Written By
share_e
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
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7:10 PM
Eat a healthy, balanced diet and stay active
The key to a healthy balanced diet is not to ban or omit any foods or food groups but to balance what you eat by consuming a variety of foods from each food group in the right proportions for good health.
Fruit and vegetables
These should make up about a third of your daily diet and can be eaten as part of every meal, as well as being the first choice for a snack.
Eating red meat significantly increases a post-menopausal woman's chance of breast cancer, research suggests.
A University of Leeds team monitored 35,000 women over seven years.
Older women who ate one 2oz portion a day (57 grams) had a 56% increased risk compared with those who ate none, the British Journal of Cancer reports.
And those who ate the most processed meat, such as bacon, sausages, ham or pies, had a 64% greater risk of breast cancer than those who refrained.
However, experts warned it was extremely difficult to pin down the effect of specific parts of the diet on cancer risk, and said previous research had produced inconclusive results.
Lead researcher Professor Janet Cade said younger, pre-menopausal women who ate large amounts of red and processed meat also had a raised risk of breast cancer - but the effect was not statistically significant.
New advice recommends eating no more than 70g a day - equivalent to three
rashers of bacon or two sausages.
Experts say thousands of bowel cancer deaths could be prevented every year if
people kept to the new limits.
Advisers to the Department of Health in England say the restrictions would
not put people at risk of iron deficiencies.
Bowel Cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK - about 36,000 people
are diagnosed every year, and 16,500 die.
Eating 100 to 120g of red and processed meat a day - things like salami, ham
and sausages - increases the risk of developing the condition by 20 to 30%,
according to studies.
The study of more than 120,000 people suggested red meat increased the risk
of death from cancer and heart problems.
Substituting red meat with fish, chicken or nuts lowered the risks, the
authors said.
The British Heart Foundation said red meat could still be eaten as part of a
balanced diet.
The researchers analysed data from 37,698 men between 1986 and 2008 and
83,644 women between 1980 and 2008.
They said adding an extra portion of unprocessed red meat to someone's daily
diet would increase the risk of death by 13%, of fatal cardiovascular disease by
18% and of cancer mortality by 10%. The figures for processed meat were higher,
20% for overall mortality, 21% for death from heart problems and 16% for cancer
mortality.
Written By
share_e
on
Sunday, March 11, 2012
|
11:34 AM
Many U.S. employers will drop a bunch of health-care options in their workers' laps in the next few weeks, if they haven't already.
If you're one of those workers, unless you change jobs or lose your job, the choices you make will stick with you and possibly your family for all of 2012, so it's important to scrutinize and compare health-plan options.
You may be tempted to automatically re-enroll in the same plan you
have now, but that could cost you. Many plans are shifting costs and
benefits around and some employers have introduced new ways for workers
to save money, experts say.
"If an employee blows off
open-enrollment communications, the employee could pay more because
they're missing incentives to pay less that are tied to participation in
wellness activities," said Eric Parmenter, vice president of consulting
for High Roads, a benefit consulting firm in Nashville, Tenn.
For
next year, employers generally aren't as interested as they've been in
recent years in raising workers' premium contributions, but they're
finding other ways to pass on higher health-care costs, said Michael
Thompson, principle in human-resource services at PricewaterhouseCoopers
in New York.
"There's not as much focus on increasing premiums
for workers as much as there is on increasing the amount of cost-sharing
workers have at the point of service," he said.
People who use their health plan might feel more of a squeeze than those who don't, said John Asencio, senior vice president of Sibson Consulting, a human-resource consulting firm in New York.
"If you had a $15 copay, you'll probably see those go up to $20, $25 for physician office visits," he said.
The
good news is underlying benefit-cost increases are expected to be
moderate, compared with earlier in the 2000s when double-digit premium
spikes whipsawed employers and employees alike.
