Tag: fuel

How A Single Meal Can Give You Liver Cancer

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date July 5, 2017

Narong Khuntikeo lost both of his parents to a deadly cancer called cholangiocarcinoma.
He went on to become a liver surgeon, and in the process, he found out what made his parents sick. Now he’s traveling the countryside, trying to prevent more tragedies like the one that befell his mom and dad.

The culprit? A raw fish salad called koi pla, eaten frequently in the cash-strapped Thai province of Isaan (also: Isan). Koi pla is an affordable dinner made of ground raw fish, spices, and lime juice. But it also has one secret ingredient, and it’s the one that so often proves deadly: liver flukes.

What are liver flukes, you ask? Liver flukes are tiny parasitic worms that attach themselves to the walls of the liver.

When they really start thriving, they can cause terrible damage to their host organism. Eventually, liver fluke infestation can lead to liver cancer and cancer of the bile duct, which was what took Khuntikeo’s parents. Unfortunately, countless others remain at risk.
The dish is so popular in Isaan, and liver flukes are so widespread, that liver cancer makes up more than 50 percent of the cancer cases discovered in that province. Everywhere else in the world, liver cancer makes up just 10 percent of all cases. Up to 20,000 Thai residents die of liver cancer every year, and Isaan has more cases of bile duct cancer than anywhere else in the world.

“It’s a very big health burden around here,” Khuntikeo told The Guardian. “But nobody knows about this because [victims] die quietly, like leaves falling from a tree.”

Khuntikeo intends to spread this important message throughout Isaan and beyond.

For the past four years, he has traveled around the province testing locals for the presence of liver flukes. In some areas, a staggering 80 percent of the population was infected. The government has heard Khuntikeo’s message, and local schools have begun to teach kids about the dangers of consuming raw fish, even in a beloved dish like koi pla.

The older generations aren’t absorbing this news, however.
“They’ll say, ‘Oh well, there are many ways to die,'” Khuntikeo said. “But I cannot accept that answer.”

There is a simple solution.

Cooking fish kills the parasite before it can latch onto the diner’s liver. If chefs prepared a version of koi pla with cooked fish, cancer rates in Isaan might plummet with time. There’s just one problem with that suggestion: People prefer their koi pla raw.

“I used to come here and just catch the fish in the pond,” Khon Kaen resident Boonliang Konghakot told The Guardian. “It’s so easy to eat raw.” Other fans of koi pla say that cooking the fish ruins the flavor. That may be, but isn’t it worth a minor sacrifice of flavor to avoid liver cancer?
If Khuntikeo’s mission succeeds, people in Isaan (and around the world) will stop consuming koi pla. Until that happens, though, people still continue to make and serve the dish.

If you’re ever in Thailand and someone offers you a bowl of koi pla, be ready with your excuse; this dish could be deadly in the end.

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Nosh

This Is How To Make (And Freeze!) Your Own Baby Food

Post author By Louise Kane
Post date July 5, 2017

If you’re like most moms, you’d prefer to make your own baby food, but you’re worried that you won’t have the time. We totally get it! Taking care of a baby is already a full-time endeavor, and sometimes picking up a store-bought pouch of puree in between folding laundry and cleaning the nursery is all you can manage.

However, there’s a simple way to make as much baby food as you want in a single setting, then save it single-serving increments so you can feed your bundle of joy healthy, fresh, homemade food without spending a fortune.

There are only two steps:

1. Puree baby-friendly fruits, vegetables, or a combination of the two food categories.

Favorites include strawberries, blueberries, carrots, peaches, and bananas. If the puree looks a bit too thick for your baby, just add apple juice (remember to be mindful of the amount of sugar the juice contains) and continue blending until you achieve the consistency your kid loves.

Fresh purees are ready for your baby to eat immediately, but by no means are we suggesting you should get out the blender every time your infant is hungry. That’s far too labor intensive. Instead, we suggest that the next time you find 10 spare minutes (not easy, we know), dash to the kitchen, puree a bunch of fruits and vegetables, and preserve them. As for how that’s done, let’s move on to Step 2.

2. Freeze any unused leftovers in an ice cube tray.

Freezing preserves the nutrients and general goodness of a freshly pureed fruit. Even better, puree cubes allow you to serve a perfect portion every time. Hungry babies might want two or three cubes, while a little one who just wants a light snack might get by with a single serving.

You can defrost the pureed cubes really quickly in the microwave, or you can serve them frozen. This frozen option might be the ideal treat for a teething baby or a toddler who really enjoys popsicles. If you don’t want to use an ice cube tray, there are BPA-free molds available on Amazon that are a great fit for tiny hands.

Every mom develops her own favorite recipes. This isn’t baking, so you can’t really go wrong. Just throw some fruit into the blender and see how your child likes it. Here are a few ideas, courtesy of Parents magazine, to get you started:

1. Blueberry Applesauce Puree

Blend a handful of blueberries with a sweet, peeled apple. Golden Delicious and Gala apples are fine, but you can also spice things up with a sweet Honeycrisps.

