Body Care Facts & Health Tips

Food habits can make or break your health. When you are on a diet, you may be really happy that you are finally consuming nutritious food which will help you lose weight and attain your health goals really fast. But there may be specific problems which may throw a spanner in the works of your best laid plans. Excessive eating at night is one such habit, which may even become a disorder if you let it be.

Who does not love a midnight snack? But when this occasional snacking becomes a habit, you may find it going all downhill from there on. And soon you may find yourself having a bigger meal than your dinner in the middle of the night! But for your own good you should check your night cravings at the earliest possible point of time.

This is because; eating recklessly at night can ruin a hard day’s schedule of diet and exercise, which you stuck to, so religiously in order to attain your health goals. You will be eating only unhealthy snack food at night because that’s what cravings are for.

But why can’t you stop eating at night? There may be several reasons behind this if you consider this problem as one which is similar to binge eating. Research shows that depression, anxiety, interpersonal problems, boredom, and dieting are few of the main reasons behind night eating.

Snacking at night on sugary foods can have a comforting effect on your system. This is because the simple sugars present in these foods create a feeling of euphoria and energy-rush when they mix with the bloodstream. This can give you a morale boost when you are depressed or sad due to professional or personal problems.

Boredom may also be the reason why you walk up to the fridge late at night and gorge on the candies, pastries and other sinful delights. When you are not tired enough to fall asleep, you may find hunger building up within you and will soon want to take a look at what’s there to eat. This is a bodily response, because the longer you keep awake the more energy you need.

You may also be on a very strict diet during throughout the day. So subconsciously you hate all your meals from breakfast to dinner. And when the rest of your family is asleep at night, you feel the urge to indulge yourself in some delicacies you have been denied throughout the day. This can also lead to a night-time eating marathon, because you want to cheat!

There may be the fact that your diet is providing you insufficient calories and nutrition. This may leave you hungry even after dinner. Thus, you cannot help yourself from making guerrilla attacks on your fridge in the middle of the night!

Moreover, if your fridge is stacked with god food while you are on a diet, this urge to cheat may grow even stronger.

While these are the primary reasons behind night time eating, you must make sure that this does not become a disorder of any sort for you.

Giving birth to a child is an experience of a lifetime. But there can be many complications even when you are on the verge of becoming a mother. And if you are obese, you are right in the firing line. Yes, a fat woman runs a very high risk of developing complications while giving birth. Not only that, the child too may be born with certain birth abnormalities. So, if you are too fat, your child will automatically inherit the risk of potential health hazards during or after birth.

Researchers have not been able to establish yet whether obesity has a direct negative impact on the mother and/or child during birth. However, there has been enough evidence to conclude that certain other health conditions (that follow obesity) have a telling impact on the mother and/or child at the time of birth. One such condition, Type 2 diabetes, which is related to obesity, can heighten the risk of birth defects.

Type 2 diabetes (in which blood sugar levels in the body are beyond normal) disrupts the delicate embryo to a large extent. The excess blood sugar is transferred to the embryo from the mother. This stimulates the production (or rather overproduction) of free radicals which are toxic for both mother and baby. Excess sugar can also trigger the formation of metabolic byproducts that derail the signaling mechanisms, essential for embryonic development.

While obesity is certainly not the only reason behind diabetes, it cannot be ruled out a potential cause of birth defects. So, if you are overweight, you need to understand that shedding a few kilos can curtail blood sugar levels in the body, if not absolutely cure diabetes. In fact, research says that women suffering from pre-gestational diabetes but with controlled blood sugar levels in the pre-conception period face a lower risk of transferring congenital abnormalities to the newborn child.

Being overweight can also have other serious repercussions on the child. You surely must be aware that extra fat deposited in blood vessels impedes blood flow to vital organs in the body. Well, you may contract heart disease as a result, but have you ever wondered that it affects your child as well? Your baby (scientifically an embryo) depends on you for life. While the baby is in your womb, important nutrients, body fluids and blood are conferred from your body to your baby. Due to extra fat in your blood vessels, even your baby will not receive regular inflow of blood. This can adversely affect the health of your baby.