Though they still
far outpace general inflation and workers' wage gains, health-benefit
costs are on track to rise 5.4% on average next year, the lowest rate of
increase in 15 years, according to preliminary survey data from Mercer,
a consulting firm in New York. If employers did nothing to manage the
cost increase through plan-design changes, the increase would be 7.1%.
The overall trend of the past five years has been about 9%, according to
Mercer's findings.
Use of health-care services declined last
year as people were left with less disposable income in a struggling
economy and more workers faced higher out-of-pocket medical costs, said Beth Umland, director of research for health and benefits for Mercer in New York.
"If
money is tight and you've got a $1,000 deductible, you might think
twice about going to the doctor if you also think you could put it off,"
she said, noting the average deductible has doubled in the past five
years.
Here are five bottom-line questions to consider as you compare your 2012 options:
1. What's new this year?
As part of the health-reform law that kicks in more comprehensively in
2014, most employers already extend coverage to workers' adult children
up to age 26 even if they're married or in school. And they have to
offer free preventive care for a number of services such as
colonoscopies and mammograms. For 2012, many employers are offering what
are called consumer-driven health plans, which have high deductibles
and often attached savings accounts. They're trying to control costs
before 2014, when they have to extend coverage to part-time workers
putting in at least 30 hours a week, among other anticipated costs, Umland said.
For
2012, the minimum annual deductible required for high-deductible health
plans to be coupled with health savings accounts (HSAs) is unchanged at
$1,200 for self-only coverage and $2,400 for family coverage.
But the annual maximum for workers' out-of-pocket expenses is going up
$100 to $6,050 for single coverage and rising $200 to $12,100 for family
coverage next year, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Out-of-pocket expenses include deductibles and copays but exclude
premiums.
Workers with HSAs for themselves only can contribute up
to $3,100 to their accounts in 2012 compared with up to $6,250 for
workers with family coverage in a high-deductible health plan. Those
limits are slightly higher than for 2011.
2. What would the plan cost me?
If your plan is shifting to coinsurance, where you pay a percentage of
the total instead of a flat fee, you may have to think differently. "If
you had a $10 or $20 copay, it was easy to understand what it was going
to cost you when you went to the doctor," Thompson said. "If the plan
now has coinsurance and a deductible, that visit may cost over $100 if
you haven't met your deductible."
In making a total estimate of
what a plan might cost you, first take stock of the premiums, the amount
you contribute each month out of your paycheck, which will likely be
higher for more a comprehensive benefit plan than for a bare-bones one.
The second part relates to your out of pocket costs. For this, consider
your recent history of health services. If you see a doctor or need
blood work drawn frequently, for example, your copay or coinsurance
amounts could make a big difference in your overall spending
projections.
Next, if you're considering a health plan with a
savings account such as an HSA, factor in what, if anything, your
employer contributes to that account that may offset your costs. Your
monthly premiums will likely be lower, but don't forget unpredictable
and intangible costs. "How much am I saving for sure vs. how much might I
lose if I actually use the plan?," Umland suggested asking. Plus, are
you OK with managing another financial account? Try to find out how many
extra administrative tasks you may need to do to use the HSA funds.
Some offer debit cards you can swipe, but others may force you to submit
and track claims for reimbursement.
3. What happens if I get really sick or injured?
Try to run a worst-case health scenario under each of the plan options
to see how financially exposed you would be among them should you or one
of your covered dependents have a grave accident or illness. Know what
expenses are counted in the out of pocket maximums. "How much would I be
out of pocket in this option vs. this option if I suddenly need $50,000
worth of care?" Asencio said.
4. Are my meds covered?
If you're on maintenance medication for a chronic illness, check to see
if any plans will waive your copay or coinsurance on certain
prescription drugs, making them effectively free to encourage you to
keep taking them, Thompson said. You may have to talk to a health coach
or participate in a disease-management program to get the free meds, but
more employers are trying this option to get a handle on their
long-term health costs. Some plans also offer a separate out of pocket
maximum for prescription drugs, he said.