2. Banana Yogurt Puree

You don’t even need a blender for this one! Just smush super-ripe banana fruit in with unsweetened yogurt and watch your baby grin.

3. Pear Raspberry Puree

First off, this recipe is only for babies who are 8 months or older, so if your kiddo is even younger, save this one for later. (It also requires a little extra work.)

Once you blend the raspberries and peeled pear chunks together into a fine puree, you’ll want to squeeze the mixture through a tightly wound sieve. Otherwise, your kid could choke on the raspberry seeds. Let’s be honest: Who wants to deal with raspberry seeds, anyway?

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Wellbeing

5 Ridiculous Food Scares That Had Us Completely Fooled

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date June 30, 2017

Your favorite foods are trying to kill you. Or not.
Every once in a while, a scientific study will seem to confirm our darkest dietary fears. Word spreads quickly, prompting fad diets and even new regulations. Soon, you’re carefully reading restaurant menus to avoid gluten, salt, cholesterol, or anything else that might endanger your health.

In reality, most of these food scares are based on bad research and misunderstood science. For instance, you’ve probably heard about how…

1. Gluten is bad for everybody.

Celiac disease is a serious condition, and it’s not particularly new. It’s characterized by extreme reactions to gluten, a protein found in certain grains (especially wheat).
But over the last decade, demand for gluten-free products has skyrocketed. Doctors have also reported a dramatic increase in self-reported cases of non-celiac gluten intolerance, also called gluten sensitivity.

To be clear, celiac disease is a real thing. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) might be too, but it’s almost certainly not very widespread. As a 2015 study noted:

There is some evidence that NCGS may exist, but probably only in a small number of people. The self-reported NCGS patients are heterogeneous (in their range of reported symptoms, clinical histories and characteristics) and are highly suggestible, making a largely difficult patient group to study.

In other words, removing gluten from your diet probably won’t do anything. Granted, some gluten-rich foods (notably white bread) are also high in sugar, which isn’t so great for you (more on that in a moment). But the gluten protein itself usually isn’t an issue.

2. High-fructose corn syrup is the worst substance in history.

Buying something sweet? Better check the label for high fructose corn syrup. Scientists have linked the substance to rises in obesity, after all, and it’s extremely unnatural.
Well, not quite. High fructose corn syrup certainly isn’t a health tonic, but it’s not any worse for your body than other sugars. Although it has been linked to obesity, many scientists believe that link is tenuous at best.

“There’s no substantial evidence to support the idea that high-fructose corn syrup is somehow responsible for obesity,” said Walter Willett, MD, the chairman of the nutrition department of the Harvard School of Public Health, in an interview with the New York Times. “If there was no high-fructose corn syrup, I don’t think we would see a change in anything important. I think there’s this overreaction.”
To be clear, you can’t just gorge on corn syrup all day and expect to run marathons. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults should limit their sugar intake to 5 percent of their total daily calories.
That’s about six teaspoons of sugar per day. For reference, a 12-ounce can of soda contains about nine teaspoons.

3. Unless you want heart disease, avoid egg yolks at all costs.

Eggs carry a lot of dietary cholesterol—about 200 milligrams, to be exact. That cholesterol is concentrated in the egg yolk, so if you’re trying to keep your heart healthy, conventional wisdom suggests that you should stick to the whites.

However, dietary cholesterol is fundamentally different from the cholesterol in your blood.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, “up to one egg per day is not associated with increased heart disease risk in healthy individuals.”

That doesn’t mean that you should start slamming down omelets. Eggs are perfectly fine in moderation, but if you regularly overload your plate, you’re probably not helping your cardiovascular system.

4. Probiotics are the only way to save your ailing gut.

This is a fairly recent fad, prompted by a number of studies that have demonstrated the importance of a healthy gut microbiome (all of the bacteria living in your digestive system).
Our digestive processes are aided by trillions of bacteria, so if something’s wrong with your gut, probiotics—products that introduce new “good” bacteria to your digestive tract—seem like a great idea.

Unfortunately, the probiotics you’ll find at your local pharmacy probably don’t do much of anything. We simply don’t know which bacteria are most important, and there’s some evidence to suggest that different bacteria species can play varying roles based on your genetics.
“Although some probiotics have shown promise in research studies, strong scientific evidence to support specific uses of probiotics for most health conditions is lacking,” wrote the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any probiotics for preventing or treating any health problem. Some experts have cautioned that the rapid growth in marketing and use of probiotics may have outpaced scientific research for many of their proposed uses and benefits.

5. Table salts will corrode your insides, but sea salt is much healthier.

Table salts typically undergo a great deal of processing, which makes them dangerous…right?