Studies claim that obesity heightens the odds of birth anomalies such as cleft palate, spina bifida, heart abnormalities and hormonal defects. On many occasions, parents are left wondering about the reasons for their child’s health problems. One reason could be the mother’s obesity during pregnancy.

If you are too fat, your child’s delivery could also be complicated and complex. Most obese mothers have to undergo Cesarean sections to deliver their children. So, if you want to experience a normal, hassle free delivery and your child to be fit, lose weight FAST!

The strong urge to lose weight may encourage you to try some of the latest and ‘hottest’ methods of finding happiness on your bathroom scales. There are several ways in which you can lose weight quickly, but not all of them are worthwhile. Just because others are using it, doesn’t mean that it works great. Meal replacement shakes are really popular these days. So, let’s find out the truth about meal replacement shakes, so that you get to know whether they are a good investment or a waste of time.

The fundamental principle behind losing weight is giving your body marginally lesser amount of calories than needed, so that stored fat is utilized to provide energy. Meal replacement shakes offer you a way to control your calorie intake, without having to count how many you are consuming in your meals everyday.

And how does it work? You replace two meals a day (usually breakfast and lunch) with these shakes and can have dinner as usual. Some meal replacement plans also allow snacking in between shakes and meals.

If you use meal replacement shakes, you will not be consuming more than 1400 calories a day. Depending on how many of these are used up, you may expect to lose between 1-2 lbs every week.

Now the biggest question is whether meal replacement products are healthy or not. The present laws regulating these products make it mandatory for them to provide necessary nutrients to ensure your wellbeing. Also, these shakes must contain at least 200-400 calories in every helping. The presence of 25% protein and 23 essential vitamins and minerals is also required as per law. Thus if the product you are using conforms to these regulations, they can be healthy.

You must also realize that the best meal replacement shakes do not claim to be your sole source of nutrition. You can still have one meal a day and snack on fruits and vegetables. So, contrary to what many people believe, meal replacement shakes are not ‘low calorie diets’ by any stretch of imagination, because those diets restrict your calorie intake to fewer than 800 per day.

What are benefits you get by going for meal replacement shakes?

• You can easily rely on these shakes for consuming a stipulated number of calories during the day without having to do complex calculations yourselves.
• These are as effective as any diet can be in losing weight in the short term.
• Shakes can even help you maintain your new weight and not allow it to go up once again.

But you also need to consider that:

• Meal replacement shakes have not been tried and tested globally as of yet.
• Most trails have been as a part of research and real life results are yet to come out clearly. These studies have also used the shakes as a part of a comprehensive weight loss plan and not as the only tool for losing weight.
• These diets are known to work for people who are grossly overweight or obese. But whether they are suitable for you if you want to lose a small amount of weight is yet unknown.

Now you know the whole truth about meal replacements shakes and can decide for yourself whether to go for it. All the best!

Gaining excess weight maybe something you never wanted, but it happened nonetheless. But what you must do instead of crying over spilt milk is to make a concerted effort to lose the weight you have gained without further delay. And if then you find that you simply cannot lose weight, you will be joining the thousands of overweight people who have the same complain. Before crying hoarse over the fact that you cannot lose weight, you need to ask yourself whether you have tried hard enough and in the right manner.

It’s easy to say that you cannot lose weight. But the fact remains that if you combine a nutritious yet calorie-controlled diet along with a well-planned workout regime, there is no way on earth that you will not lose weight. So, the fault probably lies with your effort. Perhaps you think, you are trying, but actually you are not!

Sometimes when you are substantially overweight, making small changes to your lifestyle or diet is not enough. So, you may have given up on frequent visits to fast-food joints (but the home-made brownies and turkey roasts are still there for you) and try to take the stairs instead of the elevator (which is all the exercise you do in the day), but is that enough? Certainly not!

