Thursday 25 September 2008

10 Tips To Healthy Eating And Physical Activity

1. Start Your Day With Breakfast
Breakfast fills your "empty tank" to get you going after a long night without food. Eating a good breakfast can help you do better in school. Easy to prepare breakfasts include: cold cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit, whole-grain waffles or even last night's pizza.

2. Get Moving
It's easy to fit physical activities into your daily routine. Walk, bike or jog to see your friends. Take a 10 minute activity break every hour while you read, do homework or watch TV. Climb stairs instead of taking an escalator or elevator. Try to do these things for a total of 30 minutes every day.

3. Snack Smart
Snacks are a great way to refuel. Choose snacks from different food groups - a glass of low-fat milk and a few graham crackers, an apple or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins, or some dry cereal. If you eat smart at other meals, cookies, chips, and candy are okay for occasional snacking.

4. Work up a sweat
Vigorous work-outs, when you're breathing hard and sweating, help your heart pump better, give you more energy and help you look and feel your best. Start with a warm-up that stretches your muscles. Include 20 minutes of aerobic activity, such as running, jogging or dancing. Follow-up with activities that help make you stronger such as push-ups or lifting weights. Then cool-down with more stretching and deep breathing.

5. Balance your food choices - don't eat too much of one thing
You don't have to give up foods like hamburgers, french fries, and ice cream to eat healthfully. You just have to be smart about how often and how much of them you eat. Your body needs nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fat, and many different vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and A, iron, and calcium from a variety of foods.

6. Get fit with friends or family
Being active is much more fun with friends or family. Encourage others to join you and plan one special physical activity event, like a bike ride or hiking, with a group each week.

7. Eat more grains, fruits, and vegetables
These foods give you carbohydrates for energy, plus vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Besides, they taste good! Try breads such as whole-wheat, bagels, and pita. Spaghetti and oatmeal are also in the grain group.

8. Join in physical activities at school
Whether you take a physical education class or do other physical activities at school, such as intramural sports, structured activities are a sure way to feel good, look good and stay physically fit.

9. Foods aren't good or bad
A healthy eating style is like a puzzle with many parts. Each part, or food, is different. Some foods may have more fat, sugar or salt, while others may have more vitamins or fibre. There is a place for all these foods. What makes a diet good or bad is how foods fit together. Balancing your choices is important. Fit in a higher-fat food, like pepperoni pizza, at dinner by choosing lower-fat foods at other meals. And don't forget about moderation. If two pieces of pizza fill you up, don't eat a third.

10. Make healthy eating and physical activities fun!
Take advantage of physical activities you and your friends enjoy doing together and eat the foods you like. Be adventurous - try new sports, games, and other activities as well as new foods. You'll grow stronger, play longer, and look and feel better! Set realistic goals - don't try changing too much at once.

Monday 19 May 2008

Gastritis

Define:
Gastritis commonly refers to inflammation of the lining of the stomach, but the term is often used to cover a variety of symptoms resulting from stomach lining inflammation and symptoms of burning or discomfort.

Reasons:
• Alcohol
• Tobacco
• Acidic beverages such as coffee (both caffeinated and decaffeinated), carbonated beverages, and fruit juices with citric acid
• NSAIDS, such as aspirin and ibuprofen – switch to other pain relievers (like acetominophen)
• Eat a fiber-rich diet
• Avoid high fat foods (at least from animal studies, high fat foods incresase inflammation in the stomach lining)

In Lithuania this ill is very popular and many childrens and people are ill.

Symptoms
They will depend largely upon the character and degree of the inflammation. In the milder forms, the local symptoms predominate, and are a marked feature in all forms.

Complications
Left untreated, gastritis may lead to stomach ulcers and stomach bleeding. Some forms of chronic gastritis may increase your risk of stomach cancer, especially if you have extensive thinning of the stomach lining and changes in the lining cells.
Tell your doctor if your signs and symptoms aren't improving despite treatment for gastritis.

Diagnosis:
1. Blood tests
2. Breath test
3. Stool tests
4. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
5. Upper gastrointestinal X-ray

Treatment
In the milder form, all that will be necessary will be to wash out the stomach by having the patient drink freely of warm salt-water and giving the organ perfect rest for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, to be followed by a diet that is bland and easily digested.

