World Psoriasis Day

Oct. 29 is World Psoriasis Day, a global event to give an international voice to people with psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis.

According to Gail M. Zimmerman, president and CEO of the National Psoriasis Foundation, and vice chairman of IFPA, key message points for World Psoriasis Day help to raise awareness about the disease, educating the public that psoriasis is not contagious-and is more than a skin disease. While psoriasis symptoms appear on the skin, the disease starts below the skin’s surface, in the immune system.

“Awareness is a powerful tool in creating compassion for people with this disease,” Zimmerman said in a news release. “The burden of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis is significant; we must make awareness a priority with health-care policy makers so that people with psoriasis can gain better access to the treatments they need.”

The scaly, inflamed skin of psoriasis is painful and itchy. Because of the way the skin looks, people with psoriasis can become self-conscious, depressed and isolated.

Researchers have found that psoriasis causes as much disability as other major diseases. For more information, visit the World Psoriasis Day website.

Day Light Savings Time Ends Tonight!

A friendly reminder: Daylight Saving Time ends in America tonight at 2 a.m.. When you’re changing your clocks, remember to change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors (and if you don’t have some, buy some!)

Although smoke alarms are present in 95 percent of American homes, 20 percent do not work due to worn or missing batteries–this means nearly 19 million homes are at needless risk, according to the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

“The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping,” chief Bill Killen, president of the IAFC, said in a news release. “A working smoke alarm can often provide the critical extra seconds people need to get out safely. That’s why the simple act of maintaining smoke alarms is so important. Since children and senior citizens are most at risk, those are the citizens we especially target with this life saving message.”

So change your batteries, OK?

On a personal note, this post is dedicated to Gregg, a great firefighter and a wonderful man, who lost his battle with cancer today. I’ll always remember the joy your brought to your family and all those around you.

Hoodia

Hoodia Maxx is a product that contains Hoodia Gordonii. Hoodia Gordonii is a naturally found in the Kalahari Desert and it was founded almost a century ago in Africa. There is no doubt that Hoodia is a very strong and effective appetite suppressant. The plant takes about 3-6 years for it to reach its full potential- this means that the supply of Hoodia is very low and the demand is very high. This opens up a flood gate for scammers since they see an opportunity to sell a product at a high price and very low quality. I would dare say that many of the Hoodia products you see on the Internet are most likely fake or contain very little Hoodia. And most of the products have the same claim, “Don’t buy fake Hoodia, buy ours because our Hoodia is 100% real.” Hoodia Maxx is pretty much the same deal. I would personally never buy Hoodia Maxx because I do not believe it can be trusted. I would rather go to my local health food store and purchase something I can see and hold before I dump $40-$50 into it. I did a generic review search for the product and it does have some decent reviews online. Has anyone tried it that would be able to provide further insight? I do plan to check this out at my local health food store. I know it will not be this particular brand or product, but I just want to shop around and see what Hoodia products are actually in the store. Whether you purchase online or in the store- remember that the FDA does not monitor natural products such as these so be careful! 

Hoodia Maxx

Hoodia Maxx is a product that contains Hoodia Gordonii. Hoodia Gordonii is a naturally found in the Kalahari Desert and it was founded almost a century ago in Africa. There is no doubt that Hoodia is a very strong and effective appetite suppressant. The plant takes about 3-6 years for it to reach its full potential- this means that the supply of Hoodia is very low and the demand is very high. This opens up a flood gate for scammers since they see an opportunity to sell a product at a high price and very low quality. I would dare say that many of the Hoodia products you see on the Internet are most likely fake or contain very little Hoodia. And most of the products have the same claim, “Don’t buy fake Hoodia, buy ours because our Hoodia is 100% real.” Hoodia Maxx is pretty much the same deal. I would personally never buy Hoodia Maxx because I do not believe it can be trusted. I would rather go to my local health food store and purchase something I can see and hold before I dump $40-$50 into it. I did a generic review search for the product and it does have some decent reviews online. Has anyone tried it that would be able to provide further insight? I do plan to check this out at my local health food store. I know it will not be this particular brand or product, but I just want to shop around and see what Hoodia products are actually in the store. Whether you purchase online or in the store- remember that the FDA does not monitor natural products such as these so be careful!