If you brand these cosmetic changes to your diet and lifestyle, as your ‘effort’ to lose weight, then you should know that you are not trying at all! An actual attempt to lose weight should be a lot more than this.

You should:

• Consult a dietitian to know exactly what you should eat, in order to consume no more calories than what your body needs. You have to discuss your specific goals so that the professional can easily understand what you want and chalk up a detailed diet plan containing food items, portion sizes and a calorie counts.
• Stick to such a diet plan, come what may. Holiday season, parties, picnics and vacations should not derail your diet.
• Consult a fitness trainer or hire a personal trainer. A fitness professional can understand your specific exercise needs and draw up a detailed routine of the workouts which will be the most beneficial for you. They will also help you understand each exercise and complete them in the right manner. You can workout at home, by buying equipments or simply join a gym. Do whatever, suits you, but get professional help when it comes to exercise.
• Let go of all unhealthy habits, such as drinking and smoking, sleeping late, midnight snacking and all else that comes in the way of your health goals.

If you try hard enough, there is no way you cannot lose weight, unless you have specific health issues preventing you from losing weight. In that case you must seek medical advice and try to find out the best course of action. But if you are otherwise fit, the right exercise and diet, along with honesty and dedication on your part can help you achieve weight loss in due course of time.

Though all fast food is often clumped together as bad for you, it is not all created equally. There are some fast foods that are actually pretty healthy. After all homemade food can be pretty fatty and greasy as well. It all depends on what you are eating. Eating healthy is about making good choices, fast or not. Here are some meal choices available at popular fast food restaurants that really aren’t that bad.

Burger King

When it comes to getting healthy fast food Burger King has gotten rave reviews for some of its menu choices. For one thing Burger King is one of the only fast food restaurants that serve a veggie burger. The veggie burger is extremely low in fat and calories as compared to other burgers and it isn’t all that bad. Skip the mayo and fries and have water for your drink and you are eating a healthier lunch than most.

There are also a wide variety of salads available at Burger King. Always get low calorie dressing and stick with grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, or meat-free versions.

McDonalds

Though McDonalds is certainly not the leader in healthy eating they do have a few choices on their menu that are healthier than others. When it comes to breakfast your best choices at McDonalds are going to be the fruit and yogurt parfait or the Egg McMuffin. Both are relatively low in calories and are pretty tasty.

Lunch and dinner at McDonalds is a little dicier but it is possible to get a healthy meal. For starters always opt for grilled food over fried. If you really want one of the premium chicken sandwiches to fit within a healthy diet try it without the bun, bacon, or mayo. Instead get light honey mustard or request one of the light dressings that McDonalds offers and try that on your chicken patty instead. Another good chicken choice at McDonalds is a grilled honey mustard wrap. Not only are they pretty tasty but they are good for you as well.

If you are craving a Big Mac try one of the new Mac Wraps. These are a lot lower in calories and carbohydrates then the regular Big Mac but they offer the same great flavor.

Instead of getting fries at McDonalds try apple slices or a side salad with low calorie dressing. Always avoid sodas and milkshakes no matter where you eat since the biggest weight issue for most is the calories that they drink in a day.

Subway

Subway offers a ton of healthy choices but they also offer a ton of not-so-healthy choices that are being sold under the guise of healthy. For the most part anything you get a Subway can be healthy if you make it that way, this definitely separates it from most fast food restaurants.

For one thing you should always avoid heavy dressings and mayonnaise if you want to keep those subway sandwiches low fat. The best choices for dressing are oil and vinegar or mustard. The more fattening dressings and toppings can pack the fat on those sandwiches pretty quick.

Go all out with the veggies at Subway. The more veggies you get the better that sandwich will be for you and veggies are usually pretty low in fat and calories so there is no harm and piling them on. However, you should avoid piling on the cheese. If you want to lose weight it is best to avoid the cheese all together.