5. Am I leaving money on the table by failing to participate in wellness programs aimed at making or keeping me healthy?
Whether it's a game-oriented workplace exercise competition, private
dietary counseling, talking to a health coach or taking classes to help
you quit smoking, you may not be able to afford to ignore your
employer's 2012 wellness offerings. "While these programs have been
around for a while, employers are really taking them seriously now as a
way to manage costs," Umland said.
You may not have to do much
work to score a break on your health-care costs. In fact, some employees
may end up paying $25 to $50 more in premiums per month or hundreds of
dollars more in deductibles if they don't complete a health risk
assessment or other activities meant to gauge their general health
status, Asencio said. "Companies are getting more aggressive around
these issues."
Nobody plans to get sick. On the contrary, your efforts to avoid it
sometimes seem borderline OCD: Don't sneeze into your hands, always cook
your chicken to exactly 170 degrees, and hose down every germ-carrying
preschooler in sight with soap and water. And yet, no matter how many
times you gargle with salt before bedtime or coat yourself in
antibacterial hand cleanser, now and again the inevitable rumble in your
tummy or tickle in your throat hits. Hard. Suddenly, you're down for
the count and up to date on the daytime soaps.
What are you doing wrong?
Probably nothing. But you can do a few more things right. Certain foods
and drinks have a natural immunity boost; to tap their benefits, just
open up and say, "Ahh."
Tea Off Against Colds
Not just any hot
tea, though. Chamomile, according to researchers from London's Imperial
College, is the one that'll help prevent sickness. In a recent study,
they found people who drank five cups of the brew a day for 2 weeks had
increased blood levels of plant-based compounds called polyphenols, some
of which have been associated with increased antibacterial activity.
Levels remained high for 2 weeks after subjects stopped drinking the
tea, says lead researcher Elaine Holmes, Ph.D. (Bonus: chamomile tea
also raised levels of glycine, a mild nerve relaxant and sedative.)
Knock 'em Dead
There's a killer living in all of us. Known as a macrophage and produced
deep in your bone marrow, it's a white blood cell that roams the body,
picking fights with bacteria, viruses, or any other intruders. But it
only works if you help it. These killer cells are activated by
beta-glucans, a component of fiber foods. The best source? Oats, says
David Grotto, R.D., director of nutrition education at the Block Center
for Integrative Cancer Care in Evanston, Illinois. So eat your oatmeal.
The steel-cut oats, like McCann's Irish Oatmeal, have double the amount
found in the rolled, quick-cooking kind.
Dressing for Success
Eating a salad for lunch is smart. Drowning it in fat-free dressing
isn't. A recent study from Iowa State University found that without
dietary fat, your body doesn't absorb some of the disease-fighting
nutrients in vegetables. Researchers fed seven people salad for 12 weeks
and tested their blood after each meal. Those who topped their salads
with fat-free dressing consistently failed to absorb carotenoids,
antioxidants that have been linked to improved immunity. Fat is
necessary for the carotenoids to reach the absorptive intestinal cells,
says lead researcher Wendy White, Ph.D. Choose dressings with healthy
fats from olive or nut oils, such as Many Seeds of Change (available at
Whole Foods or in the crunchy section of your neighborhood market) and
many Annie's Naturals dressings. If you're feeling adventuresome, try
making your own. For an Italianate, try 2 or 3 parts extra virgin olive
oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar; for something with an Asian influence,
go 3 parts sesame oil to 1 part rice wine vinegar.
Fight Bugs this Whey
A shot of whiskey might be one way to feel better, but whey protein is a
much more effective immune-boosting cocktail. Whey is rich in an amino
acid called cysteine, which converts to glutathione in the body.
Glutathione is a potent antioxidant that fortifies cells against
bacterial or viral infection. For the highest concentration of protein,
try something called powdered whey protein isolate, which is more
pure—and more expensive—than concentrate. Fortify your morning smoothie
with whey protein powder or try another source: yogurt. The clear liquid
that forms on top of most cartons of yogurt is pure whey protein—so
don't drain it off, just stir it back into the yogurt.
