency to flooding on the exploitation of mangrove forests near the coast by fishermen who cut down trees to smoke fish, leaving the shore bare of vegetation and removing protection against storm surges and sea-level rise.

NETS NOT USED

Statistics from the public health ministry show that children younger than five and pregnant women are the groups most vulnerable to malaria, registering over 40 percent of deaths in 2013. More than 1.6 million Cameroonians are affected by the disease each year.

The government is concerned that the population is not collaborating sufficiently with the anti-malaria drive.

Last June, on World Environment Day, environment minister Pierre Hélé expressed regret that climate change was playing out in people’s lives, yet few paid attention to ways of averting the potential risks.

Some climate change projects have either failed to take off, or have been poorly or partially implemented due to corruption and administrative bottlenecks, he said. The minister cited the planned construction of a canal to stop flooding in Douala, which was announced by the government in 2012 but has yet to begin amid allegations over mismanagement of funds.

Health workers say many people have malaria nets but do not use them because of excessive heat in the city due to overcrowding and rising temperatures linked to greenhouse gas emissions from local industry in the country’s commercial capital.

Isaac Ebong, a doctor at Laquantini hospital in Douala, told Thomson Reuters Foundation that patients complain the nets are too warm to sleep under.

WHO SUPPORT

The World Health Organization (WHO) country representative in Cameroon, Charlotte Faty Ndiaye, said at the anti-malaria campaign launch her agency stood poised to help the government, as in previous years.

“WHO is always ready to work with government and civil society organisations to improve the health of the population. Thanks to efforts by WHO, some 337 million cases of malaria were prevented between 2001 and 2012,” she said.

Malaria is an entirely preventable and treatable mosquito-borne illness, according to the WHO.

An estimated 3.4 billion people are at risk of malaria worldwide, according to a 2013 WHO report. Of these, 1.2 billion are at high risk, in areas where more than 1 malaria case occurs per 1,000 people.

Globally, there were an estimated 207 million cases of malaria in 2012, and an estimated 627,000 deaths. The report said 90 percent of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: one trust

Instant oatmeal more filling than oat-based cereal: Study

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Many people love ready-to-eat oat cereal in breakfast but they do not get the feeling of “fullness”. If that is the case then you can switch to instant oatmeal.

A new research has shown that instant oatmeal is more filling than oat-based cereal.

Researchers said that eating a bowl of instant oatmeal for breakfast is more satiating and it helps in managing hunger better than the same amount of calories from oat-based cereal, even when consumed in smaller portions.

Oatmeal has unique characteristics that have an impact on fullness and desire to eat even when matched for calories and ingredients with another breakfast option.

“We found instant oatmeal to be more effective at suppressing appetite compared to the cold cereal, even with a smaller serving size and less calories than previously investigated,” said Frank Greenway from the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

During his experiment, 43 healthy men and women completed the randomised, controlled crossover investigation over their breakfast habits.

The results showed that the participants reported less hunger compared to the RTE cereal after they ate the instant oatmeal.

Instant oatmeal also provided increased fullness and a reduced desire to eat more.

Researchers state that the viscosity of instant oatmeal was higher than the RTE cereal which could explain the differences in hunger and appetite control.

“The new research demonstrates that increased satiety is possible with smaller portions and less calories (150 calories) of instant oatmeal,” Greenway added in a paper published in the Nutrition Journal.

Source: zee news

One third adults in Britain have prediabetes

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Prevalence of prediabetes in England rose rapidly from 2003 to 2011, with one in three adults on the cusp of developing type-2 diabetes, latest figures published in the British Medical Journal have revealed.

Prediabetes is a high risk state for developing diabetes and associated complications.

In their new report, the authors from the University of Florida used data collected by the Health Survey for England in the years 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2011. Participants aged 16 and older, who provided a blood sample, Xinhua reported.

Individuals were classified as having prediabetes if glycated haemoglobin was between 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent, and were not previously diagnosed with diabetes.

The result showed that the prevalence rate of prediabetes increased from 11.6 percent to 35.3 percent from 2003 to 2011. Overweight adults aged 40 and above had even higher risk, with 50.6 percent of them had prediabetes in 2011.

The authors said there has been a marked increase in the proportion of adults in England with prediabetes. In the absence of concerted and effective efforts to reduce risk, the number of people with diabetes is likely to increase steeply in coming years.

Source: zee news

Lime for Health and Diet

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Lime is a citrus fruit that helps the skin look younger and improves general health. Secretly Healthy gives you four reasons why lime should become part of your diet.

We can say that the lime is lemon younger and sweeter sister. In Europe in the 15th century was brought by the British sailors, and it is believed that thanks to it and its richness in vitamin C these sailors kept their health.

1. For Women’s Health.
This fruit contains calcium and folate, nutrients which are very important for women who are past menopause and those who are planning a pregnancy. One fresh lime containins 22 ml of calcium and even more than 5 micrograms of folate.

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2. Lime Bark Against Aging.
Lime bark contains an inhibitor of melanin production. With years and due to UV exposure, melanin may cause dark freckles on the skin. Massage your face with the Bark to prevent occurance of the freckles.

3. Anti-Cancer Properties.

Component limonoid , which is found in this fruit, has strong influence on the prevention of colorectal , stomach and blood cancer. Scientists have proven that this antioxidant can kill cancer cells, and remains active in the blood for a long time to neutralize free radicals.

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4. Lowers cholesterol.
Hesperidin, a flavonoid found in lime, can lower high cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, and thus positively affect the health of the heart and blood vessels.

Source: secretly healthy