Another good tip at Subway is to ask for wheat bread. It is lower in refined sugars than white bread and is a lot healthier. Also, because of the bread content, no matter what sort of sandwich you get it is best to stick with one six inch serving for meal. Though those twelve inch servings are pretty cheap they are more than you should be eating at one meal.

You will probably never pay more attention to what you eat than when you are pregnant. Between trying to do the right thing and fight food cravings what you eat is a huge part of pregnancy. There are some things that should be a part of your pregnancy diet and some things that are better avoided. Use this handy guide to help you choose the best foods for you and baby.

Foods to Avoid

Caffeine

Though a little bit of caffeine probably isn’t all that bad, high doses of caffeine have been linked to miscarriages and preterm labor. That aside caffeine causes your body to not retain nutrients at the same level that it would in its absence.

Caffeine is also typically linked to sodas that are full of high fructose corn syrup which has been linked to mercury poisoning. In addition to this sodas, as well as many coffee drinks, are full of empty calories that offer no nutrition and do not adequately affect the “full tummy” sensors in your body and brain. Excessive sugar consumption can lead to gestational diabetes and diabetes in your unborn child.

Honey

Some forms of raw honey have been linked to botulism. Though this disease is fairly rare it can be pretty devastating on a developing fetus. There really is no need in taking the chance.  For this same reason most honey comes with a warning label that it should not be fed to infants under one.

Fish

Fish from local sources that you know the mercury content of is usually fairly safe. Fish like shark and king mackerel have very high mercury contents on average and should always be avoided. You should also eat tuna in moderation.  Maintaining a low mercury level during pregnancy is more important than any other time in your life because high instances of mercury can lead to brain defects in your child. Mercury is one of the leading alleged culprits in the autism epidemic. It should be avoided as much as possible.

Cold Meat

It is generally best to avoid cold meat. This is because of the risk of listeria, a food borne illness that can have a detrimental effect on a fetus. Listeria is especially present in cheap processed meats like lunch meat and hot dogs.  Since these meats aren’t all that healthy and have also been linked to cancer they are probably best avoided. However, if you just have to have a hot dog or a ham sandwich, which is often the case in pregnancy heat it to steaming and you should be Ok.  Warm ham and cheese sandwiches can actually be quite comforting.

Raw Milk and Cheese

Here is the deal with raw milk and cheese.  It can give you toxoplasmosis which is very dangerous to developing babies. The thing is that if you have always had raw milk and cheese you have probably already contracted toxoplasmosis and developed immunity to it.

The same goes for cats, they often carry toxoplasmosis in their GI tract and so many women are afraid to change the litter box during pregnancy. If you’ve had cats for a long time, then you’ve probably already had toxoplasmosis.  Wearing gloves when changing the litter and gardening can offer protection from these sources of the disease.

The real threat is that toxoplasmosis can have terrible affects on a fetus and hardly any effect on the mother. The truth is that you likely have already gotten immunity especially if you fit into one of the categories above. So when it comes to these things use your best judgment.

Good Choices

The foods you should eat are a little bit less tricky than the foods you shouldn’t. You need about 300 extra calories a day during pregnancy. You want to get those calories from good sources of protein and vitamins. Make sure you include a variety of fruits and vegetables daily and drink 6-8 glasses of water. A balanced diet and a good vitamin regiment should be all you need to worry about when it comes to eating right during pregnancy.

Many women the world over have either decreased or eradicated meat from their diet.  Scientific evidence backs up the belief that the healthiest diet is one that is rich in fruits and vegetables. The most restrictive form of vegetarian diet is that of the vegan diet. Vegans do not consume any meat at all nor do they consume eggs, milk, dairy, or honey in most cases.  When these women become pregnant they may be concerned that they are not getting enough nutrients for their unborn child.  There is absolutely no reason to give up a vegan diet for pregnancy. It can be a great way to ensure your child is getting the often overlooked essential vitamins of pregnancy like folic acid and vitamin C.  There are a few things that you should take into consideration when it comes to meal planning.  These are the things that pregnant vegans need to pay attention to.

