Changing Your Bad Dieting Habits

For the working adult, it only takes a single trip to the family practice doctor to find out you have a problem with obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, diabetes, or another manageable health condition. You know it is time to eat better.

It is important to eat better. You need to follow the exact diet specifications that your doctor recommends for making meals healthier. You also need to keep up with the prescription for regular exercise.  Just as important, follow the specifications for prescribed medications and maintaining follow up appointments.

What are some general things that people can do to make a diet better? Let us say you have just been diagnosed with high blood pressure. General advice is to eat less sodium in your diet. Salt is everywhere! You must limit intake of canned foods and most frozen foods because they contain lots of sodium for prolonging their shelf life. Stop eating French fries and popcorn when you go out. Stop adding salt to food during cooking or eating or both.

Plan weekly menus to avoid foods with added salt. A good example is your trip to the deli. You can buy fresh versions of many meats and cheeses with low sodium content. These will be products without salts or other preservatives.  These foods, such as, fresh vegetables, are generally meant to be consumed in a few days.

Although your doctor requires you to change your diet, think of these diet changes in a positive way. These changes are better for you, and you probably should have done them a long time ago!

Smart and Healthy Grocery Shopping

At the grocery store, it is tempting to focus on special deals such as buy one get one free cereal deals. These deals can distract you from buying products based on their nutritional benefits for yourself and your family. It is important to save money on weekly shopping trips without sacrificing the health of your family. Make smarter grocery shopping choices by following these tips.

Try to spend more time shopping for fresh products and buy only minimal purchases from the dry food aisles and frozen food sections of the store. Buy fresh by focusing on shopping in the produce department and the meat department. If it would help, create a grocery list that starts with visiting the produce aisle.  In general, you will also want to skip the deli department because many of the foods that you could buy in this area are processed just like dry foods and frozen foods.

Plan your meals. For example, buy enough fresh meat, not frozen, by counting the number of dinners that you need to cook for the week, and then buy meat accordingly. In addition, if you need to, buy larger packages and cuts of meat and then split them up into smaller portions and freeze for later in the week.

Also, try to buy organic as much as your budget will allow.  Organic fresh fruits and vegetables are not just empty calorie products like lettuce and cabbage; they are also potatoes, carrots, apples, oranges, bananas, beets, onions, peppers, and so forth.

Meal Planning: Healthy & Friendly

You may not realize how many food allergies can affect the health of you and your kids. For example, you may have dairy in your diet and it might be causing your body to produce extra mucous, which can then aggravate your sinuses and/or respiratory allergy complaints.  Avoid these with proper meal planning.

When planning a special family meal with invited guests or just menu planning for the kids, it is suggested to make it as healthy as possible. You can plan meals in such a way as to minimize the impact of the meal on the guests’ health, including your own kids, with these tips.

1.      Avoid putting dairy products in the meal. For example, dairy aggravates some people’s food allergies and/or stomach and intestinal complaints. It can also be hard to digest some meals if you use a lot of cheeses or steak.  

2.      If you know about people’s seafood tastes, you can serve up a healthy meal using shrimp, white fish, or even tuna. For example, you might serve up tilapia, which is budget-friendly too, and cook it in an olive oil sauce with garlic.

3.      Use fruit in your dessert plan. Some guests may have diabetes or other diet considerations. If you use fresh fruit, not frozen, canned, or processed, you can whip up something light such as a fruit salad or a fruit topping for a sugar-free cake, and everyone can enjoy it. Hint: A dessert pastry mix should not have dairy products if you are using tip #1.

Diabetics have you checked your hemoglobin A1c lately?

A1c, HEMOGLOBIN A1c

The A1c test is used primarily to monitor the glucose control of diabetics over time. The goal of those with diabetes is to keep their blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible. This helps to minimize the complications caused by chronically elevated glucose levels, such as progressive damage to body organs like the kidneys, eyes, cardiovascular system, and nerves. The A1c test gives a picture of the average amount of glucose in the blood over the last few months. It can help a patient and his doctor know if the measures they are taking to control the patient's diabetes are successful or need to be adjusted.