Well, no. Most ordinary table salts are actually slightly better for you than sea salts, since table salts contain iodine, an essential nutrient. Table salts also typically contain additives to prevent clumping, but those additives are perfectly safe.
Otherwise, the only differences in salts are taste and texture, so they’re both perfectly fine in moderation (somewhere around 2,300 milligrams per day or less, according to the Mayo Clinic).

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Lifestyle

Why You Should Think Twice Before Ordering Coffee Or Tea On An Airplane

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date June 29, 2017

If you’ve ever taken a red-eye flight, you’ve probably had a few cups of airline coffee.
It’s not the best-tasting brew, but hey, it’s coffee—how bad could it be?

Pretty bad, apparently. Some airline crew members say that they wouldn’t ever consider drinking the coffee or tea that they serve to their passengers, according to a report from Business Insider.
“Flight attendants will not drink hot water on the plane,” a flight attendant allegedly told the website. “They will not drink plain coffee, and they will not drink plain tea.”

Their objections have nothing to do with the flavor of the java. Apparently, hot water comes directly from the planes’ taps, and those taps are downright disgusting.

Data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) backs up that claim, to a degree.

In 2004, the EPA tested drinking water from 158 randomly selected passenger airplanes.
“Preliminary data released by EPA today shows that in the recent tests, most of the aircraft tested (87.4%) met EPA drinking water quality standards,” the agency wrote in a press release accompanying the revelations. “However, 12.6 percent of domestic and international passenger aircraft tested in the U.S. carried water that did not meet EPA standards.”

Those planes’ samples contain coliform, a broad class of bacteria that can potentially cause disease. Coliform often comes from human or animal feces (try not to think too hard about that).
Additionally, two planes’ tap water supply tested positive for E. coli, a common type of coliform bacterium that can cause severe fevers, gastric distress, and other medically significant symptoms.

Many planes didn’t meet the standards because they store their tap water in tanks that are rarely cleaned.

NBC reports that the coliform bacteria is probably present in delivery trucks. When the tanks are transferred to the planes, some of the bacteria goes with them and then develops into colonies over time.

“Passengers with compromised immune systems or others concerned may want to request canned or bottled beverages,” the EPA noted, adding that officials had been working with the Air Transport Association (ATA) since 2002 to reform water standards on planes. The press release also notes that the EPA would consider legal action if airlines weren’t able to agree on effective methods for improving their standards.

Years later, little had changed.

The EPA ran another test in 2012 and found that 12 percent of randomly selected planes tested positive for coliform, according to NBC 5. That wasn’t a significant improvement from the 2008 test.

Some of the tested planes also tested positive for E. coli, although again, this dangerous bacterium was only present in a small number of aircraft. Flight attendant organizations claim that they’ve been pushing for better standards for years.
“Water onboard is regulated under the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure safe drinking water on the aircraft,” the The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, told Business Insider.
“The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA pushed for this regulation over 15 years ago. The regulation gives broad discretion to airlines on how often they must test the water and flush the tanks. AFA does not believe this regulation goes far enough or is sufficiently enforced.”
The airlines, of course, disagreed. While most refused to comment directly, Airlines for America, a group that represents several major airlines, issued a statement.

“The safety of our passengers and crew remain the airlines’ primary focus, including the provision of clean drinking water,” the statement read.
“To meet customer preferences, airlines typically provide bottled water while also ensuring water available through the aircraft onboard water systems is safe. Airlines work closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that water received from municipalities for onboard systems is safe and to maintain that safety by following rigorous sampling and management requirements once received.”
Even so, the numbers don’t lie, and the EPA’s research doesn’t seem to support the idea that current regulations are effective. For the time being, that seems unlikely to change.

If you fly regularly, here’s what you need to know.

First of all, understand that there’s a limited risk for healthy individuals. While the idea of coliform in your drinking water is disgusting, the classification is broad enough that the mere presence of coliform bacteria doesn’t pose an immediate health risk. Obviously, this isn’t the case with E. coli, but that was limited to a very small percentage of planes.
The issue only affects water that comes directly out of the planes’ taps, so if you order cold water, you’re probably safe—you’ll typically get your drinking water from a bottle.

If your immune system is compromised, however, you may want to follow the EPA’s recommendations and specifically request bottled drinks. Although water is heated considerably to brew tea and coffee, the brewing process doesn’t do enough to eliminate microorganisms, according to experts.
Heating “might kill some of the organisms—the more susceptible ones—but it’s not going to kill the majority of them,” environmental scientist Brenda Wiles told NBC 5.
Mothers should also avoid filling babies’ bottles with airplane tap water. “That doesn’t sound like a very good idea,” Dr. Cedric Spak of the Baylor University Medical Center told NBC.

As for those red-eye flights, passengers should probably wait until they touch down before grabbing a cup of coffee. After all, every major airport has multiple coffee shops—and if you see a flight attendant at one of those shops, don’t be surprised.