Monday 7 April 2008

Heartburn

Heartburn or pyrosis is a painful or burning sensation in the esophagus, just below the breastbone caused by regurgitation of gastric acid. The pain often rises in the chest and may radiate to the neck, throat, or angle of the jaw. Heartburn is also identified as one of the causes of chronic cough, and may even mimic asthma.
Causes
Foods that may cause heartburn:
• Sodas and other carbonated beverages
• Chocolate
• Citrus fruits and juices
• Tomatoes and tomato sauces (such as pizza and pasta sauce)
• Spicy foods
• Red pepper (capsicum)
• Peppermint and spearmint
• Dry foods such as peanuts
• Fatty foods such as ice cream
• Garlic
• Bread and other foods derived from grains
• Wine Drugs are also known to cause or trigger heartburn symptoms.
• Tobacco products (cigarettes, snuff, etc.)
• Cocaine
• Methamphetamine
• Alcohol
• Caffeine, as found in Coffee, tea, cola, and other beverages
Diagnosis
Physicians typically diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) based on symptoms alone. When the clinical presentation is unclear, other tests can be performed to confirm the diagnosis or exclude other disorders. Confirmatory tests include:Ambulatory pH Monitoring A probe can be placed via the nose into the esophagus to record the level of acidity in the lower esophagus. Because some degree of variation in acidity is normal, and small reflux events are relatively common, such monitors must be left in place for at least a 24-hour period to confirm the diagnosis of GERD. The test is particularly useful when the patient's symptoms can be correlated to episodes of increased esophageal acidity. Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Series A series of x-rays of the upper digestive system are taken after drinking a barium solution. These can demonstrate reflux of barium into the esophagus, which suggests the possibility of gastroesophageal reflux disease. More accurately, fluoroscopy can be used to document reflux in real-time. Manometry In this test, a pressure sensor (manometer) is passed through the mouth into the esophagus and measures the pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter directly.
Endoscopy The esophageal mucosa can be visualized directly by passing a thin, lighted tube with a tiny camera attached (an endoscope) through the mouth to examine the esophagus and stomach. In this way, evidence of esophageal inflammation can be detected, and biopsies taken if necessary. Since an endoscopy allows a doctor to visually inspect the upper digestive track the procedure may help identify any additional damage to the tract that may not have been detected otherwise. Biopsy A small sample of tissue from the esophagus is removed. It is then studied to check for inflammation, cancer, or other problems.
Treatment
PreventionIf heartburn occurs when lying down, raising the head of the bed, or raising the upper body with pillows or sleeping sitting up frequently provides relief. Avoid pillows that raise the head only, as this does little for heartburn and places continuous strain on the neck. To minimize attacks, a sufferer may find benefit in avoidance of certain foods that relax the opening between the stomach and esophagus, such as chocolate, peppermint, and chamomile tea shortly before bedtime.MedicationsAntacids, H2-receptor antagonists, alginates and proton pump inhibitors are used to treat heartburn. AntacidsAntacids work by neutralizing excess stomach acid. So although stomach acid will still splash up into the esophagus (acid reflux) the stomach acid will be neutralized and therefore will lead to lesser or no heartburn symptoms (the burning feeling). Antacids provide fast relief of symptoms, but relief typically lasts for just 30-60 minutes.Sodium bicarbonateA simple and relatively harmless way to treat a one-off heartburn is to drink a solution of a small amount of Sodium bicarbonate mixed with water, which quickly neutralizes the acid that causes the pain. Excess sodium intake, however, is thought to raise blood pressure and cause other health problems.H2-receptor antagonistsOften called H2 Blockers, H2-receptor antagonists work by decreasing the amount of acid the body releases into the stomach. H2s are systemic, meaning they require absorption into the bloodstream in order to work. Therefore, H2s can often take 30 minutes or longer before they start working, and therefore are often taken to prevent heartburn rather than for fast relief of symptoms.AlginatesAlginates work differently than antacids and H2 Blockers, by forming a protective barrier in the stomach that prevents stomach acid from refluxing back up into the esophagus. Alginic acid is naturally derived (from brown seaweed) and is non-systemic. Alginates provide faster relief than H2-receptor antagonists and PPIs and longer-lasting relief than antacids.Proton-pump InhibitorsProton pump inhibitors, called PPIs, are a class of medications which can be effective for people who do not respond to antacid or acid blockers. Proton-pump inhibitors are systemic and directly block acid production in the stomach cells. In order to prevent heartburn the medication disfigures and disables the proteins (proton pumps) that control the pH of the stomach, allowing the body to digest them. Proton-pump inhibitors are not fast-acting, but provide long-lasting relief. PPIs are intended to be short-term medications only.Restricting DietRestricting diet is very important, since 90-95% of sufferers of heartburn or esophageal disorder can link their symptoms to specific foods. Therefore, it is important that heartburn sufferers manage their diets as a way to treat their heartburn. Sufferers should choose the kinds of foods and drinks which have little risk of causing acid reflux, while some kinds of foods or drinks should be avoided as they are major heartburn triggers.

Monday 4 February 2008

Carbohydrates are important


You need to eat foods high in carbs since they are your body's main source of energy. The trick is to choose the right carbs. Simple carbs like sugar and processed flour are quickly absorbed by the body's digestive system. This causes a kind of carb overload, and your body releases huge amounts of insulin to combat the overload. Not only is the excess insulin bad on your heart, but it encourages weight gain. Insulin is the main hormone in your body responsible for fat storage. Eat plenty of carbs, but eat carbs that are slowly digested by the body like whole grain flour, hearty vegetables, oats, and unprocessed grains like brown rice. These kinds of food not only contain complex carbs that are slowly digested by the body, but are usually higher in vitamins and other nutrients that are beneficial to the body and they are higher in fiber which keeps your digestive system running smoothly.

Cherry berry salad

2 cups pitted fresh Northwest Rainier cherries
2 cups pitted fresh Northwest red sweet cherries
1 cup fresh blueberries1 cup cored diced apples
Honey Lime Dressing (recipe follows)

1.Combine all ingredients and mix well. Add Honey Lime Dressing. Refrigerate until served.

Makes 6 servings.

Honey Lime Dressing: Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon each fresh lime juice and honey, 2 teaspoons minced fresh mint, 1/2 teaspoon shredded lime peel and 1/8 teaspoon salt; mix well. Makes about 1/3 cup.

Tips:

Fresh blackberries, raspberries or halved strawberries may be substituted for blueberries.
Fresh pineapple or orange may be added to salad.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving: 150 Cal., 1 g pro., 6 g fat (31% Cal. from fat), 26 g carb., 0 mg chol., 2 g fiber, 49 mg sodium.