Depending on the type of diabetes that you have, how well your diabetes is controlled, and your doctor, your A1c may be measured 2 to 4 times each year. The American DiabetesAssociation (ADA) recommends testing your A1c 4 times each year if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and use insulin; or 2 times each year if you have type 2 diabetes and do not use insulin. When someone is first diagnosed with diabetes or if control is not good, A1c may be ordered more frequently.

How it works

The A1c blood test checks the average amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood over the last 2 to 3 months. It does this by measuring the concentration of glycosylated hemoglobin. As glucose circulates in the blood, some of it binds to hemoglobin A. This is the main form of hemoglobin in adults. Hemoglobin is a red protein that carries oxygen in the red blood cells (RBC's). Once the glucose is bound to the hemoglobin A, it remains there for the life of the red blood cell (about 120 days). This combination of glucose and hemoglobin A is called A1c (or hemoglobin A1c or glycohemoglobin). Increased glucose in the blood, increases the hemoglobin A1c. A1c levels do not change quickly but will shift as older RBC's die and younger ones take their place.

NORMAL HEMOGLOBIN A1C VALUES

Non diabetic adults: 2.2%-4.8%

Non diabetic child: 1.8%-4.0%

Good diabetic control: 2.5%-5.9%

Fair diabetic control: 6%-8%

Poor diabetic control: greater than 8%

**"Normal" ranges for lab values and other tests may vary among different laboratories and/or hospitals.

Your caregiver will go over the test results with you and discuss the importance and meaning of your results, as well as treatment options and the need for additional tests if necessary.

This post is for informational purposes only.  If you feel that you may have diabetes or need your hemoglobin A1C check, contact your credentialed health care provider.

Why Do Athletes Use Steroids

With the “juicing scandals” in recent years, many sports fans have taken to wondering why so many athletes use steroids. Casual exercisers may not realize that the demands of an unusually active lifestyle can take a serious toll on the body of an amateur or professional athlete. Artificial steroids are created by companies like Genshi Labs to mimic compounds that are found naturally in the body. Athletes use these chemicals to increase their performance on the field and reduce the possibility of injuries that could end their careers.

Many people do not realize that exercise actually creates damage in the human body. When muscles are strained by weight lifting or strenuous exercise, tiny tears appear in the fibers of these complex tissues. Over time, the body heals these tears with denser and stronger muscle cells. Muscles grow when their fibers are repeatedly torn and rebuilt.

When strained muscles are not allowed to heal, they can become overworked. Casual exercisers can rest for days between workouts to prevent injuries. Serious athletes do not have this luxury. Some buy Gen Shi Laboratories products to speed the healing process and grow muscles. Genshi Labs produces steroids that allow athletes to compete while reducing the risk of injury. Athletes who use these products are less likely to overwork their muscles, allowing them to work longer and harder on their exercise routines.

Some full-contact sports include the risk of fractured and broken bones. When athletes slam into each other at high speeds, they are putting an extraordinary amount of stress on their skeletal systems. A minor fracture could put an athlete out of commission for weeks or months during a short sports season. A shattered bone could permanently end an athlete’s career. Men and women whose sole incomes come from athletic performance sometimes choose to reduce their risk of bone injuries with Gen Shi Labs steroids. Because steroids increase bone density, they can help athletes avoid injuries in contact sports.

Steroids can also increase an athlete’s performance on the field of play. Because the steroids sold by Gen Shi Labs can increase a user’s red blood cell count, they allow athletes to compete longer and harder. More red blood cells mean that more oxygen reaches the muscles from the lungs. Fatigue happens when the oxygen supply to muscles is depleted. Muscles that work without oxygen produce a byproduct called lactic acid that can cause soreness. Athletes who buy Gen Shi Laboratories steroids can work for longer with a reduced risk of pain and injury.

Disclaimer: Some types of steroids are illegal to purchase and use. Check your local laws to get more information about your legal rights.