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Lifestyle

Experts Weigh In On "Breatharian" No-Food Diet

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date June 27, 2017

Married couple Akahi Ricardo and Camila Castello shot to fame after The Sun published an article with their startling claims about the “breatharian” lifestyle. The husband and wife said they have barely eaten in the last nine years and instead get energy from the sun and the universe.

The story quickly went viral with little pushback against the couple’s claims. Now doctors are weighing in, calling the practice of abstaining from food and water dangerous.

Claims like this couple made are difficult to debunk without observing them in a closed setting.

What doctors can definitively say is that all known science points toward food and water being a necessity for all humans.

“It depends on the climate, and how much exercise you’re taking, but if you’re lying in bed you would probably be just about all right for a week,” Dr. Charles Clarke told The Guardian.
“But towards the end of the first week, you’d become pretty gravely ill. Your blood would become thicker, your kidneys can’t cope; multiple organ failure follows, you get hypothermic and eventually you die.”

Ricardo and Castello claimed to only eat vegetable broth or a piece of fruit three times a week.

According to The Sun, Castello even claimed to have gone through her pregnancy without eating anything.

The article went on to say that living “food free” has led to a number of health benefits and improved mental well-being. They say the money they save on food is put toward travel.

The article was shared and taken up by various newspapers and tabloids.

After about a week, the story grew large enough to attract the attention of more reputable sources.
Oliver Darcy from CNN published a highly critical story about the lack of fact-checking by other media groups. He pointed out that the couple was selling a program that promised to help people go food free (for just one easy payment).
The Guardian published an article critical of breatharians almost 20 years ago. In it, the author details various breatharians having their claims debunked in unceremonious ways.

An Australian woman named Jasmuheen attracted many followers in the ’90s when she claimed she went months without eating. She invited reporters to follow her around on her daily routine. When a journalist opened her refrigerator and found it stocked with food, Jasmuheen claimed it was for her husband and daughter.

The Australian production of “60 Minutes” also followed Jasmuheen for a week so she could prove her claims.

After just several days, she began to get seriously ill. Jasmuheen claimed that her adverse reaction was because she wasn’t getting enough fresh air, which is what gave her energy. The producers called off the experiment when they became worried that Jasmuheen would suffer permanent injuries as a result.
Although many view breatharians as harmless exaggerators, there are real risks involved in these claims. At least three people have died from attempting to live a breatharian lifestyle, including Verity Linn, a woman in Scotland who died after fasting for an unknown amount of time.

Tanya Zuckerbrot, a registered dietitian, told The New York Post her opinion of breatharian claims. She pointedly said, “You wouldn’t have muscle mass and you’d waste away. It doesn’t make sense; it defies all common knowledge of what our bodies need to survive. People would starve to death—you can’t live.”

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Nosh

After Being Unable To Eat For Two Years, A Woman With A Rare Disorder Is On The Road To Recovery

Post author By Lisa Douglas
Post date June 19, 2017

Can you imagine wanting to eat but your body won’t let you? That’s what happened to a 29-year-old woman from Derby, England. Since birth, Emma Green has had an S-shaped spine caused by a little-known condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Complications from surgery to correct her curved spine left her in a wheelchair and unable to tolerate any type of whole food. She felt depressed and hopeless, afraid she would have to spend the rest of her life bedridden and on a liquid diet.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a group of genetic connective tissue disorders that results from faulty or reduced amounts of collagen in the body. EDS typically affects a combination of the skin, bones, blood vessels, and/or other organs.

Globally, 1 in 5,000 people of all races and genders is affected. Symptoms can range from mildly loose joints to life-threatening complications. Most have one or more of the following symptoms: abnormally loose joints, stretchy skin, bruising, and unique scar formation. Advanced complications from EDS can include severe pain, aortic dissection, joint dislocations, scoliosis, chronic pain, or early osteoarthritis.

There is no known cure for EDS, and treatment usually consists of monitoring of the body’s systems, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and bracing/casting instruments. Surgery to stabilize joints is not uncommon in advanced cases.

Unfortunately, Green’s complicated condition isn’t unique among people who have lived with EDS for a long time, but her story is riveting.

When she was 15 years old, Green had surgery to correct the curve in her back. Although it was considered a success, the surgery caused some major health issues—she developed artery compressions. These compressions occur when parts of the body restrict blood flow through the vessels, causing thrombosis and hypertension.

In Green’s case, it caused her constant pain and numbness and left her with the inability to absorb nutrients.

She explains, “Over the years I have had to constantly change my diet as I would find some food my body could digest but it would only tolerate it for so long. I was not able to eat any solid food, even liquid food would go straight through me. It’s greatly affected my life as I’ve been constantly on-and-off ill and, for the past 14 years, in and out of hospital.”

After each meal, her body fought to absorb the nutrients and she would often faint from the struggle. As her conditioned worsened, Green lost more and more weight. Her body would reject most food and cause her terrible sickness and extreme diarrhea. She reports that she suffered with feeling both full and starved at the same time.