Protein

According to The Vegetarian Resource Group, vegan women get about 65 grams of protein each day prior to pregnancy. Pregnant women need about 71 grams of protein each day.  Adding the extra protein to your diet really isn’t that difficult. Most vegans will find that when they are pregnant they will get extra protein from the foods that they are eating more of. If you are gaining weight on time and everything seems to be going well with your pregnancy you are probably getting enough protein just from the extra food. If you feel you are not getting enough protein adding two cups of soy milk, or 1 ½ cups of lentils to your diet everyday can make up for the difference and even give you a little extra.  Other sources of vegan protein include chickpeas (which are also high in folic acid) and tofu.

Folic Acid

Folic acid is extremely important to pregnancy because it can help to prevent Spina Bifida and other neural tube defects in unborn children.  Folic Acid is mostly acquired from vegetable sources. Folic acid is usually more than accounted for in a healthy vegan diet.  Taking a prenatal vitamin or folic acid supplement or adding some extra leafy greens to your daily diet can help to guarantee you are getting enough folic acid.

Calcium

Calcium tends to be one of the biggest worries for pregnant vegans.  There are plenty of ways to get calcium outside of dairy products and current research shows that calcium during pregnancy may not be as big of a deal as we once assumed.

Never the less it is important to get calcium during pregnancy. You can obtain calcium from a number of foods that you probably eat regularly as a part of you vegan diet.  Calcium rich vegan foods include bok choy, tofu, okra, grains, mustard greens, and many other vegetables.

For the most part vegan women who maintain a well balanced diet with a variety of different fruits and vegetables daily will have absolutely no problem with a healthy pregnancy. In fact vegans tend to have some of the healthiest pregnancies around.

There are hundreds of different options for multivitamins these days.  Many of these multivitamins are targeted at women in particular.  This is good since there are many vitamins that are crucially important to female health.  Knowing which vitamins are essential to female health can help you to make the decision about which multivitamin to invest in.  Here are a few essential vitamins for women.

Folic Acid

Folic acid which is found in dark leafy greens, strawberries, sunflower seeds, organ meats, and many other foods is a vital nutrient for women of all ages.  The biggest reason that folic acid is so important in a female’s youth is that getting plenty of folic acid before the childbearing years can help prevent birth defects.  This works similarly to the way the body stores up calcium to prevent osteoporosis.

This isn’t the only benefit to folic acid or folate as it is sometimes referred either. Young children who take folic acid regularly will have better red blood cell development while helps to prevent anemia.  Folate may also offer cancer prevention for women of all ages.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is not important for metabolism and blood development.  A deficiency in this nutrient is the leading cause of anemia in women.  You can get a simple blood test at your doctor’s office to see if you are deficient in vitamin B12.  Women who are deficient in vitamin B12, especially those over the age of 50, may need to get vitamin B12 shots from their physician to help with absorption.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D which is found in milk and radiated by the sun is very important for female health.  This is because getting plenty of vitamin D early in life can help to prevent the thinning of bones that leads to osteoporosis later in life.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is an important but often overlooked vitamin for female health. Vitamin K helps to clot blood in the event of an accident, which can save your life.  It is also an important component to bone development and may help to prevent heart disease.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C has long been regarding as an important vitamin.  You can find vitamin C in most citrus juices as well as many vegetables.  Vitamin C is vital through all stages of life.  It has long been touted as an immune booster.  It is also probably one of the most important vitamins for the prevention of cancer.  This vitamin also helps to absorb iron and may prevent cataracts and heart disease.  It is especially crucial during pregnancy but taking vitamin C at any time is extremely beneficial to the health of women.

It is important to make sure that all of these vitamins are in any multivitamin you select.  There are also many other vital nutrients to consider, these are just some of the most important.  Remember that though it is important to take a daily vitamin regiment, taking too many vitamins can have a detrimental effect on your health.  Always take your multivitamin as prescribed and get your doctor’s opinion on extra supplements.