Acai Berry

Acai Berry is a supplement that claims it contains pure acai berry, along with other supplements that help weight loss. Acai berry is found in the Amazon rainforest and is the fruit of the Acai palm tree. The fruit looks very similar to a grape and is made of mostly seed pits. The fruit has been used for centuries by the Amazon natives to help boost energy and it also claims to have natural healing properties. Research has found that 100 grams of acai berry contains nearly 17 grams of fiber, 9 mg of calcium and Vitamin C, and about 247 calories. Acai berry claims that consuming the exotic berry will help you loose weight by eliminating up to 42% of food intake, boost energy and metabolism, very strong and powerful anti-oxidant properties that are better than those found in red wine, cleanse and detox the body, improve mental focus, and rid off constipation. The Acai berry product does have a $4.95 “Free” bottle for consumers to try. Of course there is always the fine print that I looked further into- as we all know, nothing is free. This product is quite expensive. If you do not cancel and return the used/unused portions to them within 14 days, they will charge your credit card $40 plus S&H every 2 weeks. That’s a lot of money per month for this product in my opinion. I do plan on doing further research on this berry, and I plan on stopping by my local health food store to see if I can find the same thing and a cheaper price. 

Healthy Recipe

A half cup of regular guacamole has almost 200 calories, 86 percent of them from fat. Add a handful of chips and you’re eating the calorie equivalent of a Quarter Pounder. This recipe is total genius; it substitutes green peas for most of the avocado but tastes like the real thing. Serve with baked corn tortilla chips. (Cut tortillas into 8 wedges and bake at 350 degrees or until crisp, about 9 minutes.) 

1 1/2 cups thawed green peas
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. canned diced green chilies
1 /2 cup mild or medium commercial salsa
2 tbsp. diced onion
1 medium tomato, diced
Salt to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced 

Combine all ingredients except garlic in a food processor or blender and blend until thoroughly mixed but not quite smooth. Stir in garlic. 

1/3 cup serving: 49 calories, 2.3g fat (0g saturated fat) 

  

Unhealthy Foods and Cancer

Eating hamburger has become one of the many junk foods that millions of people love to eat. 

Did you know that eating too much of hamburger, french fries, and shake may result to cancer? A research conducted found that resisting to eat such fast foods may reduce the risk of getting colon cancer. 

A survey was conducted to cancer patients and were asked what they have been eating a year before they were diagnosed. It was found out that majority of them ate more of the junk foods. 

Sometimes it can be too addictive and we tend to forget about our own health safety. Eating fast food is not completely prohibited, but the discipline to one’s own health should be taken into consideration. We may feel ok, but eventually our body may not be capable enough to sustain our own health and may possibly acquire cancer. 

Let us practice a healthy lifestyle starting of with our diet. 

Vegetables

Vegetables are essential to your diet not only for the nutrients they pack, but also because they can easily replace less healthy foods and still satisfy. Don’t skip your veggies because they are high in fiber to keep you feeling full longer. It’s also low in calories and fat so that you can eat more thus, giving you more energy you need without feeling guilty. For those of you who can’t stand the taste of veggies, try adding a little bit of olive oil and a squirt of lemon juice to make it tastier. You may also want to add different spices such as garlic , basil leaves etc.  Some articles also said to not just limit your veggies with greens. “Consume a rainbow of different vegetables to get a full spectrum of various nutrients! Choose darker green veggies like romaine lettuce or spinach instead of iceberg for added folic acid and vitamin B2. Bright red vegetables like tomatoes and red bell peppers pack extra nutrients like Vitamin C to help your body absorb iron. Choose orange veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes for beta-carotene to strengthen the immune system.”There are also lots of cook books for veggies so you’re not limiting your veggie intake with just salads. I’m pretty sure that you’ll achieve your desired weight in no time with your new best friend. 