When she was at her sickest, Green’s weight dipped to a critical low, 105 pounds. As if her digestive issues weren’t enough to deal with, the arterial compressions advanced and began causing her severe pain in her left leg, groin, and pelvis.

It was so bad that Green had to resort to using a wheelchair to get around. For the past two years, she was often bedridden and depressed, fearing that she would be immobile and have to survive on a liquid diet for the rest of her life.

Then a miraculous silver lining appeared! Three years ago, doctors at Lutheran Hospital in Mettmann, Germany, devised a procedure to help relieve the pressure in Green’s abdomen. They would make a large hole that would allow food to pass and get her intestines enough blood supply that she could absorb nutrients and have normal bowel movements again.

The only problem was that the astronomical cost of £25,000 was not covered by insurance. This did not deter Green, and she set out on a mission to raise money from family and friends. It took her a whole year to gather the full amount, but she did it!

Two years ago she had a surgery that lasted an excruciating 7.5 hours, and she has been recovering brilliantly since. She explains, “I now feel like I can actually breathe more, as all I’d ever known before was a faint feeling. Surgeons have told me it will take up to a year to fully recover but I’m already enjoying my new second chance at life.”

And enjoy it, she is! Green finally ate her first meal since 2015—a bowl of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies—six days after having surgery. She explains, “My tastes before the
operation were completely off but after the surgery I could enjoy food again. I can’t wait to try more foods and enjoy eating.”

Like many who have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Green is passionate about helping and connecting with other people who have the condition. Now that she’s on the path to better health and wellness, Green’s new mission is to help educate people about the complications of EDS and artery compression.

If you have EDS or would like to learn more about it, the first organization to connect with should be the Ehlers-Danlos Society. Their website has a wealth of information and can put you in touch with support groups both in the United States and around the globe.

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Nosh

A Surprising Number Of People Believe That Chocolate Milk Comes From Brown Cows

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date June 19, 2017

Quick: Where does chocolate milk come from?
For most people, the answer is fairly obvious: It’s regular milk mixed with chocolate syrup.

But according to a survey conducted by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, 7 percent of Americans think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. That’s about 17.3 million people.
Granted, the survey wasn’t performed with scientific rigor. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy polled 1,000 adults over a five-day period, and some people may have selected the answer as a joke. Other people may have been nervous, simply choosing the first answer that came to mind.

And some people, of course, might actually believe that brown cows give chocolate milk.
“It is a bit surprising,” a spokeswoman for the Innovation Center told CNN. “We don’t have a suggestion as to why people would draw that conclusion.”

No word on whether these people also believe that black cows produce licorice-flavored milk.

As The Washington Post reported, a shocking 48 percent of respondents said that they didn’t know where chocolate milk comes from—they simply don’t think about how chocolate-flavored dairy products make their way onto the shelves.

The center hasn’t released all of the results of the survey yet, but they did release a few startling tidbits.
For instance, 37 percent of adults secretly drink milk straight from the container. (Think about that before having a bowl of cereal at a friend’s house.)

About 5 percent of people abstain from drinking milk altogether, meaning the majority of Americans have at least a half-gallon tucked away somewhere in the fridge.
Oh, and adults don’t abstain from the chocolate stuff, either. But they might not admit it to their friends: 29 percent of respondents who’d purchased chocolate milk said that they use their kids as an excuse to buy the treat.

For what it’s worth, these types of surveys always have a few surprising results, and there’s a reason for that.

Gallup once reported that 6 percent of Americans don’t believe that the moon landings really occurred. We’d like to think that it’s many of the same people who believe the brown cow thing, but the polling experts at Gallup have a much more sensible explanation.
“It is not unusual to find about that many people in the typical poll agreeing with almost any question that is asked of them,” wrote Frank Newport of Gallup, “so the best interpretation is that this particular conspiracy theory is not widespread.”

In other words, if you ask enough people whether chocolate milk comes from brown cows, some of them will be swayed by the question itself. Given that the Innovation Center’s survey polled just 1,000 Americans, we can’t definitively say that the 7 percent figure is totally accurate.
Still, there are certainly some people out there who haven’t thought about where their food comes from. That’s a bit frightening in and of itself—and it speaks to some of the issues that Americans have with nutrition.

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Nosh

This Is What A Perfect Day Of Eating Looks Like

Post author By Lisa Douglas
Post date June 15, 2017

None of us starts the day thinking, “Oh, today I’m really going to really ruin my diet. I’m going to make poor choices, eat whenever I want, and devour however much I want.” Studies show that we all wake up trying to do right by our bodies—but sometimes (and sometimes more often than “sometimes”) we go astray.

When it comes to eating well, a little bit of planning goes a long way. Your body likes to be on a schedule. It wants to know when its next meals are. And the more you plan, the less you’ll be tempted by unhealthy options.