Tomato Trumps Chicken
To beat back a cold, you slurp chicken noodle soup. To avoid getting
sick in the first place, ladle out some tomato. In a study published in
the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 10 subjects ate a
tomato-rich diet for 3 weeks, followed by a tomato-free diet for 3 more
weeks. While subjects were on the tomato diet, their infection-fighting
white blood cells sustained 38 percent less damage from free
radicals—atoms in the body that damage and destabilize cells—than when
they ate no tomato products. Researchers speculate that the lycopene in
tomatoes acts as an antioxidant, helping white blood cells resist the
damaging effects of free radicals.
Give Ma Nature a Taste of Her Own Medicine
Butterbur may sound like something that makes you sneeze. But the herbal
supplement actually helps you fight allergies. Scottish researchers
found that patients with grass and pollen allergies who popped 50 mg of
the plant extract twice daily had 13 percent better nasal airflow than
those who took a placebo. Another study published in the British Medical Journal
reported that butterbur treated seasonal allergies nearly as well as
the prescription medication Zyrtec. It's effective against all symptoms
of allergic rhinitis, including sneezing, itching, and conjunctivitis,
says Andreas Schapowal, M.D., Ph.D., the author of the study. Butterbur
is believed to block leukotriene, a chemical that causes allergic
reactions, while at the same time controlling eosinophils, the white
blood cells that accumulate when allergic reactions take place, says Dr.
Schapowal. What's more, there's no drowsy effect with butterbur. You
can buy the supplement ($25 for 60 capsules) at most health food stores
or at iherb.com.
Down a Sports Drink
Not only will guzzling Gatorade help your body recover from a tough
workout, but it may also protect you from the latest strain of the flu.
According to a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition,
when 10 triathletes drank more than 1 cup of sports drink every 15
minutes during intense exercise, they had significantly better immune
response than they did when they drank a placebo.
Wine, then Dine
Drinking wine with your meal, in addition to being good for your heart,
may help ward off food poisoning before it happens. Scientists at Oregon
State University recently found that wine can put the kibosh on three
common food pathogens: E. coli, listeria, and salmonella. In lab
studies, the wine's combination of ethanol, organic acids, and low pH
appeared to scramble the bugs' genetic material. All wines have some
effect, say researchers, but reds are the most potent.
Feel the Burn
Several animal and laboratory studies have shown that capsaicin—the
compound that gives chili peppers their fire—can help stop sickness
before it starts. Mice in one study were given a daily dose of capsaicin
and had nearly three times more antibody-producing cells after 3 weeks
than those given no capsaicin. More antibodies mean fewer colds and
infections. Results of other studies suggest that eating food containing
hot components such as capsaicin may improve immune status, says Rina
Yu, Ph.D., of the University of Ulsan in South Korea, the lead
researcher. The point is, it can't hurt. At the very least, a dash or
two of hot sauce might help flush out some toxins.
Change Your Numbers Game
Losing a little extra baggage will not only reduce your risk of
cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but also will help shape up your
immune system. Researchers at Tufts University asked a group of slightly
overweight people to cut 100 to 200 calories from their daily food
intake. The result, in addition to weight loss and a drop in cholesterol
counts? Participants boosted their immune system response to
disease-causing microorganisms. Researchers aren't exactly sure why, but
speculate that the benefit comes from a combination of effects. One
thing is certain: Cutting 200 calories out of your daily diet is easy.
At your next restaurant meal, ditch the baked potato with sour cream and
order steamed vegetables instead.
Written By
share_e
on
Thursday, June 9, 2011
|
8:42 AM
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Written By
share_e
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Monday, April 11, 2011
|
6:55 AM
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Eat a healthy, balanced diet and stay active