Healthy Cities

The proposed ban on foods that contain trans-fats, in New York, will likely affect the entire country. All restaurant’s, including national chains such as McDonald’s Corp., KFC, and Dunkin’ Donuts would be required to remove most of the trans-fats from their foods and list calories for each item on their menu boards.
Many smaller restaurants and chains have already begun or completed the changes to a more healthy menu. Other large chains continue to “test” alternate cooking oils, but have not yet made changes, chain-wide.
The reason that the proposed ban in New York could affect the rest of the industy is that most restaurants use pre-cooked or partially cooked and prepared foods from suppliers that also contain trans-fats. If suppliers to the largest chains make the switch to accommodate businesses in New York, it would be economicaly beneficial to make the changes for all of the businesses that they supply.
A public hearing will be held on October 30, 2006 in New York. The proposed deadline to lower trans-fat levels in cooking oils and fats is July 1, 2007. The deadline for all other foods would be one year later. These are very aggressive deadlines. 6 to 7 billion of the 22.2 billion pounds of edible fats and oils shipped domestically in 2005, are hydrogenated to some degree and therefore could be scrutinized, said Robert M. Reeves, president of the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils. “Many people have the erroneous assumption that it would take a few weeks of research and we can turn these products out, but nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.
“If it were easy to do, it would have been done already,” he said, calling the proposed bans to speed up the process as misguided. “If the solutions could come rapidly, they would.”
The New York proposal follows an industry effort to voluntarily switch to healthier oils and a similar proposal made earlier this year by Chicago Alderman Ed Burke. That measure has been tabled to give more time for restaurants to work toward their own voluntary measure.

Metabolic State

One of the Yahoo! health experts blog deal with diabetes, and today’s article on it deals with the relationship between the metabolic syndrome and exercise (or, rather, the lack thereof). “Metabolic syndrome” is a term I met for the first time at the beginning of this year, when I decided to make efforts regarding my weight, and naturally came to growing some knowledge about causes, effects and various matters related to health and weight loss. 

So what’s metabolic syndrome? The post explains it in a few words: 

The metabolic syndrome, identified by the presence of blood glucose levels between 100 and 125 mg/dL, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, and increased abdominal girth, is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and coronary artery disease. 

While I cannot give any link to the report itself (I’d sure like to!), the entry goes on with describing some of its findings: 

The report looked at estimates of physical activity in 1626 men and women 20 years of age or older. The likelihood of having the metabolic syndrome was almost twice as great among those who did not engage in moderate or vigorous physical activity (36 percent of participants) during leisure time, compared with those who reported 150 minutes or more of such activity weekly (only 20 percent of participants). Please note that this amount of weekly physical activity, two and a half hours, can be achieved by investing as little as 30 minutes a day, five days a week. 

Television, videos, and computer use are major contributors to a sedentary lifestyle. In this study both men and women who watched television or videos or used a computer outside of work for 4 hours or more a day (22 percent of participants) were twice as likely to have the metabolic syndrome than those who engaged in such activity less than one hour per day (only 11 percent of participants).

I must admit that it’s not encouraging to see how little most people exercise nowadays; on the other hand, if, by taking half a hour every day to “make the effort”, I can minimize the risks, I honestly think it’s not paying much for staying in good health. 

Recently, I’ve heard of a 20-years old girl with pre-diabetes (I don’t know to what it’s linked), and it’s simply frightening. I don’t know more, and perhaps her case is really specific and not linked to exercising or being overweight, but no matter what, it made me realize that as long as we have the chance to prevent such illnesses from declaring, we should take it. 

Half a hour a day, five days a week, to minimize the diabetes risk I already have due to heredity and overweight? Nope, really not too high a price to pay, and I’ll pay it gladly. 

  

 

 

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