We’ve created an hourly food and drink schedule to help you to be successful at eating a healthy diet every day. Here are four tips that will help you get off on the right foot!

1. Be sure to schedule a meal every three to four hours. This will keep your blood sugar stable and keep your metabolism kicking all day long.

2. Try to eat balanced meals that combine protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Meals with this perfect combination take your body longer to digest, which keeps your blood sugar stable—and you fuller longer.

3. Always stay hydrated. Drink water often, and keep yourself moving. Don’t let more than an hour go by without getting up and at least walking around a little.

4. Eat a “rotational diet.” Eating the same foods every day can leave you deficient in nutrients that other foods have. Try new foods and new recipes often.

Here’s an example of a perfect day of eating—with enough suggestions and options to keep your palate from getting bored.

6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Wake your body up with water.

After a whole night without fluid, your body needs a chance to rehydrate. Don’t head for the coffee or teapot before you replace lost fluids. A bonus is that getting water back in your body will help you better absorb the nutrients in your breakfast. Since most vitamins are water soluble, rehydrating before you eat will help you be healthier.

Want an extra dose of goodness? Add lemon to your morning glass of H2O. The acidity in the lemon will help rebalance your belly and digestive tract by making it alkaline—which helps the “good” bacteria in your gut thrive.

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Eat breakfast.

You’ve often heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but do you know why? It’s because it gets your metabolism and energy kicking after eight hours of fasting—hence the term “break-fasting.”

You don’t have to eat breakfast as soon as you open your eyes, but experts agree that you should eat within two hours of when you wake up. Be sure to choose nutritious, balanced meal options so that you can start the day off with lots of sustained energy.

Nutritionists recommend that your breakfast consist of at least 10 grams of protein along with complex carbohydrates and a little fat. Try to stay away from sugar and processed food. Steel-cut oatmeal with a slice of Canadian bacon is a great option, as is peanut butter with banana on whole wheat toast.

Do you normally just have a cup of coffee for breakfast? Studies show that doing this works against you and that skipping breakfast or eating a small one can increase your chances of being obese.

Try making a positive change (without ditching the coffee) by turning your morning cup of joe into a mocha milkshake. Mix it with milk, a scoop of protein powder, and 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.

9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Drink water.

You know that you’re supposed to have eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day, but not everyone knows it’s better not to drink all of them at once.

Sip a little bit throughout the day to stay fully hydrated.

10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Eat a snack.

At about this time you should be getting a little bit hungry. Aim for having a small snack that totals about 100 calories and up to 10 grams of protein.

A cheese stick, an apple with a schmear of peanut butter, or a handful of nuts should keep you feeling satisfied until lunchtime.

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Take another drink of water (and maybe pop a vitamin).

Right about now is when you’ll probably be needing some more water.

Nutritionists suggest taking a multivitamin right before lunch because the B vitamins and some minerals help you use your carbs efficiently so that you have the greatest amount of energy after you eat.

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Eat lunch.

With so many options, lunch can be the trickiest meal of the day to plan well. Be sure to keep in mind that the balanced meal is the healthiest meal. Try to add as many colored greens and veggies to your lunch as you can. This will keep the calories down and the nutritional content high.

Salads are always great options, so long as you stick with dark, leafy greens, bright veggies (like tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, or peppers), lean protein (grilled chicken, shrimp, turkey, or beans), and some good fat (like avocados or nuts). Be sure to choose a salad dressing that’s lower in fat and preservative free.

Like sandwiches better? Not a problem! Opt for whole grain bread and lean protein (like turkey, chicken, or roast beef), and add lettuce, tomato, and a low fat dressing or condiment. Steer clear of the unhealthy sides that are served along with many sandwiches, such as potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, or fries.

2:00 p.m.

Sip water.

Keep your consumption of liquid constant by drinking some water right now!

This doesn’t just help you get your day’s worth of water. Keeping your body hydrated will avoid confusing hunger pangs later in the afternoon.

4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Have an afternoon snack.

This part of the day is when energy dips and people tend to crave carbs the most. Your afternoon snack should consist of a healthy mix of both carbs and protein.

Try Greek yogurt with a little honey and berries, some unprocessed cereal and milk, or even a banana with a tablespoon of nut butter.

7:00 pm to 7:30 p.m.

Eat dinner.

With dinner, your “perfect day of eating” is almost complete! Nutritionists suggest that dinners consist of 50 percent vegetables, some lean protein, a bit of good fat, and fewer starchy carbs than you’re probably used to (a good portion size is a half cup of rice or beans).

For protein, experts love options like grilled fish, turkey meatballs, lean beef (flank, sirloin, or filet), or baked chicken. As an interesting side note, studies have shown that people who have a bowl of soup before their main meal end up eating less overall.

Low-fat, broth-based soup like miso, gazpacho, or minestrone are great choices.

9:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Eat dessert.

You don’t have to have dessert, but if you’re craving a little something sweet or a bedtime snack, just try to keep your choice on the healthier, unprocessed side.

Fruit drizzled with honey or chocolate, low fat pudding, two or three small biscuits, or a slice of cheese with a little jam are perfect.

10:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Drink water before bed.

Just before you go to bed, drink one last glass of water to round out the day and toast to a job well done!

Get lots of sleep to wake up refreshed and ready to start again tomorrow. You did it!

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Nosh

Junk Food Craving? This Is What Your Body Really Wants

Post author By Lisa Douglas
Post date June 15, 2017

It’s a hot summer afternoon, and suddenly you’re dying for a banana split with chocolate sauce dripping down the sides. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to justify giving in to your craving because your body actually needs an ice cream sundae? Like, if you don’t eat it, you’d be causing your body harm—meaning you have an obligation to eat that ice cream.

We’re not recommending that you indulge all your crazy cravings, but it is possible that your intense desire might be your body trying to tell you something! And you may want to listen.

Studies done by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics have shown that extreme desires to eat certain foods can often be blamed on nutritional inadequacies. For example, when you’re craving chocolate, it’s not the actual chocolate that your body wants—but some of the micronutrients in the chocolate.

Here’s a list of the most common food cravings and what they may mean for you. Learn what your body is truly asking for—and how you might give it what it needs.

Chocolate

It probably doesn’t surprise you that chocolate is the most commonly reported craving in the U.S. But did you know that this craving is associated with a mineral that a lot of us are deficient in? That nutrient would be magnesium! Less than 30 percent of adults living in the U.S. get the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of magnesium.

Ever wonder why you feel so relaxed and happy after eating chocolate? Chocolate is full of magnesium—the super important micronutrient that’s often called the “relaxation mineral.” It’s needed for more than 300 enzyme reactions in the body, which translates to thousands of biochemical reactions. This includes things like muscle contraction, blood coagulation, nerve transmission, and energy production. Oh, and it also helps you relax.

Don’t have enough magnesium in your body? You could be feeling anxious, irritable, and unable to sleep. You might notice a facial tic and/or muscle pain, and your blood pressure may be on the rise too. Cacao contains large amounts of magnesium, and people who are deficient in it feel slightly better after eating it.

As delicious and satisfying as your hot chocolate may be, however, it should be noted that a product has to contain more than 75% cacao to provide the benefits of magnesium.

There are other less calorie dense (and still nutritious) sources of magnesium, such as fish, beans, dark leafy greens, and blackstrap molasses. Daily consumption of these foods can help you get some magnesium back in your body (and get your chocolate cravings under control!)

Bread and Pasta

Does your mother’s homemade garlic bread have your mouth watering? Can’t get a big bowl of rigatoni out of your mind? Your blood sugar may be taking a nosedive, or you may be deficient in chromium or nitrogen.

If you haven’t eaten in a while, your body may be giving you a little nudge that things are about to go nuts if you don’t eat soon. Carbohydrates provide your body with an easily digestible form of energy that can boost your blood sugar quickly, and your body knows that.

If your blood sugar is all over the place, a deficiency in the nutrient chromium may be to blame. Since it’s responsible for stabilizing your blood sugar, if your body is low in it, you’ll crave a way to boost it.

Not having blood sugar issues but still craving carbs? A nitrogen deficiency may be to blame. The role of this micro
nutrient is to be a protein building block. Your body uses nitrogen to build and strengthen muscles, skin, blood, hair, and DNA.

It’s also really important in the making of new cells (i.e., growing and healing). Instead of opting for high fat, dense carbohydrates, try choosing whole grains, unprocessed foods, and foods that are high protein, such as lean meats, nuts, beans, poultry, and fish.

Sugary Foods

Guess what’s next on the list? You guessed it! Sugary foods. Donuts, ice cream, candy, cakes, and soft drinks…if you want sugar, any (or all) of these may be on your “gotta have” list.

Unfortunately, as common as this craving is, the reason for it is quite complex, as there are a slew of nutrient deficiencies and other factors that may be to blame. The top five micronutrients that you may be low in if you’re craving sugar are: chromium, carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, and tryptophan.

Chromium helps regulate your blood sugar (it’s found in grapes, cheese, broccoli, and chicken). Sulfur helps remove toxin from your body (find it in dairy, eggs, garlic, and cruciferous veggies). Carbon helps your body get energy (fresh fruit is a good source). Phosphorus helps keep your bones and muscles healthy (look for it in fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, beef). Tryptophan helps to regulate your body’s serotonin (good sources are cheese, turkey, sweet potatoes, and spinach).

If you crave sugar often, try to incorporate more of these nutritious foods in your daily meals. Something to keep in mind is that nutritional deficiency may not be the only reason that you’re craving sugar. Low blood sugar (not chromium related) and dehydration may trigger a sugar craving response as well.

Coffee

We’re not talking about your first-thing-when-you-wake-up-gotta-have-a-caffeine-fix type of coffee craving (because don’t we all have that?) If you typically crave the taste of coffee, you may not be just a café connoisseur. You may also be in need of any or all of these nutrients: phosphorous, sulfur, sodium, or iron.

In the case of phosphorous and iron deficiencies, the intense need for coffee usually signifies that you’re looking for a boost of energy that these minerals would normally provide.

If your obsession with your corner coffee shop is bordering on ridiculous, try increasing your intake of fish, eggs, dairy, spinach, fruits and veggies high in vitamin C, and/or oysters, and see if your craving starts to subside.

Fried Foods/Cheese

You may be needing a little extra fat in your diet (or just a bit of comfort via comfort food), but often a craving for fatty snacks indicates that your body needs more calcium.

This nutrient is responsible for healthy teeth and bone development, blood clotting, moving muscles, releasing hormones, and keeping a normal heartbeat.

Milk and products that contain it are great sources of calcium, but you don’t have to eat dairy to get your daily dose. Calcium can also be found in kale, legumes, broccoli, sardines, and turnip greens.

Stuff That’s Not Food

Are you dying to chow down on something unusual, like ice, ashes, or chalk? This is actually not that weird. It is known as pica and is characterized as an intense desire to eat non–foodstuff.

Kids and pregnant women seem to report higher incidences of it. Many pica cravings are due to low level mineral deficiencies, especially iron.

Studies of people with pica showed that most who craved ice, dirt, or clay were anemic. Another study found that soap cravings indicated both iron and zinc deficiencies. If you’re having pica cravings, it would be helpful to get your iron (and other micronutrient levels) checked.

If You Have No Idea What You’re Craving

If you’re hungry and you’re not sure why…you actually may be thirsty! The same part of your brain that controls hunger also controls thirst. So sometimes when you think that you’re hungry, you may need to hydrate instead of eat.

The best thing to do when you start feeling hungry (when there’s no good reason that you should be) is to try drinking a glass of water. Then wait 15 to 20 minutes and see if your hunger goes away.

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Nosh

This New Food Trend Could Be Making Your Birth Control Less Effective

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date June 14, 2017

For some reason, black foods are really in right now.

Visit just about any foodie blog, and you’ll find striking pictures of pitch-black pastas, ice creams, and breads. Burger King even introduced a black hamburger bun for the 2016 Halloween season.

In many cases, these foods are completely safe; the coloring is mostly natural in origin, and unless you have an extremely specific allergy, you won’t suffer any ill effects.

But not all of those foods are created equal. Some use activated charcoal as a food coloring agent. Activated charcoal isn’t harmful on its own, but it can make certain types of birth control less effective, potentially allowing for an unplanned pregnancy.

Wondering what makes this effect possible?

The issue is absorbency. Charcoal is essentially carbon with small pores, and activated charcoal is specifically created to have a large number of these little holes. It’s typically made by heating up coconut shells, so it’s not the same thing as the charcoal briquettes you’ve used at summer barbecues.

Thanks to the aforementioned pores, activated charcoal is extremely absorbent, which is why it’s sometimes useful in medicine. The charcoal absorbs chemicals, then passes out of the patient’s body without allowing those chemicals to take full effect. You’re probably seeing the problem here.

Activated charcoal can absorb some birth control medications, lessening their effectiveness. Obviously that’s a serious issue for the women who depend on oral contraceptive pills as a primary form of birth control.

“Activated charcoal is given to people who take too much medication because charcoal is so absorbent and can counteract an overdose,” Patricia Raymond, MD said in an interview with Women’s Health. “But if you’re drinking it and you also are on any meds, even birth control pills, the charcoal is likely to absorb the drugs. So you risk having them become ineffective.”

This issue isn’t limited to birth control.

Activated charcoal can make many medications less effective, so if you’re taking any prescriptions, ask your doctor before trying any foods with activated charcoal (or any other unusual ingredients, for that matter).

You should also check for the presence of activated charcoal (also called “activated carbon” or “coconut ash”) when buying new foods or supplements.

This is particularly important if you’re considering a “cleanse,” as many cleansing products use activated charcoal as a primary ingredient. Most will also have a warning label that clearly explains the danger—but the key word there is “most.”

Activated charcoal is also sometimes marketed as an alternative medical treatment for digestive issues (the science doesn’t back up that usage, but that doesn’t tend to stop most people). It’s frequently sold as a powder, pill, or capsule, but it’s remarkably versatile. After all, it’s nothing more than carbon.

Here’s the bottom line: If you take any medication regularly, be aware of this potential interaction. Keep your doctor in the loop, especially if you’re using alternative medicine. And before you try one of those charming jet-black foods you’ve seen on Instagram, consider where the food dye comes from.

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